# All Slavic: I can, I am able to



## LilianaB

I am interested what constructions are used in various Slavic languages and dialects to express the idea of:
_I can _and _I am able to_.

If you can kindly translate those sentences into your languages and discuss other possible ways of expressing the same. I can ride a bike.


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## Brainiac

Serbian:
I can - Mogu.
I am able to - Sposoban sam za/da ..., Kadar sam za (/da) ..., Ja sam u stanju da ..., Ja sam u mogućnosti da...., and sometimes: Znam da (I know to..) or Mogu da... (I can...), depending on the context.


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## Brainiac

Oh, you have edited your post.
I can ride a bike - (Serbian) _Znam da vozim bicik_l. You can say _Umem da vozim bicik_l, but I, for instant, use the first sentence. This means like - I know to swim.

You may say - Mogu da vozim bicikl, but it means - now I am able to ride a bike (But I couldn't, say, one month ago, I had an injury). Or - it is allowed to me to ride a bike (say: My parents forbade me that one month ago, but they allow me to ride it now.)


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## DenisBiH

Note that _Znam da_ + present can also be expressed as _Znam_ + infinitive, and the latter would be preffered and more frequently used in standard Croatian and by at least a part of Bosnian speakers. There is probably an earlier thread discussing the preference for da + present vs infinitive in different BCS standard languages.

So:

I can ride a bike - _Znam voziti biciklo 
_(in standard Bosnian both _biciklo_ n. and _bicikl _m. are acceptable; I normally use _biciklo_)


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## Brainiac

Yes, Denis, thank you. I will edit my post and say "in Serbian". I know for the difference, but I still "think in Serbian".
We say _bicikla_ f. too, but we don't use _biciklo_.


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## LilianaB

Thank you, both. Do you have any expressions similar to umiec - to be able to in Polish?


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## DenisBiH

LilianaB said:


> Thank you, both. Do you have any expressions similar to umiec - to be able to in Polish?



I believe that would be Brainiac's suggestion _Umem da vozim bicikl_ (in Ijekavian BCS standards _umijem_), from the verb _umeti_/_umjeti_, from Common Slavic _*uměti_.


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## osemnais

I can = мога да
I am able to = способен съм да


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## TriglavNationalPark

Slovenian:

I can ride a bike. = *Znam voziti kolo.

*The difference between *znati*, *vedeti*, and *umeti* in various Slavic languages has been discussed before.


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## YKYPEH

Russian:

I can ride a bike. = *Я могу ездить на велосипеде.* (May also indicate that permission to ride was granted.)
I am able to ride a bike. = *Я умею ездить на велосипеде.*


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## Azori

Slovak:

I can = *Viem... / Môžem... / Dokážem... / Som schopný/schopná... / Mám možnosť... *etc. (there are many ways to say this, depending on the context)

I am able to = I can

I can ride a bike. = *Môžem jazdiť na bicykli. *(I have an opportunity to ride a bike / I am allowed to  ride a bike)
*Viem jazdiť na bicykli.* (I know how to ride a bike)

The verb *umieť* is archaic / literary in Slovak.


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## LilianaB

Hi, what would be the conjugation of umiet in Slovak like, even if it is just a word used in literature.


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## Azori

LilianaB said:


> Hi, what would be the conjugation of umiet in Slovak like, even if it is just a word used in literature.


This verb isn't used in modern Slovak, so, quite frankly, I'm not sure. However, in Czech *umět* is normally used, Slovak uses the verb *vedieť* instead.


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## LilianaB

Thank you.


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## vianie

> what would be the conjugation of umiet in Slovak like



In Slovak dictionary from late sixties things are so: umiem, umieš, umie, umieme, umiete, umejú .


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## TriglavNationalPark

Based in our previous discussions, I believe these are the equivalents of the most common "can"/"be able to"/"know" verbs in modern Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, and BCS (given that *umieť* /*umeti* is archaic in Slovak and Slovenian and apparently rare [or not -- see DenisBiH's post below] in BCS):



*Czech*
*Slovak*
*Slovenian*
*BCS*
znát
poznať
poznati
znati
umět
vedieť
znati
znati
vědět
vedieť
vedeti
znati




Please do feel free to correct me!

And a quick addition to my post about Slovenian:

I may (am allowed to) ride my bike. = *Smem se voziti s kolesom.* // *Lahko se vozim s kolesom.*


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## DenisBiH

I wouldn't say that _umjeti _is rare, at least I don't think I perceive it as such. It's certainly not marked as formal, archaic or (only) literary for me. On the other hand, perhaps it really is rarely used and I haven't noticed that before.


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## Azori

vianie said:


> In Slovak dictionary from late sixties things are so: umiem, umieš, umie, umieme, umiete, umejú .


This linguistic journal which was published in 1933 says the verb _umieť_ doesn't exist in Slovak (p. 120):


> *V slovenčine niet slovesa **umieť* (č. uměti), jeho význam prešiel na vedieť, ktoré takýmto činom značí to, čo v češtine uměti i věděti.


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