Turkish has no separate word for “can”. Instead, it adds a suffix to the verb: -(y)ebil or -(y)abil. The same suffix covers ability (I can swim), permission (Can I come in?) and possibility (It may rain). Its negative partner, -(y)eme / -(y)ama, means “cannot”, and it works differently from the positive, which is where most learners slip.
This guide shows how to build both forms, how they combine with tenses, and how to tell “can’t” apart from “might not”.
How the ability suffix is built
The suffix comes from the verb bilmek (“to know”), attached to the verb with a linking vowel. Only that first vowel changes; the -bil- part never does.
| Last vowel of the stem | Stem ends in a consonant | Stem ends in a vowel |
|---|---|---|
| e, i, ö, ü (front) | -ebil | -yebil |
| a, ı, o, u (back) | -abil | -yabil |
This is ordinary two-way vowel harmony, and the y is the standard buffer letter that keeps two vowels apart.
| Infinitive | Stem | Ability stem | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| yapmak | yap- | yapabil- | be able to do |
| gelmek | gel- | gelebil- | be able to come |
| okumak | oku- | okuyabil- | be able to read |
| beklemek | bekle- | bekleyebil- | be able to wait |
| gitmek | git- | gidebil- | be able to go |
| yardım etmek | et- | edebil- | be able to help |
Note git- → gidebil- and et- → edebil-: stems that soften their final t before a vowel (see consonant mutation) do so here too.
The full verb is stem + ability suffix + tense + person. After -ebil, every following suffix harmonises with the i of bil, so the endings are always the front-vowel ones: -ir, -iyor, -di, -ecek.
Positive forms across the tenses
The aorist is the default for “can”, but the ability stem works with every tense.
| Tense | yapmak (to do) | English |
|---|---|---|
| Aorist | yapabilirim | I can do |
| Present continuous | yapabiliyorum | I am able to do (these days) |
| Past | yapabildim | I managed to do / I was able to |
| Future | yapabileceğim | I will be able to do |
| Past continuous | yapabiliyordum | I used to be able to do |
| Aorist + past | yapabilirdim | I could have done / I would be able to |
Aorist conjugation: the everyday “can”
| Person | gelmek | yapmak |
|---|---|---|
| ben | gelebilirim | yapabilirim |
| sen | gelebilirsin | yapabilirsin |
| o | gelebilir | yapabilir |
| biz | gelebiliriz | yapabiliriz |
| siz | gelebilirsiniz | yapabilirsiniz |
| onlar | gelebilirler | yapabilirler |
The negative: -(y)eme / -(y)ama means “cannot”
To say “cannot”, Turkish does not negate -ebil. It replaces it with -(y)eme / -(y)ama, and the bil disappears.
| Positive (can) | Negative (cannot) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| gidebilirim | gidemem | I can go / I can’t go |
| yapabilirim | yapamam | I can do / I can’t do |
| anlayabilirim | anlayamam | I can understand / I can’t understand |
| gelebiliriz | gelemeyiz | we can come / we can’t come |
Negative aorist paradigm
The negative aorist has its own pattern: no -z in the first person.
| Person | yapmak | gelmek |
|---|---|---|
| ben | yapamam | gelemem |
| sen | yapamazsın | gelemezsin |
| o | yapamaz | gelemez |
| biz | yapamayız | gelemeyiz |
| siz | yapamazsınız | gelemezsiniz |
| onlar | yapamazlar | gelemezler |
Negative ability in other tenses
- Present continuous: anla- → anlayamıyorum (I can’t understand). The a of -ama drops before -ıyor.
- Past: gel- → gelemedim (I couldn’t come), uyu- → uyuyamadım (I couldn’t sleep).
- Future: git- → gidemeyeceğim (I won’t be able to go).
The three meanings of -ebil
1. Ability
- Türkçe konuşabiliyorum. — I can speak Turkish.
- Yüzebilir misin? — Can you swim?
- Bu kutuyu tek başıma kaldıramam. — I can’t lift this box on my own.
- Gürültüden uyuyamadım. — I couldn’t sleep because of the noise.
2. Permission and polite requests
Put the question particle mi after the aorist ability form:
- Girebilir miyim? — May I come in?
- Bir şey sorabilir miyim? — Can I ask something?
- Pencereyi açabilir misiniz? — Could you open the window?
- Hesabı alabilir miyiz? — Could we have the bill?
- Burada fotoğraf çekebilirsiniz. — You may take photos here.
