Using Sakna for Ability and Poss

Here is the secret sauce: sakna never hangs out alone. It always needs another verb to hold hands with. But—and this is the big rule—the main verb strips down to its root form. It drops the na (ना) and just chills.

Then, sakna does all the heavy lifting. It changes its outfit (ending) based on who is talking (gender and number). It is actually simpler than English in some ways because the main verb never changes!

1. 1Let's build this like a Lego set.
2. 2Take your subject (I, You, He, She, We...)
3. 3Grab the object (Hindi, food, car...)
4. 4Take the Main Verb Root (Remove na from the infinitive. bolna → bol)
5. 5Add the Sakna form (sakta/sakti/sakte)
6. 6Add the auxiliary verb (hoon, hai, hain, tha...)
7. 7The Formula:
8. 8Subject + Object + [Verb Root] + [sakta/sakti/sakte] + [Auxiliary]

Use this bad boy in three main scenarios:

• Ability: "I can lift this box." (Main yeh dabba utha sakta hoon.)
• Possibility: "It might rain today." (Aaj baarish ho sakti hai.)
• Permission: "Can I go now?" (Kya main ab ja sakta hoon?)

Think of it as the green light in a traffic signal. It means "go," "able to," or "allowed to."

Don't use sakna when you mean you "know how" to do something as a skill, generally speaking.

If you want to say "I can cook" (as in, I possess the skill), Hindi speakers often prefer "Mujhe khana pakana aata hai" (Cooking comes to me). However, saying "Main khana paka sakta hoon" is perfectly grammatically correct—it just emphasizes physical capability or possibility in that moment.

Here is where students trip up. Watch out!

• The Double Conjugation Trap: Learners love to conjugate both verbs.
• *Wrong:* Main bolta sakta hoon. (I speak can.) ❌
• *Right:* Main bol sakta hoon. (I can speak.) ✓

• The Gender Bender: Forgetting to match sakta to the subject.
• If you are a girl, you never "sakta." You always "sakti."

• Sakna vs. Future Tense (ga/ge/gi):
• Future: "Main khaoonga" (I will eat - definite).
• Sakna: "Main kha sakta hoon" (I can eat - potential).

• Sakna vs. Paana:
• You might see paana (to manage to/be able to) used in complex sentences. Sakna is general ability. Paana is often about succeeding in doing something difficult. Keep it simple with sakna for now.

Q: Can I use this for the past tense?

Absolutely. Just change hai to tha. "Main aa sakta tha" (I could have come).

Q: Does the main verb ever change form with sakna?

Nope. It stays in the root form. Forever. Like a statue.

Q: Is sakna formal or informal?

It is neutral! The formality comes from the pronoun you use (tu, tum, or aap) and the matching ending.