A2 · Verb forms · about 7 minutes
Can and may with “-ebil”
I can, may I?
A piece between stem and tense turns “I do” into “I can do”.
Do you know this already?
“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 3 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need3
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- fotoğrafphoto
- çekmekto pull; to have a signal; to take (a photo)
- sonundaat last, finally; in the end
Understand
Remember-ebil/-abil plus the aorist: gelebilirim, yapabilirim.
- Signal words
- lütfen
- belki
- acaba
The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Turkish. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) tense marker person ending question marker
| I can do | (ben) yapabilirim |
| you can do | (sen) yapabilirsin |
| he, she can do | (o) yapabilir |
| we can do | (biz) yapabiliriz |
| you can do (plural, polite) | (siz) yapabilirsiniz |
| they can do | (onlar) yapabilirler |
| I can come | (ben) gelebilirim |
| I can read | (ben) okuyabilirim |
| I can go | (ben) gidebilirim |
| may I come in? | (ben) girebilir miyim? |
| I managed to do it | (ben) yapabildim |
| it may rain | yağabilir |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
-ebil or -abil goes on the stem, usually followed by the aorist.
Türkçe biraz konuşabilirim.I can speak a little Turkish.
Only the first vowel follows harmony; bil stays the same.
Pencereyi açabilir misin?Can you open the window?
After a vowel a y goes in.
Bu kitabı okuyabilirsin.You can read this book.
As a question it is a request or asks for permission.
Burada fotoğraf çekebilir miyim?May I take photos here?
Without a question it can also be a possibility.
Akşam yağmur yağabilir.It may rain this evening.
Example sentences
Bana yardım edebilir misiniz?Could you help me?
Burada oturabilirsiniz.You can sit here.
Yarın gelebilirim.I can come tomorrow.
5 more example sentences
Bu akşam bize gelebilir misin?Can you come round this evening?
Sonunda bilet bulabildik.We finally managed to get tickets.
Kartla ödeyebilir miyim?Can I pay by card?
Otobüs geç kalabilir.The bus may be late.
Çocuklar bahçede oynayabilir.The children can play in the garden.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
If you learn “can” as a fixed piece, you tend to leave it unchanged and use e after a, ı, o, u as well: açebilir. But the first vowel of -ebil belongs to the stem before it and follows two-way harmony. Only bil always stays the same.
Quick check
A warm-up: 2 questions, answered straight away. They do not count towards your progress.
Practise
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Next on the path: 41 · The aorist: what is always trueBack to the learning path
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
“Can” is not a separate verb in Turkish but a piece you attach to the stem: -ebil or -abil. After it comes a perfectly ordinary tense, usually the aorist: yapabilirim“I can do (it)”gelebilirsin“you can come”
Only the first e or a follows harmony; the bil always stays the same: gelebilir, but alabilir. After a vowel a y goes in: okuyabilir, bekleyebilir. With gitmek and etmek, t becomes d: gidebilir, yardım edebilir.
The form covers the same three meanings as English “can”: ability (Türkçe konuşabilirim “I can speak Turkish”), permission (Girebilir miyim? “May I come in?”) and possibility (Yarın yağmur yağabilir. “It may rain tomorrow.”). Polite requests are made like this: Bana yardım edebilir misiniz? “Could you help me?”
With -di it means “could, managed to”: Bileti bulabildim. “I managed to get the ticket.”
A closer look
Learnt skills: “bilmek”
For something you have learnt, many people prefer bilmek “to know” with the verbal noun: Yüzme biliyorum. “I can swim”, literally “I know swimming”. — Araba kullanmayı biliyor musun? “Can you drive?” Yüzebilirim is also correct and rather says: I am able to.
Yüzme biliyorum ama bugün yüzemem, hastayım.I can swim, but I can’t today, I’m ill.
Worth knowing1
Worth knowing
Compared with English
English has “can”, “may”, “be able to” and “might”. Turkish has one piece in the verb. The sentence shows what is meant: a question to someone is usually a request or a request for permission.
Girebilir miyim? — Tabii, girebilirsiniz.May I come in? — Of course, come in.
The verbs on this page, in every form: bilmek · yüzmek