Ability and Possibility

Ability and possibility in Persian

In this chapter you learn how to say that something is possible or impossible, and how to talk about what someone can or cannot do. You already know basic present and past; here we focus on the special structures that express ability and possibility in a more natural and nuanced B1 way.

Lexical vs grammatical ways to say “can”

Persian uses two main strategies to express ability and possibility.

1. A lexical verb that itself contains the meaning of “can,” especially:
   توانستن /tavânestan/ “to be able (to), can”
2. A combination of another verb with an adverb or expression of possibility, such as:
   می‌شود /mi‑šavad/, میشه /miše/ “it is possible”
   ممکن است /momken ast/ “it is possible”
   می‌توان /mi‑tavân/ “one can, it is possible to”

You will see that Persian often prefers impersonal sentences like “it is possible that …” instead of “I can …,” especially in formal style.

Ability with توانستن in present and past

The main verb for personal ability is توانستن /tavânestan/. Its present-stem is توان /tavân/. In everyday speech, the verb is usually used in the present or past, combined with a second verb in the short infinitive form.

Present indicative of توانستن (spoken forms in parentheses):

من می‌توانم (می‌تونم)
تو می‌توانی (می‌تونی)
او می‌تواند (می‌تونه)
ما می‌توانیم (می‌تونیم)
شما می‌توانید (می‌تونید)
آنها می‌توانند (می‌تونن)

The second verb always comes in the infinitive form, without می:

من می‌توانم فارسی صحبت کنم.
man mi‑tavânam fârsi sohbat konam.
“I can speak Persian.”

تو می‌تونی رانندگی کنی؟
to mi‑tuni rânandegi koni?
“Can you drive?”

Common present‑time patterns:

من می‌تونم کمکت کنم.
“I can help you.”

ما نمی‌تونیم بیایم.
“We cannot come.”

For past ability, the simple past of توانستن is used, again followed by a second verb:

من توانستم (تونستم) بیایم.
man tavânestam (tunestam) biyâm.
“I was able to come / I managed to come.”

او نتوانست (نتونست) امتحان را پاس کند.
u natavânest (natunest) emtehân râ pâs konad.
“He could not pass the exam / failed to pass.”

Pay attention that past توانستن often means “managed to” or “succeeded in,” not just “had the ability.”

Negation of ability

Negation is formed by adding نا /na/ to the verb توانستن in written style, or just using the negative prefix نـ /na/ in the conjugated form in speech.

Written:

من نمی‌توانم بیایم.
“I cannot come.”

او نمی‌تواند شنا کند.
“She cannot swim.”

Spoken:

من نمی‌تونم بیام.
“I can’t come.”

اون نمی‌تونه شنا کنه.
“He can’t swim.”

In the past:

من نتوانستم (نتونستم) در امتحان شرکت کنم.
“I could not take part in the exam.”

تو نتونستی شماره‌ام را پیدا کنی؟
“You couldn’t find my number?”

“Can I…?” vs “Is it possible that I…?”

For polite or formal questions about permission or possibility, Persian often prefers an impersonal structure with “is it possible” instead of a direct “can I.”

Two very common patterns are:

می‌شود که …؟ (formal)
می‌شه که …؟ (spoken)
“Is it possible that … ?”

می‌توانم …؟ (می‌تونم …؟ in speech)
“Can I … ?” (still quite polite, especially in written or careful speech)

Compare:

می‌توانم اینجا بنشینم؟
mi‑tavânam injâ benšinam?
“May I sit here? / Can I sit here?” (formal or neutral)

می‌شه اینجا بشینم؟
miše injâ bešinam?
“Can I sit here?” (spoken, polite but more casual)

می‌شه که فردا بیام؟
miše ke fardâ biyâm?
“Is it possible that I come tomorrow?”

Notice that after می‌شود / می‌شه you normally use the subjunctive: بروم, بیایم, بخورم, بخرم, and so on. You already know the form of the subjunctive from earlier units; here you focus on how it combines with these modal expressions.

General possibility with می‌شود and می‌توان

To say that something is generally possible, Persian often uses an impersonal construction with می‌شود or می‌توان.

می‌شود + [clause]
“It is possible (that) …”

این کار می‌شود.
“This work is possible / This can be done.”

در این شهر می‌شود تا دیر وقت بیرون بود.
“In this city it is possible to stay out late.”

More explicit alternatives:

امکان دارد که …
emkân dârad ke …
“It may be that … / It is possible that …”

ممکن است که …
momken ast ke …
“It is possible that … / Maybe …”

در زمستان ممکن است که روزها خیلی سرد باشد.
“In winter it is possible that the days are very cold.”

امکان دارد که او امروز نیاید.
“It is possible that he will not come today.”

A more formal alternative uses می‌توان in an impersonal way:

می‌توان گفت که …
“One can say that … / It can be said that …”

می‌توان گفت که فارسی برای انگلیسی‌زبان‌ها چندان سخت نیست.
“One can say that Persian is not very difficult for English speakers.”

در این کتاب می‌توان اطلاعات خوبی پیدا کرد.
“In this book, one can find good information.”

In these sentences, there is no specific subject like “I” or “you”. The meaning is general, similar to English “one can” or “it is possible to.”

Possibility vs permission vs ability

At B1, it is important to feel the difference between “can” as ability, “can” as permission, and “can/may” as external possibility.

Ability (inner capacity, skill):

او می‌تواند سه زبان صحبت کند.
“He can speak three languages.” (ability)

من نمی‌توانم این کلمه را تلفظ کنم.
“I cannot pronounce this word.” (physical or mental difficulty)

Permission (allowed / not allowed), usually in context:

اینجا می‌توانم سیگار بکشم؟
“Can I smoke here?” (am I allowed?)

