Confusion over Verbal Question in Sentence Correction Guide

[EmmaW296]

P. 143 in Sentence Correction Guide:

-WRONG: The manager HAS THE CAPABILITY OF RUNNING THE PLANT.

However, in the exercise answers on p. 153, #4(b):

-RIGHT: Unlike humans and guinea pigs, most mammals HAVE THE CAPABILITY OF SYNTHESIZING Vitamin C from glucose, a simple sugar.

Can you please explain this discrepancy? Thanks!

[RonPurewal]

interesting-- i'll call this inconsistency to the attention of those who edit the strategy guide.

in any case, this shouldn't be an issue on the exam, because the problems are multiple-choice.

if you face a choice between
most mammals have the capability of synthesizing vitamin C
and
most mammals are capable of synthesizing vitamin C
then these are, respectively, the loser and the winner.

[EloyJ759]

interesting-- i'll call this inconsistency to the attention of those who edit the strategy guide.

in any case, this shouldn't be an issue on the exam, because the problems are multiple-choice.

if you face a choice between
most mammals have the capability of synthesizing vitamin C
and
most mammals are capable of synthesizing vitamin C
then these are, respectively, the loser and the winner.

Hey Ron, recalling Emma's question and considering a case in which we don't have any other choice...which of the sentences would be right and which one would be wrong? and why?

1. The manager HAS THE CAPABILITY OF RUNNING THE PLANT.
2. Unlike humans and guinea pigs, most mammals HAVE THE CAPABILITY OF SYNTHESIZING Vitamin C from glucose, a simple sugar.
.which one would be correct?

I'm aking this as I'm currently studying and I need to have a clear idea of how CAPABILITY would work as an idiom.

[cgentry]

which of the sentences would be right and which one would be wrong? and why?

1. The manager HAS THE CAPABILITY OF RUNNING THE PLANT.
2. Unlike humans and guinea pigs, most mammals HAVE THE CAPABILITY OF SYNTHESIZING Vitamin C from glucose, a simple sugar.
.which one would be correct?

I'm aking this as I'm currently studying and I need to have a clear idea of how CAPABILITY would work as an idiom.

EloyJ759,

I can't imagine you would be faced with this situation on the GMAT. In fact, every example I can recall that involves this idiom splits on "is/are capable of" vs "has/have the ability to", both of which are idiomatically correct.

In every example I can recall from GMAC, the split is on "capable of" (correct) vs "capable to" (incorrect) or on "ability to" (correct) vs "ability of" (incorrect).

Essentially, "capable" uses the preposition "of", and "ability" uses the preposition "to". So I believe both of your examples, and both of the examples in the Strategy Guide, would be correct in terms of the preposition used.

In fact, checking the most recent version of the Strategy Guide, the right and wrong examples in these idioms hinge entirely on the preposition.

But I cannot ever imagine the GMAT using any form of "has" with the "capable" idiom. It's always "The manager IS capable of...", not "The manager HAS the capability of..."