yebilir

Yabilir is a Turkish verbal form that expresses possibility or ability. It is not a free-standing verb; rather, it is the modal suffix -ebil- (with its vowel-harmony variants -ebilir, -abilir, -abil) attached to a verb stem, and then inflected for person and tense with the ordinary Turkish endings. The resulting forms convey meaning such as “can do,” “may do,” or “could do,” depending on context and tense.

Formation and usage. The base suffix -ebil- adds the sense of possibility or ability to the action of the stem. After forming the stem with -ebil-, Turkish personal endings are added to indicate the subject: yapabilirim (I can do), yapabilirsin (you can do), yapabilir (he/she/it can do), yapabiliriz (we can do), yapabilirsiniz (you can do), yapabilirler (they can do). The negative and interrogative forms are built in the same framework, e.g., yapamam (I cannot do), yapabilir misin? (Can you do?), and so on.

Nuance and contexts. The -ebil- forms are widely used to discuss capability, possibility, or permission in present or future contexts. They can express a simple statement of ability (O bunu yapabilir = He can do this), a supposition (Bu sorun çözülebilir = This problem might be solved), or a request or question (Bunu yapabilir misin? = Can you do this?). They also appear in past-time or conditional contexts using additional endings, as in yapabilirdi (he could do it) or yapabilirdi (he could possibly do it).

See also. Turkish grammar of the potential mood and the suffixes -ebil-/ -abilir-, which form the core of the yebi r family of forms. Additional examples and conjugation tables illustrate the full range of person, tense, and negation.