contrastive english and turkish grammar, yuksel goknel
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
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TURKISH GRAMMAR
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FOREWORD
The Turkish Grammar book that you have just started reading is quite different from
the grammar books that you read in schools. This kind of Grammar is known as traditional
grammar. The main difference of a traditional grammar and that of a trans-formational one
is that the first one describes a natural language as a static object, but the second one
describes both the parts of the language engine and how it runs. Learning a traditional
grammar is like learning about a motionless car. There is some-thing lacking in this
description. It is the dynamics of the parts of a car that runs a hundred and twenty
kilometers an hour.
Traditional grammars describe only the physical appearance of a language; they do
not mind what goes on behind the curtain. The mind of a human being works like the
engine of a sports car. It arranges and chooses words matching one another, transforms
simple sentence units to use in different parts of sentences, and recollects morphemes
and phonemes to be produced by the human speech organs. All these activities are
simultaneously carried out by the human mind.
Another point that the traditional grammarians generally miss is that they write the
grammar of a certain language to teach it to those who have been learning it from the time
when they were born up to the time when they discover something called grammar. This
is like teaching a language to professional speakers.
Then, what is the use of a grammar? I believe most people were acquainted with it
when they started learning a foreign language. Therefore, a grammar written for those
who are trying to learn a second language is very useful both in teaching and learning a
second language.
I started teaching English as a second language in 1952, a long time ago. Years
passed and one day I found myself as a postgraduate Fulbright student at the University
of Texas at Austin in 1960. Although I studied there for only a short period, I learnt enough
from Prof. Archibald A. Hill and Dr. De Camp to stimulate me to learn more about
Linguistics.
After I came back to Turkey, it was difficult to find books on linguistics in booksellers in
Istanbul. Thanks to the American Library in Istanbul, I was able to borrow the books that
attracted my attention.
In those books, I discovered Noam Chomsky, whose name I had not heard during my stay
in the U.S.A.
I must confess that I am indebted to the scholars and the library above in writing this
Turkish Grammar.
I am also grateful to my son Dr. zgr Gknel who encouraged me to write this book
and to Vivatinell U.K., which sponsored to publish it.
YKSEL GKNEL
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
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TO MY WIFE AYE GKNEL WITH LOVE
Yksel Gknel
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
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COMPLETALY REVISED COLORED ADITION
2015
YKSEL GKNEL
Vivatinell Bilim-Kltr Yaynlar
2015
Grafik Tasarm Uygulamalar
Vivatinell Press
letiim:
Vivatinell Cosmopharmaceutics
Fetih Mah. Tunca Sk. No:2 34704
Ataehir / stanbul / TRKYE
Tel: +90 216 470 09 44
Faks: +90 216 470 09 48
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
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CONTENTS
Foreword 2
Contents 7
Infntves and Gerunds 13
Logical, Morphemic, and Oral Sequencing 15
Turkish Grammar 18
Turkish Vowel and Consonant Harmony 19
Vowel Harmony Sequence 19
Consonant HarmonySequence 21
Morphemes and Their Allomorphs 24
Derivational Morphemes and Their Allomorphs 25
Morphemes Attached to Nouns that Produce Nouns 25
Morphemes Attached to Nouns that Produce Adjectives 26
Morphemes Attached to Adjectives that Produce Nouns 29
Morphemes Attached to Verbs that Produce Nouns 30
Morphemes Attached to Verbs that Produce Adjectives 34
Morphemes Attached to Nouns that Produce Verbs 35
Morphemes Attached to Adjectives that Produce Verbs 36
Inflectional Morphemes and Their Allomorphs 36
Nominal Phrases 39
Adverbs and Adverbials 42
Transformational Activity of the Logic 43
Form and Function in Languages 46
Using Adjectives as Adverbs 48
Inflectional Morphemes 50
Defining [] Morpheme and Its Allomorphs [i, , , u] 50
The [LE], [LE.YIN] and [E], [DE], [DEN] Inflectional Morphemes 55
[LE] allomorphs: [le, la] 55
[LE.YIN]: 56
[E], [DE], [DEN] and [LE] Morphemes 56
[E] allomorphs: [e, a] 58
[DE] allomorphs: [de, da, te, ta] 64
[DEN] allomorphs: [den, dan, ten, tan] 66
Possessive + Owned Noun Compounds (sim Tamlamalar) 68
Definite Noun Compounds (Belirtili sim Tamlamalar) 68
Indefinite Noun Compounds (Belirtisiz sim Tamlamalar) 75
Noun Compounds Without Suffixes (Taksz Tamlamalar) 76
Noun + Infinitive Compounds (sim Mastar Tamlamalar) 77
Prepositions and Postpositions (Edatlar ve lgeler) 79
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Primary, Secondary, and Weak Stresses, and Intonation 80
[E], [DE], [DEN] Morphemes + Postpositions 89
Inflectional Morphemes Attached to Verbs 96
Linking Verbs 97
Linking Verbs Past 102
Present Modals with Verb be 109
must be 109
cant be 110
may be 111
may not be 112
The Interrogative Sentences Whose answers are "Yes" or "No" 113
must be, have to be, should be, ought to be, neednt be 115
have to be (zorundaym) 116
neednt be (gerek yok) 117
The Simple Past Verb be 117
Interrogative Words 121
[M] (Rumor, Inference) (sylenti, anlam karma) 125
The Future Form of be (will be) 127
there is, there are; have, (have got) 128
there used to be, there used to have 129
there must (may) be, there cant be, there is going to be 130
Imperatives and Wishes 130
Wish 132
The Simple Present Tense (Geni Zaman) 134
The Verbs Ending with Vowels or Consonants 138
Turkish Verbs that are Formed by Objects Followed by Verbs 139
The Negative Form of The Simple Present Tense 141
The Simple Present Positive Question 143
The Simple Present Negative Question 144
The Question Words Used in the Simple Present Tense 146
The Present Continuous and the Present Perfect Continuous 148
The Verbs That Are Not Used In The Simple Present In Turkish 153
Turkish Verb Frames (Trkede Fiil atlar) 155
Transitive and Intransitive Verb Frames 155
Reflexive Verb Frames 156
The Passive Transformation of the Intransitive Verb Frames 157
Reciprocal Verb Frames (te Fiil atlar) 159
Both Transitively and Intransitively Used English Verbs 161
The Simple Past and the Present Perfect 167
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Mili Past Tense (Rumor and Inference) (Mili Gemi) 175
The Simple Future and be going to 179
The Past Continuous Tense 182
The Past Perfect Continuous Tense 186
Was (were) going to 187
used to 188
The Rumor Forms of The Simple and The Continuous Tenses 189
The Past Perfect Tense 191
The Future Continuous Tense 192
The Future Perfect Tense 193
Infinitives (Mastarar) 194
The [mek, mak] Infinitives 194
The [me, ma] Infinitives 194
The [i, , , u] Infinitives 194
The [dik, dk, dk, duk, tik, tk, tk, tuk] Infinitives 194
Where and How the Infinitives Are Used 196
1.(a) The [mek, mak] Infinitives Used as Subject 196
1.(b) The [mak, mak] Infinitives Used before Postpositions 196
1.(c) The [mek, mak] Infinitives Used as Objects of iste 198
1.(d) The [mek, mak] Infinitives Used Attached to [DEN] Morph. 198
2.(a) The [me, ma] Infinitives Used Attached to Noun Compounds 200
2.(b) noun+infinitive-[], and V-[me-/y/i], V-[ma]-/y/] 201
2.(c) noun+infinitive-[e, a] 205
2.(d) noun+infinitive Compounds Followed by [den, dan] 206
3.(a) noun+infinitive-[], [E], [DE], [DEN] 207
4.(a) possessive noun+ V-[dik, dk, dk, duk, tik, tk, tk, tuk] 207
The Passive Infinitive 209
Modals 210
Present Modals 210
can, may [ebil, abil] 210
must [meli, mal] 214
have to (zorunda) 217
neednt (dont have to) 217
should (ought to) 218
