मैं आज नहीं आ सकती, और मेरी बहन भी नहीं आ सकती।

I cannot come today, and my sister cannot come either.

Breakdown of मैं आज नहीं आ सकती, और मेरी बहन भी नहीं आ सकती।

• मैं: I
• होना: to be
• मेरा: my
• बहन: sister

Questions & Answers about मैं आज नहीं आ सकती, और मेरी बहन भी नहीं आ सकती।

Why is it सकती and not सकता in मैं आज नहीं आ सकती?

Because सकती is the feminine form. The speaker is understood to be female.

With सकना (to be able to / can), the form agrees with the subject:

• मैं ... आ सकता हूँ = I can come. (male speaker)
• मैं ... आ सकती हूँ = I can come. (female speaker)

In your sentence, मैं ... आ सकती shows a female speaker, and बहन ... आ सकती is also feminine because बहन is feminine.

Why do we say आ सकती and not आना सकती?

Because after a modal verb like सकना, Hindi uses the verb stem, not the infinitive.

So:

• आना = to come
• आ = come (stem used before another verb such as *सकना)*

That is why:

• आ सकती = can come
• जा सकता = can go
• कर सकती = can do

So आना सकती is not correct.

Where does नहीं go, and why is it before आ सकती?

In a neutral Hindi sentence, नहीं usually comes before the verb phrase it negates.

So: