Turkish 116 - The negative capability and possibility suffix 1

There are three different ways to negate verbs that contain the capability suffix. But, you will learn only two of them for now.

  1. You can negate the capability suffix
  2. You can negate the main verb

These different possibilities will be divided into seperate lessons, so there is no need to be intimidated.

In this lesson, you will learn how to negate the capability suffix. Unfortunately, when negated, the suffix takes an entirely different form. Let's see an example in the past tense.

TurkishEnglish
Positivegel-ebil-di-mI could come.
Negative 1gel-e-me-di-mI couldn't come.

Notice how the -(y)Ebil turns into -(y)E and then you add the negative past. So the negative capability suffix -(y)E always goes together with the negative version of the tense ending.

TurkishEnglish
Positivebaşla-y-abil-ir-im.I can start.
Negative 1başla-y-a-ma-m.I can't start.

Try to apply the negative capability suffix on some verbs you are familiar with.

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