Breakdown of Он явно способен справиться.
Questions & Answers about Он явно способен справиться.
Why is it способен, not способный?
Способен is the short form of the adjective способный.
In Russian, the short form is often used:
- as the main predicate in a sentence
- especially for meanings like is able, is ready, is glad, is obliged, etc.
So:
- Он способный = He is talented / capable as a general quality
- Он способен справиться = He is capable of handling it / able to cope
In this sentence, Russian needs the predicate form, so способен is the natural choice.
What exactly does явно mean here?
Явно means something like:
- clearly
- obviously
- plainly
So it adds the idea that his ability is easy to see or quite evident.
In this sentence, Он явно способен справиться means:
- He is clearly capable of handling it
- He is obviously able to cope
Depending on context, явно can sound either neutral or a bit emphatic.
What does справиться mean?
Справиться usually means:
- to cope
- to manage
- to handle it successfully
It often implies dealing successfully with a task, problem, or situation.
For example:
- справиться с работой = to cope with the work
- справиться с задачей = to handle the task
- справиться с этим = to manage this
In your sentence, the object is not stated, because it is understood from context.
Why is it справиться, not справлять or справляться?
The important contrast here is between:
- справляться = imperfective
- справиться = perfective
With способен + infinitive, Russian often uses the infinitive that best matches the intended meaning.
Here, справиться is perfective, so it suggests:
- succeeding in dealing with something
- bringing the action to a successful result
That fits English to manage or to cope successfully.
Справляться would sound more like:
- being able to cope in general
- managing habitually or over time
So:
- Он способен справиться = He is capable of managing it / getting through it successfully
- Он способен справляться = He is capable of coping in a more general or repeated sense
Why is there no object after справиться?
Because Russian can leave it unstated when the context already makes it clear.
Very often, you will see:
- справиться с этим = cope with this
- справиться с задачей = cope with the task
- справиться с проблемой = deal with the problem
But if everyone already knows what is being talked about, Russian can simply say:
- Он способен справиться = He is capable of handling it
English often also does this:
- He can handle it
- She’ll manage
So the missing object is completely normal.
Does справиться usually need a preposition?
Yes. When you state what someone is coping with, справиться normally takes с + instrumental:
- справиться с работой
- справиться с ситуацией
- справиться с этим
So if you expand the sentence, you might get:
- Он явно способен справиться с этим.
That is a very common pattern to remember:
- справиться с чем-то = to cope with something
How is способен used grammatically in this sentence?
The structure is:
- Он = subject
- явно = adverb modifying the predicate
- способен = short-form adjective used predicatively
- справиться = infinitive complement
So the pattern is:
кто-то способен + infinitive
= someone is capable of doing something
Examples:
- Она способна понять. = She is capable of understanding.
- Они способны победить. = They are capable of winning.
- Ты способен это сделать? = Are you capable of doing this?
How is this different from Он может справиться?
Both can often be translated as He can manage / He is able to cope, but the nuance is different.
Он может справиться = He can manage
This focuses more on possibility or ability in the situation.Он способен справиться = He is capable of managing
This sounds a bit stronger and more like a statement about his capacity, competence, or inner ability.
So способен often feels a little more formal or evaluative than может.
Is the word order important here?
The neutral order is:
- Он явно способен справиться.
This sounds natural and straightforward.
If you change the word order, the emphasis can change:
Явно он способен справиться.
Stronger focus on obviously/clearlyОн способен явно справиться.
Much less natural in most contexts, because явно usually modifies the whole statement, not just the infinitive
So the given order is a very normal one.
Could Russian drop он here?
Sometimes yes, but it depends on context.
Russian often omits the subject pronoun if it is obvious from the surrounding conversation. For example, after a question about one person, someone might just say:
- Явно способен справиться.
But in a standalone sentence, он is usually kept for clarity:
- Он явно способен справиться.
So the pronoun is natural and expected here.
What case is он in?
Он is in the nominative case, because it is the subject of the sentence.
The basic dictionary form is он = he.
Other forms include:
- его = him / his
- ему = to him
- им = by/with him
- нём = about/on him
But here we need the subject, so nominative он is correct.
How would this sentence sound with a specific thing added?
You can add the thing he is expected to handle after с + instrumental.
For example:
Он явно способен справиться с этим.
He is clearly capable of handling this.Он явно способен справиться с задачей.
He is clearly capable of handling the task.Он явно способен справиться с трудностями.
He is clearly capable of coping with difficulties.
This is often how you will see справиться used in full sentences.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning RussianMaster Russian — from Он явно способен справиться to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions