Questions & Answers about אני לא יכולה להגיע לפגישה, כי אני עוד במשרד.
Why is it יכולה and not יכול?
Because the speaker is female.
In Hebrew, the present-tense form of יכול (can / be able to) changes for gender:
- יכול = masculine singular
- יכולה = feminine singular
So:
- a man would say: אני לא יכול להגיע לפגישה
- a woman says: אני לא יכולה להגיע לפגישה
English does not show this difference, but Hebrew usually does.
Why does Hebrew use לא יכולה to mean can’t?
Hebrew often expresses can / can’t with the adjective-like form יכול/יכולה plus an infinitive.
So:
- אני יכולה להגיע = I can get to / I am able to arrive
- אני לא יכולה להגיע = I can’t get to / I’m not able to arrive
Literally, it is something like I am not able to arrive, but in normal English we translate it as I can’t come / I can’t make it.
What does להגיע mean here?
להגיע means to arrive, to get to, or to reach, depending on context.
In this sentence, it means something like:
- to get to the meeting