Learn Hardcore Russian: Я не могу терпеть громкую музыку вечером. - I cannot stand loud music in the evening.

Я не выношу громкую музыку вечером. – I can’t stand loud music in the evenings.
Я терпеть не могу громкую музыку вечером. – Same meaning as the original, just different word order for emphasis.

The pattern "не могу терпеть" is a very natural and common way to say I can’t stand in Russian.

Why is "терпеть" in the infinitive form after "могу"?

In Russian, when you use мочь (can, to be able to), it is followed by an infinitive:

Я могу читать. – I can read.
Он не может говорить. – He can’t speak.
Мы можем помочь. – We can help.

So:

Я не могу терпеть
= I cannot (не могу) tolerate (терпеть).

Using a conjugated form like терплю after могу would be ungrammatical:

✗ Я не могу терплю громкую музыку. – incorrect
✓ Я не могу терпеть громкую музыку. – correct

What case is "громкую музыку", and why those endings -ую and -у?

"громкую музыку" is in the accusative case, because it is the direct object of the verb терпеть (to tolerate, endure).

терпеть кого? что? → takes the accusative

Breakdown:

музыка – nominative singular (dictionary form)
музыку – accusative singular (feminine noun, ends in -а → -у)
громкая – nominative feminine singular adjective
громкую – accusative feminine singular adjective

Adjectives must agree with the noun in:

gender → feminine
number → singular
case → accusative

So you get:

громкую музыку – loud music (as a direct object)

Could the word order be "терпеть громкую музыку" or "громкую терпеть музыку" instead?

In your sentence, "терпеть громкую музыку" is already the natural order:

verb (терпеть) + object (громкую музыку).

You could change the order inside the noun phrase:

терпеть музыку громкую вечером – grammatically possible, but sounds poetic, unusual, or strongly emphatic.
Normal everyday Russian strongly prefers "громкую музыку" (adjective before noun).

You cannot split the verb and its object in a random way like this:

✗ Я не могу громкую терпеть музыку вечером. – very awkward / unnatural.

So the standard, neutral order is:

Я не могу терпеть громкую музыку вечером.

What does "вечером" literally mean, and why not say "в вечер"?

"вечером" is originally the instrumental singular form of вечер (evening), but it is used very often with a time meaning:

вечером = in the evening, in the evenings, at nightfall, depending on context.

Russian frequently uses the instrumental like this to express “at that time of day”:

утром – in the morning
днём – in the daytime
вечером – in the evening
ночью – at night (this one is an old instrumental form)

So:

Я не могу терпеть громкую музыку вечером.
= I can’t stand loud music in the evening(s).

You do not normally say:

✗ в вечер – this sounds wrong in modern Russian in this sense.
You might say к вечеру (towards evening), but that’s a different meaning.

Could I move "вечером" to the beginning or earlier in the sentence?

Yes. Russian word order is quite flexible for adverbs of time. All of these are grammatically correct; they just differ slightly in emphasis:

Вечером я не могу терпеть громкую музыку.
– In the evening, I can’t stand loud music. (emphasis on "in the evening")
Я вечером не могу терпеть громкую музыку.
– similar meaning; mild emphasis that this problem is specifically in the evening.
Я не могу вечером терпеть громкую музыку.
– also possible; emphasizes the "in the evening" part of the not being able.

The original:

Я не могу терпеть громкую музыку вечером.
– sounds very neutral, with a slight focus on “loud music in the evening” as a whole.

Is "не" negating "могу" or "терпеть"? Could we say "я могу не терпеть громкую музыку вечером"?

In your sentence, "не" clearly negates "могу":

Я не могу терпеть громкую музыку вечером.
= I can’t stand loud music in the evening.
(I lack the ability / tolerance.)

If you change it to:

Я могу не терпеть громкую музыку вечером.

Then "не" negates "терпеть", and the meaning changes to something like:

I’m allowed to not tolerate loud music in the evening.
I have the option of not putting up with loud music in the evening.

This sounds a bit odd in everyday speech, because people rarely state that they are allowed not to tolerate it. The normal way to say I can’t stand it is exactly:

Я терпеть не могу громкую музыку вечером.
Я не могу терпеть громкую музыку вечером.

Why "громкую музыку" and not "громкая музыка"? How do I know which adjective ending to use?

"громкая музыка" is nominative (used for the subject):

Громкая музыка мешает мне. – Loud music bothers me.
(Here, loud music is the subject.)

"громкую музыку" is accusative (used for the direct object):

Я не могу терпеть громкую музыку.
– I can’t stand loud music.
(loud music is what you can’t stand → direct object.)

Adjectives must match the noun in:

gender: feminine
number: singular
case: accusative

So:

nominative: громкая музыка
accusative: громкую музыку

To choose the ending, you first ask:
“What is the function of this noun in the sentence?”
If it’s a direct object of терпеть, you need the accusative form.

Could we use a different verb, like "не выношу" or "ненавижу"? How do they differ from "не могу терпеть"?

Yes, you can use other verbs, but they have slightly different nuances:

Я не могу терпеть громкую музыку вечером.
– Literally: I cannot tolerate loud music in the evening.
– Strong dislike, often with a sense of “I just can’t put up with it.”
Я терпеть не могу громкую музыку вечером.
– Same meaning, but this word order sounds even more emotionally strong and idiomatic.
– Very common way to say I really can’t stand loud music in the evening.
Я не выношу громкую музыку вечером.
– I can’t bear / can’t stand loud music in the evening.
– Very close in meaning; perhaps slightly more emotional.
Я ненавижу громкую музыку вечером.
– I hate loud music in the evening.
– Stronger emotionally; expresses hate, not just lack of tolerance.

All are correct; не могу терпеть / терпеть не могу and не выношу are probably the most natural equivalents of English can’t stand.

Why is "терпеть" (imperfective) used here and not a perfective form like "стерпеть", "потерпеть"?

In this sentence, we are talking about a general, repeated, or ongoing inability:

In general, I can’t stand loud music in the evenings.

For general statements, habits, or repeated situations, Russian uses the imperfective aspect:

терпеть – to endure, to tolerate (imperfective).

Perfective verbs like:

стерпеть, вытерпеть, потерпеть

normally refer to a single, limited event:

Я не могу стерпеть эту боль. – I can’t (manage to) endure this pain (this time).
Я не могу вытерпеть этот шум. – I can’t endure this particular noise now.

But when you’re expressing a general dislike / inability in principle, you almost always use the imperfective:

Я не могу терпеть громкую музыку вечером. – in general, I cannot stand it.