Unable vs. Failed vs. Cannot

Unable is about not being able to perform an action or achieve a result due to certain circumstances. Fail is about making an effort and getting an unsuccessful result. Cannot is about not having the general possibility to do something.

Examples

1. Unable to perform the operation because the current plan state is {stateName}. [circumstances that prevent us from performing the action]
2. Unable to use the precalculated location because the IVR property of the recovery location has been modified. [circumstances that prevent us from performing the action]
3. Failed to find the target datastore {task.Spec.DatastoreName}. [we tried but did not succeed]
4. Failed to delete the account. [we tried but did not succeed]
5. You cannot select more than ${maxItems} items. [no general possibility to perform the action]
6. Сhild clients cannot create their own clients. [no general possibility to perform the action]

Related Topics

Correct Modal Verbs