The phrase "affecting the ability" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing how something influences or impacts someone's capacity to do something.
Example: "The new regulations are affecting the ability of small businesses to compete in the market."
Alternatives: "impacting the capacity" or "influencing the capability".
Increased wages mean higher costs and this may be affecting the ability of some small businesses to grow.
"It's really unfortunate that the federal government shutdown is affecting the ability of citizens to see this icon of democracy," Governor Daugaard said.
Without the waivers, agreeing to settle charges of securities fraud "might have vast repercussions affecting the ability of a firm to continue to stay in business," he said.
The F.C.C. found that 17 call centers for 911 in three states lost service completely, affecting the ability of more than two million people to reach emergency help.
"Despite considerable scientific effort by fishery scientists, there is little evidence of recovery, and concerns remain that the practice of chasing and encircling dolphins somehow is adversely affecting the ability of those depleted stocks to recover," the study said.
Oxfam said fighting at the border has severed trade, cutting off the vital flow of people, fuel and goods, and affecting the ability of people to earn a living.
A person familiar with the research said the league hoped to find netting that would easily attach in existing arenas without radically affecting the ability of spectators to see.
Also affecting the ability of casinos to woo consumers is the continued growth of other forms of gambling that occur outside casinos, like buying lottery tickets and playing video poker at racetracks.
There's now a good piece of direct evidence that the increasing acidification of the oceans, brought on by rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, is affecting the ability of small marine organisms to create shells.
By reducing the wetability of leaves and stems and thereby affecting the ability of fungal spores to germinate it plays an important part in the defense strategy of plants.
But a number of science and technology organizations are now arguing that the federal belt-tightening is affecting the ability of the scientific community to share research and collaborate.
