turkish language
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Basics of Turkish Grammar
Word order, Turkish characters, vowel harmony and variable
vowels :
Word Order
Sentences are generally: Subject object(s) verb, so something like:
Turkish: Köpek suyu içiyor.
English: (The) dog (the) water is drinking.
Turkish: Güç bunda kuvvetli.
English: (The) Force in this one strong (is).
The word immediately before the verb is (usually) the most important word in the sentence and conveys the
main point. The subject is often left out if it is a personal pronoun, since it can be derived from the verb
conjugation.
That's the general form of things, but by no means does it tell the whole story. And Underhill mentions that
the form described in the standard grammars is not what his native-speaking Turks tell him is the usual
form.
According to Underhill, the most neutral or "unmarked" order of a Turkish sentence is:
subject, direct object, indirect object, verb.
Grammars like Lewis' and others reverse the direct and indirect objects. Changing the specific words of
Underhill's examples, let's say we wanted to render the sentence The boy threw the ball to the dog in
Turkish:
Oğlan topu köpeğe attı.
The-boy the-ball to-the-dog threw.
subject direct-object indirect-object verb.
oğlan boy in nominative case
topu ball in accusative case:
top - u —> topu
köpeğe dog in dative case:
köpek - e —> köpeğe
attı to throw, atmak in past tense
Now, that's fine if you're being definite about everything: The boy threw the ball to the dog. But now let's
say that we're being vague about the direct object — the boy didn't throw the specific ball we were
discussing earlier, he threw a ball, or even some balls. In that case the direct object moves to just before the
verb and loses its accusative (or objective) suffix:
Oğlan köpeğe top attı.
The-boy to-the-dog a-ball threw.
subject indirect-object indefinite-direct-object verb.
Now let's say that it's the subject that's indefinite — it wasn't the boy we were discussing, but a boy or some
boy. In this case it's the subject that moves to just before the verb, and it picks up bir or one to mean a:
Topu köpeğe bir oğlan attı.
The-ball to-the-dog a-boy threw.
direct-object indirect-object indefinite-subject verb.
What if both the subject and the direct object are indefinite? Then both move, and the object is closer to the
verb. As before, the object loses its suffix and the subject gains a bir:
Köpeğe bir oğlan top attı.
To-the-dog a-boy a-stone threw.
indirect-object indefinite-subject indefinite-direct-object verb.
Underhill leaves it there, he doesn't fully explore the combinatorics of definite and indefinite possibilities.
He has covered half:
The boy threw the ball to the dog
The boy threw a ball to the dog
A boy threw the ball to the dog
A boy threw a ball to the dog
There would still be the four combinations where it was a dog instead of the dog, but that's just as well. I'm
already overwhelmed....
Characters
Turkish uses some characters that aren't supported in basic HTML. Hopefully your browser can understand
the following, some of which are rendered with Unicode!
Turkish Characters Used on This Page
Char Example Explanation HTML LATEX
ç Ç çarĢı c with cedilla ç Ç \c{c} \c{C}
ğ Ğ dağı g with a "u-shaped hat" ğ Ğ \u{g} \u{G}
Ġ Ġstanbul Dotted capital I İ \.{I}
ı çarĢı undotted i ı {\i}
ö Ö görmek o with an umlaut ö Ö \"{o} \"{O}
Ģ ġ dolmuĢ s with cedilla ş Ş \c{s} \c{S}
ü Ü gülmek u with an umlaut ü Ü \"{u} \"{U}
Some other characters will sometimes appear with diacritical marks, especially in words Turkish borrowed
from Arabic or Persian:
Other Characters Found in Turkish
Char Example Explanation HTML LATEX
â lâle (tulip)
a with circumflex
Pronounced like ya in gâ, kâ, lâ
Lengthened otherwise
â \^{a}
î millî (national)
i with circumflex
Lengthened, appears in many
adjectives borrowed from Arabic
î \^{\i}
û sükût (silence) u with circumflex
Lengthened û \^{u}
Note that your choice of browser may limit the accuracy of what is displayed on the screen or printed.
Mozilla Firefox and KDE Konqueror display and print these characters fine.
Vowel harmony
Turkish vowels are said to be of two classes, front and back. But there is also the distinction of open versus
close(d), and round versus unround. They can be arranged into a cube, as see here.
Front: e, i, ö, ü
Back: a, ı, o, u
Open: a, e, o, ö
Close: i, ı, u, ü
Round: o, ö;, u, ü
Unround: a, e, ı, i
Variable Vowels and Vowel Harmony
Turkish has vowel harmony, meaning that a word usually has all its vowels in a single class, front vs back,
including those in suffixes added to reflect the part of speech.
Elementary Turkish uses the notation V2 to indicate "the variable vowel e/a" which takes one value
depending on vowel harmony, and the notation V4 to indicate "the four-variable vowel shown in the
following table". More reasonably, Teach Yourself Turkish calls the first "e-type" and the second "i-type".
Note the locations of V2/e-type and V
4/i-type in the vowel cube. V
2/e-type on the upper-left edge, V
4/i-type
on the bottom face.