Past Modals 221
Could 221
was (were) able to 222
would, could (polite request) 223
Perfect Modals 224
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must have 224
cant (couldnt) have 226
should have (ought to have) 227
may have 228
might have 229
neednt have 229
didnt need to 230
Transformations (English) 231
Nominalization of the Simple English Sentences 232
Transformation of the Simple Sentences into Modifiers 237
The Productivity of the Natural Languages 239
TheTransformed Simple Sentences Used as Adverbial Clauses 240
Turkish Sentence Nominalizations 243
Turkish Simple Sentence Nominalization 246
Transformed Nominal Phrases 246
The infinitives with [me, ma]: 248
The infinitives with [dik, dk, dk, duk, tik, tk, tk, tuk]: 248
Simple Sentence Nominalization 1: V - [DK] - [pers] - ([]) 249
The Simple Future Tense: V-[ecek, acak]-[pers]-[] 250
The Past Perfect: V-[mi, m, m, mu] + ol-[duk]-[pers]-[] 251
The Future Perfect V-[mi, m, m, mu] + ol-[duk]]-[pers]-[] 251
Simple Sentences with the Verb root ol (be) 251
Chain Noun Compounds 252
2. V- [DK]- [pers]-([]) 255
V-[M] + ol-[duk]-[pers]-([]) 258
Nominalized Phrases Containing question words 258
Turkish Modifier + Noun Compounds 261
Simple Sentences and Transformed Nominal Phrases 266
The Passive Transformation and the Passive Verb Frames 268
The Verb Frames 271
The Structural Composition of the Causative Verb Frames 272
A Short List of Verb Frames 273
Causative Verb Frames Examples 278
The Passive Causative 279
Some Example Sentences of the Verb Frames 280
Adverbial Clauses (Postpositional Adverbial Phrases) 327
Time 327
before 327
after 332
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when and while 333
while 337
as soon as 339
until 341
by and by the time 343
since 344
Cause or Reason 346
Contrast (Ramen) 348
Purpose 351
Place 354
Manner 355
as 355
as if (as though) 357
Result 359
so that such that 359
o kadar + adjective + noun-time + ki 360
too + adjective + to + V + iin and adjective + enough + to + Verb 361
Degree 362
Comparative Degree 362
Superlative Degree 364
Positive or Negative Equality 365
Parallel Proportion (Kout Uyum) 367
Wish 368
wish + would 368
wish + past subjunctive 369
wish + past perfect or perfect modal 370
Conditional Sentences 371
Present Real Supposition 371
Present Unreal (contrary to fact) Supposition 374
Past Real Supposition 375
Past Unreal (contrary to fact) Supposition 376
Orders and Requests 378
Plain Orders and Requests 378
Polite Requests 379
Polite Refusals 380
Offers 381
{ verb- [P] } 382
Question Tags ( deil mi?) 382
So do I (Neither do I) 384
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Conjunctions and Transitional Phrases 385
Intensifiers 392
Roots, Stems and Verb Frames 396
Morphemic and Oral Sequences 397
Symbols and Abbreviations 400
References 401
Note: The aim of this colored revised version of this book is not to make the pages look colorful, but to show the functional parts of the words in different colors. They are as follows: 1. Subject pronouns and personal allomorphs are blue. 2. Verb roots, verb stems and verb frames, and the deriva-tional allomorphs that change noun roots or stems, and adjec-tive roots into verbs are red. 3. Objects, nouns, coordinating conjunctions and the last suffixes that turn words into nouns are black. 4. Adverbs, adverbials, adverbial phrases, prepositions or postpositions, subordinating conjunctions, adverb claus-es, and the inflectional allomorphs that change nouns into ad-verbs are green. 5. Subject and object complements are brown. 6. Adjectives and noun modifiers, and the purple allo-morphs attached to nouns and verbs that change them into adjectives, and the a, an, the ariticles are purple. In short, when you see a black allomorph attached to the end of a Turkish or an English word, that word together with the black allomorph is a noun. When you see a green allomorph attached to a word, this word together with the green allo-morph is an adverb, and when you see a purple allomorph attached to a word, this word together with the purple allo-morph is an adjective or a noun modifier. In Turkish, the last allomorphs attached to the last parts of the words are the allomorphs that identify whether a word is a verb, an adjectve, an adverb, a preposition, or a noun.
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
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INFINITIVES AND GERUNDS
Before we begin with the English and Turkish grammars, it may be useful to
start with the Turkish infinitives, and English infinitives or gerunds.
In Turkish, there are only infinitives that are formed of a verb and various
noun-making allomorphs attached to the verb, such as:
verb-[mek, mak]
verb-[me, ma]
verb-[i, , , u]
verb-[dik, dk, dk, duk, tik, tk, tk, tuk]
The allomorphs written black are the noun making allomorphs that turn
verbs into infinitives when they are attached to them. Infinitives generally
function as nouns in Turkish sentences.
In English, there are both infinitives and gerunds that may function as
nouns in sentences:
To verb is an infinitive, and verb-ing is a gerund.
The ing noun-making suffix may turn the verb into a nominal gerund,
but the same ing may also change the verb into an adjective verb-ing.
Nominal gerunds may be used as subjects, objects, objects of preposi-
tions or as subject complements in sentences. English gerunds and their
Turkish infinitive equivalents are underlined as follows:
Read-ing helps us improve our knowledge. (Nominal gerund subject)
Oku-mak bilgi-im-iz-i gelitir-me-/y/e yardm et-er. (Subject)
Jack enjoys listen-ing to pop music. (Listen-ing is nominal gerund.)
Jack pop mzik dinle-mek-ten holan-r. (Infinitive-ten is adverbial.)
My sister is interested in annoy-ing me. (Nominal gerund object of in.)
Kz karde-im can-m- sk-mak-la ilgilen-ir. (Sk-mak-la is adverbial.)
See-ing is believ-ing. Gr-mek inan-mak-tr. gerund verb gerund infinitive infinitive verb
Gerunds used after be verbs are called subject noun complements.
Some English gerunds can be used as adjectives in sentences whose
Turkish equivalents are formed by attaching [en, an] adjective making
allomorphs to verbs. For instance:
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
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fly-ing u-an, talk-ing konu-an, shin-ing lda-/y/an,
smil-ing glmse-/y/en, rise-ing yksel-en, cry-ing ala-/y/an,
sing-ing t-en, fall-ing d-en, roar-ing kkre-/y/en.
fly-ing birds U-an kular, talk-ing parrots konu-an papaanlar,
shin-ing lights lda-/y/an klar, smil-ing baby glmse-/y/en
bebek, ris-ing prices ysel-en fiyatlar, fall-ing leaves d-en
yapraklar, roar-ing lions kkre-/y/en arslanlar.
Turkish infinitives verb-[mek, mak], verb-[me, ma] and the others are
always nominal infinitives. They always function as nouns in sentences.
However, the English to verb infinitives either function as nouns, as ad-
jectives or adverbs without changing their forms. For instance:
Mary Trke ren-mek iste-i.yor. (The infinitive is nominal.)
Mary wants to learn Turkish. (The infinitive is nominal.)
Mary benim-le konu-ma-/y/ reddet-ti. (The infinitive is nominal.)
Mary refused to talk to me. (The infinitive is nominal.)
Mary bir araba al-mak iin para biriktir-i.yor. (Infinitive + iin is adverbial.)
Mary is saving money to buy a car. (The infinitive is adverbial.)
Balk tut-mak iin gl-e git-ti-im. (Infinitive + postposition) (Adverbial)
I went to the lake to fish. (The infinitive is adverbial.)
Jack okul-dan k-an ilk ocuk-tu. (k-an is an adjective.)
Jack was the first boy to leave the school. (To leave is an adjective.)
(The infinitve modifies the noun boy, so it is an adjective.)
Yr-/y/e.cek uzun bir yol-um-uz var. (Yr-/y/e.cek is an adjective.)
We have a long way to walk. (To walk is an adjective.)
ren-e.cek ok ey-in.iz var. (ren-e.cek is an adjective.)
You have a lot of things to learn. (To learn is an adjective.)
Bitir-e.cek bir i-im var. (Bitir-e.cek is an adjective.)
