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'S urrainn dhomh

I can

Watch as Joy explains more about some of the words and phrases we saw and heard in the conversation.

To state that you can do something, you say:

‘S urrainn dhomh… I can. ‘S urrainn dhomh…

For example, if you can swim, you would say:

‘S urrainn dhomh/snàmh. I can swim. ‘S urrainn dhomh snàmh.

We use ‘s urrainn to say ‘can’, dhomh, for me, because we’re saying something like ‘It’s an ability to me’. ‘S urrainn dhomh, I can.

But if you want to say ‘You can’ It’s an ability ‘to you’, we use dhut, for you, dhut. ‘S urrainn dhut, you can. ‘S urrainn dhut.

To ask someone a Can you? question, we do that using the phrase:

An urrainn dhut …? Can you? An urrainn dhut?

So if you want to ask if he or she can sing, you say:

An urrainn dhut seinn?  Can you sing?  An urrainn dhut seinn?

And if you have to admit that you can’t?

Chan urrainn dhomh seinn. I can’t sing. Chan urrainn dhomh seinn.

You can use this phrase in other day‑to day situations as well:

An urrainn dhut/tighinn a‑màireach?  Can you come tomorrow?  An urrainn dhut tighinn a‑màireach?

And to reply to that question if you can go:

Is urrainn dhomh a bhith ann/aig ochd uairean.

I can be there at eight o’clock. Is urrainn dhomh a bhith ann aig ochd uairean.

If you’re asking about somebody else, we use

An urrainn dha…? if we’re referring to a male,

‘Can he?’… An urrainn dha?

And if you’re asking ‘Can she?, we use

An urrainn dhi…? Can she, an urrainn dhi?

An urrainn dha and an urrainn dhi?