Turkish Ability Verb -ebilmek: Can and Cannot
How Turkish says 'can' and 'cannot' — the ability suffix -(y)Abil on the verb stem (gelebilir, 'he can come'), its two-way vowel harmony between -ebil and -abil, the -y- buffer after a vowel (okuyabilir), and the separate impotential ending -eme / -ama that makes gelemem, not gelebilmem.
Ekle ·
The ability suffix says someone can or is able to do something: it attaches to the verb stem, is usually carried by the aorist, and uses a separate ending for the negative 'cannot'.
What the ability verb does
Turkish builds "can" from the verb itself, with no separate helper word. The ability suffix glues onto the verb stem, and a tense ending follows it — most often the aorist. So gel ("come") grows into gelebilir, "he can come", and gör ("see") into görebilir, "he can see".
The "cannot" side is not this suffix with a negation word stuck on. Turkish has its own ending for inability, so "he can come" is gelebilir while "he can't come" is gelemez — two different suffixes doing opposite jobs.
Two shapes, front and back
The suffix vowel copies the front or back quality of the stem's last vowel. A front-vowel stem like gel takes -ebil for "can" and -eme for "cannot"; a back-vowel stem like yap takes -abil and -ama. The grid below sets the pairs side by side.
| Last vowel | Positive (can) | Negative (cannot) |
|---|---|---|
| e · i · ö · ü | -ebil | -eme |
| a · ı · o · u | -abil | -ama |
Only the front/back split of that last vowel counts here; rounding plays no part, which is why the suffix has two vowel shapes rather than four — -ebil and -eme on the front side, -abil and -ama on the back.
A glide after a vowel
When the stem already ends in a vowel, a buffer -y- slides in so the two vowels never collide: oku ("read") becomes okuyabilir, "he can read". Drop the glide and you land on the wrong okuabilir, which no one says.
The same glide shows up before the negative ending: oku gives okuyamadım, "I couldn't read". Wherever a vowel meets the suffix, the -y- is what keeps them apart.
Three forms in full
Each form below is a stem, then the ability suffix, then the aorist, and finally the person ending — read every one as "is able to".
| Turkish | Parts | English |
|---|---|---|
| gelebilirim | gel + ebil + ir + im | I can come |
| görebilir | gör + ebil + ir | he/she can see |
| okuyabilir | oku + yabil + ir | he/she can read |
Saying cannot
To say you cannot do something, Turkish does not negate the "can" form; it uses a different suffix built straight on the stem. "I can't come" is gelemem. The tempting gelebilmem, made by hanging a negation on the positive, is not how a speaker says "I can't come".
The endings belong to the negative aorist: gelemem is "I can't", and gelemez is "he can't". Building the first person off the third — the gelemezim a learner reaches for — is not Turkish. A stem-final stop can also soften before the ending, so git turns to gid in gidemez.
| Turkish | Parts | English |
|---|---|---|
| gelemem | gel + eme + m | I can't come |
| gidemez | gid + eme + z | he/she can't go |
| okuyamadım | oku + yama + dı + m | I couldn't read |
Asking permission
The same form does more than state a fact. gelebilir can mean "he can come" or "he may come", a possibility. Put the question particle mi after it and you are asking leave: girebilir miyim is "may I come in?" and yapabilir miyim is "may I do it?".
| Turkish | Parts | English |
|---|---|---|
| girebilir miyim | gir + ebil + ir + mi + yim | may I come in? / can I come in? |
Frequently asked questions
- What does the -ebilmek ending mean?
- It is the ability suffix, Turkish for "can" or "be able to". It attaches to the verb stem and is carried by a tense, most often the aorist, so gel ("come") becomes gelebilir, "he can come", and gör becomes görebilir, "he can see".
- How do you say 'cannot' in Turkish?
- With a separate ending, not by negating the "can" form. "I can't come" is gelemem and "he can't go" is gidemez. The form gelebilmem, made by hanging a negation on the positive, is not the everyday way to say "I can't come".
- How do you ask 'can I' or 'may I' in Turkish?
- Take the ability form and add the question particle mi. girebilir miyim is "may I come in?" and yapabilir miyim is "may I do it?". The same form states ability and, as a question, asks permission.
- Why is it okuyabilir and not okuabilir?
- Because oku ends in a vowel, and Turkish does not let two vowels meet at the seam. A buffer -y- slides in between the stem and the ending, giving okuyabilir. The form okuabilir, with the vowels colliding, is not Turkish.