I have a work to finish. (To finish is an adjective.)
Note:
The blue underlines show the subjects or the subject allomorphs.
The black underlines show the objects, noun clauses, and nouns.
The red underlines show the verbs.
The green underlines show the adverbs, adverbial pheases or clauses.
The purple underlines show the adjectives and the noun modifiers.
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LOGICAL, MORPHEMIC, AND ORAL SEQUENCING
Noam Chomsky and Steven Pinker in their books assert that the human
mind has an inborn logical ability which seperates a body of thought (a
sentence) into two parts to produce sentences. A person logically thinks that
a sentence should be about something or someone, and uses them as
subjects, and uses all the information given about the subjects as predi-
cates.
Chomsky calls them Nominal Phrase and Verbal Phrase, in short "NP +
VP". Additionally, the predicate part (VP) is also logically seperated into two
parts as a verb, and an object 'V + NP'. These logical storages are empty
before one starts learning his/her native language. When someone starts
hearing the sounds of his language, he loads these sounds with meaning,
and inserts them into these empty logical storages. Arranging these storages
in succession is also learned while someone is being exposed to his native
language. Therefore, the order of these logical storages change from
language to language. These logical storages, and their learned succession
are called the logical sequence of a sentence. The so called storages are
also flexible enough to hold the shortest and the longest language units.
The word verb "V" covers a verb root, a verb stem, or a verb frame, and
all the inflectional suffixes attached to them such as "ed", "ing", "s", and
auxiliary verbs such as "must", "may", "might", "can", "could", etc. preceded
by them. The verbs together with these inflectional suffixes and auxiliary
verbs constitude a verb composition concept and called a verb "V".
All subjects and objects, whether long or short, are Nominal Phrases. If a
verb is intransitive, it does not need an object (NP), so the predicate part
has only a verb, and some adverbs or adverbials. The predicates that have
"be" verbs are also considered Verbal Phrases.
The sentences described above are of three kinds:
1. A subject, a transitive verb, and an object: Jack killed a mouse.
subject verb object
predicate
2. A subject and an intransitive verb: Jack sleeps.
subject verb
predicate
3. A subject, a verb and a subject complement: Jack is brave.
subj verb subj complement
predicate
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Although these logical storages are inborn, their sequencing is learned
through the experiences of an individual. Therefore, the sequencing of the
subject and predicate, and that of the subject, verb, and object change
from language to language. For instance, in English: I am coming. subject predicate
(There are no personal suffixes attached to verbs in English.)
In Turkish: Gel-i.yor um (ge*li*yo*rum) verb subject allomorph
In Turkish, a personal concept is expressed by a personal suffix either at-
tached to a verb at the end of a sentence, or expressed by both a pronoun
or a noun in the beginning and a personal allomorph at the end of a sen-
tence. Using personal suffixes attached to the ends of the Turkish sen-
tences (except for the third person singular) is a grammatical necessity. Furthermore, the subject + verb + object sequence of the English lan-
guage differs in Turkish as (subject) + object + verb-personal allomorph
or object + verb-personal allomorph: English: We are picking flowers. subj (pron) verb object
Turkish 1: (Biz) iek topluyor-uz. = We are picking flowers. subj (pron) object verb-personal allomorph
Turkish 2: iek topluyor-uz. = We are picking flowers. object verb-personal allomorph
The reason why there may be two identical alternative sentences in Turkish
is that one should compulsorily use a personal allomorph attached to the
verb in a sentence. However, if he wants to emphasize the subject, he could
also use a pronoun in the beginning of a sentence as well as a personal
allomorph representing the pronoun used in the beginning of the sentence. If we use a sentence without a personal allomorph attached to the main
verb, the sentence becomes ungrammatical although it is understandable: *Ben yarn Ankara'/y/a gidiyor. (ungrammatical)
(Ben) yarn Ankara'/y/a gidiyor-um. (grammatical) (Ben could be ignored.)
*Ben sen-i seviyor. (ungrammatical)
(Ben) sen-i seviyor-um. (grammatical) (Ben could be ignored.) As a general syllabication rule in Turkish, the single underlined consonants
of the words or allomorphs detach from their syllables, and attach to the first
vowels of the following morphemes as in the examples above. This opera-
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
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tion of the oral sequence of the Turkish language transposes the mor-
phemic sequence to produce harmonic syllable sequences. The lines that
are put under the consonants in this book are not used in writing.
One could estimate that there exist empty inborn logical subject + verb,
subject + verb + object or subject + linking verb + subject comple-
ment storages in one's mind ready to be filled with the learned sequences
of phonemes and morphemes in a newborn baby. A newborn baby hears the
sounds of his/her native language, learns which sounds convey which words
and morphemes. He/she also hears the sequences of subject + verb, and
subjec + verb + object, and the syllables of his/her native language. All
these sounds and information gather in its memory, and are inserted into the
inborn storages to produce sensible sentences. All human beings are born eager to learn. Learning his/her language is an
inherent instinct in everybody, which Steven Pinker calls it "Language Ins-
tinct". Children do not know what a subject, or an object is, but as soon as
they learn the interrogative concepts who?, what?, when?, where?,
why?, how?, etc., they start asking questions. In all languages, question
words ask for the functional parts of a sentence such as subject, object,
verb, and adverbs of time, place, reason, etc. So, he logically knows that
who and what asks for the subject, and whom and what asks for the
object, and he also understands that all the answers to the questions who,
and what are subjects, and whom, and what are the objects: Jack found a watch. who? what?
Jacks sister found a watch. who? what?
The boy who was walking along the street found a watch. who? what?
The boy who was walking along the street found the watch that I lost. who? what?
Jack saw a rabbit in the garden yesterday. who? what? where? when?
The house that Jack built collapsed suddenly last night. what? how? when?
Jack found a watch while he was walking down the streed. who? what? when? Jack passed his examination with difficulty because he was lazy. who? what? how? why?
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
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Jack saw Mary among the crowd. who? whom? where?
Jack bought some flowers for his mother. who? what? for whom?
Jack was coming from school. who? from where?
The parts that are not underlined in the sentences above are verbs. If
someone wants to ask about these verbs he says, What did Jack do?, and
for the underlined green parts he says, From where was Jack coming?,
Where was Jack coming from?, Whom did Jack see?, etc. Consequently, it is possible to say that a person fills the subject and predi-
cate logical storages using interrogative instruments in all languages. As in all natural languages, the Turkish language production system governs
three groups of sequences. The first sequence is the logical sequence
which governs the basic network of a sentence in which all sentences take
form. The second sequence is the morphemic sequence which arranges the se-
quence of the morphemes and allomorphs in Turkish sentences. The third sequence is the oral or phonological sequence, which arranges
the syllables and the overall harmony of the words in a sentence.
TURKISH GRAMMAR
After the above short survey of the universal Transformational Generative
Grammar (with some interpretations of my own), we can begin with the
sound system of The Turkish language.
Turkish has 29 letters in its alphabet. Some of these letters / o, u, a, / and /
, , e, i / are vowels (nller), and the others / b, c, , d, f, g, , h, j, k, l,
m, n, p, r, s, , t, v, y, z / are consonants (nszler).
All the letters above represent phonemes, that is why they are shown be-
tween / / signs. Phonemics is not interested in detailed phonetic differ-
ences. Some of the vowels / , , / do not exist in English. They are pro-
nounced: // as in English again; // as in German schn; and // as in
German htte respectively.
Among the consonants, there are the / , , / phonemes, which are pro-
nounced as ch as in church, sh as in fish; and to produce the //
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
19
phoneme, which does not exist in English, first produce /g/ phoneme, and
make it longer by letting your breath pass between your tongue and the hard
palate of your mouth while vibrating your vocal cords.
TURKISH VOWEL AND CONSONANT HARMONY
Turkish is said to be an agglutinative language, which means that suffixes
are attached to word roots, stems and frames one following the other in a
sequence to arrange words. To understand how these syllable and suffix
chains are arranged, one should understand the vowel and consonant
harmony rules of the Turkish language before one begins to attach suffixes
to roots or stems, and to the suffixes following them.
