LingoflyNeed, can, cannot: ඕන, පුළුවන්, බෑ
Three words carry "need", "can" and "cannot", and all three stand at the end, after the verb. The verb beside them keeps the shape in -න්න: යන්න (yanna), කන්න (kanna), කරන්න (karanna). For example: “මට (maṭa) හෝටල් (hōṭal) කාමරයක් (kāmarayak) ඕන” (ōna) — I need a hotel room. A rule from the Sinhala course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Three words carry "need", "can" and "cannot", and all three stand at the end, after the verb. The verb beside them keeps the shape in -න්න: යන්න (yanna), කන්න (kanna), කරන්න (karanna).
ඕන (ōna) is "need, want". The one who needs it takes -ට (-ṭa): මට (maṭa) යන්න (yanna) ඕන (ōna) ("I need to go"), මට (maṭa) වතුර (vatura) ඕන (ōna) (maṭa vatura ōna). The opposite is not a negation but the word එපා (epā): මට එපා (maṭa epā).
පුළුවන් (puḷuvan) is "can, may". මට (maṭa) කරන්න (karanna) පුළුවන් (puḷuvan) (maṭa karanna puḷuvan) — "I can do it". With -ද (-da) it makes the politest request of all: උදව් කරන්න (udav karanna) පුළුවන්ද (puḷuvanda) (udav karanna puḷuvanda)? Its own negation is බෑ (bǣ): මට (maṭa) එන්න (enna) බෑ (maṭa enna bǣ).
The trap is බෑ against එපා (epā). බෑ is about circumstances: මට (maṭa) යන්න (yanna) බෑ (maṭa yanna bǣ) means "I am not able to go". එපා (epā) is about will: මට (maṭa) යන්න (yanna) එපා (epā) (maṭa yanna epā) means "I would rather not".
Table
| Word | Meaning | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ඕන (ōna) | need, want | මට (maṭa) යන්න (yanna) ඕන (ōna) | I need to go |
| එපා (epā) | no need, do not | මට එපා (maṭa epā) | I do not need it |
| පුළුවන් (puḷuvan) | can, may | මට (maṭa) කරන්න (karanna) පුළුවන් (puḷuvan) | I can do it |
| පුළුවන්ද (puḷuvanda)? | is it possible? | උදව් කරන්න (udav karanna) පුළුවන්ද (puḷuvanda)? | could you help? |
| බෑ | cannot, must not | මට (maṭa) එන්න (enna) බෑ | I cannot come |
By example
- මට හෝටල් කාමරයක් ඕනmaṭa hōṭal kāmarayak ōnaI need a hotel room
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Need, can, cannot: how does it work in Sinhala?
Three words carry "need", "can" and "cannot", and all three stand at the end, after the verb. The verb beside them keeps the shape in -න්න: යන්න (yanna), කන්න (kanna), කරන්න (karanna).
What does it look like in a Sinhala example sentence?
“මට (maṭa) හෝටල් (hōṭal) කාමරයක් (kāmarayak) ඕන” (ōna) (maṭa hōṭal kāmarayak ōna) — I need a hotel room. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.