You will say that something stops you from doing a thing, and tell this apart from simply not doing it.
The idea
Put -eme- (after e i ö ü) or -ama- (after a ı o u) between the verb stem and the tense ending: gel becomes gelemem, gelemiyorum, gelemedim, gelemeyeceğim. After a stem that ends in a vowel, a y comes in: bekleyemem, okuyamam. The verb git softens its t before a vowel: gidemiyorum. The verbs ye- and de- turn into yi- and di-: yiyemem.
| Tense | Front vowel | Back vowel |
|---|---|---|
| geniş zaman | gelemem | yapamam |
| şimdiki zaman | gelemiyorum | yapamıyorum |
| görülen geçmiş zaman | gelemedim | yapamadım |
| gelecek zaman | gelemeyeceğim | yapamayacağım |
| ünlüyle biten kök, geniş zaman | bekleyemem | okuyamam |
Examples
- Telefon çalışmıyor, seni arayamıyorum.The phone is not working, so I can't call you.Çalışmıyor is the plain negative: the phone does not work. Arayamıyorum is the inability form: something stops me from calling.
- Ali dün akşam hiç uyuyamadı.Ali could not sleep at all last night.
- Çocuk bu kutuyu kaldıramaz.The child cannot lift this box.In the aorist the third person ends in -z: kaldıramaz. With ben it is kaldıramam, with biz kaldıramayız.
- okuyamıyorumI cannot readokuyamı-eme / -ama: cannot, could notyor-iyor / -ıyor / -uyor / -üyor: happening nowum-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we are
- gidemeyeceğizwe will not be able to gogideme-eme / -ama: cannot, could notyeceğ-ecek / -acak: will, going toiz-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we are
- Ali bu soruyu çözemedi.Ali could not solve this question.
- Sabahları hiçbir şey yiyemem.I can't eat anything in the mornings.The verb ye- changes to yi- before the ability suffix: yiyemem. De- does the same: diyemem.
- Bugün gelmiyorum.I am not coming today.Gelmiyorum is a plain negative: I am not coming, whatever the reason. Gelemiyorum would say that something stops me.
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Watch out
Do not use the plain negative for "cannot": gelmiyorum means I am not coming, while gelemiyorum means something stops me from coming. In the aorist one vowel keeps them apart: gelmem (I won't come) against gelemem (I can't come).
Try it yourself
The road is closed, so I cannot come to school today. Use the -yor tense.
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gelemiyorum
gelemiyorum: gel has the front vowel e, so -eme-, and the -yor tense turns it into -emiyor.
We could not study yesterday. Use the past tense with biz.
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çalışamadık
çalışamadık: the last vowel of çalış is ı, a back vowel, so -ama-, then the past -dı and -k for biz.
I cannot wait this long. Use the aorist with ben.
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bekleyemem
bekleyemem: bekle ends in a vowel, so a y joins it to -eme-; the aorist ending for ben is -m.
I have no ticket, so I cannot go to the concert this evening. Use the -yor tense.
Show answer or example answer
gidemiyorum
gidemiyorum: git softens to gid before a vowel, then come -eme-, -iyor and the ending for ben.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
The road is closed, so I cannot come to school today. Use the -yor tense.
We could not study yesterday. Use the past tense with biz.
I cannot wait this long. Use the aorist with ben.
I have no ticket, so I cannot go to the concert this evening. Use the -yor tense.
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 cannot read
Tap the parts in order to build this word: we will not be able to go
Keep your progress
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Write four sentences about things you cannot do this week and say what stops you. Check each verb: is it -eme- or -ama-, and does it need a y?