VOWEL HARMONY SEQUENCE A Turkish speaker follows two certain harmony chains to produce a vowel
harmony sequence:
1. The hard vowel harmony chain. 2. The thin vowel harmony chain.
1. The hard (back) vowel harmony chain is o u a
2. The thin (front) vowel harmony chain is e i In both chains, the first vowels /o/ and // never repeat themselves. The
other vowels can be repeated as many times as necessary. The arrow ()
points to the vowel that should follow the previous one. The arrows (), pointing to both directions, show that /i/ may follow /e/, or /e/ may follow /i/.
In the hard vowel harmony chain, /a/ and // do the same. Furthermore,
besides the arrows, the letters r are put under repeatable vowels to
complete our diagrams:
1. The hard (back) vowel harmony chain: o ur ar r
2. The thin (front) vowel harmony chain: r er ir As one could see, the two diagrams look exactly like one another. All the
words in the Turkish language follow either the first or the second harmony
sequences. The words borrowed from other languages do not follow these
sequences as expected, but the suffixes that attach to them follow the
vowels of the last syllables of such words. Consequently, one could build
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
20
up meaningless vowel chains made up of only vowels following the two
vowel chains: o*u*u*a**a*, o*a**a, **e*e*i, *e*i*e, "***", "o*a" For instance: kom*u*ya (o*u*a); kom*u*lar*dan (o*u*a*a); ge*le*cek*ler (e*e*e*e);
o*lu*tur*duk*la*r*mz*dan (o*u*u*u*a***a); u*nu*ta*lm (u*u*a*);
o*ku*la (o*u*a); ten*ce*re*ye (e*e*e*e); ka*a*ma*ya*cak (a*a*a*a*a)
One could make up Turkish meaningless vowel chains as many as one
wishes using the vowel chains above. I advise those who are interested in
learning Turkish to make up meaningles vowel chains like the chains above,
and repeat them loudly again and again. In doing so, they can memorize the
Turkish vowel harmony sequences easily and soundly as they learn a piece
of music. When they repeat them, they may even feel and sound as if they
were speaking Turkish.
As it has already been stated, borrowed words do not follow the vowel
harmony sequences, but the last syllables of such words attach to suffixes
in accordance with the vowel and consonant harmony rules:
patates-ler-i (pa*ta*tes*le*ri) the potatoes; televizyon-u
(te*le*viz*yo*nu) the television; mandalina-/y/ (man*da*li*
na*y) the tangerine; sigara-/y/ (si*ga*ra*y) the cigarette.
The /y/ phonemes used above are glides (semivowels) (consonants) insert-
ed between two vowels to help them pass the voice from one vowel to the
following one smoothly and harmoniously. They do not carry meaning.
One more thing to add to the explanation above is that the words that are
formed of two separate words do not follow the above vowel harmony se-
quences:
kahverengi (kahve + rengi) brown; buzdolab (buz + dolab) refrige-
rator; bilgisayar (bilgi + sayar) computer; tavanaras (tavan + aras)
attic.
Besides the vowel harmony rules above, there are three more essential
vowel rules to consider:
1. The verbs ending with vowels drop these vowels when they attach to
the allomorphs of [.YOR]. These vowels are double underlined. Besides the
double underlimed vowels, there are some consonants that are single un-
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
21
derlined which show that they detach from their syllables and attach to the
first vowels of the following allomorphs to produce new syllables:
Bekle-i.yor (bek*li*yor); bala-.yor (ba*l*yor); anla-.yor (an*l*yor);
gizle-i.yor (giz*li*yor); oku-u.yor (o*ku*yor); atla-.yor (at*l*yor)
ye-i.yor (yi*yor); gzle-.yor (gz*l*yor); gizle-i.yor (giz*li*yor) Gel-i.yor-um (ge*li*yo*rum); yz-.yor-uz (y*z*yo*ruz); i-er-im
(i*e*rim); yaz-a.cak-m (ya*za*ca*m); yakalan-a.cak-z (ya*ka*la*-
na*ca*z); gl-er-im (g*le*rim); kork-ar-z (kor*ka*rz) 2. When the last syllables of the nouns (including the infinitives), the verbs,
and the inflectional morphemes end with vowels, and the first vowels of the
following allomorphs start with the same vowels, these two vowels combine
and verbalize as single vowels. For example, when the last vowel of the
word anne and the first vowel of the allomorph em happen to be
articulated together, they combine and verbalize as a single vowel: anne-
em (an*nem). For instance: anne-en (an*nen); tarla-am (tar*lam); araba-an.z (a*ra*ba*nz);
kafa-an (ka*fan); git-ti-in (git*tin); bekle-di-ik (bek*le*dik); gl-d-
k (gl*dk); yakala-d-m (ya*ka*la*dm); git-me-em (git*mem);
al-ma-am (a*l*mam); temizle-en-mek (te*miz*len*mek); Dinle-er
mi-sin? (din*ler / mi*sin); ol-sa-am (ol*sam), bil-se-em (bil*sem) If the last vowel of a word and the first vowel of an allomorph happen to be
different, these two vowels are generally linked by the /y/ glides:
oku-ma-/y/z (o*ku*ma*yz); gel-me-/y/iz (gel*me*yiz); tava-/y/ (ta*va*y), salata-/y/ (sa*la*ta*y), uyku-/y/a (uy*ku*ya).
CONSONANT HARMONY SEQUENCE Consonants are grouped under two subdivisions: voiced consonants: / b, c, d, g, , j, y, l, m, n, r, v, z /
unvoiced consonants: / , f, k, p, s, , t / The voiced consonants are the phonemes that are produced by vibrating
the vocal cords while the breath is passing through the throat. To under-
stand the voiced and unvoiced difference, first produce the /v/ phoneme,
which vibrates the vocal cords in your throat, and then, without changing the
position of your teeth and lips, produce the same sound without vibrating the
vocal cords to produce the unvoiced /f/ phoneme. In doing this, you feel no
vibration in your throat. The consonants that vibrate the vocal cords are
named voiced consonants; the unvoiced consonants do not vibrate
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
22
them. By the way, one should keep in mind that all vowels and voiced con-
sonants vibrate the vocal cords. The vowels and the voiced consonants,
which vibrate the vocal cords are called vocals. Only the unvoiced con-
sonants do not vibrate them. In Turkish, the voiced consonants are called
"yumuak (sedal) nszler", and the unvoiced consonants are called
"sert nszler".
The /p/, //, /k/, /t/ unvoiced phonemes change into their voiced counter-
parts /b/, /c/, //, /d/ allophones when they detach from their syllables and
attach to the first vowels of the [i, , , u], or [e, a] allomorphs: /p/ changes into /b/: kitap-, kitap-a (ki*ta*b, ki*ta*ba), sebep-i, sebep-e
(se*be*bi, se*be*be), kebap-, kebap-a (ke*ba*b, ke*ba*ba), orap-,
orap-a (o*ra*b, o*ra*ba), dolap- (do*la*b, do*la*ba), arap-, arap-a
(a*ra*b, a*ra*ba), hesap-, hesap-a (he*sa:*b, he*sa:*ba). // changes into /c/: aa-, aa-a (a*a*c, a*a*ca), saya-, saya-a
(sa*ya*c, sa*ya*ca), ama-, ama-a (a*ma*c, a*ma*ca), ayra-, ayra-a
(ay*ra*c, ay*ra*ca), deme-i, deme-e (de*me*ci, de*me*ce). /k/ changes into //: sokak-, sokak-a (so*ka*, so*ka*a), tabak-, tabak-a
(ta*ba*, ta*ba*a), krek-i, krek-e (k*re*i, k*re*e), bebek-i, bebek-e
(be*be*i, be*be*e), kpek-i, kpek-e (k*pe*i, k*pe*e), ayak-, ayak-a
(a*ya*, a*ya*a), bardak-, bardak-a (bar*da*, bar*da*a). /t/ changes into /d/: adet-i, adet-e (a*de*di, a*de*de), kanat-, kanat-a (ka*-
na*d, ka*na*da), umut-u, umut-a (u*mu:*du, u*mu:*da), yourt-u, yourt-a
(yo*ur*du, yo*ur*da). As an exception: sepet-i, sepet-e (se*pe*ti, se*pe*-
te), nbet-i, nbet-e (n*be*ti, n*be*te). When the nouns or pronouns ending with /p, t, k, / consonants detach from
their syllables and attach to the first vowels of the [in, n, n, un] allomorphs,
their last consonants /p, t, k, / change into their voiced counterparts
/b, d, , c/ respectively. kitap-n (ki*ta*bn), sebep-in (se*be*bin), kebap-n (ke*ba*bn), orap-n
(o*ra*bn), aa-n (a*a*cn), ama-n (a*ma*cn), sokak-n (so*ka*n),
krek-in (k*re*in), bebek-in (be*be*in), ayak-n (a*ya*n), kanat-n
(ka*na*dn), yourt-un (yo*ur*dun). Some /t/ phonemes, however, do not change: hayat (ha*ya:*t), (ha*ya:*ta), (ha*ya:*tn); sanat (san*a*t), (san*a*ta),
(san*a*tn); sfat (s*fa*t), (s*fa*ta), (s*fa*tn); saat (sa*a*ti), (sa*a*te),
sa*a*tin); sepet (se*pe*ti), (se*pe*te), (se*pe*tin); glet (g*le*ti),
(g*le*te), (g*le*tin); demet (de*me*ti), (de*me*te), (de*me*tin).
