יכול is Hebrew’s central verb for “can,” but it does more work than that translation suggests: it expresses ability, permission, and possibility. It is a real, irregular pa'al verb with a subject, not an invariant modal particle like English can. That is why it agrees in the present and changes form in the past and future.
אני יכולה לקרוא את ההודעה בלי המשקפיים, אבל רק בקושי.
aní yekholá likró et hahoda'á bli hamishkafáyim, avál rak bekóshi
I can read the message without my glasses, but only barely. (f. speaker)
אתה יכול לסגור את החלון? נכנס המון רעש מהרחוב.
atá yakhól lisgór et hakhalón? nikhnás hamón rá'ash meharekhóv
Can you close the window? A lot of noise is coming in from the street. (to a man)
Present agreement
The present forms behave like participles: they mark gender and number but not person. אני יכול may therefore mean “I can” with a male speaker, while אני יכולה is the corresponding form with a female speaker. The first vowel also changes outside the masculine singular, so the forms must be learned by sound.
| Subject | Form | Model |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | יָכוֹל yakhól | הוּא יָכוֹל hu yakhól |
| feminine singular | יְכוֹלָה yekholá | הִיא יְכוֹלָה hi yekholá |
| masculine / mixed plural | יְכוֹלִים yekholím | הֵם יְכוֹלִים hem yekholím |
| feminine plural | יְכוֹלוֹת yekholót | הֵן יְכוֹלוֹת hen yekholót |
רוני לא יכולה להגיע הערב, אז נתחיל בלעדיה.
róni lo yekholá lehagía ha'érev, az natkhíl bil'adéha
Roni can't make it tonight, so we'll start without her.
אנחנו יכולים לשמור לך מקום עד שבע וחצי.
anákhnu yekholím lishmór lekhá makóm ad shéva vakhétsi
We can hold a place for you until seven thirty. (mixed or all-male group; to a man)
Three core meanings
Ability
With an animate subject, יכול + infinitive most often describes capacity: what someone knows how, is physically able, or is practically able to do. The subject of יכול is also understood as the subject of the following infinitive.
הילד כבר יכול לקשור את השרוכים לבד.
hayéled kvar yakhól likshór et hasrokhím levád
The boy can already tie his shoelaces by himself.
אני לא יכול לפתוח את הקובץ בטלפון; אנסה מהמחשב.
aní lo yakhól liftóakh et hakóvets batélefon; anasé mehamakhshev
I can't open the file on my phone; I'll try from the computer. (m. speaker)
Permission
In a question, יכול often requests permission, much like English “can I?” Context, not a special conjugation, supplies the permission reading. מותר is more explicitly about what is allowed.
אני יכולה להשאיר כאן את התיק לכמה דקות?
aní yekholá lehash'ír kan et hatík lekáma dakót
Can I leave my bag here for a few minutes? (f. speaker)
אתם יכולים להשתמש במטבח, רק תשאירו אותו נקי.
atém yekholím lehishtamésh bamitbákh, rak tash'íru otó nakí
You may use the kitchen; just leave it clean. (to a mixed or all-male group)
Negated לא יכול is consequently ambiguous in isolation: it can mean “cannot” because of inability or “may not” because permission is denied. State the reason, or use אסור when a prohibition must be unmistakable.
Possibility
יכול can also describe what may or might happen. With a nonhuman subject, this reading is especially natural. The fixed impersonal frame יכול להיות ש־ means “it may be that / perhaps.” Here masculine singular יכול does not agree with a following noun; the entire ש־clause is the possibility being entertained.
המשלוח יכול להתעכב בגלל מזג האוויר.
hamishlóakh yakhól lehit'akév biglál mézeg ha'avír
The delivery may be delayed because of the weather.
יכול להיות שהמפתח נשאר בדלת.
yakhól lihyót shehamaftéakh nish'ár badélet
The key may have been left in the door.
The contrasts with invariant אפשר are developed on אפשר versus יכול.
Past and future: an irregular pattern
יכול belongs to pa'al, but its weak root י־כ־ל produces an unusual paradigm. In the past, the masculine singular is again יָכוֹל, identical in sound and spelling to the present masculine singular. A time expression usually resolves the ambiguity.
| Time | Selected forms |
|---|---|
| past | יָכוֹלְתִּי yakhólti, יָכוֹלְתָּ yakhólta, יָכוֹלְתְּ yakhólt, יָכוֹל yakhól, יָכְלָה yakhlá, יָכוֹלְנוּ yakhólnu, יָכוֹלְתֶּם / יָכוֹלְתֶּן yakhóltem / yakhólten, יָכְלוּ yakhlú |
| future | אוּכַל ukhál, תּוּכַל tukhál, תּוּכְלִי tukhlí, יוּכַל yukhál, נוּכַל nukhál, תּוּכְלוּ tukhlú, יוּכְלוּ yukhlú |
The second-person plural past has a real norm-versus-speech split. Careful normative vocalization gives יְכָלְתֶּם / יְכָלְתֶּן, while everyday speech commonly levels the stem to יָכוֹלְתֶּם / יָכוֹלְתֶּן and leaves the ending unstressed. The compact table prints that widespread spoken realization; unpointed modern spelling is יכולתם / יכולתן in either case.
