توانستن
tavânestan
to be able (modal)
verbA2
Quick Reference
ta-vâ-nes-TAN
to be able (modal)
A2 — Elementary
What it means
توانستن (tavânestan) means “to be able to, can.” It works as a modal verb: pair it with another verb in the subjunctive to express ability or possibility. Foundation A2 vocabulary.
How to use it
- میتوانم (mitavânam) “I can”
- نمیتوانم بیایم (nemitavânam biyâyam) “I can’t come”
- میتوانی کمک کنی؟ (mitavâni komak koni?) “Can you help?”
- میتوانیم برویم (mitavânim beravim) “We can go”
Conjugation
- Infinitive: توانستن (tavânestan)
- Present stem: توان (tavân-)
- Past stem: توانست (tavânest-)
- Present 1sg: میتوانم (mitavânam)
- Past 1sg: توانستم (tavânestam)
- Subjunctive 1sg: بتوانم (betavânam, rare in modern speech)
- Imperative 2sg: rarely used as a command
- Imperative 2pl: rarely used
Cultural note
Spoken Tehrani contracts mitavânam to mitunam, and nemitavânam to nemitunam. You will hear “mitunam beram?” (can I go?) constantly in shops and taxis. The full tavânestan form is reserved for writing and formal speech.
References
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Spoken Tehrani contracts mitavânam to mitunam, and nemitavânam to nemitunam. You will hear "mitunam beram?" (can I go?) constantly in shops and taxis. The full tavânestan form is reserved for writing and formal speech.Connected Words