-a/-y olmaydi

Cannot

Level 2

Kela olmayman means "I cannot come". The negative -ma- goes on olmoq, and in speech the two words often fuse: kelolmayman.

How It Works

Where the negative goes
In Can: -a olmoq the first verb carries the meaning and olmoq carries all the endings. The negative is one of those endings, so it goes on olmoq too, as in Negative Verbs With -ma-:

  • kela olmayman I cannot come
  • kela olmaysiz you cannot come
  • kela olmaydi he or she cannot come
  • kela olmadim I could not come (past)

After a vowel the first verb takes -y: uxla- → uxlay olmadim (I could not sleep).

The fused form
In speech the two words run together: kelolmayman, borolmaydi, topolmadik. Because the sound has changed, the spelling rules also allow writing these as one word. Both kela olmayman and kelolmayman are correct.

Won't or can't?
The plain negative kelmayman means "I am not coming" or "I won't come"; it can sound like a choice. Kela olmayman says something stops you, so it is the kinder way to turn down an invitation.

Not knowing how
Suza olmayman (I can't swim) says you are not able, for any reason: you never learned, or something stops you right now, such as an injury or cold water. To say plainly that you never learned, use Knowing How To: Suzishni bilmayman (I don't know how to swim).

Examples (6)

  1. Bugun kela olmayman.

    I can't come today.

    Word by Word: Today come-a take-not-I.

    The negative -ma- is on olmoq.

  2. Kechirasiz, kelolmayman.

    Sorry, I can't come.

    Word by Word: Sorry, come-a-take-not-I.

    The fused spoken form, also correct in writing.

  3. Kecha uxlay olmadim.

    I couldn't sleep last night.

    Word by Word: Yesterday sleep-y take-not-past-I.

    uxla- ends in a vowel, so it takes -y. The past is olmadim.

  4. Men bu soʻzni tushuna olmadim.

    I couldn't understand this word.

    Word by Word: I this word-object understand-a take-not-past-I.

  5. Kalitni topa olmadik.

    We couldn't find the key.

    Word by Word: Key-object find-a take-not-past-we.

  6. Bola hali yura olmaydi.

    The baby can't walk yet.

    Word by Word: Child still walk-a take-not.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting -ma- on the main verb instead of on olmoq.

    Bugun kelma olaman.
    Bugun kela olmayman.

    The first verb always keeps -a or -y. Only olmoq becomes negative: olmayman.

  • Using emas to say cannot.

    Men kela olaman emas.
    Men kela olmayman.

    Emas negates noun sentences. A verb like olmoq is negated with -ma-.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-a/-y olmaydiLevel 2Cannot

Learn This First

Builds on Can: -a olmoq and Negative Verbs With -ma-.

Words in This Pattern

olmoq