võima / saama / oskama

Can and May

Level 2

Kas ma võin akna avada? (May I open the window?) Ma ei saa täna tulla. (I can't come today.) Ma oskan ujuda. (I can swim.)

How It Works

1. võima: may, might

  • Permission: Kas ma võin akna avada? (May I open the window?)
  • Possibility: Homme võib sadada. (It may rain tomorrow.)

The fixed phrase võib-olla means maybe: Võib-olla ta tuleb.

2. saama: can, be able to
Use saama when time, health or circumstances decide: Ma ei saa täna tulla. (I can't come today.) Kas sa saad mind aidata? (Can you help me?) saama has other meanings too, such as get and become; see saama.

3. oskama: know how to
Use oskama for a learned skill: Ma oskan ujuda. (I can swim.) Ta ei oska veel lugeda. (He can't read yet.) With languages, oskama can take a partitive object instead: Ma oskan eesti keelt. (I know Estonian.) See teadma, tundma, oskama.

4. Compare

  • Ma ei oska ujuda. I never learned to swim.
  • Ma ei saa täna ujuda. I can't swim today, for example because I'm ill.
  • Ma ei tohi ujuda. I'm not allowed to swim. See tohtima.

5. Forms
All three conjugate normally: võin, võid, võib; saan, saad, saab; oskan, oskad, oskab. The second verb stays in the da-infinitive: võin tulla, saan tulla, oskan ujuda.

Examples (6)

  1. Kas ma võin akna avada?

    May I open the window?

    Word by Word: Q I may window open(DA-INF)

  2. Homme võib sadada.

    It may rain tomorrow.

    Word by Word: tomorrow may rain(DA-INF)

  3. Ma ei saa täna tulla.

    I can't come today.

    Word by Word: I not can today come(DA-INF)

    saama: something is stopping me today.

  4. Kas sa saad mind aidata?

    Can you help me?

    Word by Word: Q you can me(PART) help(DA-INF)

  5. Ma oskan ujuda.

    I can swim.

    Word by Word: I know-how swim(DA-INF)

    oskama: a skill I have learned.

  6. Ta ei oska veel lugeda.

    He can't read yet.

    Word by Word: he not know-how yet read(DA-INF)

Common Mistakes

  • Using the ma-infinitive after oskama.

    Ma oskan ujuma.
    Ma oskan ujuda.

    võima, saama and oskama all take the da-infinitive.

  • Using saama for a skill.

    Ma ei saa ujuda.
    Ma ei oska ujuda.

    You meant I never learned to swim, but Ma ei saa ujuda means something stops you from swimming now. For a missing skill, use oskama.

  • Leaving a language name in the nominative after rääkima.

    Ma oskan rääkida eesti keel.
    Ma oskan eesti keelt rääkida.

    The language is an object and takes the partitive: eesti keelt.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

võima / saama / oskamaLevel 2Can and May

Learn This First

These verbs take the da-infinitive.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

võimasaamaoskama