Separate the action from the ability
The action tells us what is possible: read, swim, understand, or come. The following ability expression tells us whether the subject can perform that action. In पढ़ सकता हूँ, the reading stem does not carry the habitual ending. The agreement appears on सकता, followed by the appropriate auxiliary.
Think of an unfamiliar sign. A person may know Hindi but be unable to read that particular sign because the print is too small. A sentence with can is therefore not always a permanent claim about a learned skill. Give enough context to make the practical meaning clear.
A language skill can also be expressed with an experiencer construction involving आना, as in मुझे हिंदी आती है, I know Hindi. That is useful background for understanding why English can does not have one universal Hindi translation. The lesson’s ability construction is most useful when you name a possible action: reading this sign, coming tomorrow, or helping with a task. Do not replace every occurrence of know with sakna. Identify whether you mean knowledge of a fact, a learned skill, or the possibility of performing a particular action in the present situation.
मैं हिंदी पढ़ सकता हूँ।
I can read Hindi, with masculine speaker agreement.
रीना यह शब्द पढ़ सकती है।
Reena can read this word.
Use the stem, not the infinitive
The dictionary form तैरना means to swim. Before the ability expression, use तैर, without ना. Keeping the infinitive produces the wrong combination in this construction. Contrast this with wanting, where an infinitive normally remains before a form of चाहना.
A compound expression such as मदद करना, help, keeps its noun and uses the stem कर: मदद कर सकता हूँ. Removing the whole doing verb would leave the construction incomplete. Learn the full action phrase, then change only the part required by the grammar.
मैं तैर सकती हूँ।
I can swim, with feminine speaker agreement.
हम आपकी मदद कर सकते हैं।
We can help you, with masculine or mixed group agreement.
Keep a compound action intact
Build we can help you.
- Start from आपकी मदद करना.
- Remove ना from the doing verb but keep मदद.
- Use masculine or mixed plural सकते हैं for the stated group.
हम आपकी मदद कर सकते हैं।
Match agreement to the person
Use सकता with masculine singular agreement, सकती with feminine agreement, and सकते with masculine plural or respectful agreement. The auxiliary still distinguishes first person singular, familiar you, and plural or respectful forms. Both words belong in the check.
For a woman addressed respectfully, आप पढ़ सकती हैं combines feminine agreement with the respectful auxiliary. A feminine form does not automatically require singular है. The social form of address and gender agreement contribute different information, just as they do in the ordinary habitual construction.
The same respectful pronoun can occur with different gender agreement according to the person addressed. Compare आप कर सकते हैं for masculine agreement with आप कर सकती हैं for feminine agreement. In both, the final auxiliary remains respectful. The object of doing has no role in this contrast. To practice accurately, write a small role card describing the listener before building the sentence. Then switch the role card while leaving the action unchanged. This avoids using a masculine form as an unexplained default in a question explicitly addressed to a woman.
आप यहाँ बैठ सकती हैं।
You may or can sit here, respectfully addressing a woman.
तुम यह कर सकते हो।
You can do this, addressing a familiar male listener.
Deny the ability without changing the action
The common negative नहीं denies the ability. You can encounter it before the action or between the action and the ability verb; the examples here use the latter when emphasizing inability. Read the whole sentence rather than declaring every alternative position ungrammatical.
Do not use मत for an ordinary statement that you cannot do something. A prohibition tells another person not to act; inability states that an action is not possible for the subject. In a practical conversation, add the reason in a separate sentence if it matters.
मैं आज आ नहीं सकता।
I cannot come today, with masculine speaker agreement.
वह यह अक्षर पढ़ नहीं सकती।
She cannot read this letter or character.
Ask about possibility and permission
A question such as can I sit here can seek permission even though its grammar is built around possibility. The relationship and setting make that use understandable. It is a request, not evidence that the speaker lacks the physical ability to sit.
Use initial क्या for a yes or no question. In an information question, कहाँ asks where an action is possible. Keep a location phrase such as इस कमरे में together. The demonstrative takes its oblique form before the postposition, even though the ability phrase itself is unchanged.
A permission question is interpreted socially. Asking whether you can sit in a room does not establish that the listener has authority to grant permission. In an unfamiliar setting, identify the person responsible or follow an instruction already given. The lesson teaches the wording of a request, not a rule about who may decide. In a language exchange, compare the same question in two contexts: a guest asking a host for permission and an injured person asking whether a chair is usable. The grammatical form can remain similar while the practical question changes.
क्या मैं यहाँ बैठ सकता हूँ?
May I sit here? Masculine speaker agreement.
हम इस कमरे में कहाँ बैठ सकते हैं?
