You will add -ebil- to a verb stem to say what you can do, what may happen and what you may ask for.
The idea
Add -ebil- to the verb stem, or -abil- after a back vowel (a ı o u), then a tense and person ending: gelebilirim “I can come”. If the stem ends in a vowel, a y goes between them: okuyabilirim. The form means ability, possibility and, in questions, permission: Oturabilir miyim?
| Last vowel of the stem | After a consonant | Example | After a vowel | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a, ı, o, u | -abil | yazabilir, kırabilir, koşabilir, tutabilir | -yabil | başlayabilir, tanıyabilir, okuyabilir |
| e, i, ö, ü | -ebil | gelebilir, verebilir, görebilir, gülebilir | -yebil | bekleyebilir, yürüyebilir |
Examples
- Size yarın yardım edebilirim.I can help you tomorrow.The verb etmek softens its t: yardım et- becomes yardım edebilirim.
- Burada oturabilir miyim?May I sit here?In a question with mi, -ebilir asks for permission. Mi is written apart and takes a person ending: miyim.
- Bu akşam sinemaya gidebiliriz.We can go to the cinema this evening.git- softens its t to d before a vowel: gid-ebil-iriz.
- Bu gece yağmur yağabilir.It may rain tonight.When no person is acting, -ebilir says that something is possible.
- görebilirimI can seegörebil-ebil- / -abil-: can and may (gelebilirim)ir-ir / -ar / -er: the aorist (gelir, yapar)imAorist person endings: -im, -sin, -iz, -siniz, -ler
- gidebilirsinizyou can gogidebil-ebil- / -abil-: can and may (gelebilirim)ir-ir / -ar / -er: the aorist (gelir, yapar)sinizAorist person endings: -im, -sin, -iz, -siniz, -ler
- yürüyebilirizwe can walkyürüyebil-ebil- / -abil-: can and may (gelebilirim)ir-ir / -ar / -er: the aorist (gelir, yapar)izAorist person endings: -im, -sin, -iz, -siniz, -ler
- Pencereyi açabilir misiniz?Can you open the window?
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Watch out
Learners often leave out the y after a vowel: it is okuyabilirim, not okuabilirim. The verbs git- and et- also soften before the vowel: gidebilirim, edebilirim, never gitebilirim.
Try it yourself
Say “I can come” from gel (to come).
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gelebilirim
gelebilirim: the last vowel of gel- is e, so the suffix is -ebil-, followed by -ir and -im.
Say “I can wait” from bekle (to wait).
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bekleyebilirim
bekleyebilirim: bekle- ends in a vowel, so a y joins it to -ebil-.
Say “I can go” from git (to go).
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gidebilirim
gidebilirim: git- softens its t to d before a vowel.
Can you close the door? Fill the gap with kapat (to close) plus “can”, in the form that goes before misiniz.
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kapatabilir
kapatabilir: the last vowel of kapat- is a, a back vowel, so -abil-; the t of kapat- does not soften the way it does in git-.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Say “I can come” from gel (to come).
Say “I can wait” from bekle (to wait).
Say “I can go” from git (to go).
Can you close the door? Fill the gap with kapat (to close) plus “can”, in the form that goes before misiniz.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the parts in order to build this word: I can see
Tap the parts in order to build this word: you can go
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Write four things you can do and two requests for permission with -ebilir. Check the last vowel of each stem.