The combining capacity of an element is called valency.
Different elements have different combining capacities.
It is also defined as the number of electrons gained, lost, or shared by it with other atoms during a chemical change.
For example,in , two atoms of hydrogen combine with one atom of oxygen to form a molecule of water. Here the valency of hydrogen is 1 and of oxygen is 2.
If an element has a valency of +3, then the formula of its carbonate will be .