Collocations with Ability

Ability – noun

N1-  skill/power to do sth

ADJECTIVE | … OF ABILITY | VERB + ABILITY | PREPOSITION | PHRASES

ADJECTIVE

 exceptional, extraordinary, great, outstanding, remarkable, uncanny –
inherent, innate, natural –

.It’s important to discover the natural abilities of each child

 proven –
 academic, acting, artistic, athletic, creative, intellectual, linguistic, mathematical, musical, psychic, reading, technical
mental, physical –

OF ABILITY …

 level –

.She showed a high level of ability as a runner

VERB + ABILITY

have, possess –
 retain –
 demonstrate, show –

.Both players demonstrated their ability to hit the ball hard

acquire, develop, enhance, improve –
 lack –
lose –

.I seem to have lost my ability to attract clients

affect, hamper, hinder, impair, impede, limit, undermine –
appreciate, recognize –

.Fox’s abilities were soon recognized

 doubt, question –
 overestimate, underestimate –

PREPOSITION

ability in –

.She showed great ability in mathematics

PHRASES

to the best of your ability –

.We will keep you informed to the best of our ability

Ability – noun

N2 – speed with which sb learns

ADJECTIVE | VERB + ABILITY | ABILITY + NOUN | PHRASES

ADJECTIVE

high –

.The school does nothing for children of high ability

limited, low –
 average, mixed –

.It is much more difficult to teach a mixed-ability class

VERB + ABILITY

assess, measure, test –

ABILITY + NOUN

 level –
 range –

PHRASES

a range of ability, a range of abilities –

.I taught a wide range of abilities