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
23
The monosyllabic noun roots ending with unvoiced consonants do not
change when they get the [], [E], [DE], [DEN] and the personal allomorphs:
ek (eki, eke, ekte, ekten, ekin); sap (sap, sapa, sapta, saptan, sapn); ip
(ipi, ipe, ipte, ipten, ipin); hap (hap, hapa, hapta, haptan, hapn); tp (tp,
tpe, tpte, tpten, tpn); top (topu, topa, topta, toptan, topun); sa (sa,
saa, sata, atan, san); i (ii, ie, ite, iten, iin); g (g, ge,
gte, gten, gn); ma (ma, maa, mata, matan, man); kk
(kk, kke, kkte, kkten, kkn); ok (oku, oka, okta, oktan, okun ), yk
(yk, yke, ykte, ykten, ykn); krk (krk, krke, krkte, krkn); Trk
(Trk, Trke, Trkte, Trkten, Trkn); at (at, ata, atta, attan, atn); et
(eti, ete, ette, etten, etin); st (st, ste, stte, stten, stn); ot (otu, ota,
otta, ottan, otun); kart (kart, karta, kartta, karttan, kartn). However, the final consonants of some monosyllabic nouns do change
when they are attached only to [i, , , u], [e, a] and [in, n, n, un] allo-
morphs. They do not change when they are attached to the allomorphs of
the morphemes of [DE] and [DEN]: but (bu*du), (bu*da), (bu*dun), (but-ta, but-tan); dip (di*bi), (di*be), (di*bin),
(dip*te), (dip*ten); ok (ou, oa, oun, okta, oktan); gk (g,
ge, gn, gkte, gkten); kap (kab, kaba, kabn, kapta, kaptan); u
(ucu, uca, ucun, uta, utan); yurt (yurdu, yurda, yurdun, yurtta, yurttan);
kurt (kurdu, kurda, kurdun, kurtta, kurttan); tat (tad, tada, tadn, tatta,
tattan). When [] or [E] morphemes come after the nouns ending with vowels, the /y/
linking semivowels (glides) are inserted between these two vowels to pro-
vide harmonious links:
Testi (tes*ti*/y/i, tes*ti*/y/e); araba (a*ra*ba*/y/, a*ra*ba*/y/a); tarla (tar*-
la*/y/, tar*la*/y/a); salata (sa*la*ta*/y/, sa*la*ta*/y/a); mart (mar*t*/y/,
mar*t*/y/a); tava (ta*va*/y/, ta*va*/y/a); teneke (te*ne*ke*/y/i, te*ne*ke-
*/y/e); makara (ma*ka*ra*/y/, ma*ka*ra*/y/a); kundura (kun*du*ra*/y/,
kun*du*ra*/y/a); kafa (ka*fa*/y/, ka*fa*/y/a); su (su*/y/u, su*/y/a).
When the nouns ending with vowels are attached to the possesive per-
sonal allomorphs of [N], [in, n, n, un], which are used in the pos-
sessive parts of the noun compounds, the /n/ glides are inserted between
the two vowels, such as:
araba-/n/n (a*ra*ba*nn)
testi-/n/in (tes*ti*nin)
ordu-/n/un (or*du*nun)
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
24
yk-/n/n (y*k*nn)
sergi-/n/in (ser*gi*nin)
kafa-/n/n (ka*fa*nn)
makara-/n/n (ma*ka*ra*nn)
mart-/n/n (mar*t*nn) However, when pronouns are used in the possessive position, they are suf-
fixed by the possessive [im, in, un, im, in, n] allomorphs:
ben-im (be*nim), sen-in (se*nin), o/n/-un (o*/n/un), biz-im (bi*zim), siz-in (si*zin), o/n/-lar-n (o/n/*la*rn) Note: The single underlined consonants in the examples above show the consonants that detach from their syllables, and attach to the first vowels of the following allomorphs to change the morphemes into syllables.
Exception: su (su*/y/un). Example: (a*ra*ba*/n/n / h*z), (su*/y/un / h*z)
MORPHEMES AND THEIR ALLOMORPHS
Morphemes are defined as the smallest meaningful language units in lan-
guages. For instance, the word um*brel*la has three syllables. None of
these three syllables are significant units on their own; they have sense only
when they are articulated or heard together. So, these three syllables form
a single shortest meaningful unit together, and consequently, umbrella is
both a morpheme and a word. Such words are called free morphemes.
However, although the suffixes are also the smallest meaningful units, they
do not convey any sense unless they are attached to word roots or stems.
Such morphemes are called bound morphemes.
All the words have roots or stems like open, soft-en, clean, beauty,
success, book, etc. Some morphemes (suffixes or prefixes) are attached
to these roots or stems. For instance, open-ed, clean-ed, success-ful,
beauti-ful, "whiten-ed" teach-er, ir-respons-ible, un-count-able, un-
necessari-ly, go-ing, etc. Look at page 396 for roots, stems and verb
frames.
As one could see, there are two kinds of suffxes and prefixes in the given
examples above. Some of these morphemes change the meaning and the
part of speech they belong with when they are attached to different roots or
stems. Some others, however, add certain inflectional meanings to verb
and noun roots or stems such as tense, voice, person, mood, number,
direction or state without changing their root or stem meanings.
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
25
A morpheme that changes the meaning of a root or stem is called a
derivational morpheme (yapm eki); the other one, which does not
change the meaning of a root or stem, is called an inflectional morpheme
(ekim eki). Both the derivational and inflectional morphemes are bound
morphemes. Some bound morphemes (suffixes in Turkish) have different pronunciation
variants that bear the same meanings as the morphemes. For instance, in
English, when the plural [S] morpheme is attached to the noun book, it is
pronounced as /s/; in boy-s as /z/; and in box-es as /iz/. As they are the
different pronunciation variants of the same morpheme [S], they are named
as the allomorphs of the morpheme [S].
There are a lot more allomorphs in Turkish than there are in English. This
is because bound morphemes go through some vowel and consonant
changes according to the vowel and consonant rules of the Turkish lan-
guage when they are attached to roots or stems and to one another, and this
process causes different allomorphs to arise. All the allomorphs of a certain
morpheme carry the same meaning vocalizing differently, and therefore
they do not change the meaning of the morphemes because the Turkish
sound system functions independently of the Turkish morphemic system.
