meaning - "will be able to" vs. "can"


Consider the following:



He will be able to do it.


He can do it.



They mean the same thing, right?


Can "can" replace "will be able to" in any sentence? What is the difference, if anything? Why not just use the shorter version?



Answer



No, they're not the same thing.


Will be able to obviously talks about a future event, while can talks about the present.



I can swim, so we should go to the pool.



Means I can swim already, I learned it before and I'm capable of doing it now.



I will be able to swim sometime in the future, as long as I take swimming lessons.



Means I cannot swim right now, but I'm hoping to learn in the future.


Probably you meant to ask the difference between can and am able to. If so, there is a difference, yes. Let me explain:



I am able to swim, but I can't, because my skin is damaged.



This means that I am capable of swimming, but I am prohibited to do so, because of an infection. So to put it to an explanation:


To be able to talks about an ability to do something, but it does not mean you are allowed to do such.


Can talks about something you are allowed to do, or about your ability to do it. This is therefore ambiguous.


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