Mitsling
← Turkish grammar guide

Turkish A2 · Elementary

Can and can’t in Turkish: -ebil and -eme

Say what you can do with -ebil (yüzebilirim) and what you can’t with -eme (gelemem). Could and couldn’t, Can I…?, Could you…? and “might”: yağmur yağabilir.

By Kerem, native Turkish teacher · Audio for every example

To say can in Turkish, you don’t use a separate word: you add -ebil or -abil to the verb. = I can swim. = Can you speak Turkish? The dictionary name of this ending is -ebilmek.

For “can’t”, the ending is shorter: -eme or -ama. = I can’t come. = I couldn’t find it. With these two endings you can talk about skills, ask for help and permission, and make polite excuses.

The pattern

verb stemplus-ebil / -abilcanplus-iraoristplus-im / -sin …who

Can: -ebilir

Take the verb stem (gelmek → gel), add -ebil or -abil, then the aorist -ir and a personal ending. With nothing after -ir, it means “he”, “she” or “it”: = he can come.

Build the word, one part at a timeTurkish adds each new part to the end of the word. Watch where the English puts it.
konuşspeakabilcanirusually / wouldimI

I can speak

Step 4 of 4imI

Who? I. After -di and -se it is just -m, and in gelmem (I don’t come) too.

  • Last vowel i is front and flat, so the vowel is i: -im.
Finished word

  • BirazTürkçekonuşabilirim.

    Word by word: a-little, Turkish, I-can-speak.

    I can speak a little Turkish.

  • Kerem gitar çalabilir.

    Kerem can play the guitar.

  • Yarın gelebiliriz.

    We can come tomorrow.

Why?

The bil in -ebil is the verb bilmek, “to know”. So started life as “I know how to swim”. That makes it easy to remember, and it explains why the endings after it always have an i.

Kerem’s note

-ebil or -abil, and always -ir

The first vowel follows two-way harmony: -ebil after e, i, ö, ü and -abil after a, ı, o, u. After that, everything is fixed. The aorist is always -ir, and the personal endings always have i, because the last vowel is now the i of bil: , never yapabilırım.

  • Last vowel of the stem

    e, i, ö, ü

    Ending
    -ebil
    Examples
    gelebilir,içebilir,görebilir

  • Last vowel of the stem

    a, ı, o, u

    Ending
    -abil
    Examples
    yapabilir,çıkabilir,oturabilir

If the stem ends in a vowel, a glue y comes in: , . And gitmek and etmek change t to d, as they do before every vowel: , .

Glue letter: yTap “Add glue” to drop the letter in
y

y: two vowels meet

Turkish doesn’t let two vowels touch, so y goes between them: hasta → hastayım.

  • okureadglueabilcanirusually / wouldimI

    I can read

  • beklewaitglueebilcanirusually / wouldimI

    I can wait

  • söylesayglueebilcanirusually / wouldimI

    I can say

Sound change: hard letters go softTap Join to watch the letters change

When an ending starts with a vowel, a hard letter at the end of the word goes soft.

  • pbecomes+ vowelb
  • çbecomes+ vowelc
  • tbecomes+ voweld
  • kbecomes+ vowelğ
  • gitgoebilcanirusually / wouldimI

    I can go

  • etdoebilcanirusually / wouldimI

    I can do (yardım edebilirim = I can help)

These keep their letter

  • bitfinishebilcanirusually / would

    it may end

Personal endings: yapabilirim, yapabilirsin…

After -ebilir come the usual endings: -im (ben), -sin (sen), nothing (o), -iz (biz), -siniz (siz) and -ler (onlar). Because of the i in bil, they look the same for every verb: only -ebil or -abil changes.

