English hides three different ideas inside the tiny words know and can, and Ukrainian keeps them apart with three separate verbs. You know a fact, a language, or a person (зна́ти); you know how to swim or drive — a learned skill (вмі́ти / умі́ти); and you can come tomorrow because nothing stops you — a circumstance or permission (могти́). This is the consolidation page: it gives you a single question that picks the right verb every time, then walks you through six worked cases. For the deep treatment of зна́ти vs вмі́ти see the Knowing page, and for the могти́/вмі́ти split see Can: могти vs вміти; here the job is to make the choice fast and never get it wrong.
The quick answer
Ask one thing: is this knowledge, an acquired skill, or a situational possibility?
| You mean… | Verb | Takes | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| know a fact / info / language / person | зна́ти | accusative / що-clause | зна́ю ві́дповідь, зна́ю мо́ву, зна́ю Оле́ну |
| know how to (a learned skill) | вмі́ти / умі́ти | infinitive | вмі́ю пла́вати, вмі́ю води́ти |
| can / be able / may (circumstance, permission) | могти́ | infinitive | мо́жу прийти́ сього́дні |
The single rule that prevents the worst errors: зна́ти never takes a bare infinitive of a skill. There is no зна́ю пла́вати — swimming is a skill, so it is *вмі́ю пла́вати. And «can» is genuinely two verbs: the stable skill is вмі́ти, the here-and-now possibility is могти́.
зна́ти — facts, information, languages, people
Зна́ти is the broad verb of knowledge. It takes an accusative object or a що-clause (or an indirect question — зна́ю, де…, зна́ю, як…). One verb covers a fact, a language, and a person alike: Ukrainian does not split «know a fact» from «know a person» the way French savoir/connaître does.
Ти зна́єш, котра́ годи́на? Я забу́в годи́нник удо́ма.
Do you know what time it is? I left my watch at home. (Knowledge — indirect question.)
Я до́бре зна́ю Анто́на — ми ра́зом працю́вали ро́ків п’ять.
I know Anton well — we worked together for about five years. (A person — still зна́ти.)
Вона́ зна́є три мо́ви, а четве́рту тепе́р у́чить.
She knows three languages and is now learning a fourth. (A language as knowledge — зна́ти.)
Crucial trap: зна́ти, як + clause ("know how something works / is done") is fine — it is factual — but it is not the same as «know how to do» a skill. "I know how it works" is зна́ю, як воно́ працю́є (a fact); "I know how to do it" is вмі́ю це роби́ти (a skill). English «know how» blurs the line; Ukrainian keeps it visible.
вмі́ти / умі́ти — a learned skill + infinitive
Вмі́ти means you have acquired a skill and retain it — swimming, driving, cooking, reading, dancing. It is almost always followed by an infinitive naming the skill. The в-/у- swap (вмі́ти/умі́ти, вмі́ю/умі́ю) is the regular Ukrainian euphonic alternation, not two verbs.
Я вмі́ю води́ти, але́ на гірськи́х доро́гах нерво́во почува́юся.
I know how to drive, but I feel nervous on mountain roads. (A learned skill — вмі́ти + infinitive.)
Він зо́всім не вмі́є танцюва́ти, зате́ чудо́во співа́є.
He can't dance at all, but he sings wonderfully. (Skill present / absent — вмі́ти.)
Ма́ла вже вмі́є чита́ти — навчи́лася за лі́то.
The little one can already read — she learned over the summer. (An acquired ability — вмі́ти.)
Notice that English «can» in all three sentences is really «know how to» — a skill. That is the signal for вмі́ти, never могти́.
могти́ — situational possibility and permission
Могти́ is «can» in the sense of the circumstances allow it or someone permits it. It is not about a stable skill; it is about this occasion. It takes an infinitive, and its present-tense stress and stem shift are worth memorising: мо́жу, мо́жеш, мо́же, мо́жемо, мо́жете, мо́жуть.
| Person | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | мо́жу | I can / am able |
| ти | мо́жеш | you can (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | мо́же | he / she / it can |
| ми | мо́жемо | we can |
| ви | мо́жете | you can (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | мо́жуть | they can |
Я мо́жу прийти́ сього́дні о ше́стій — у ме́не вже ві́льний ве́чір.
I can come today at six — my evening's free now. (Circumstance allows it — могти́.)
Ви не мо́жете тут паркува́тися, це мі́сце для шви́дкої.
You can't park here, this spot is for the ambulance. (Permission denied — могти́.)
Чи мо́жу я поста́вити одне́ запита́ння?
May I ask one question? (Asking permission — могти́.)
