I can

'S urrainn dhomh

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?