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In Turkish, expressing inability ("cannot") is not as simple as making the ability form negative. Instead, we insert a special ability vowel—**-a-** or **-e-**—right before the negative Aorist endings.

### The Inability Vowel: -(y)a / -(y)e

The ability vowel follows 2-way vowel harmony:
- Add **-a-** for back vowels (a, ı, o, u).
- Add **-e-** for front vowels (e, i, ö, ü).
- If the verb root ends in a vowel, add the buffer **-y-** (e.g., *oku* → *okuya*).

*(Note: Just like in the previous lesson, some verb roots ending in **t**, like **etmek** or **tatmak**, soften to **d** before this vowel: **tat-** → **tada-**).*

### "I Cannot" and "We Cannot"

For the first person ("I" and "we"), the negative Aorist endings are **-mam / -mem** and **-mayız / -meyiz**. Combined with the ability vowel, the formulas become:

- I cannot: **Verb Root + (y)amam / (y)emem** (*gör* → *göremem*)
- We cannot: **Verb Root + (y)amayız / (y)emeyiz** (*geç* → *geçemeyiz*)

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### "He / She / It Cannot"

For the third person, the negative Aorist ending is **-maz / -mez**. The inability formula is **Verb Root + (y)amaz / (y)emez**.

- **duy** (hear) + **amaz** = **duyamaz** (he/she/it cannot hear)
- **ayırt et** (distinguish) + **emez** = **ayırt edemez** (he/she/it cannot distinguish)

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### "You Cannot"

To say "you cannot" (singular/informal), simply add the second-person ending **-sın / -sin** to the third-person form, creating **-(y)amazsın / -(y)emezsin**.

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Expressing inability (-amaz)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

postposition

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstrative pronouns (bu, şu, o)

Basic question words (kim, ne)

Plural nouns (-lar, -ler)

I am and you are (-(y)ım, -sın)

We, you, and they are (-(y)ız, -sınız)

Negative statements (değil)

Yes and no questions (mı, mi, mu, mü)

Questions with 'to be' (mısın, mıyım)

Numbers 1 to 10 (bir, iki, üç)

Numbers 11 to 20 (on bir, on iki)

Numbers by tens to 100 (otuz, kırk...)

Counting objects (tane)

The locative case (-da, -de)

Consonant assimilation (-ta, -te)

Asking where (nerede)

There is / there are (var)

There is not / there are not (yok)

Asking how many (kaç)

Infinitive verbs (-mak, -mek)

Informal commands (git, gel)

Negative commands (-ma, -me)

Polite and plural commands (-In, -InIz)

Basic word order

Present continuous for consonant roots (-iyor)

Present continuous for vowel roots (-iyor)

Present continuous personal suffixes (-iyorum)

Negative present continuous (-miyor)

Present continuous questions (-iyor mu)

Future plans with present continuous

The dative case (-(y)a, -(y)e)

Consonant mutation (k, t, p, ç to ğ, d, b, c)

From or out of (-dan / -den)

Directional question words (nereye, nereden)

First and second person possessives (-(i)m, -(i)n)

Third person possessive (-(s)i)

Plural possessives (-imiz, -iniz, -leri)

The genitive case (-(n)in)

Definite noun compounds (-nin ... -si)

Indefinite noun compounds (bare noun + -(s)i)

Possessive buffer letter (n)

Spatial postpositions (içinde, üstünde)

The definite direct object (-(y)ı, -(y)i)

Object question words (kimi, neyi)

Adjectives modifying nouns

Manner and choice questions (nasıl, hangi)

Basic degree modifiers (çok, biraz)

Comparisons (daha, en)

Days of the week

Months of the year

The time question word (ne zaman)

Telling time (saat, buçuk)

Asking the time (saat kaç, saat kaçta)

Basic conjunctions (ve, ama, veya)

Causality conjunction (çünkü)

Means and accompaniment (ile, -(y)lA)

Purpose and beneficiaries (için)

Expressing desire (-mak istemek)

The past copula (-(y)DI)

The direct past tense (-DI)

Past tense personal suffixes (-DIm, -DIn)

Past tense negative (-mAdI)

Past tense questions (-DI mI)

Ordinal numbers (-(I)ncI)

Greetings and politeness

Saying 'too' (de, da)

Conversation fillers (şey, yani, hadi)

Conversational essentials

Reflexive pronouns (kendim, kendin)

Reciprocal pronouns (birbiri)

Indefinite pronouns for people (herkes, kimse)

Indefinite pronouns for things and places (her şey, hiçbir şey)

Conjunctions of consequence (bu yüzden, bu nedenle)

Correlative conjunctions (hem... hem, ne... ne)

Verbs taking the dative case (-e / -a)

Verbs taking the ablative case (-den / -dan)

Time origin (beri)

Time duration (-DIr)

Comparisons of similarity (gibi)

Comparisons of equality (kadar)

Perspectives (göre)

Verbal nouns (-mA / -mE)

Verbal nouns as objects (-mAyI / -mEyI)

Verbal nouns with the dative (-mAyA / -mEyA)

General necessity (lazım / gerek)

Personal necessity (-mAm lazım)

Third-person commands (-sIn / -sInlAr)

First person singular optative (-(y)AyIm)

Question	Answer
fog	sis
clearly	net
There is a lot of fog, I cannot see in front of me clearly.	Çok sis var, önümü net göremem.
light (illumination)	ışık
sign	tabela
There is no light, we cannot read that sign in the dark.	Işık yok, karanlıkta o tabelayı okuyamayız.
blind	kör
to distinguish	ayırt etmek
That man is blind, he cannot distinguish colors.	O adam kör, renkleri ayırt edemez.
deaf	sağır
My father is deaf, he cannot hear your voice clearly.	Babam sağır, senin sesini net duyamaz.
to touch	dokunmak
That dog is very angry, I cannot touch it.	O köpek çok kızgın, ona dokunamam.
I cannot distinguish my own car in the dark.	Karanlıkta kendi arabamı ayırt edemem.
step	adım
I am very tired, I cannot take a step for you.	Çok yorgunum, senin için bir adım atamam.
to taste	tatmak
I am very full, I cannot taste this dessert.	Çok tokum, bu tatlıyı tadamam.
obstacle	engel
There is a big obstacle on the road, we cannot pass.	Yolda büyük bir engel var, geçemeyiz.
There is a lot of fog, we cannot step outside.	Çok sis var, dışarı adım atamayız.
There is no light here, you cannot read that sign.	Burada ışık yok, o tabelayı okuyamazsın.
That dog is deaf, it cannot hear the music.	O köpek sağır, müziği duyamaz.
That woman is blind, she cannot see this obstacle.	O kadın kör, bu engeli göremez.
The soup is very hot, you cannot taste it.	Çorba çok sıcak, onu tadamazsın.
The sign is very high, I cannot touch it.	Tabela çok yüksek, ona dokunamam.