There are three rules of vowel harmony:
1. Back vowels are followed by back vowels, front vowels are followed by front vowels. Do not cross
the back/front boundary.
2. Unrounded vowels are followed by unrounded vowels.
3. A rounded vowel may be followed by a mix of rounded closed and unrounded open vowels.
So:
a or ı may be followed by a or ı
o or u may be followed by u or a
e or i may be followed by e or i
ö or ü may be followed by ü or e
Applying Variable Vowels
A word may not necessarily be internally consistent regarding vowel harmony — it may mix front and back
vowels. For example, that word you learn early while riding Turkish buses and wondering what is
advertised by so many signs along the highway: sigorta, or insurance. Or kitap, or book. However, much of
Turkish grammar is formed by adding suffixes, and these suffixes usually follow vowel harmony with the
preceding vowel (there are a few exceptions, suffixes of fixed form not following vowel harmony).
For example, the sign found in sleeper compartments of overnight trains announcing the bed linen charge:
Sayın yolcularımız: Ekspreslerimizde her gece için alınacak ...
Dear passengers: in our express trains every night there will be purchased ...
yol road ekspres express train
yolcu road-dealer, or really passenger
yolcular passengers ekspresler express trains
yolcularımız our passengers ekspreslerimiz our express trains
ekspreslerimizde in our express trains
Variable Consonants
Some consonants vary depending on whether a voiced or unvoiced consonant is needed. Voiced consonants
follow other voiced consonants or vowels, unvoiced consonants follow unvoiced consonants (ç, f, h, k, p, s,
ş, t). The pairs are t/d, p/b, and ç/c.
Also, a final k "softens" to ğ when a vowel is suffixed — köpek (dog) becomes köpeği when it is the direct
object.
However, see the next section for some exceptions and irregularities.
Optional Letters
Some letters are optional, vowel or consonant buffers between the existing stem so far and the next suffix.
Pronouns & Nouns, Possession, Postpositions, Adjectives, Adverbs,
Conjunctions
Pronouns
Absolute /
Nominative
ben biz I we
sen siz You you
o onlar he / she / it they
Accusative /
Direct object
beni bizi Me us
seni sizi You you
onu onları he / she / it them
Genitive /
Possessive /
Owner-of, of-X
benim bizim my ... our ...
senin sizin your ... your ...
onun onları his / her / its ... their ...
Dative /
Indirect object /
motion toward
bana bize to me to us
sana size to you to you
ona onlara to him / her / it to them
Locative
bende bizde in me in us
sende sizde in you in you
onda onlarda in him / her / it in them
Ablative /
comparison /
motion from/through
benden bizden from/than me from/than us
senden sizden from/than you from/than you
ondan onlardan from/than him / her / it from/than them
Note the irregularities:
In the dative case ben and sen become bana and sana instead of the anticipated *bena and *sena.
The plurals of ben and sen are biz and siz instead of the anticipated *benler and *senler.
The plural of o is onlar instead of the anticipated *olar.
Question words
kaç? how much?
how many?
ne? what?
kim? who?
kimin? whose?
hangi? which?
niçin?
neden? why?
ne zaman? when?
nasıl? how?
Nouns
Noun declension
Case Application Singular Plural
Absolute nominative — -ler
Accusative direct object -(y)i -leri
Genitive owner-of, of-X -(n)in -lerin
Dative indirect object, motion toward -(y)e -lere
Locative in a place -de -lerde
Ablative motion from -den -lerden
Lewis' book distinguishes between the indefinite accusative case which uses the absolute form, and the
accusative case. His examples are as follows, but his explanation is not at all clear to me...
Gazete çıkarmak zor bir iş.
To publish newspapers is a hard job. (absolute form)
Bu gazeteyi çıkarmak zor bir iş.
To publish this newspaper is a hard job. (accusative form)
In the first example, Gazete is indefinite, as in a general example — Generally speaking, the publishing of
newspapers is a hard job.
In the second example, Bu gazeteyi is definite, as in a very specific example — Publishing this specific
newspaper is a hard job.
While the above are Lewis' examples, they might get the point across better with the following English
explanations:
Gazete çıkarmak zor bir iş.
To publish a newspaper — any newspaper in general — is a hard job.
(indefinite or general accusative, absolute form)
Bu gazeteyi çıkarmak zor bir iş.
To publish this newspaper is a hard job.