THE DERIVATIONAL MORPHEMES AND THEIR ALLOMORPHS
Anlaml Yapm Ekleri Ve Onlarn Altbiimbirimleri Derivational morphemes (suffixes) are bound morphemes that change the
lexical meaning or the part of speech of a word used in a sentence: MORPHEMES ATTACHED TO NOUNS THAT PRODUCE OTHER NOUNS [C] allomorphs: [ci, c, c, cu, i, , , u] When the nouns ending with vocals (vowels or voiced consonants) are at-
tached to the morpheme [C], the /i/ vowel in this morpheme changes into /i,
, , u/ in accordance with the vowel harmony rules. However, if a noun ends
with an unvoiced consonant, the /c/ voiced consonants also change into the
// unvoiced consonants in agreement with the consonant harmony rules: peynir-ci (cheese seller), posta-c (postman), zm-c (grapes seller), tur-
u-cu (pickles seller), sepet-i (basket maker), balk- (fisherman), st-
(milkman), ok-u (archer), a- (cook), kale-ci (goal-keeper), kahve-ci (cof-
fee seller), saat-i (watch repairer or seller), mobilya-c (furniture seller), ka-
ak- (smuggler), musluk-u (plumber), yaban-c (foreigner), iek-i
(florist), yol-cu (traveler), sanat- (artist), gz-c (watch, watchman), sz-
c (spokesman), politika-c (politician), milliyet-i (nationalist), di-i (den-
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
26
tist), kira-c (tenant), ark-c (singer), brek-i (someone who sells pies),
boya-c (painter), demir-ci (blacksmith), halter-ci (weight lifter). [LK] allomorphs: [lik, lk, lk, luk]
meyve-lik (a bowl where fruit is kept), kitap-lk (bookcase), gz-lk (eye-
glasses), odun-luk (a place where firewood is kept), az-lk (cigarette
holder), kulak-lk (headphones), aydan-lk (tea pot), mezar-lk (grave-
yard), eker-lik (a bowl in which candies are kept), okevli-lik (polygamy),
tuz-luk (saltshaker), ocuk-luk (childhood), maskara-lk (farce, foolery),
soytar-lk (clowning), dost-luk (friendship), dman-lk (enmity), gece-lik
(pajamas, nightgown), n-lk (apron), gven-lik (safety), anne-lik (moth-
erhood), evlat-lk (adopted child), kahraman-lk (heroism).
[C-LK] allomorphs: [ci.lik, c.lk, c.lk, cu.luk, i.lik, .lk, .lk, u.luk]
av-c.lk (hunting), meyve-ci.lik (selling fruit), n-c.lk (leadership), yol-cu-
luk (traveling), a-.lk (cooking), fal-c.lk (fortune telling), tefe-ci.lik
(usury), iek-i.lik (selling flowers), if-i.lik (farming), hava-c.lk (aviation),
balk-.lk (fishing), kaak-.lk (smuggling), p-.lk (scavenge)
[CK] allomorphs: [cik, ck, ck, cuk, ik, k, k, uk] (diminutive)
ev-cik (small house), kap-ck (small door), kpr-ck (small bridge), kutu-
cuk (small box), eek-ik (small donkey), aa-k (small tree), kadn-ck
(little woman), tosun-cuk (big and healthy newborn baby).
[CE.IZ] allomorphs: [ce.iz, ca.z, e.iz, a.z] (innocence)
kedi-ce.iz (innocent cat), kz-ca.z (innocent girl), hayvan-ca.z (inno-
cent animal), kpek-e.iz (innocent dog), ku-a.z (innocent bird).
[CE] allomorphs: [ce, ca, e, a]
ngiliz-ce (English), Alman-ca (German), Trk-e (Turkish), Rus-a (Rus-
sian), spanyol-ca (Spanish), Japon-ca (Japanese), in-ce (Chinese),
Arap-a (Arabic), Fransz-ca (French), talyan-ca (Italian), Rum-ca (Greek).
MORPHEMES ATTACHED TO NOUNS THAT PRODUCE ADJECTIVES
[CL] allomorphs: [cil, cl, cl, cul, il, l, l, ul]
ev-cil (domestic), insan-cl (humane), ben-cil (selfish), ot-ul (herbivorous)
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
27
[L] allomorphs: [li, l, l, lu]
ev-li (married), ocuk-lu (with children), emsiye-li (with an umbrella), bah-
e-li ev (house with a garden), iyah ceket-li adam (the man in a black
coat), krmz-l kadn (the woman in red), grg-l (having good manners,
polite), iek-li aa (a tree in blossom), yamur-lu (rainy), kar-l (snowy),
sis-li (foggy, misty), gne-li (sunny), bulut-lu (cloudy), tuz-lu (salty), at-l
(man on horseback), istek-li (willing), becerik-li (skillful), amur-lu (muddy),
hesap-l (economical), sayg-l (respectful), su-lu (criminal), hata:-l
(faulty), tat-l (sweet), mayo-lu (in a bathing suit), st-l (with milk, milky),
paha-l (expensive), ta kafa-l (stone headed), Adana-l (from Adana),
srek-li (continuous), hiddet-li (outrageous), kl-l (hairy), bilin-li (inten-
tional, conscious), zarar-l (harmful), tehlike-li (dangerous), phe-li (suspi-
cious, suspect), yer-li (native), iki bacak-l (two legged), kanat-l (winged),
kayg-l (anxious), umut-lu (hopeful), gerek-li (necessary), yetenek-li (tal-
ented), bam-l (addicted, dependent), silah-l (armed), renk-li (colored),
kr-l (profitable), zehir-li (poisonous), denge-li (balanced), nee-li (joyful),
kusur-lu (faulty), grlt-l (noisy), deer-li (precious), gerek-li (neces-
sary), dnce-li (thoughtful), yrek-li (brave), ayrnt-l (detailed, in detail),
sorum-lu (responsible), mantk-l (rational), g-l (strong), rt-l (cov-
ered), his-li (sensitive), hrs-l (ambitious), hz-l (fast), tertip-li (tidy), tuz-lu
(salty), buz-lu (icy), amur-lu (muddy), kir-li (dirty), pasak-l (untidy), kor-
ku-lu (frightening, scary), hak-l (right, fair), kast-l (intentional), hesap-l
(economical), meme-li (mammal), tecrbe-li, deneyim-li (experienced),
falso-lu (erroneous), kasvet-li (gloomy, doleful), kuku-lu (dubious, sus-
picious), onur-lu, gurur-lu (proud), dayank-l (durable), dikkat-li (care-
ful), becerik-li (skillful), yama-l (patchy), dokunak-l (pungent), grev-li
(on duty), yarar-l (useful), karar-l (firm, determined), grkem-li (magnif-
icent), atafat-l (pompous), akl-l (intelligent), rahmet-li (deceased), ya-l
(aged) dert-li (in trouble, miserable), eker-li (sweet), su-lu (saucy), fayda-
l (useful), gizem-li (mysterious), korku-lu (frightening, horrifying), duygu-lu
(emotional, sensitive), heyecan-l (exciting, nervous), tertip-li (tidy), ileri
gr-l (foreseeing), huzur-lu (peaceful), keyif-li (cheerful), yetki-li (au-
thorized), balant-l (related, agglutinative), boya-l (painted), cila-l (ci*-
l:*l) (finished, varnished), cilt-li (hardback), yay-l (with springs), ayrnt-l
(detailed, in detail), l-l (restrained), g-l (strong), tr-l tr-l (all
sorts of), besbel-li (obvious), isabet-li (i*sa:*bet*li) (right, to the purpose),
geer-li (valid), baar-l (successful), inan-l (believer), diren-li (resis-
tive), kant-l (proven, supported by evidence), yn-l (woollen), pamuk-lu
(cotton), ate-li (fiery, zealous), izgi-li (lined, striped), yldz-l (starry, star-
lit), boya-l (painted), kyma-l brek (mince pie), gne-li (sunny), toz-lu
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
28
(dusty), aa-l (wooded), iek-li (flowered), desen-li (patterned, figured),
yaldz-l (gilded), ss-l (ornamented), kymet-li (precious, valuable), kuy-
ruk-lu (tailed), zahmet-li (difficult, hard), temkin-li (cautious).