  • ben

    gelmek (come)
    gelebilcanirusually / wouldimI
    yapmak (do)
    yapabilcanirusually / wouldimI
    okumak (read)
    okuyglueabilcanirusually / wouldimI

  • sen

    gelmek (come)
    gelebilcanirusually / wouldsinyou
    yapmak (do)
    yapabilcanirusually / wouldsinyou
    okumak (read)
    okuyglueabilcanirusually / wouldsinyou

  • o

    gelmek (come)
    gelebilcanirusually / would
    yapmak (do)
    yapabilcanirusually / would
    okumak (read)
    okuyglueabilcanirusually / would

  • biz

    gelmek (come)
    gelebilcanirusually / wouldizwe
    yapmak (do)
    yapabilcanirusually / wouldizwe
    okumak (read)
    okuyglueabilcanirusually / wouldizwe

  • siz

    gelmek (come)
    gelebilcanirusually / wouldsinizyou (siz)
    yapmak (do)
    yapabilcanirusually / wouldsinizyou (siz)
    okumak (read)
    okuyglueabilcanirusually / wouldsinizyou (siz)

  • onlar

    gelmek (come)
    gelebilcanirusually / wouldlerthey
    yapmak (do)
    yapabilcanirusually / wouldlerthey
    okumak (read)
    okuyglueabilcanirusually / wouldlerthey

Tip: You will also hear -ebiliyor: It means almost the same as konuşabilirim and is very common in speech, especially for what you can do these days.

Can’t: gelemem, gelemez

For “can’t”, there is no bil at all. Add -e or -a to the stem (two-way harmony again), then the endings of the negative aorist: -mem, -mezsin, -mez, -meyiz, -mezsiniz, -mezler. As in gelmem (I don’t come), the forms for ben and biz have no z: , .

Switch on “not”Flip a switch to see where “not” goes. The rest of the word stays.

Verbs: -me or -ma, right after the root.root-me / -matenseperson

  • gelcomeebilcanirusually / wouldimI

    I can come

  • yapdoabilcanirusually / would

    he can do it

  • bulfindabilcanirusually / wouldsinyou

    you can find it

  • okureadyglueabilcanirusually / wouldizwe

    we can read

  • ben

    gelmek (come)
    gelemecan’tmI
    yapmak (do)
    yapamacan’tmI

  • sen

    gelmek (come)
    gelemezcan’tsinyou
    yapmak (do)
    yapamazcan’tsınyou

  • o

    gelmek (come)
    gelemezcan’t
    yapmak (do)
    yapamazcan’t

  • biz

    gelmek (come)
    gelemecan’tyglueizwe
    yapmak (do)
    yapamacan’tyglueızwe

  • siz

    gelmek (come)
    gelemezcan’tsinizyou (siz)
    yapmak (do)
    yapamazcan’tsınızyou (siz)

  • onlar

    gelmek (come)
    gelemezcan’tlerthey
    yapmak (do)
    yapamazcan’tlarthey
Vowel harmony: two waysTap a word to see where its last vowel leads

come · last vowel e

gel

Front vowels: e, i, ö, üFrontsaid at the front of the moutheiöüe-emez
Back vowels: a, ı, o, uBacksaid further backaıoua-amaz

gelemez: the last vowel is e, a front vowel, so the ending has e.

  1. last vowel e
  2. front
  3. ending vowel e
gelcomeemezcan’t

he can’t come

The ending:Ending: (y) not needed, e or a, here e, m, e or a, here e, z

  • Maalesef yarın gelemem.

    Unfortunately I can’t come tomorrow.

  • Araba süremem.

    I can’t drive.

  • Burada sigara içemezsiniz.

    You can’t smoke here.

Tip: In a question the z comes back, even with ben and biz: (Can’t I come?), (Can’t we go?)

Could and couldn’t: -ebildi, -emedi

For the past, put the past tense -di where the aorist was: -ebildi (was able to, managed to) and -emedi (couldn’t). The endings are the short ones of the past tense: -m, -n, -k, -niz, -ler. In the past, the negative has no z at all: , .

