Need, 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, කන්න, කරන්න. For example: “මට හෝටල් කාමරයක් ඕන” — 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 යන්න ඕන ("I need to go"), මට වතුර ඕන (maṭa vatura ōna). The opposite is not a negation but the word එපා (epā): මට එපා (maṭa epā).
පුළුවන් (puḷuvan) is "can, may". මට කරන්න පුළුවන් (maṭa karanna puḷuvan) — "I can do it". With -ද (-da) it makes the politest request of all: උදව් කරන්න පුළුවන්ද (udav karanna puḷuvanda)? Its own negation is බෑ (bǣ): මට එන්න බෑ (maṭa enna bǣ).
The trap is බෑ against එපා. බෑ is about circumstances: මට යන්න බෑ (maṭa yanna bǣ) means "I am not able to go". එපා is about will: මට යන්න එපා (maṭa yanna epā) means "I would rather not".
Table
| Word | Meaning | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ඕන | need, want | මට යන්න ඕන | I need to go |
| එපා | no need, do not | මට එපා | I do not need it |
| පුළුවන් | can, may | මට කරන්න පුළුවන් | I can do it |
| පුළුවන්ද? | is it possible? | උදව් කරන්න පුළුවන්ද? | could you help? |
| බෑ | cannot, must not | මට එන්න බෑ | I cannot come |
By example
- මට හෝටල් කාමරයක් ඕනmaṭa hōṭal kāmarayak ōnaI need a hotel room
- ඔයාට ඉංගිරිසි කතා කරන්න පුළුවන්ද?oyāṭa iṁgirisi katā karanna puḷuvanda?Do you speak English?
- මට අද එන්න බෑmaṭa ada enna bǣToday I cannot come
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, කන්න, කරන්න.
What does it look like in an example sentence Sinhala?
“මට හෝටල් කාමරයක් ඕන” (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.