Where can we sit in this room?
Move the possibility into another time
The auxiliary can locate a general ability in the past: सकता था or सकती थी. A future form such as सकूँगा says I will be able to, with masculine agreement. Avoid attaching future endings to both the main verb and the ability verb.
Perfective forms such as सका or सकी can describe a realized possibility in a particular situation. With auxiliary सकना, do not add ने merely because the main action would normally be transitive. The construction has subject agreement. Keep general past ability and success on one occasion distinct in the surrounding context.
Past general ability and success on a particular occasion can be separated by the time frame. A childhood ability is naturally described with a habitual ability expression and a past auxiliary. A report about finally reading a difficult word can use a perfective form. The latter does not necessarily imply that the person had a permanent skill before the event. It reports what was possible or achieved in that situation. When the English cue says could, ask whether it describes an established capacity or one occasion; do not select the Hindi form from that English word alone.
बचपन में मैं तैर सकता था।
I could swim in childhood, with masculine speaker agreement.
कल मैं आ सकूँगी।
I will be able to come tomorrow, with feminine speaker agreement.
Place the future on the ability verb
A woman will be able to come tomorrow.
- The action stem is आ.
- The future inflection belongs on सकना, giving सकूँगी.
- Keep मैं as the subject and add tomorrow.
Compare your reasoning
मैं कल आ सकूँगी।
Distinguish ability from managing to succeed
Auxiliary पाना often emphasizes whether circumstances allowed someone to manage an action. सकना gives a broad ability or possibility reading. Their uses overlap, so do not reduce them to an absolute distinction between an internal skill and an external obstacle.
In the challenge, identify the action stem before looking at the endings. Then check subject, agreement, tense, and the intended kind of statement. Reconstruct a missed example with a different subject. A correct answer should be defensible by these features, not by how similar it looks to the preceding example.
मैं समय पर पहुँच नहीं पाया।
I did not manage to arrive on time, with masculine speaker agreement.
मैं अब यह कर सकता हूँ।
I can do this now, with masculine speaker agreement.
Notice the difference
Common mistakes
Remove the infinitive ending
Instead ofमैं पढ़ना सकता हूँ।
For this meaningमैं पढ़ सकता हूँ।
The ability verb takes a bare action stem.
Keep respectful auxiliary agreement
Instead ofआप पढ़ सकती है।
For this meaningआप पढ़ सकती हैं।
Feminine agreement and respectful agreement are separate features.
Do not add ne to this construction
Instead ofमैंने पढ़ सका।
For this meaningमैं पढ़ सका।
Auxiliary सकना keeps subject agreement in this perfective construction.
Distinguish a statement from a prohibition
Instead ofमैं मत आ सकता।
For this meaningमैं नहीं आ सकता।
The speaker is denying ability, not ordering someone not to come.
From understanding to using
Make your own example.
Try these without answer choices. Say your answer aloud or write it below, then compare your reasoning with the model.
Your turn 1
As a woman, say you can read Hindi but cannot come today.
Compare with a model
मैं हिंदी पढ़ सकती हूँ। मैं आज आ नहीं सकती।
I can read Hindi. I cannot come today.
The same feminine speaker agreement appears with two different bare action stems.
- Did you remove ना before the ability expression?
- Did the negative deny possibility rather than prohibit an action?
Your turn 2
Ask one woman respectfully whether she can help you tomorrow.
Compare with a model
क्या आप कल मेरी मदद कर सकती हैं?
Can you help me tomorrow?
The compound action retains कर. Feminine सकती and respectful हैं are both needed.
- Did the request use respectful agreement?
- Did you name whose help is being requested?
Put it into practice
Make the next choice.
Choose a response and learn why it works. Your score reflects your first answer to each question. You can revisit anything you miss.
Choose an answer, then open the explanation to check your reasoning.
Question 1
A man says he can read Hindi.
मैं हिंदी पढ़ ___।
- सकता हूँ
- सकती हूँ
Check the answer
Answer: सकता हूँ
सकता हूँ: Ability agrees with the masculine speaker and uses the first person auxiliary.
सकती हूँ: This expresses feminine speaker agreement.
Question 2
A woman says she can swim.
मैं ___ सकती हूँ।
- तैरना
- तैर
Check the answer
Answer: तैर
तैरना: The infinitive is not used before सकना here.
तैर: The bare action stem precedes the ability verb.
Question 3
Complete the action phrase help.
हम आपकी मदद ___ सकते हैं।
- कर
- करना
Check the answer
Answer: कर
कर: The compound action retains the doing verb as a bare stem.
करना: The infinitive ending is removed in this ability construction.
