אני לא יכולה לדבר עכשיו, כי יש פגישה.

I can't talk now, because there is a meeting.

Breakdown of אני לא יכולה לדבר עכשיו, כי יש פגישה.

• אני: I
• יש: there is
• עכשיו: now
• לא: not

Questions & Answers about אני לא יכולה לדבר עכשיו, כי יש פגישה.

Why is it יכולה and not יכול?

Because יכולה is the feminine singular form of יכול / יכולה = able / can.

Hebrew often shows the speaker’s gender in this kind of sentence:

• אני לא יכולה = I can’t / I am not able to (female speaker)
• אני לא יכול = I can’t / I am not able to (male speaker)

Other forms are:

• יכולים = masculine plural
• יכולות = feminine plural

So this sentence tells you the speaker is female.

Where is the word am? Why doesn’t Hebrew say something like I am not able?

In the present tense, Hebrew usually does not use a separate word for am / is / are.

So:

• אני לא יכולה לדבר
  literally: I not able to speak

That is normal Hebrew. The idea of am is understood even though it is not said.

This happens a lot in Hebrew:

• אני עייפה = I am tired
• הוא בבית = He is at home

Why does לא יכולה mean can’t?