[SZ] allomorphs: [siz, sz, sz, suz]
korku-suz (fearless), istek-siz (unwilling), yamur-suz (rainless), aa-
sz (treeless), defo-suz (flawless), uyku-suz (sleepless), bilin-siz
(unconscious), karar-sz (hesitant), sorum-suz (irresponsible), dikkat-siz
(careless), ama-sz (aimless), kalp-siz (heartless), yrek-siz (timid), nee-
siz (ne*e*siz) (sad), mit-siz, umut-suz (desperate, hopeless), taban-sz
(timid), sayg-sz (disrespectful), mantk-sz (irrational), temel-siz (unsound,
baseless), renk-siz (colorless), gerek-siz (unnecessary), bam-sz (inde-
pendent), perva:-sz (reckless), kafa-sz (stupid), sevgi-siz (loveless),
terbiye-siz (impolite, rude), grg-sz (impolite), becerik-siz (incompe-
tent), imkn-sz (impossible), deer-siz (worthless), ses-siz (silent), eker-
siz (without sugar), gerek-siz (unnecessary), dnce-siz (thoughtless),
sorum-suz (irresponsible), mesnet-siz (baseless), tasa-sz (carefree),
ahlk-sz (immoral), yz-sz (impudent), huy-suz (perverse), akl-sz
(foolish), dayanak-sz (baseless), dayank-sz (not durable), duygu-suz
(senseless), kusur-suz (faultless), ta:lih-siz (unfortunate), kymet-siz
(worthless), tehlike-siz (safe), tat-sz (tasteless), haya-sz (shameless,
impudent), tertip-siz (untidy), yarar-sz (useless), tutar-sz. (inconsistent),
ama-sz (aimless), deer-siz (worthless), zarar-sz (harmless), koku-suz
(odorless), neden-siz (causeless), acma-sz (merciless), taraf-sz (impar-
tial), yetenek-siz (incompetent), su-suz (innocent), denge-siz (unbal-
anced), keyif-siz (low-spirited), kayg-sz (indifferent), tasa-sz (carefree),
deneyim-siz (inexperienced), kuku-suz (without doubt), uygun-suz
(inappropriate), surat-sz (sour faced), denge-siz (unbalanced), kontrol-
suz (uncontrolled), kymet-siz (worthless), anlam-sz (insignificant, non-
sense), eitim-siz (uneducated), bilgi-siz (ignorant), inan-sz (faithless),
huzur-suz (fidgety), annes-siz (motherless), leke-siz (stainless), kayg-sz
(without anxiety), denge-siz (unbalanced), uyum-suz (unharmonious).
[SEL] allomorphs: [sel, sal]
bilim-sel (scientific), evren-sel (universal), deney-sel (experimental, empir-
ical), yzey-sel (superficial), duygu-sal (emotional, sensational), sanat-sal
(artistic), yap-sal (structural), gelenek-sel (traditional), dn-sel (mental),
tarih-sel (historical), tarih (historic), kavram-sal (conceptual), kimya-sal
(chemical), fizik-sel (physical), ant-sal (monumental), yaam-sal (vital),
din-sel (religious), ulus-sal (u*lu*sal) (national), evre-sel (environmental),
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
29
kalt-sal (hereditary), onur-sal (honorary), bitki-sel (herbal), hayvan-sal
(zoological), tarm-sal (agricultural), us-sal (us*sal) (mental, rational), tanr-
sal (divine, celestial), yrnge-sel (orbital), kurum-sal (institutional, corpo-
rate), kamu-sal (public), kre-sel (global, spherical), kr-sal (rural), rgt-
sel (organizational), toplum-sal (social, common), belge-sel (documental),
kurgu-sal (fictional), ruh-sal (psychological), beden-sel (corporal), birey-
sel (individual), alg-sal (perceptual), say-sal (numerical, digital), simge-
sel (symbolic).
MORPHEMES ATTACHED TO ADJECTIVES THAT PRODUCE NOUNS
[LK] allomorphs: [lik, lk, lk, luk] (iyi-lik = iyilik), (scak-lk= scaklk)
iyi-lik (favor), scak-lk (temperature), zgr-lk (freedom), uzun-luk
(length), geni-lik (width), gzel-lik (beauty), irkin-lik (ugliness), drst-
lk (honesty), aptal-lk (stupidity), sessiz-lik (silence), evli-lik (marriage),
baya-lk (meanness), iyimser-lik (optimism), ktmser-lik (pessimism),
uak-lk (servitude), yalnz-lk (loneliness), misafirsever-lik (hospitality),
kahraman-lk (heroism), vatansever-lik (patriotism), kaba-lk (rudeness),
duygusal-lk (sensitivity), dost-luk (frienship), kepaze-lik (scandal), ret-
ken-lik (productivity), kresel-lik (globalism), aalk kompleksi (inferiority
complex), arsz-lk (impudence), geveze-lik (chattering), dncesiz-lik
(inconsiderateness), mutsuz-luk (unhappiness), a-lk (hunger, starvation),
g-lk (difficulty), saydam-lk (transparency), utanga-lk (shyness),
uzak-lk (distance), yakn-lk (closeness, sympathy), kstah-lk (insolence),
kurak-lk (drought), rkek-lik (shyness), sersem-lik (dizziness), hovarda-
lk (debauchery), alkan-lk (addiction), yksek-lik (height), derin-lik
(depth), krmz-lk (redness), kt-lk (wickedness, evil), kurnaz-lk
(craftiness), drst-lk (honesty), karamsar-lk (moodiness), kolay-lk
(ease, facility), tembel-lik (lazyness), kira-lk (ki*ra:*lk) (to let, for
hire) zel-lik (speciality), zgn-lk (originality, genuineness), kararsz-lk
(hesitation, uncertainty, instability, inconsistency), bol-luk (abundance),
srekli-lik (continuity), kararl-lk (determination), avare-lik (a:*va:*re*lik)
(idleness), yzeysel-lik (shallowness, superficiality), kt-lk (famine), sarkn-
t-lk (molestation), kibar-lk (kindness, politeness), dayankl-lk (durability),
bo-luk (emptiness), yok-luk (poverty, absence, nonexistence), yal-lk
(agedness), sorumlu-luk (responsibility), sorumsuz-luk (irresponsibility),
gayretke-lik (zeal), vurdumduymaz-lk (callousness), tutarsz-lk (incon-
sistency), deli-lik (madness), bilgisiz-lik (cahil-lik) (ignorance), benzer-lik (resemblance), karamsar-lk (moodiness), gzel-lik (beauty), kzgn-lk
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
30
(anger), bak-lk (immunity), dman-lk (enmity, hostility), budala-lk,
ahmak-lk (stupidity, idiocy).
MORPHEMES ATTACHED TO VERBS THAT PRODUCE NOUNS
In agreement with the oral sequence of the Turkish sound system, the last
consonants of the last syllables of the verbs detach from their syllables,
and attach to the first vowels of the following derivational allomorphs while
forming new syllables. These consonants are single underlined.
