1.capital的基本意思是“首都”“首府”,主要指政治中心,引申可表示处于领导地位的都市,常可用在其他名词前作定语,是可数名词。
2.capital的另一个意思是“资本”“资金”,即创建企业或维持企业生产所需的资金,是抽象名词,不可数。可用于“a capital of+金额”结构,引申可指“资源”“力量之源泉”等。
3.capital还可作“大写字母”解,为可数名词。

make capital (out) of
利用 take advantage of
You must make capital of every opportunity to learn new things.你必须利用一切机会学习新事物。
At last I've got the chance to go to town on what I think of his conduct, and I shall make capital of it.我终于找到机会,把我对他的行为的看法毫无保留地说了出来,这种机会我是要充分利用的。
She made capital of the dialogue to stimulate free conversation among her pupils.她利用那个对话来引起学生们的交谈。
In summer they usually set the clocks ahead one hour to make capital of the summer daylight.夏季他们通常把钟往前拨一小时,以充分利用夏天的白昼。
We must make capital of the country's natural resources.我们要利用国家的自然资源。
The President made capital out of the idea at once.总统立即拿定了这个主意。

His influence hasn't reached the capital yet.他的影响还没到达首都。
The general decided to concentrate his forces near the capital.这位将军决定把他的部队集中在首都附近。
Shenyang is the capital of Liaoning Province.沈阳是辽宁的省会。
The teacher recited the names of all the capital cities of Europe.这位老师说出了欧洲所有国家首都的名称。
London was dubbed “the insurance capital of the world”.伦敦被称为“世界保险之都”。
It was the former capital of Turkey.这是土耳其过去的中心城市。
He'll supply the technology if you put up 80,000 yuan capital.如果你出80,000元资金,他将提供技术。
Shortage of capital was a factor holding back economic development.缺乏资金是阻碍经济发展的一个因素。
They have locked up all their capital in that enterprise.他们已把他们的所有资本都质押在那家企业了。
The man supplying the capital expected to gain considerably by the enterprise.提供资金的人期望从企业中得到相当大的收益。
They exhausted the capital in a week.他们一周内耗尽了资金。
Their appeals for capital didn't elicit much of a response.他们征集资金的呼吁并没有引起多大的反应。
In this sentence, the word BIG is in capitals.本句中BIG一词用的是大写字母。

capital, metropolis
这两个词都可译为“首都”。其区别在于:
1.词源不同, capital源于拉丁语,原意为“优越的”“杰出的”“影响生命的”; metropolis源于希腊语,含有“母亲城”的意思,即领导着小城市的中心城市。
2.capital含有政治意味,而metropolis则主要指商业和重要城市。例如Shanghai,New York等。既是政治中心,也是商业中心的也可称作metropolis,如Tokyo。
3.metropolis可含有“宗主国”的意思, the Metropolis即指London,如the Metropolis Railway伦敦地下铁道
capital, capitol
这两词虽一个字母之差,意思却不同:capital的意思是“首都”; 而capitol的意思是指“美国国会大厦”。

capital用作形容词时,可作“大写的”“资本的”“可处死刑的”“主要的”“基本的”等解,在句中多用作定语。作“极好的”解时，既可用作定语也可用作表语。

用作定语
▲～+n.
Capital gain should be charged tax.资本盈余应交税。
In investing money some people go for more or less assured dividends, others for capital increase.拿钱投资,有的人打算得到多少有点保障的股息,有的人则为了增加资本。
He made a capital error.他犯了一个重大的错误。
You can hardly fancy what a capital hand she is at embroidery.你简直不能想象她是一个多么出色的绣花能手。
A capital letter is used to begin a sentence or the name of a person or place.在开始写一个句子或一个人名或一个地名时,要用到大写字母。
You will note that proper nouns begin with a capital letter.你会注意到专有名词的第一个字母是大写的。
The parliament members split on capital punishment.议员们对死刑看法不同。
用作表语
▲S+be+～
That's capital!那好极了!

capital, chief, main, principal
这组词均可表示“首要的”“重要的”。其区别在于:
1.capital, principal和chief既可修饰人,也可修饰物, main多修饰物,很少修饰人。例如:
He acted the principal hero in the play.他在那出戏中演主角。
It is allowed that pronunciation is one of the principal things in English.大家都认为发音是英语的一个重要方面。
We must focus on our sales force as the chief means of improving trade. 我们必须集中精力把广开销路作为促进贸易的主要手段来抓。
The chief cadres in charge should bear greater responsibility. 主要负责干部要多承担一些责任。
The annex has been built on to the main building.主楼配建有附属的建筑物。
2.capital指“一流的”,但不是“第一的”; chief指物时是“最重要的”,指人时是“职位最高的”; main和principal既可指“一流的”,也可指“第一的”。例如:
The trade union chief comrade boiled over when the men voted against him.那位工会首领在工人投他反对票时大发雷霆。

［同义词］ n. assets, cash, finance, funds, wealth adj. central, essential, excellent, fine, foremost
［反义词］ adj. minor, sad, unfortunate
［词源］  ＜拉丁语capitalis(首都,资本)