To refuse permission, people usually use the negative aorist: Buraya park edemezsiniz. — You can’t park here.
3. Possibility (“may”, “might”)
- Yağmur yağabilir. — It may rain.
- Geç kalabilirim, beni beklemeyin. — I might be late, don’t wait for me.
- Bu doğru olabilir. — This could be true.
- Ali evde olabilir. — Ali may be at home.
Can’t vs. might not
Turkish keeps these two meanings apart by moving the negative suffix:
| Form | Structure | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| gelemez | gel + eme + z | He can’t come. |
| gelmeyebilir | gel + me + yebil + ir | He might not come. |
| gelemeyebilir | gel + eme + yebil + ir | He might not be able to come. |
- Yarın gelmeyebilirim. — I might not come tomorrow.
- Otobüs bu saatte çalışmayabilir. — The bus might not be running at this hour.
The middle form uses the ordinary verb negative -me / -ma (see negation) plus -yebil.
Past ability: yapabildim, yapabiliyordum, yapabilirdim
English “could” covers several ideas, and Turkish separates them:
- Sonunda bileti alabildim. — I finally managed to buy the ticket. (one specific success)
- Çocukken çok hızlı koşabiliyordum. — As a child I could run very fast. (a past ability over time)
- Bana söyleseydin yardım edebilirdim. — If you had told me, I could have helped. (unrealised possibility; see the conditional mood)
-ebilmek as an infinitive
Because the ability stem is a verb, it has its own infinitive and can follow verbs like istemek (to want):
- Türkçeyi iyi konuşabilmek istiyorum. — I want to be able to speak Turkish well.
- Erken çıkabilmek için işi bitirdim. — I finished the work so that I could leave early.
Skills: bilmek or -ebilmek?
For skills you have learned, Turkish often uses bilmek (to know) with a verbal noun instead of, or alongside, -ebil:
- Araba kullanmayı biliyorum. — I know how to drive.
- Araba kullanabiliyorum. — I can drive.
- Yüzme bilmiyorum. — I can’t swim (I never learned).
- Bugün yüzemem, hastayım. — I can’t swim today, I’m ill.
The last two show the difference: bilmiyorum is a missing skill, yüzemem is a skill you can’t use right now.
Short dialogue
- Selin: Yarın akşam bize gelebilir misin? — Can you come over to our place tomorrow evening?
- Mark: Maalesef gelemem, geç saate kadar çalışacağım. — Unfortunately I can’t, I’ll be working late.
- Selin: Peki, cumartesi olabilir mi? — OK, could Saturday work?
- Mark: Cumartesi olabilir, ama biraz geç kalabilirim. — Saturday could work, but I might be a bit late.
- Selin: Sorun değil. Adresi bulabilecek misin? — No problem. Will you be able to find the address?
- Mark: Konumu atarsan bulabilirim. — If you send me the location, I can find it.
Common mistakes
- Negating -ebil directly. Gidebilmiyorum is wrong. Use gidemiyorum (I can’t go).
- Adding -z or -ım in the first-person negative aorist. Yapamazım is wrong. Use yapamam; for “we”, yapamayız.
- Forgetting the buffer y. Okuabilir is wrong. Use okuyabilir.
- Writing the suffix as a separate word. Yapa bilirim is wrong; it is one word: yapabilirim.
- Harmonising -bil. The i in -bil never changes: yapabilir, not yapabılır.
- Mixing up can’t and might not. Gelemez (he can’t come) and gelmeyebilir (he might not come) are different statements.
In fast speech you will hear the vowel before the y raised (anlıyabilirim, bekliyebilirim), but the standard spelling stays anlayabilirim, bekleyebilirim.
Mini-exercise
Make the form in brackets.
- Bu soruyu (cevapla-, can, ben) → ?
- Yarın (gel-, can’t, aorist, ben) → ?
- Dün gece hiç (uyu-, couldn’t, ben) → ?
- Kapıyı (aç-, could you?, siz) → ?
- Yarın yağmur (yağ-, might not) → ?
- Hocayı (anla-, can’t, present continuous, ben) → ?
Answers: 1. cevaplayabilirim 2. gelemem 3. uyuyamadım 4. açabilir misiniz? 5. yağmayabilir 6. anlayamıyorum
Practice this
Type any verb into the verb conjugator to see its full ability paradigm, then compare it with the necessitative mood, Turkish’s way of saying “must” and “should”.
