Modal Verbs Flashcards
What is a Modal Verb?
Modal verbs are the verbs that explain ideas such as possibility, impossibility, necessity, probability and sufficiency. In English, the words ‘can, must, should, may…’ are used in combination with modal verbs.
The suffix -(y)ebil or -(y)abil are used to show ability and possibility according to the vowel harmony rules. In English, the word ‘can’ and past form of it ‘could’ are used to express a possibility.
a, ı, o, u -(y)abil
e, i, ö, ü -(y)ebil
gelmek - Seninle gelebilirim.
I can come with you.
sürmek - Onlar araba sürebilirler.
They can drive a car.
çalışmak - Birlikte çalışabiliriz.
We can work together.
konuşmak - Benimle konuşabilirsin.
You can talk with me.
Adding the letter ‘y’
The letter ‘y’ is added before the ‘-ebil/-abil’ if the verb root ends in vowel.
yürümek (to walk): Parka yürüyebilirdin. (You could walk to the park.)
anlamak (to understand): Seni anlayabiliyorum. (I can understand you.)
Expressing the impossibility
the suffix ‘-(y)eme or -(y)ama’ is used to express the impossibility.
O iyi şarkı söyleyemez. (She can’t sing well.)
Bu havada koşamam. (I can’t run when it’s raining.)
NEEDS MORE INFO HERE
Should/must in Turkish: -meli,-malı
Verb root + -meli/-malı + case suffix + personal suffix
The suffixes ‘-meli/-malı’ are used to show necessity. In English, the words ‘must’, ‘have to’ and ‘should’ are used to express a necessity.
NEEDS MORE INFO HERE
öğrenmek (to learn) Fransızca öğrenmelisin.
You should/must learn French.
gelmek (to come) Bizimle gelmeli.
He should/must come with us.
okumak (to read) Bu kitabı okumalıyım.
I should/must read this book.
uyumak (to sleep) Erken uyumalısın.
You should/must sleep early.
yemek (to eat) akşam yemeğini yemeliyiz.
we should/must eat the dinner
Necessity expressed with ‘gerek/lazım’
‘lazim/gerek’ means “need to do something”
Eve gitmem gerek / lazım. = Eve gitmeliyim. (I need to go to home.)
Ödevini yapman gerek / lazım. = Ödevini yapmalısın. (You should/need to do your homework.)
