| able - if someone or something is able to do something, they have skills or qualities which make it possible for them to do it. | | | | | | capable - if a person or thing is capable of doing something, they have the ability, capacity, or potential to do it. | | | | The different usage between able and capable is ' able ' has a broader meaning in one's ability but ' capable ' shows one's ability in a more specialized aspect. | | | |
* | | She is an able teacher. ( She is a teacher with quality ) | | | | * | | She is a capable teacher. ( She has the ability to be a teacher ) | | | | ____________________ | | | | | Capable also shows a sense of possibility whereas there is no such usage with able. | | | | | | * | | The situation is capable of improvement. | | | | In this situation, we can't replace capable with able to show the possibility for improvement. | | | ____________________ | | | | |
| Ability can be acquired through a series of training, but capability has nothing to do with training. | | |
| * | | I do not doubt his ability to do the work. |
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