أَسْتَطِيعُbe able

Example sentences

• قَالَ لَا أَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ أَقُولَهَا

  He said, "I cannot say it."

  أَسْتَطِيعُ — I can. A first-person present verb, 'I am able', with the 'I' in its prefix. Under the negator before it, the ability is denied. It takes the 'to...' clause after it as what he cannot do, so it heads a statement about lack of capacity.

  From: A Mother's Forgiveness →

• قَالَ كَيْفَ أَسْتَطِيعُ

  He said, "How can I do it?"

  أَسْتَطِيعُ — I can. A present-tense verb, 'am able', with the 'I' subject in its prefix. The object of the ability is left unstated, understood from context. The 'I' doer is carried inside the verb, needing no separate pronoun.

  From: Luqman's Wisdom and Trial →