Be Capable of Doing の語法 <研究ノート>

This paper explores the usage of the structure capable of doing employing the largescale corpus, WordbanksOnline. It demonstrates that capable of doing is preferred to can do, in which the subject has the ability to achieve an action through a high degree of skill or special knowledge. In this case, particular verbs, such as produce, score, or sustain, are likely to be used, as in capable of producing/scoring/sustaining. The data also shows that using capable of doing is not suitable when referring to the subject’s achievement of an action through external circumstances rather than personal abilities.