Я не умею плавать, поэтому не иду в бассейн.

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Breakdown of Я не умею плавать, поэтому не иду в бассейн.

• в: to
• не: not
• идти: to go

Questions & Answers about Я не умею плавать, поэтому не иду в бассейн.

Why is умею used here instead of могу?

Because уметь means to know how to do something / to have a learned skill, while мочь means to be able / can in a broader sense.

• Я не умею плавать = I don't know how to swim / I can't swim because I haven't learned
• Я не могу плавать = I can't swim because of some situation, condition, or limitation

So in this sentence, не умею is the natural choice because the reason for not going to the pool is lack of swimming ability, not a temporary obstacle.

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Why is плавать in the infinitive?

After уметь, Russian normally uses the infinitive:

• уметь читать = to know how to read
• уметь готовить = to know how to cook
• уметь плавать = to know how to swim

So Я не умею плавать literally follows the pattern I do not know-how to swim.

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Why is it плавать and not плыть?