Difference between можно and мочь

Community-Created Courses Russian
1

Hi. :smiley:

I just got the sentence “I can / I may”, and I translated it with “я могу” (мочь), but I was then told the correct answer is “мне можно”.

I looked them up on wiktionary, and it says мочь is a verb meaning “to be able to” or “may”.
And можно is a predicative meaning “one can / one may” or “it is possible”. But I don’t even know what a predicative is :no_mouth:

Now I wondered, how are the 2 words different, and when do I use which? Could someone explain?

Thanks! :slight_smile:

2

“Мочь” is infinitive from “Я могу”

3

Мне можно is like “I may”, in a sense “I am allowed”.
Мне можно гулять ночью (I am allowed/I can to walk at night)
Врач сказал, что мне уже можно есть сладкое. (Doctor said I am allowed/I can eat sweets)
Можно мне еще чаю? (May I have more tea?)

1 Like