“Yes You Can?” — The Wild Grammar Life of יכול

If you thought the verb יכול (to be able to) was straightforward, think again. This seemingly innocent verb hides a whole bunch of grammatical drama, especially when it comes to its past and future forms. Let’s dive in.

Past Tense Problems

Ever wondered whether to say יכולנו, יכַלנו, or maybe go with the safer היינו יכולים? You’re not alone. People are constantly confused about the “right” way to conjugate יכול in the past.

Here’s the deal: יכול belongs to a rare group of קל verbs with a חולם (o) vowel in the middle root letter (think of the pattern פָּעֹל). Another example? יגֹר.

Official past tense forms look like this:

• יכולתי

• יכולת (both masculine and feminine)

• יכול (but wait, more on that below), יכלה

• יכולנו

• יכולתֶם, יכולתֶן

• יכלו

So why the confusion? Because יכול (he was able to) in the past looks and sounds exactly like יכול (able) in the present participle form. Same spelling. Same pronunciation. Total chaos.

Enter: “היה + יכול”

To fix the mess, many Hebrew speakers add היה — so you get הוא היה יכול למנוע את התקלה ("he could have prevented the glitch"). Technically, היה + בינוני usually implies something habitual, like “he used to be able to.” But here? It’s a necessary hack, and the grammar police won’t arrest you.

Still, in other forms where ambiguity isn’t an issue, just stick to the classic past:היא יכלה למנוע, יכולנו ללכת — keep it clean and simple.Use היה יכול only when you're talking about past habits:היינו יכולים ללכת לים כל בוקר ("We used to be able to go to the beach every morning").

What About יכל?

Some folks go rogue and say יכל (with a פתח) to match verbs like אכל or שמר. Sounds logical, right? It’s not. It’s technically not standard, and neither is יכלתי or יכלנו. But we get it — people love consistency, even when Hebrew refuses to play along.

Still, if you want to keep it classic like the Torah does — go with יָכֹל. As in:"ולא יכל יוסף להתאפק" (Bereshit 45:1).Old-school, biblical, and 100% correct.

Future Tense, But Make It Weird

Now the future tense of יכול? Buckle up.Instead of the usual יִ... forms you see in other קל verbs, you get:אוּכַל, תוּכַל, יוּכַל, etc.

Sounds suspiciously like the הופעל binyan, doesn’t it? Think: יוּרַד, יוּבַל. But surprise — יוּכַל is still in קל, just showing off with a u vowel. Why? Linguist Yehoshua Blau says the original root had a ו’ as the first letter, not a י’, which gave us yiwkal back in the day. That naturally morphed into יוּכַל — and unlike other verbs that later conformed to the י model (like יִירַשׁ), יכול just... stayed different. Why? Probably because it's everywhere and nobody dared mess with it.

Does יכול Have an Infinitive?

Nope. No real שם פועל form was ever created for יכול.

So how do you say to be able to? The go-to is להיות יכול — a bit clunky, but accepted.

Evenshushan (yes, the dictionary) gives us some rare options like ליכֹל or לוּכַל. You’ll never hear them on the street, but hey, Bialik used מיכֹל once in his 1923 Hebrew translation of Don Quixote, so you can too if you’re feeling extra literary.

Bottom Line

So יכול is a diva verb. She doesn’t follow the rules, she has trust issues with her binyan, and she doesn’t even bother to have a proper infinitive. But she gets the job done — in the past, present, and future.

Just... don’t say יכלתי unless you want Aviva to give you the look in class.