-ması istisna edilmir

In professional Azerbaijani (journalism, law, and academia), speakers use this pattern to 'hedge' their claims. It avoids making a definitive prediction while acknowledging a potential outcome.

1. Formation:
The pattern follows vowel harmony:

• Back vowels (a, ı, o, u) → -ması istisna edilmir
• Front vowels (e, ə, i, ö, ü) → -məsi istisna edilmir

While the 3rd person possessive is most common, the pattern easily takes 1st and 2nd person possessive suffixes as well (e.g., Mənim getməyim istisna edilmir). To express that an event not happening is a possibility, add the negative suffix -ma / -mə directly to the verb stem, before the verbal noun suffix, resulting in two consecutive -ma / -mə suffixes before the possessive suffix: -maması / -məməsi (e.g., Onun gəlməməsi istisna edilmir - It is not excluded that he won't come).

2. Grammatical Role and Case:
The verbal noun phrase acts as the subject of the sentence. Because the verb istisna edilmir is in the passive voice, the action (the possibility) is the subject. The logical subject of the action (the 'doer' or the thing changing) takes the definite genitive case if it is specific (e.g., Havanın soyuması...). However, indefinite or general subjects usually stay unmarked, with no genitive suffix (e.g., Qar yağması istisna edilmir).

3. Participle Variations:
Instead of the verbal noun, participle forms are frequently used. Just like the verbal noun in Section 2, the logical subject of these participles also takes the definite genitive case. The future participle (-acağı / -əcəyi) emphasizes that a specific future event is not ruled out (e.g., görüşün keçiriləcəyi istisna edilmir; or with 1st person: mənim gedəcəyim istisna olunmur). Additionally, the past/non-future participle (-dığı / -diyi / -duğu / -düyü) is highly common in journalism and law to express that it is not excluded that something was the case or already happened (e.g., qərarın qəbul edildiyi istisna edilmir). Note that istisna olunmur and istisna deyil are highly common synonyms for istisna edilmir, used interchangeably in both formal and everyday contexts.

4. Usage with 'ki':
Sometimes the phrase is used as a standalone introductory clause: İstisna edilmir ki... (It is not excluded that...). In this case, the following clause functions as a subject subordinate clause (mübtəda budaq cümləsi). The standard and most common usage is to follow this with a positive indicative verb. However, be aware of a specific 'pleonastic negative' nuance: occasionally, speakers might follow it with a verb in the negative subjunctive or optative to express a positive possibility or fear (e.g., İstisna edilmir ki, o, qərarını dəyişməsin - It is not excluded that he might change his decision).

5. Active Voice Equivalents:
While the passive form is very common, active voice equivalents (e.g., istisna etmir, istisna etmirik) are frequently used when the entity doing the excluding is specified. For example, ÜST təkrar yoluxmanı istisna etmir (WHO does not exclude reinfection).

6. Tense Flexibility:
While typically used in the present tense, the main verb can change tense to reflect the past (e.g., istisna edilmirdi - it was not excluded).