Build the word, one part at a timeTurkish adds each new part to the end of the word. Watch where the English puts it.
bulfindamacan’tdıdidkwe

we couldn’t find

Step 4 of 4kwe

Who? We. After -di and -se it is -k, and in let’s it is -lim: gidelim.

Finished word

  • ben

    could (bulmak)
    bulabilcandididmI
    couldn’t (bulmak)
    bulamacan’tdıdidmI

  • sen

    could (bulmak)
    bulabilcandididnyou
    couldn’t (bulmak)
    bulamacan’tdıdidnyou

  • o

    could (bulmak)
    bulabilcandidid
    couldn’t (bulmak)
    bulamacan’tdıdid

  • biz

    could (bulmak)
    bulabilcandididkwe
    couldn’t (bulmak)
    bulamacan’tdıdidkwe

  • siz

    could (bulmak)
    bulabilcandididnizyou (siz)
    couldn’t (bulmak)
    bulamacan’tdıdidnızyou (siz)

  • onlar

    could (bulmak)
    bulabilcandididlerthey
    couldn’t (bulmak)
    bulamacan’tdıdidlarthey

  • Sonundaotelibulabildim.

    Word by word: in-the-end, the-hotel, I-managed-to-find.

    In the end I managed to find the hotel.

  • Düngecehiçuyuyamadım.

    Word by word: yesterday, night, at-all, I-couldn’t-sleep.

    I couldn’t sleep at all last night.

  • Uçağa yetişemedik.

    We couldn’t catch the plane.

Tip: gelmedim means “I didn’t come”, means “I couldn’t come”: something stopped you. Turks often use the -eme form as a gentle excuse: (I couldn’t come yesterday, sorry.)

Will be able to: -ebilecek, -emeyecek

The same pieces work with the future -ecek: -ebilecek (will be able to) and -emeyecek (won’t be able to). Between -eme and -ecek, a glue y comes in.

Switch on “not”Flip a switch to see where “not” goes. The rest of the word stays.

Verbs: -me or -ma, right after the root.root-me / -matenseperson

  • gelcomeebilcaneceğwillimI

    I’ll be able to come

  • bitirfinishebilcanecekwillsinyou

    you’ll be able to finish it

  • Cumartesi gelemeyeceğim, çalışıyorum.

    I won’t be able to come on Saturday, I’m working.

  • Bir ay sonra Türkçe konuşabileceksin.

    In a month you’ll be able to speak Turkish.

Asking: Can you…? Could you…? Can I…?

For a question, add after -ebilir as a separate word, and move the personal ending onto it. Because -ebilir always ends in i, the question word is always : , , , never mısın.

The question word mimi turns a sentence into a yes/no question.

Where the person ending goes

Most endings that say who (-um, -sun…) move onto mi. After -di (past) and -se (if), they stay on the verb.

  • Girenterebilcanirusually / wouldmi? (yes/no)yglueimI?

    May I come in?ending on mi

  • Yüzswimebilcanirusually / wouldmi? (yes/no)sinyou?

    Can you swim?ending on mi

  • Gelcomeebilcanirusually / wouldmi? (yes/no)?

    Can he / she come?

  • Otursitabilcanirusually / wouldmi? (yes/no)yglueizwe?

    Can we sit down?ending on mi

  • Yardımeddoebilcanirusually / wouldmi? (yes/no)sinizyou (siz)?

    Could you help? (siz)ending on mi

  • Gelcomeebilcanirusually / wouldlertheymi? (yes/no)?

    Can they come?stays on the verb

-ebilir misiniz? is the polite way to ask someone to do something, like English “Could you…?”. Use with strangers, staff and older people, and with friends. -ebilir miyim? asks for permission: “Can I…?”, “May I…?”

sen or siz?Two words for “you”. The ending that means “you” changes with them.

Who gets which? Tap a person.