Question 4
Choose the respectful form addressed to a woman.
आप पढ़ सकती ___।
- है
- हैं
Check the answer
Answer: हैं
है: This singular auxiliary does not fit respectful आप.
हैं: Respectful address requires हैं even with feminine सकती.
Question 5
Address a familiar male listener.
तुम यह कर सकते ___।
- हो
- हूँ
Check the answer
Answer: हो
हो: The familiar listener auxiliary is हो.
हूँ: This auxiliary belongs to the speaker pronoun मैं.
Question 6
Deny your ability, rather than give a prohibition.
मैं आज आ ___ सकता।
- मत
- नहीं
Check the answer
Answer: नहीं
मत: This would be a prohibition marker, unsuitable here.
नहीं: This denies the possibility of coming.
Question 7
A man asks permission to sit.
- क्या मैं यहाँ बैठ सकता हूँ?
- मैं यहाँ बैठना सकता हूँ।
Check the answer
Answer: क्या मैं यहाँ बैठ सकता हूँ?
क्या मैं यहाँ बैठ सकता हूँ?: The context supports a permission request.
मैं यहाँ बैठना सकता हूँ।: The main action must be a bare stem before the ability verb.
Question 8
Ask where sitting is possible.
हम ___ बैठ सकते हैं?
- कब
- कहाँ
Check the answer
Answer: कहाँ
कब: This would request a time instead.
कहाँ: This requests a place.
Question 9
Complete a phrase meaning in this room.
हम ___ कमरे में बैठ सकते हैं।
- इस
- यह
Check the answer
Answer: इस
इस: The demonstrative becomes oblique before में.
यह: The direct demonstrative does not fit this phrase.
Question 10
Describe a woman’s general ability during childhood.
बचपन में वह तैर सकती ___।
- है
- थी
Check the answer
Answer: थी
है: This locates the ability in the present.
थी: Past feminine singular agreement matches the stated context.
Question 11
A woman predicts her own future availability.
कल मैं आ ___।
- सकूँगी
- सकेगी
Check the answer
Answer: सकूँगी
सकूँगी: The ability verb carries first person feminine future inflection.
सकेगी: This is a third person singular form.
Question 12
Which construction correctly reports a man’s successful reading on that occasion?
- मैंने यह पढ़ सका।
- मैं यह पढ़ सका।
Check the answer
Answer: मैं यह पढ़ सका।
मैंने यह पढ़ सका।: Adding ने incorrectly treats this as an ordinary transitive perfective.
मैं यह पढ़ सका।: Auxiliary सकना has subject agreement and no ने here.
Question 13
What does the sentence emphasize in this context?
बस देर से आई। मैं पहुँच नहीं पाया।
- The speaker did not manage to arrive.
- The speaker never learned to walk.
Check the answer
Answer: The speaker did not manage to arrive.
The speaker did not manage to arrive.: The context and पाना emphasize unsuccessful realization.
The speaker never learned to walk.: No lifelong absence of a skill is stated.
Question 14
Choose an expression of wanting rather than ability.
- मैं तैर सकता हूँ।
- मैं तैरना चाहता हूँ।
Check the answer
Answer: मैं तैरना चाहता हूँ।
मैं तैर सकता हूँ।: This says the speaker can swim, not that he wants to.
मैं तैरना चाहता हूँ।: The infinitive before want describes a desire.
Keep the conversation going
What to practice next
Describe one skill, one current limitation, and one future possibility. Revisit the three sentences tomorrow and change the subject in each.
By Loquus ·
Sources
- University of Minnesota Hindi Urdu: Ability with sakna and pana
- Rajiv Ranjan, Michigan State University: Present and past habitual
- Rajiv Ranjan, Michigan State University: Verb stems and argument patterns
- University of Minnesota Hindi Urdu: Wanting and needing
- University of Texas at Austin: Hindi Skeleton Grammar
- Rajiv Ranjan, Michigan State University: Personal pronouns and forms of to be
- Rajiv Ranjan, Michigan State University: Gender and number
- University of Texas at Austin: Hindi grammar reference
- Rajiv Ranjan, Michigan State University: Question words
- Rajiv Ranjan, Michigan State University: Postpositions and their meanings
- Rajiv Ranjan, Michigan State University: Oblique forms
- Rajiv Ranjan, Michigan State University: Past forms of to be
- Rajiv Ranjan, Michigan State University: Simple future tense
- Rajiv Ranjan, Michigan State University: Perfective aspect and agreement
Learning research behind the practice
Worked examples, retrieval practice, and later review inform the activities. These studies do not establish the effectiveness of this specific lesson.