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Anonymous Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
Can and able to
Consider the following:
I can lift the piano without your help!
I am able to lift the piano without your help.
Could it be said that in the first sentence, the subject i.e. the person is confident to lift the piano? By confident, I mean arrogant and self assured of their strength to the point of being narcissistic.
Unlike 'able to', 'can' has no definite limits on ability, and what I might perceive as confident, you may perceive as arrogant. So, can it be said that 'able to' is not as ambiguous as 'can,' since it implies that while the subject is able to lift the piano, they are lifting it at the limit of their ability to do so?
I have not encountered this subtle difference in my native language. It is subtle because most people, especially non-native speakers, use them interchangeably without actually knowing the difference.
Are there any more examples of this kind for my learning?
I can lift the piano without your help!
I am able to lift the piano without your help.
Could it be said that in the first sentence, the subject i.e. the person is confident to lift the piano? By confident, I mean arrogant and self assured of their strength to the point of being narcissistic.
Unlike 'able to', 'can' has no definite limits on ability, and what I might perceive as confident, you may perceive as arrogant. So, can it be said that 'able to' is not as ambiguous as 'can,' since it implies that while the subject is able to lift the piano, they are lifting it at the limit of their ability to do so?
I have not encountered this subtle difference in my native language. It is subtle because most people, especially non-native speakers, use them interchangeably without actually knowing the difference.
Are there any more examples of this kind for my learning?
Top answer
e. the person is confident to lift the piano? By confident, I mean arrogant and self assured of their strength to the point of being narcissistic.
- e.
- the person is confident to lift the piano?
- By confident, I mean arrogant and self assured of their strength to the point of being narcissistic.
- No
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5 Answers
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AnonymousI can lift the piano without your help!I am able to lift the piano without your help.Could it be said that in the first sentence, the subject i.e. the person is confident to lift the piano? By confident, I mean arrogant and self assured of their strength to the point of being narcissistic.No
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AnonymousIt is subtle because most people, especially non-native speakers, use them interchangeably without actually knowing the difference.And all this time I thought I was a native speaker!
I don't see the difference you describe. It's only your use of italics to emphasize 'can' that makes a difference, by indicating stress on 'can'. You could as
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Maybe I am looking at the meaning of 'can' in the wrong light then. I thought 'can' is open to a lot of interpretation by the reader, unlike 'able to,' which has the idea of frailty, limiting ability and uncertainty presupposed in it. Let's put it another way. Someone who says 'I am able to lift the piano' isn't going to be a strong, young and confident person in the idiomatic sense, right?
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AnonymousSomeone who says 'I am able to lift the piano' isn't going to be a strong, young and confident person in the idiomatic sense, right?I don't know what it means to be strong, young, and confident "in the idiomatic sense", but anyway, I think the point is that neither is the person who says that going to be a weak, old, and timid person. I don't think
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CalifJimI think you're letting your imagination go a little too wild in some of your speculations.Right on!
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