Can "be able to" be used in passive voice?

[msilvenn]

Hi there!

I'm unsure whether "be able to..." can be used in passive voice or should it be replaced with "it is possible to..."? If somebody could help :)
Thanks in advance!

[tzfujimino]

Hi there!

I'm unsure whether "be able to..." can be used in passive voice or should it be replaced with "it is possible to..."? If somebody could help :)
Thanks in advance!

Hi, msilvenn!

I'm not sure what you mean...
Could you give me an example?

[mykwyner]

I can't make "be able to" work in a passive voice construction because the ability lies with the subject, not the object.

The boy was able to play the piano. (active voice)

The piano was able to be played by the boy. (passive voice) Very awkward and doesn't make sense

The dog was able to chase the cat. (active)

The cat was able to be chased by the dog. (passive voice) Makes a little more sense, but still very awkward

[msilvenn]

Okay, here's the sentence I'm unsure about: "By means of new production monitoring it is able to discover the development of overall equipment efficiency." Or should it be "it is possible to..."?

[tzfujimino]

Okay, here's the sentence I'm unsure about: "By means of new production monitoring it is able to discover the development of overall equipment efficiency." Or should it be "it is possible to..."?

Hi, again!
Thank you for the context.
Well, in that case, it should be
'it is possible to...', I believe.

I'm not a native speaker of English..(I teach English, though.)
Please wait for native speakers to respond.

[mykwyner]

"By means of new production monitoring it is able to discover the development of overall equipment efficiency."


This sentence only makes sense if the pronoun it refers to something specific.

We have installed state of the art software. By means of new production monitoring it is able to discover the development of overall equipment efficiency.

Or you could do something like this: By means of new production monitoring our computer is able to discover the development of overall equipment efficiency.

[msilvenn]

Thank you for your help guys!
Now I know how should I put it.

[RonBee]

Okay, here's the sentence I'm unsure about: "By means of new production monitoring it is able to discover the development of overall equipment efficiency." Or should it be "it is possible to..."?

I don't think the sentence makes sense either way. Perhaps:

By means of new production monitoring we are able to determine what the efficiency of the equipment is.

[ali abu hassan]

Dear teacher

let's consider this example.

the policeman was able to chase the driver.
the driver could be chased by the policeman.

note: (be able as well as can, both indicate the ability to do something)

[RonBee]

Dear teacher

let's consider this example.

the policeman was able to chase the driver.
the driver could be chased by the policeman.

note: (be able as well as can, both indicate the ability to do something)

No offense intended, but it is downright weird to me to say that a driver can be chased by a policeman. Being chased is not something somebody does.