[] allomorphs: [i, , , u] (diz-i = dizi), (yaz- = yaz) diz-i (di*zi) (string, chain, serial, sequence ), yaz- (ya*z) (script, text), l-
(l*) (measurement, size), ko-u (ko*u) (run), duy-u (du*yu) (sense),
gez-i (ge*zi) (trip), a- (a*) (angle), yap- (ya*p) (building), tak- (ta*k)
(jewelry, jewels), drt- (dr*t) (stimulus), tart- (tar*t) (scales), art- (ar*t)
(plus), baar- (ba*a*r) (success), kork-u (kor*ku) (fear), sor-u (so*ru)
(question), rt- (r*t) (any cloth covering), at- (a*t) (framework), yet-i
(ye*ti) (mental power, faculty), yat- (ya*t) (overnight stay), l- (*l),
(corpse), gm- (g*m) (treasure), kok-u (ko-ku) (scent, smell, aroma,
perfume), bl- (b*l) (slash mark), dinlet-i (concert), gldr- (comedy)
do-u (do*u) (east), bat- (ba*t) (west), arp- (cross, times), bl- (b*l)
[M] allomorphs: [im, m, m, um, em, am] se-im (se*im) (election), al-m (a*lm) (purchase), l-m (*lm) (death),
yk-m (y*km) (disaster, demolition), yut-um (yu*dum) (gulp), ek-im
(e*kim) (October), ak-m (a*km) (current), ret-im (*re*tim) (production),
geli-im (ge*li*im) (improvement), kar-m (ka*r*m) (mixture), dn-
m (d*n*m) (transformation), ek-im (e*kim) (attraction), geril-im
(ge*ri*lim) (tension), tasar-m (ta*sa*rm) (plan, design), kavra-am (kav-
*ram) (concept), denkle-em (denk*lem) (equation), ekle-em (ek*lem) (joint),
tket-im (t*ke*tim) (consumption), yakla-m (yak*la*m) (approach),
benze-im (ben*ze*im) (similarity, resemblance), ileti-im (i*le*ti*im)
(communication), bili-im (bi*li*im) (informatics), de/y/-im (de*yim)
(expression, idiom), say-m (sa*ym) (census), giy-im (gi*yim) (clothing),
z-m (*zm) (solution), ky-m (k*ym) (massacre), al-m (a**lm)
(expansion), yatr-m (ya*t*rm) (investment), al-m, sat-m (a*lm, sa*tm)
(buying and selling, trade, commerce), giy-im (gi*yim) (attire), salk-m (sal*-
km) (bunch), bir salkm zm (a bunch of grapes), uy-um (u*yum) (ac-
cordance). dn-em (d*nem) (period), yaa-am (ya*am) (life), anla-am
(an*lam) (meaning), devin-im (de*vi*nim) (movement), dene-/y/im (de*ne*-
yim) (experience), gzle-em (gz*lem) (observation), syle-em (sy*lem)
(expression), ge-im (ge*im) (living), iz-im (i*zim) (drawing, design),
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
31
al-m (a*lm) (feint), al-m (a*lm) (purchase), sr-m (sale), yatr-m
(ya*t*rm) (investment), yalt-m (ya*l*tm) (insulation). When the identical vowels written in bold face follow one another, they
combine and are pronounced as single vowels; and the single underlined
consonants detach from their syllables and attach to the first vowels of the
following allomorphs in agreement with the oral sequence of the Turkish
sound system.
[K] allomorphs: [ik, k, k, uk, ek, ak] del-ik (de*lik) (hole), art-k (ar*tk) (left over), ksr-k (k*s*rk) (cough
tkr-k (t*k*rk) (spit, saliva), aksr-k (ak*s*rk) (sneeze), bula-k
(bu*la*k) (dirty dishes), kayna-ak (kay*nak) (source, spring, origin), belle-
ek (bel*lek) (memory), tara-ak (ta*rak) (comb), yama-ak (ya*mak) (appren-
tice), de-ek (d*ek) (mattress), kapa-ak (ka*pak) (lid), e-ik (e*ik)
(threshold), dene-ek (de*nek) (experimental subject, object, or animal),
tekerle-ek (te*ker*lek) (wheel), kay-k (ka*yk) (boat), bat-k (ba*tk)
(submerged), iz-ik (i*zik) (scratch), atla-ak (at*lak) (crack).
[EK] allomorphs: [ek, ak] Tapn-ak (ta*p*nak) (temple), kay-ak (ka*yak) (ski), sa-ak (sa*ak)
(fringe), u-ak (u*ak) (airplane), yat-ak (ya*tak) (bed), ka-ak (ka*ak)
(escaped), dayan-ak (da*ya*nak) (support), kes-ek (ke*sek) (a lump of
earth), l-ek (l*ek) (scale), ben-ek (be*nek) (spot), dn-ek (d*nek)
(someone whom you cannot trust, incredulous), yan-ak (ya*nak) (cheek),
dzen-ek (d*ze*nek) (mechanism), geve-ek (loose), kayna-ak (source).
[G] allomorphs: [gi, g, g, gu, ki, k, k, ku]
sev-gi (love, affection); al-g (music instrument); sr-g (bolt); sor-gu
(interrogation); bas-k (pressure); as-k (hanger); r-g (knitting); gr-g
(good manners); dol-gu (filling); ver-gi (tax); et-ki (impression); sar-g (ban-
dage); ser-gi (exhibition); ez-gi (melody); say-g (respect); yanl-g (mis-
take); vur-gu (accent, stress); kur-gu (abstract thought, speculation); yer-gi
(satire); der-gi (periodical, magazine); yar-g (judgment); yaz-g (fate, des-
tiny); ol-gu (fact); duy-gu (sensation); i-ki (alcoholic beverage, drink); at-k
(scarf); et-ki (impression, stimulus); kat-k (aid, help, additive); gr-g (ex-
perience, good manners); kork-ku (fright) (The double underlined "k"
drops.); yet-ki (authority); co-ku (excitement); tep-ki (response, rea-
ction); al-g (perception); sal-g (secretion); kes-ki (chisel); tut-ku (ambi-
tion, passion); sez-gi (intuition); iz-gi (line); diz-gi (composition, string);
bit-ki (plant); bul-gu (discovery, finding).
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
32
[E] allomorphs: [e, a]
sr-e (s*re) (process, procedure), tk-a (t*ka) (plug, wag, stoppage),
deme-e (de*me) (statement), sark-a (sar*ka) (pendulum), ayr-a
(ay*ra) (bracket). [EY] allomorphs: [ey, ay] dene-ey (de*ney) (experiment), yap-ay (ya*pay) (artificial), ol-ay (o*lay)
(event), d-ey (d*ey) (vertical), yat-ay (ya*tay) (horizontal), yz-ey
(y*zey) (surface), uza-ay (u*zay) (space).
[.C] allomorphs: [i.ci, .c, .c, u.cu]
Dinle-/y/i.ci (din*le*yi*ci) (listener), sat-.c (sa*t*c) (seller), yz-.c
(y*z*c) (swimmer), ko-u.cu (ko*u*cu) (runner), bl-.c (b*l*c)
(separatist), tara-/y/.c (ta*ra*y*c) (scanner), al-.c (a*l*c) (receiver),
bak-.c (ba*k*c) (companion), bebek bakcs (baby sitter), tut-u.cu
(tu*tu*cu) (conservative), kal-.c (ka*l*c) (lasting, durable) (adj), yaz-.c
(ya*z*c) (printer), doyur-u.cu (do*yu*ru*cu) (satisfactory) (adj), inandr-.c
(i*nan*d*r*c) (persuasive) (adj), ldr-.c (l*d*r*c) (adj) (deadly,
fatal). If a verb ends with vowel, and the allomorph starts with a different
vowel, the /y/ glide is inserted between these vowels by the oral sequence.
[E.CEK] allomorphs: [e.cek, a.cak]
sil-e.cek (si*le*cek) (wiper), gel-e.cek (ge*le*cek) (future), a-a.cak
(a*a*cak) (opener), ek-e.cek (e*ke*cek) (shoehorn), yak-a.cak
(ya*ka*cak) (fuel).
[MEK] allomorphs: [mek, mak]
ye-mek (meal), ak-mak (lighter), ek-mek (bread), kay-mak (cream)
[ME] allomorphs: [me, ma] dondur-ma (ice cream), dol-ma (green peppers, eggplants or marrows
stuffed with mince, rice, etc.), kavur-ma (fried pieces of meat), hala-ma
(boiled meat), dene-me (essay), dv-me (tattoo), as-ma (vine), kaz-ma
(pickax), aydnlan-ma (enlightenment). ky-ma (ky*ma) (minced meat), in-
me (in*me) (stroke), bas-ma (bas*ma) (printed cloth), yz-me (yz*me) [K] allomorphs: [ik, k, k, uk, ek, ak] kes-ik (ke*sik) (cut), k-k (*kk) (dislocated joint), yar-k (ya*rk) (slash),
iz-ik (i*zik) (scratch), r-k (*rk) (decay), sar-k (sa*rk) (turban),
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ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR
33
kaz-k (ka*zk) (stake, unreasonably expensive), yrt-k (yr*tk) (tear), del-
ik (de*lik) (hole) ele-ek (e*lek) (sieve), ada-ak (a*dak) (oblation), kay-ak
(ka*yak) (ski). [CE] allomorphs: [ce, ca]
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