For polite permission, Ukrainian also leans on the impersonal мо́жна: Мо́жна тут сі́сти? "May I sit here?", Мо́жна вас перерва́ти? "May I interrupt you?". Both Чи мо́жу я…? and Мо́жна…? ask permission; Мо́жна is the more frequent, lighter spoken option.
Мо́жна вас на хвили́нку? Тре́ба де́що узго́дити.
May I have you for a minute? There's something to sort out. (Permission — impersonal мо́жна.)
The decisive contrast: вмі́ю пла́вати but сього́дні не мо́жу
Here is where English «can» splits cleanly into two Ukrainian verbs. You can have the skill (вмі́ти) and yet not be able to use it right now (не могти́) — and Ukrainian states both halves with different verbs:
Я вмі́ю пла́вати, але́ сього́дні не мо́жу — заши́ли но́гу.
I know how to swim, but I can't today — I've had stitches in my leg. (Skill вмі́ю vs circumstance не мо́жу.)
Вона́ вмі́є чудо́во готува́ти, та за́раз не мо́же — зла́мана рука́.
She's a wonderful cook, but right now she can't — a broken arm. (Stable skill vs blocked circumstance.)
So «I can swim» is ambiguous in English and unambiguous in Ukrainian: as a permanent ability it is вмі́ю пла́вати; as «I'm able to swim across now» it is мо́жу перепливти́. Likewise «I can speak Ukrainian» as a skill is вмі́ю розмовля́ти / simply говорю́ украї́нською, while «Can I speak (now)?» asking permission is Чи мо́жу я сказа́ти?.
Six worked cases — decide before you check
Cover the right column. For each, ask: knowledge → зна́ти; learned skill ("know how to") → вмі́ти; situational possibility / permission → могти́ / мо́жна.
| Sentence (English) | Cue | Verb |
|---|---|---|
| "I know him" | a person = knowledge | зна́ю |
| "I know how to drive" | learned skill | вмі́ю води́ти |
| "I can come tomorrow" | circumstance allows | мо́жу прийти́ |
| "I can swim, but not today" | skill vs blocked now | вмі́ю пла́вати, але́ не мо́жу |
| "Can I sit here?" | asking permission | Мо́жна / Чи мо́жу я сі́сти? |
| "I know that he's coming" | a fact (що-clause) | зна́ю, що |
Two of these are the classic confusions. "I know how to drive" is a skill → вмі́ю води́ти, never зна́ю води́ти. And *"I can come tomorrow" is a circumstance, not a skill → мо́жу прийти́, never *вмі́ю прийти́ (coming is not a learned skill). Mixing these two — using вмі́ти for an occasion or могти́ for an ability — is the single most common B1 error here.
Source-language comparison
For an English speaker, the friction is that English overloads know and can. Know covers both facts (which Ukrainian gives to зна́ти) and the skill sense hidden inside «know how to» (which Ukrainian gives to вмі́ти). And can covers both the learned ability «I can swim» (вмі́ти) and the situational «I can come» / «may I» (могти́ / мо́жна). The discipline: never translate «know» or «can» on reflex. First decide — fact? skill? occasion? — and the verb follows. The two errors English speakers make most are *зна́ю пла́вати (skill mistakenly given to зна́ти) and using могти́ for a permanent ability instead of вмі́ти.
For a Russian speaker, the framework transfers (знать / уме́ть / мочь), so the concepts are familiar; the work is the forms. Watch вмі́ти / умі́ти with its в/у alternation (not уме́ть), the stress in могти́ → мо́жу, and the very high-frequency impersonal мо́жна for permission, which you should reach for far more readily than any Russian instinct suggests.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я зна́ю води́ти маши́ну.
Incorrect — driving is a learned skill, so вмі́ти + infinitive: я вмі́ю води́ти маши́ну. (зна́ти cannot take a skill infinitive.)
✅ Я вмі́ю води́ти маши́ну.
I know how to drive a car — вмі́ти + infinitive.
❌ Я вмі́ю прийти́ за́втра.
Incorrect — coming tomorrow is a circumstance, not a learned skill: я мо́жу прийти́ за́втра. (вмі́ти is only for acquired skills.)
✅ Я мо́жу прийти́ за́втра.
I can come tomorrow — могти́, the circumstantial 'can'.
❌ Ти мо́жеш пла́вати? (asking whether someone has the skill)
To ask about a learned ability, use вмі́ти: Ти вмі́єш пла́вати? (мо́жеш пла́вати asks whether you're able to swim right now, e.g. the water's safe.)
✅ Ти вмі́єш пла́вати?
Do you know how to swim? — вмі́ти, the skill 'can'.
❌ Чи зна́ю я тут сі́сти?
Wrong verb for permission — use могти́ / мо́жна: Чи мо́жу я тут сі́сти? / Мо́жна тут сі́сти? (зна́ти is for knowledge, not permission.)