אתמול היא יכלה לעבוד מהבית, אבל היום היא חייבת להגיע למשרד.
etmól hi yakhlá la'avód mehabáyit, avál hayóm hi khayévet lehagía lamisrád
Yesterday she could work from home, but today she has to come to the office.
מחר אוכל לאסוף אותך מהתחנה אחרי העבודה.
makhár ukhál le'esóf otkhá mehatakhaná akharéi ha'avodá
Tomorrow I'll be able to pick you up from the station after work. (to a man)
The future forms תוכל and תוכלי are also standard polite request forms. Their future morphology softens the demand without literally locating the action in a remote future.
תוכלי לשלוח לי שוב את הקישור?
tukhlí lishlóakh li shuv et hakishúr
Could you send me the link again? (to a woman; polite request)
English could has no single Hebrew equivalent. יכולתי reports past ability; הייתי יכול often describes unrealized or conditional ability; תוכל/תוכלי frames a polite request. The full forms and their diachronic oddity are on the pa'al יכול paradigm and יכול reference card.
The missing everyday infinitive and imperative
Modern Hebrew does not normally use an infinitive or imperative of יכול. Dictionary and historical remnants do not supply a productive everyday form. When syntax would require an infinitive, use להיות מסוגל “to be capable” or reshape the sentence as a finite clause with ש־.
אני רוצה להיות מסוגלת לנהל את השיחה הזאת בעברית.
aní rotsá lihyót mesugélet lenahél et hasikhá hazót be'ivrít
I want to be able to conduct this conversation in Hebrew. (f. speaker)
אני מקווה שאוכל לסיים לפני שהילדים חוזרים.
aní mekavé she'ukhál lesayém lifnéi shehayeladím khozrím
I hope I'll be able to finish before the children get back. (m. speaker)
Common Mistakes
1. Ignoring present-tense agreement. יכול is not the English particle can.
❌ היא יכול להחליף משמרת ביום ראשון
Incorrect—the feminine subject היא requires יכולה.
✅ היא יכולה להחליף משמרת ביום ראשון אם זה יעזור לך.
hi yekholá lehakhlíf mishméret beyóm rishón im ze ya'azór lekhá
She can swap shifts on Sunday if that helps you. (to a man)
2. Putting a finite present verb after יכול. The second action normally appears as an infinitive.
❌ אני יכול מסדר את זה אחרי הצהריים
Incorrect—מסדר is finite; after יכול use the infinitive לסדר.
✅ אני יכול לסדר את זה אחרי הצהריים.
aní yakhól lesadér et ze akharéi hatsahoráyim
I can sort that out this afternoon. (m. speaker)
3. Treating אני יוכל as the edited standard. Initial י־ for first-person future is widespread in informal Israeli speech, but edited standard Hebrew keeps the first-person prefix א־. This is a register contrast between two native forms, not evidence that colloquial speakers lack a future tense.
✅ אני אוכל לדבר איתו אחרי הפגישה.
aní ukhál ledabér itó akharéi hapgishá
I'll be able to speak with him after the meeting. (standard, including formal writing)
✅ אני יוכל לדבר איתו אחרי הפגישה.
aní yukhál ledabér itó akharéi hapgishá
I'll be able to speak with him after the meeting. (informal speech; widespread but stigmatized in edited writing)
4. Inventing an everyday infinitive after רוצה. Replace “want to can” with להיות מסוגל or a finite construction.
❌ אני רוצה יכול לענות בלי עזרה
Incorrect—יכול has no ordinary modern infinitive and cannot occupy this slot.
✅ אני רוצה להיות מסוגל לענות בלי עזרה.
aní rotsé lihyót mesugál la'anót bli ezrá
I want to be able to answer without help. (m. speaker)
Key Takeaways
- יכול is an agreeing pa'al verb: יכול, יכולה, יכולים, יכולות.
- Context selects ability, permission, or possibility; יכול להיות ש־ is the common impersonal “it may be that” frame.
- The past is irregular and masculine-singular יָכוֹל looks like the present; the future begins אוּכַל, תּוּכַל, יוּכַל.
- יכול has no productive everyday infinitive or imperative. Use להיות מסוגל or a finite ש־clause.
- Standard first-person future is אני אוכל. Native colloquial אני יוכל is common in speech but stigmatized in edited writing.
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Start learning Hebrew →Related Topics
- יכול: The Verb With No Real FutureB1 — Four cells of one paradigm, built four different ways: a present that inflects like an adjective, a past on the rare פָּעֹל pattern, a future on a u-stem that looks like it came from another binyan, and an infinitive that exists only on paper.
- יכול — can, to be ableA2 — Use the defective verb יכול across its adjective-shaped present, past and u-stem future, and distinguish personal ability from permission and impersonal possibility.
- אפשר or יכול?A2 — Both come out as can in English, and the difference is not strength but whether anybody is named. יכול belongs to a person and agrees with them; אפשר belongs to nobody and never changes shape at all — which is exactly why it is what Israelis say at a till.
- Which Modals Inflect and Which Stay FrozenB1 — Distinguish Hebrew modals that agree with a nominative subject from impersonal frames that stay masculine singular and mark the affected person with ל־.
- Modals in the Past and Future: היה צריך, יהיה אפשרB1 — Place Hebrew modal meanings in past and future time with agreeing forms such as הייתי צריך and impersonal frames such as היה אפשר.