The same phrases with sen

  • Yardımedebilcanirusually / wouldmi? (yes/no)sinyou?

    Could you help?

  • Tekraredebilcanirusually / wouldmi? (yes/no)sinyou?

    Could you repeat that?

  • Kapıyglueıthe (object)kapatabilcanirusually / wouldmi? (yes/no)sinyou?

    Could you close the door?

  • Daha yavaş konuşabilir misiniz?

    Could you speak more slowly?

  • Pencereyiaçabilirmiyim?

    Word by word: the-window, can-open, ?-I.

    Can I open the window?

  • Bunu deneyebilir miyim?

    Can I try this on?

  • Tabii, buyurun.

    Of course, go ahead.

Why?

Asking whether someone can do something leaves them room to say no, so it sounds much softer than an order like (Help!). English does exactly the same with “Could you…?”.

Kerem’s note

May and might: -ebilir

-ebilir can also mean “may” or “might”: something is possible. = It might rain tomorrow. For “might not”, put -me / -ma before -ebil: = he might not come.

  • Yarın yağmur yağabilir.

    It might rain tomorrow.

  • Biraz geç kalabilirim.

    I might be a bit late.

  • Olabilir.

    Could be. / Maybe.

Switch on “not”Flip a switch to see where “not” goes. The rest of the word stays.

Verbs: -me or -ma, right after the root.root-me / -matenseperson

  • gelcomeemezcan’t

    he can’t come

Common mistakes

Watch out

Not:Araba sürebilmem.

Say:Araba süremem.

The negative drops bil completely: stem + -e / -a + -mem. So sür + e + mem → .

Watch out

Not:yapabilırım

Say:yapabilirim

After -ebil or -abil, the last vowel is always the i of bil, so the endings always have i: , , .

Watch out

Not:okuabilirim

Say:okuyabilirim

oku ends in a vowel and -abil starts with one, so the glue y comes in between: oku + y + abil + ir + im.

Watch out

Not:gelemezim

Say:gelemem

Like gelmem, the forms for ben and biz have no z: , . The others keep it: gelemezsin, gelemez.

Watch out

Not:Açabilirim mi?

Say:Açabilir miyim?

In a question the personal ending leaves the verb and goes onto mi, with a glue y: açabilir + .

Watch out

Not:gidebilmedim

Say:gidemedim

“Couldn’t” is -emedi, with no bil: gid + eme + di + m = .

A short dialogue

Read or listen, then answer

Why can’t Emre come on Saturday?

  1. Ayla

    Emre, yüzebilir misin?

  2. Emre

    Evet, yüzebilirim ama çok iyi değil. Neden?

  3. Ayla

    Cumartesi tekne turuna çıkıyoruz. Sen de gelebilir misin?

  4. Emre

    Maalesef cumartesi gelemem, çalışıyorum. Pazar gidemez miyiz?

  5. Ayla

    Bilmiyorum, belki değiştirebiliriz. Kaptanı arayabilirim.

  6. Emre

    Harika! Geçen yıl da tekne turuna katılamadım.

  7. Ayla

    Biliyorum. Bu sefer kaçıramazsın!

  8. Emre

    Peki, güneş kremini getirebilir misin? Benimki bitti.

  9. Ayla

    Tabii, getirebilirim.

Spot the can and can’t forms: , , , , , , , , , and .

Summary

  • Can

    How
    stem + -ebil / -abil + -ir + ending
    Example

  • Can’t

    How
    stem + -eme / -ama + -m, -zsin, -z …
    Example

  • Could / couldn’t

    How
    -ebildi / -emedi + ending
    Example

  • Could you…? / Can I…?

    How
    -ebilir + misiniz? / miyim?
    Example

  • Might (not)

    How
    -ebilir / -meyebilir
    Example

Practice this in Lesson 39 of Turkish A2

Can and can’t

Open the lesson

Not sure of your level? Take the level test

Related grammar

All Turkish grammar topics