सकना adds the meanings “be able to,” “can,” or “be possible” to another verb. Its architecture is compact: put the main verb's bare stem before a finite form of सकना. The main verb names the action; सकना carries agreement, tense, aspect, and the auxiliary.
Forming the सकना predicate
Remove -ना from the main verb and add सकना: करना → कर सकना, जाना → जा सकना, समझना → समझ सकना. In an ordinary present-tense statement, सकना appears as a habitual participle plus the present copula.
| Controller | Form with कर- | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | कर सकता है | he can do |
| feminine singular | कर सकती है | she can do |
| masculine / mixed plural | कर सकते हैं | they can do |
| feminine plural | कर सकती हैं | they can do |
The actor normally controls the agreement of सकना. The lexical stem does not change.
नेहा तीन भाषाएँ बोल सकती है।
nehā tīn bhāṣāẽ bol saktī hai.
Neha can speak three languages.
हम यह मेज़ अकेले उठा सकते हैं।
ham yah mez akele uṭhā sakte haiṃ.
We can lift this table by ourselves.
मैं आज शाम नहीं आ सकती हूँ।
maĩ āj śām nahīṃ ā saktī hū̃.
I can't come this evening. (female speaker)
In the last example, नहीं normally stands immediately before the verb complex. In casual speech, the final copula can sometimes be dropped after नहीं, but retaining it is the clearest neutral pattern.
Ability, circumstances, and permission
With a person as subject, सकना may describe a learned skill, physical capacity, or circumstances that make an action feasible. Context—not a different conjugation—selects the reading.
क्या आप शनिवार को मिल सकते हैं?
kyā āp śanivār ko mil sakte haiṃ?
Can you meet on Saturday?
अब बच्चा बिना सहारे चल सकता है।
ab baccā binā sahāre cal saktā hai.
The child can now walk without support.
The question about Saturday concerns availability, not the addressee's physical capacity. A request such as क्या आप खिड़की खोल सकते हैं? is conventionally polite, but grammatically it is still a question about ability. Tone and situation turn it into a request. With a first-person subject, the same construction can ask permission.
क्या मैं यहाँ थोड़ी देर बैठ सकता हूँ?
kyā maĩ yahā̃ thoṛī der baiṭh saktā hū̃?
May I sit here for a while? (male speaker)
This is a neutral polite permission question. It does not mean that सकना itself has a special “permission” form.
Possibility without an intentional actor
An inanimate subject often gives सकना a practical or situational possibility reading. The subject still controls agreement.
बारिश में यह सड़क बंद हो सकती है।
bāriś meṃ yah saṛak band ho saktī hai.
This road may be closed in the rain.
यह फ़ाइल मोबाइल से भी भेजी जा सकती है।
yah fāil mobāil se bhī bhejī jā saktī hai.
This file can also be sent from a mobile phone.
The second example combines passive भेजी जा- with सकना. The possibility applies to the whole passive event. In contrast, clause-level हो सकता है कि ... means “it is possible that ...” and introduces a proposition rather than an actor's ability. See possibility and doubt with the subjunctive for that pattern.
Past capacity, actual success, and future ability
The habitual form plus a past copula describes capacity available over a period. It does not by itself claim that the action was completed.
वह बचपन में बहुत तेज़ दौड़ सकता था।
vah bacpan meṃ bahut tez dauṛ saktā thā.
He could run very fast as a child.
The perfective forms सका, सकी, सके, सकीं normally present a bounded occasion and often imply actual success—or, under negation, failure to succeed.
आख़िरकार वह पुराना ताला खोल सका।
āxirkār vah purānā tālā khol sakā.
In the end, he managed to open the old lock.
शोर के कारण मैं पूरी बात सुन नहीं सकी।
śor ke kāraṇ maĩ pūrī bāt sun nahīṃ sakī.
Because of the noise, I couldn't hear the whole thing. (female speaker)
Future ability uses future forms built on सक-. The first-person and third-person endings are the same endings used elsewhere in the future system.
थोड़ी मदद मिले तो हम आज ही काम पूरा कर सकेंगे।
thoṛī madad mile to ham āj hī kām pūrā kar sakẽge.
If we get a little help, we'll be able to finish the work today.
Perfective सकना overlaps with पाना when an attempted action succeeds. Still, सकना is the broad ability modal, whereas पाना more strongly profiles attainment under real circumstances. The सकना versus पाना guide develops that contrast.
Negation and questions
Negation usually precedes the layered verb complex: नहीं + lexical stem + सकना. In speech, सुन नहीं सका and नहीं सुन सका are both natural; placing नहीं next to the element in focus can slightly shift the emphasis. Yes–no questions commonly add क्या at the beginning, although intonation alone can also mark a question (informal).
क्या यह मशीन बिना इंटरनेट के चल सकती है?
kyā yah maśīn binā iṇṭarneṭ ke cal saktī hai?
Can this machine work without the internet?
हम इतनी जल्दी फैसला नहीं कर सकते।
ham itnī jaldī faislā nahīṃ kar sakte.
We can't make a decision this quickly.
The last sentence omits हैं, a common neutral pattern with negative habitual modal predicates. In careful formal prose, including हैं is also possible.
Common Mistakes
Using the infinitive before सकना
❌ मैं आज आना सकता हूँ।
Incorrect — सकना follows the bare verb stem, not the -ना infinitive.
✅ मैं आज आ सकता हूँ।
maĩ āj ā saktā hū̃.
I can come today. (male speaker)
Letting the object control agreement
❌ सीमा भारी बैग उठा सकता है।
Incorrect — masculine सकता does not agree with the feminine actor सीमा.
✅ सीमा भारी बैग उठा सकती है।
sīmā bhārī baig uṭhā saktī hai.
Seema can lift the heavy bag.
Ignoring honorific plural agreement
❌ आप कल आ सकता है?
Incorrect — आप requires honorific plural agreement.
✅ क्या आप कल आ सकते हैं?
kyā āp kal ā sakte haiṃ?
Can you come tomorrow?
Building the future with a second auxiliary
❌ मैं अगले हफ़्ते लौट सकता हूँगा।
Incorrect — future ability is marked on सकना itself.
✅ मैं अगले हफ़्ते लौट सकूँगा।
maĩ agle hafte lauṭ sakū̃gā.
I'll be able to return next week. (male speaker)
Key Takeaways
Use bare verb stem + सकना. सकना carries agreement and tense; the actor usually controls its gender and number. Habitual सकता था describes past capacity, while perfective सका presents a bounded successful opportunity and नहीं सका a failed one. The same modal can express ability, circumstantial possibility, or context-dependent permission, but those readings come from the whole sentence rather than separate forms.
Related Topics
- पाना achieved abilityB1 — Use verbal पाना to present ability as an attained result: managing, succeeding, or getting the opportunity to complete an action.
- Ability-like passive negativesC2 — Use से-marked experiencers with negative passive predicates to express that someone cannot manage, tolerate, or bring themselves to perform an action.
- Subjunctive with possibility and doubtB1 — Express open possibility, uncertainty, and apprehension with Hindi subjunctive patterns without copying English or Spanish mood rules.
- सकना versus पानाB1 — Choose सकना for capacity or feasibility and verb-stem plus पाना when actual attainment under the circumstances is at issue.
- Verb stem plus सकना पाना चुकनाC1 — Choose सकना for capacity, पाना for attained success, and चुकना for an action viewed as already completed.