| Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
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| able (adj.) |
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| takes to plus an active infinitive, whether or not the subject is human: She is able to hit high C. This review will be able to persuade anyone. But if the infinitive is passive, the sentence is at least clumsy, and some Standard users strongly object to it: He is able to be persuaded. My old car is able to be sold now. Logically, neither to be persuaded nor to be sold is an ability possessed by the subject, which is what being able suggests, whereas to hit high C and to persuade are indeed abilities possessed by the subject. The Conversational levels may not always insist on such rigorous logic, but Edited English usually does. To be able to is a bit more constrained than the more frequent and more concise can, but either can suggest “has the strength to”: She is able to [she can] play the oboe. | 1 |
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| | | The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press. |
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