diff --git a/cancan.gemspec b/cancan.gemspec
index 8dbb135..2fdff9c 100644
--- a/cancan.gemspec
+++ b/cancan.gemspec
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 Gem::Specification.new do |s|
   s.name        = "cancan"
-  s.version     = "1.3.4"
+  s.version     = "1.4.0.beta1"
   s.author      = "Ryan Bates"
   s.email       = "ryan@railscasts.com"
   s.homepage    = "http://github.com/ryanb/cancan"
diff --git a/lib/cancan/ability.rb b/lib/cancan/ability.rb
index 118c827..ebf4414 100644
--- a/lib/cancan/ability.rb
+++ b/lib/cancan/ability.rb
@@ -207,7 +207,9 @@ module CanCan
 
     def unauthorized_message(action, subject)
       keys = unauthorized_message_keys(action, subject)
-      message = I18n.translate(nil, :scope => :unauthorized, :default => keys + [""])
+      variables = {:action => action.to_s}
+      variables[:subject] = (subject.class == Class ? subject : subject.class).to_s.downcase
+      message = I18n.translate(nil, variables.merge(:scope => :unauthorized, :default => keys + [""]))
       message.blank? ? nil : message
     end
 
diff --git a/spec/cancan/ability_spec.rb b/spec/cancan/ability_spec.rb
index a07b56e..42bc618 100644
--- a/spec/cancan/ability_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/cancan/ability_spec.rb
@@ -327,5 +327,11 @@ describe CanCan::Ability do
       @ability.unauthorized_message(:update, Array).should == "modify array"
       @ability.unauthorized_message(:edit, Array).should == "modify array"
     end
+
+    it "should have variables for action and subject" do
+      I18n.backend.store_translations :en, :unauthorized => {:manage => {:all => "{{action}} {{subject}}"}} # old syntax for now in case testing with old I18n
+      @ability.unauthorized_message(:update, Array).should == "update array"
+      @ability.unauthorized_message(:edit, 1..3).should == "edit range"
+    end
   end
 end