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### Expressing Ability: Being able to (توانستن)

To express that you can or are able to do something, use the verb **توانستن** (to be able to). Just like with expressing desires, you must conjugate **توانستن** to match the subject, and put the main action verb that follows into the **present subjunctive**.

| Pronoun | Verb | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| من | می‌توانم | I can |
| تو | می‌توانی | You (sing.) can |
| او | می‌تواند | He/she can |
| ما | می‌توانیم | We can |
| شما | می‌توانید | You (pl./form.) can |
| آنها | می‌توانند | They can |

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Notice how with compound verbs, like **تعمیر کردن** (to repair) or **رانندگی کردن** (to drive), only the final verbal part takes the subjunctive form.

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### Negation

To say that you *cannot* do something, negate the conjugated form of **توانستن** by changing the **میـ** prefix to **نمیـ** (e.g., **نمی‌توانم**). The main action verb remains in the subjunctive.

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### Asking Questions

To ask someone about their skills or abilities, conjugate **توانستن** for the person you are asking.

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Being able to do something (tavânestan)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prefix

preposition

pronoun

sentence

suffix

verb

Singular pronouns and copula (man, -am)

Plural pronouns and copula (mâ, -im)

Subject pronoun omission

Singular demonstratives (in, ân)

Plural demonstratives (inhâ, ânhâ)

Independent copula (hastam, hast)

Negative present copula (nistam, nist)

Yes/No questions (âyâ)

Regular plurals (-hâ)

Animate plurals (-ân)

Indefiniteness (yek)

Indefinite marker (-i)

Describing nouns (-e / -ye)

Possession (-e / -ye)

Singular possessives (-am, -at, -ash)

Plural possessives (-emân, -etân, -eshân)

Basic prepositions (dar, be, az, bâ)

Spatial prepositions (ru-ye, zir-e...)

Numbers 1 to 10 (yek, do, se...)

Numbers and singular nouns

Numbers 11 to 20 (yâzdah, davâzdah...)

Counting by tens to 100

Telling time (sâ'at)

The verb to have (dâram)

Negative to have (nadâram)

Basic word order (SOV)

Infinitives and present stems (-an)

Present indicative (mi-)

Negative present indicative (nemi-)

Compound verbs

Question words (che, kojâ)

How many (chand)

The definite object marker (râ)

Object pronouns (man râ, to râ)

Singular commands (be-)

Formal and plural commands (be- ... -id)

Negative commands (na-)

The present subjunctive (be-)

The negative present subjunctive (na-)

Must (bâyad)

Might (shâyad)

Wanting to do something (khâstan)

Forming the past stem

The simple past of to be (budan)

The simple past tense

Negative simple past (na-)

Attached object pronouns on verbs (-am, -at, -ash)

Comparative adjectives (-tar)

Basic conjunctions (va, ammâ, yâ)

Giving reasons (chon)

Adverbs of frequency and degree (hamishe, hargez, kheyli, kam)

Everyday actions (kâr kardan, bâz kardan)

Non-human plural subjects

Indefinite pronouns (kasi, chizi, jâyi)

Negative indefinite pronouns (hich-kas, hich-chiz, hich-jâ)

Reciprocal pronouns (hamdigar, yekdigar)

Reflexive pronouns (khod-)

Reflexive direct objects (khod râ)

Emphatic pronouns (khod)

The quantifier every (har)

The quantifier all (hame)

The quantifier some (ba'zi)

Another and other (-i digar)

Which (kodâm)

How much (cheghadr)

Comparisons of equality (mesl-e)

Superlative adjectives (-tarin)

Irregular comparatives and superlatives

Ordinal numbers (-om)

Pre-nominal ordinal numbers (-omin)

Fractions and percentages

Prepositions of theme (dar mored-e)

Prepositions of time (ghabl az, ba'd az)

Preposition of exclusion (bedun-e)

Resultative conjunctions (banâbarin, pas)

Hortative construction (biyâ, biyâyid)

The present progressive tense (dâram mi-)

The past continuous tense (mi-)

Negative past continuous (ne-mi-)

Past continuous of to have (dâshtam)

The past progressive tense (dâshtam mi-)

The past participle (-e)

Present perfect tense (-e-am, -e-ast)

Negative present perfect (na-)

Present perfect of compound verbs

Question	Answer
well / good	خوبkhub
to drive	رانندگی کردنrânandegi kardan
I can drive well.	من می‌توانم خوب رانندگی کنم.man mitavânam khub rânandegi konam.
The driver must drive well.	راننده باید خوب رانندگی کند.rânande bâyad khub rânandegi konad.
to repair	تعمیر کردنta'mir kardan
The mechanic can repair my car.	مکانیک می‌تواند ماشین من را تعمیر کند.mekânik mitavânad mâshin man râ ta'mir konad.
Can you repair this laptop?	آیا می‌توانی این لپ‌تاپ را تعمیر کنی؟âyâ mitavâni in lap-tâp râ ta'mir koni?
to translate	ترجمه کردنtarjome kardan
We can translate this book into Persian.	ما می‌توانیم این کتاب را به فارسی ترجمه کنیم.mâ mitavânim in ketâb râ be fârsi tarjome konim.
My sister cannot translate this letter.	خواهر من نمی‌تواند این نامه را ترجمه کند.khâhar-e man nemitavânad in nâme râ tarjome konad.
to dance	رقصیدنraghsidan
to sing	آواز خواندنâvâz khândan
They can dance and sing well.	آنها می‌توانند خوب برقصند و آواز بخوانند.ânhâ mitavânand khub beraqsand va âvâz bekhânand.
We cannot dance in the hospital.	ما نمی‌توانیم در بیمارستان برقصیم.mâ nemitavânim dar bimârestân beraghsim.
Please sing!	لطفاً آواز بخوان!lotfan âvâz bekhân!
to solve	حل کردنhal kardan
The teacher can solve this problem.	معلم می‌تواند این مشکل را حل کند.mo'allem mitavânad in moshkel râ hall konad.
You cannot solve this problem alone.	شما نمی‌توانید این مشکل را تنها حل کنید.shomâ nemitavânid in moshkel râ tanhâ hall konid.
to draw / to paint	نقاشی کشیدنnaghghâshi keshidan
This child can draw.	این بچه می‌تواند نقاشی بکشد.in bacheh mitavânad naqqâshi bekeshad.
They can invite me to the party.	آنها می‌توانند من را به مهمانی دعوت کنند.ânhâ mitavânand man râ be mehmâni da'vat konand.
guitar	گیتارgitâr
to hit / to play (an instrument) / to apply (a coating) / to put on (a tie/accessory)	زدنzadan
My brother can play the guitar.	برادر من می‌تواند گیتار بزند.barâdar-e man mitavânad gitâr bezanad.
Please play the guitar for us!	لطفاً برای ما گیتار بزن!lotfan barâye mâ gitâr bezan!
She can draw very well.	او می‌تواند خیلی خوب نقاشی بکشد.u mitavânad kheyli khub naghghâshi bekeshad.
to know how to, to know (a language)	بلد بودنbalad budan
I know Persian.	من فارسی بلد هستم.man fârsi balad hastam.
My sister knows English.	خواهر من انگلیسی بلد است.khâhar-e man engelisi balad ast.

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