✅ Мо́жна тут сі́сти?
May I sit here? — мо́жна / могти́ for permission.
❌ Я мо́жу англі́йську.
Incomplete — могти́ needs an infinitive, and 'know a language' is anyway зна́ти: Я зна́ю англі́йську. (Or, as a speaking skill, говорю́ англі́йською.)
✅ Я зна́ю англі́йську.
I know English — зна́ти + accusative for a language.
Key Takeaways
- One question decides all three: knowledge → зна́ти; learned skill ('know how to') → вмі́ти; situational possibility / permission → могти́ / мо́жна.
- зна́ти takes an accusative or a що-clause and never a bare skill infinitive — зна́ю пла́вати is wrong; the skill is *вмі́ю пла́вати.
- вмі́ти / умі́ти
- infinitive is the stable, learned «can»; могти́
- infinitive is the «able right now / allowed» «can».
- infinitive is the stable, learned «can»; могти́
- English «I can swim» splits: ability = вмі́ю пла́вати; «able to swim across now» = мо́жу перепливти́.
- For permission, prefer the impersonal мо́жна (Мо́жна тут сі́сти?) alongside Чи мо́жу я…?.
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- Knowing: Знати vs Вміти vs УявлятиB1 — English splits across three Ukrainian verbs: зна́ти is for facts, information and people (зна́ю мо́ву, зна́ю Оле́ну, зна́ю, що…) — Ukrainian does NOT split 'know a fact' from 'know a person' the way savoir/connaître does; вмі́ти/умі́ти is for a learned SKILL plus an infinitive (вмі́ю пла́вати); and уявля́ти is 'to imagine, picture' (уявля́ю собі́), so 'I know how to drive' is вмі́ю, not зна́ю.
- Can: Могти vs Вміти/УмітиA2 — English 'can' splits in two: могти́ (мо́жу, мо́жеш) is situational possibility, ability-in-the-moment and permission (Я мо́жу прийти́ за́втра), while вмі́ти/умі́ти (вмі́ю, вмі́єш) is a LEARNED skill, 'know how to' (Я вмі́ю пла́вати) — so 'I can swim' as a skill is вмі́ю, but 'I can swim today' as a circumstance is мо́жу.
- Знати (to know)A1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for зна́ти 'to know' — the perfectly regular vowel-stem first-conjugation verb (зна́ю, зна́єш, зна́є…). It covers knowing FACTS, knowing PEOPLE, and a що-clause, and must be kept apart from умі́ти 'to know how / be able' for skills. зна́ти is imperfectiva tantum: the perfectives узна́ти / дізна́тися mean 'find out, come to know,' a different event. Includes the past знав / зна́ла, all three futures, the imperative знай, and the case government (direct accusative object).
- Могти (can / be able)A1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for могти́ 'can, be able' — the workhorse modal of circumstantial possibility and permission. Covers the present мо́жу / мо́жеш / мо́же / мо́жемо / мо́жете / мо́жуть (with the г→ж mutation that runs through the WHOLE present, not just the 1sg), the о/і past міг / могла́ / могло́ / могли́, the perfective змогти́ that supplies the simple future (зможу́, змо́жеш), and the crucial split between могти́ 'can (in the circumstances / be allowed)' and вмі́ти 'know how to (a learned skill)'.
- The Infinitive (-ти / -ть)A1 — The infinitive (неозна́чена фо́рма) is the dictionary form of a Ukrainian verb, ending in standard -ти (чита́ти, говори́ти, бу́ти) with a colloquial/poetic variant -ть. It carries aspect, so 'to read' splits into чита́ти (process) and прочита́ти (read through), and it follows modal and phase verbs (хо́чу чита́ти, тре́ба йти) and builds both futures.
- Expressing Modality: OverviewA2 — Ukrainian has no one-word modal auxiliaries like English can/must/should — it distributes modality across verbs and predicatives, most with a DATIVE experiencer. Ability splits: могти́ 'can (circumstantial)' (можу́, мо́жеш) vs вмі́ти 'know how to (a skill)' (вмі́ю пла́вати). Necessity has degrees: тре́ба + dative + infinitive (Мені́ тре́ба йти), му́сити 'must/be compelled' (му́шу йти), пови́нен/пови́нна 'ought' (agreeing adjective: я пови́нен, вона́ пови́нна), слід 'should'. Permission: мо́жна (Мо́жна вві́йти?), не мо́жна. Desire: хоті́ти 'want' (хо́чу), хоті́тися (impersonal Мені́ хо́четься). The key insight: English 'can' splits into могти́ vs вмі́ти, and 'must' splits into тре́ба, му́сити, and пови́нен.