-eme / -ama: cannot, could not

The idea

Put -eme- after a stem whose last vowel is front (e i ö ü) and -ama- after one whose last vowel is back (a ı o u), then add the tense: gel-eme-m, bak-ama-m. A stem that ends in a vowel takes y first: okuyamam, söyleyemem. In the present continuous the vowel narrows: gelemiyorum, bakamıyorum.

Examples

• Bugün sinemaya gelemiyorum.I can't come to the cinema today.The pronoun is dropped. Before -yor the final e of -eme- narrows to i: gel-emi-yor-um.
• Annem telefonu bulamadı.My mother could not find the phone.
• Biz bu kapıyı açamıyoruz.We can't open this door.
• Bu akşam gelemem.I can't come tonight.Compare Bu akşam gelmem, which means I won't come tonight and is a choice. With -eme- something stops you; with plain -me- you decline or simply do not.
• Yarın okula gidemem.I can't go to school tomorrow.The verb git softens its t to d before a vowel: gid-emem. Gitemem is wrong, and gitmem would mean I won't go.
• Acı yiyemem.I can't eat spicy food.The verbs ye- and de- change to yi- and di- before -eme-: yi-y-eme-m, di-y-eme-m. Yemem would mean I won't eat.
• gelememI can't comegel·eme-eme / -ama: cannot, could not·mAorist person endings: -im, -sin, -iz, -siniz, -ler
• okuyamadımI couldn't readoku·yBuffer -y-: the y that joins vowels·ama-eme / -ama: cannot, could not·dı-di, -dı, -du, -dü, -ti: the past (geldi, yaptı)·mPast person endings: -m, -n, -k, -niz, -ler
• bakamıyorsunyou can't lookbak·amı-eme / -ama: cannot, could not·yor-iyor / -ıyor / -uyor / -üyor: happening now·sun-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we are
• gelemeyeceğizwe won't be able to comegel·eme-eme / -ama: cannot, could not·yBuffer -y-: the y that joins vowels·eceğ-ecek / -acak: will, going to·iz-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we are

Watch out

Plain -me- is not 'cannot': gelmem means 'I won't come' or 'I don't come'. And two verbs change: git- gives gidemem and ye- gives yiyemem, not gitemem or yemem.

Try it yourself

1. Say I can't come: build it from gel (come), first person.

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   gelemem

   gelemem: the last vowel of gel is e, which is front, so -eme-, then the aorist ending -m.

2. Say I couldn't read: build it from oku (read), past, first person.

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   okuyamadım

   okuyamadım: oku ends in a vowel, so y comes first; the back vowel u gives -ama-, then -dı and -m.

3. Say I can't go: build it from git (go), first person.

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   gidemem

   gidemem: git softens its t to d before the vowel of -eme-, so gitemem is wrong.

4. You choose not to come tonight; you are not unable. Use the plain negative of gel (come).

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   gelmem

   gelmem: the speaker chooses not to come, so plain -me- is right; -eme- would say that something stops them.

Use it today

Write three sentences about things you cannot do this week. For each, circle the stem, the -eme- or -ama-, and the tense ending.