Learn Turkish: O gizemli canavar bu gölde yaşamış olamaz; bu sadece bir rivayet. - That mysterious monster cannot have lived in this lake; this is just a rumor.

This structure combines the reported past suffix -mış on the main verb (yaşamak, to live) with the negative potential form of the auxiliary verb olmak (ol-a-maz, it cannot be). Yaşamış establishes the past action, and olamaz adds the strong impossibility. Literally, it translates to "it cannot be that it lived," giving us the English negative past deduction "cannot have lived."

What is the difference between saying yaşamış olamaz and yaşayamazdı?

Yaşamış olamaz is a deduction about a past event: "I strongly deduce it didn't live here (despite what people say)." Yaşayamazdı, on the other hand, means "it could not live" or "it was incapable of living" (for example, because the water was too cold). Here, we are rejecting a rumor about the past, so the deduction form is the right choice.

Could I use söylenti instead of rivayet for the word "rumor"?

Yes, söylenti and rivayet are mostly interchangeable. However, rivayet has a slightly more historical, mythical, or epic tone to it, similar to a "tale" or "legend." Because the sentence is talking about a gizemli canavar (mysterious monster), rivayet fits the mood perfectly.

Why is the word bu repeated twice in this sentence?