محوطه‌ی دانشگاه، سیگار کشیدن ممنوع است. نمی‌تونید اینجا سیگار بکشید.
“In the university area smoking is forbidden. You cannot smoke here.” (no permission)

External possibility (conditions, circumstances):

فردا می‌شود رفت کوه.
“Tomorrow it is possible to go to the mountain.” (the weather or schedule allows it)

بخاطر ترافیک، ممکن نیست سرِ وقت برسم.
“Because of the traffic, it is not possible for me to arrive on time.”

In spoken Persian, context usually makes the meaning clear. Still, when you want to be precise or polite, using expressions like ممکن است, امکان دارد, اجازه دارم can help.

Objective vs subjective possibility

Persian, like English, distinguishes between more objective and more subjective possibility.

Objective possibility, where conditions in the world allow or do not allow something, often uses:

می‌شود / نمی‌شود
ممکن است / ممکن نیست
امکان دارد / امکان ندارد

مثال:
امروز ممکن نیست که جلسه را برگزار کنیم.
“Today it is not possible to hold the meeting.”
(The conditions do not allow it)

اینجا نمی‌شود پارک کرد.
“It is not possible to park here.”
(There is no space, or it is forbidden)

Subjective possibility, where the speaker is guessing, often uses:

شاید …
“maybe, perhaps”

شاید او خسته باشد.
“Maybe he is tired.”

اما:
ممکن است او خسته باشد.
“It is possible that he is tired.”
(More formal or careful, sometimes more neutral than شاید)

You will see more about شاید in other chapters; here, note that it is another common way to express possibility.

“Could” and “was able to” in narratives

In stories and descriptions of the past, you often need to say that someone “could” do something at that time. Persian mostly uses the past of توانستن for real ability and “managed to.”

وقتی بچه بودم، نمی‌توانستم خوب بخوانم.
“When I was a child, I could not read well.”

بعد از چند سال، توانستم کار خوبی پیدا کنم.
“After a few years, I was able to find a good job.”
(“I managed to find a good job.”)

For general past ability that existed over a period of time, you can also use می‌توانست / می‌تونست, the past continuous form:

او وقتی جوان‌تر بود، خیلی خوب فوتبال بازی می‌کرد و می‌توانست سریع بدود.
“When he was younger, he played football very well and could run fast.”

نمی‌تونستم بفهمم چی می‌گن.
“I couldn’t understand what they were saying.”
(Repeated or ongoing difficulty)

The pattern is the same: past of توانستن + second verb in subjunctive or infinitive-like form.

Strong and weak possibility

To nuance your speech, you can choose among several expressions that show different degrees of possibility.

Strong possibility or near certainty:

احتمالاً …
ehtemâlan …
“probably”

به احتمال زیاد …
be ehtemâl‑e ziyâd …
“most probably”

ممکنه که دیر برسم، ولی سعی می‌کنم نه.
“It may be that I arrive late, but I try not to.”

Weak possibility:

شاید …
“maybe”

یک کمی ممکن است که …
“There is a small chance that …”

Formal neutral possibility:

ممکن است که …
امکان دارد که …

In many of these, the verb that follows is in the subjunctive:

احتمالاً فردا بیاید.
“He will probably come tomorrow.”

ممکن است که باران بیاید.
“It is possible that it will rain.”

You do not need to memorize every shade of meaning, but knowing which expressions sound “stronger” or “weaker” will help your comprehension.

Expressing “can’t” as impossibility

Besides simple negation of توانستن, Persian often uses expressions that literally mean “it is not possible” to express a strong “cannot.”

ممکن نیست که …
“It is impossible that … / It cannot be that …”

امکان ندارد که …
“It is impossible that …”

این حرف نمی‌تواند درست باشد.
“This statement cannot be true.”

ممکن نیست که او این کار را کرده باشد.
“It is impossible that he has done this.”

امکان ندارد که الان برسیم.
“It is impossible for us to arrive now.”

These are especially common when you are refusing to believe something, or when objective conditions make it impossible.

Ability related to conditions

Modal meaning often depends on conditions introduced by phrases such as “if” or “when.” Even though conditional sentences belong to a later level, you can already understand simple patterns like:

اگر وقت داشته باشم، می‌توانم کمکت کنم.
“If I have time, I can help you.”

اگر پول نداشته باشیم، نمی‌توانیم سفر برویم.
“If we do not have money, we cannot travel.”

در این صورت می‌شود که پروژه را زودتر تمام کنیم.
“In this case, it is possible to finish the project earlier.”

Here, توانستن, می‌شود, and ممکن است connect the action to a condition, not only to pure ability.

Spoken vs written style

At B1 you should recognize the difference between more written / formal modal expressions and colloquial ones. The meaning is similar, but the register changes.

Formal or written:

می‌توانم / می‌توانی / می‌تواند
نمی‌توانم / نمی‌تواند
توانستم / نتوانستم
می‌شود که …
ممکن است که …
امکان دارد که …

Colloquial:

می‌تونم / می‌تونی / می‌تونه
نمی‌تونم / نمی‌تونه
تونستم / نتونستم
می‌شه که … / می‌شه …؟
ممکنه که …
می‌شه رفت.
“It’s possible to go.” / “We can go.”

Both types are important. You will see the formal forms in books, news, and official speech, and the spoken forms in everyday conversations, films, and series.

Vocabulary list for this chapter