(definite or specific accusative, accusative form)
Noun declensions by example
Front vowels un-round round
house coffee front roof
Absolute ev evler kahve kahveler ön önler örtü örtüler
Accusative evi evleri kahveyi kahveleri önü önleri örtüyü örtüleri
Genitive evin evlerin kahvenin kahvelerin önün önlerin örtünün örtülerin
Dative eve evlere kahveye kahvelere öne önlere örtüye örtülere
Locative evde evlerde kahvede kahvelerde önde önlerde örtüde örtülerde
Ablative evden evlerden kahveden kahvelerden önden önlerden örtüden örtülerden
Back vowels un-round round
ceiling handle ball neighbor
Absolute tavan tavanlar kabza kabzalar top toplar komşu komşular
Accusative tavanı tavanları kabzayı kabzaları topu topları komşuyu komşuları
Genitive tavanın tavanların kabzanın kabzaların topun topların komşunun komşuların
Dative tavana tavanlara kabzaya kabzalara topa toplara komşuya komşulara
Locative tavanda tavanlarda kabzada kabzalarda topta toplarda komşuda komşularda
Ablative tavandan tavanlardan kabzadan kabzalardan toptan toplardan komşudan komşulardan
Variable
consonants Dog Book
Absolute köpek köpekler kitap kitaplar
Accusative köpeği köpekleri kitabı kitapları
Genitive köpeğin köpeklerin kitabın kitapların
Dative köpeğe köpeklere kitaba kitaplara
Locative köpekte köpeklerde kitapta kitaplarda
Ablative köpekten köpeklerden kitaptan kitaplardan
Adjectival forms and modified nouns :
-li
with or
with the quality of or
belonging to
sulu = "with water"
atlı = "horseman"
köylü = "villager"
-siz without susuz = "without water"
-çi, -ci The professional gazeteci = "journalist", çaycı = "tea seller", dişçi = "dentist"
-[y]ici The habitual yazmak = "to write", so yazıcı = "writer"
-çe -ish or as for
çocukça = "childish[ly]"
türkçe = "Turkish"
bence = "as for me"
-(i)msi,
-(i)mtrak,
-si
-ish or -like
duvarımsı = "wall-like"
beyazımtrak = "whitish"
çocuksu = "child-like"
-daş fellow- okuldaş = "schoolmate"
-daş does not follow vowel harmony
-lik abstract noun formation
büyüklük = "largeness" or "size"
susuzluk = "waterlessness" or "thirst"
Granted, susuzluk is rather stilted, a Turk would more
likely ask "Susadın mı?" for "Are you thirsty?"
-igde, -ligi of the, similar to -lik
-sel abstract adjective formation tarih = "history", tarihsel = "historic"
-ki abstract adjective formation
sabahki hava = "morning weather"
Amerikadaki çocuklar = the children in America
Ahmet'inki = "Ahmet's" (with possessive)
-ki added to genitive case to form a
possessive pronoun
Bu kalem benim değil. = "This is not my pencil." (simple
denial)
Bu kalem benimki değil. = "This pencil is not mine (I do
have a pencil, but this one is not it)."
Bu köpek benimki. = "This dog is mine."
-çik, -cik, -
ceğiz, -ce Diminutive
Ahmetçik = "my pal Ahmet"
Köyceğiz = "the dear little village" and a lakeside town in
southwestern Turkey.
-[y]iş Add to a verb stem for the noun
form
girmek = "to enter", so giriş = "entrance"
çıkmak = "to exit", so çıkış = "exit"
-leyin by or at geceleyin = "by night"
akşamleyin = "at evening"
-ken while yazarken = "while writing"
-oğlu son of Köseoğlu Bey = "Mr Son-Of-The-Beardless-Man"
Comparison and superlatives
Comparison
For adjectives or adverbs,
use daha for "more":
daha büyük = "bigger" (more big)
daha iyi = "better" (more good)
For nouns, use:
ablative measure
benden büyük = "bigger than me"
benden iyi = "better than me"
Superlatives Use en for "most": en büyük = "biggest" (most big)
en iyi = "best" (most good)
Demonstratives
bu This,
close to the speaker
Bu köpek benimki.
This dog is mine.
şu this or that,
further away
Şu dağ Ağrı Dağ.
That mountain is Mount Ararat.
o that O Ağrı Dağ.
That is Mount Ararat.
Locations
Stems
nere- where?
bura- here
ora- there
Add from/in/to endings to demonstrative pronouns to yield:
burada here
orada there
nerede? where?
buradan from this place oradan from there nereden? from where?
buraya to this place oraya to there nereye? to where?
Possession
There is what G.L. Lewis terms "indefinite" ownership, in which -i is added to the noun which is owned in a
way that is not very possessive. Compare this to the more possessive "definite" version:
Indefinite Sultan Ahmet Camii Sultan Ahmet Mosque Atatürk Bulvarı Atatürk Boulevard
Definite Sultan Ahmed'in türbesi Sultan Ahmet's tomb Atatürk'ün evi Atatürk's house
The definite possessive is complicated, and I'm skipping details here, but the form is:
owner(n)in ownedX
where X is replaced by:
-(i)m -(i)miz
owned by me owned by us
-(i)n -(i)niz owned by you owned by you
-(s)i -leri owned by it owned by them
So, since fil is "elephant" and ev is "house," filin evi means "the elephant's house", and fillerin evleri means
"the elephants' houses". Note that you often leave off the possessor, especially when it's a pronoun or can be
derived from context. Thus:
Filim büyük. = My elephant is big.
Bu benim büyük filim. = Hey, this is my big elephant, get your own!
filim would mean "my elephant", while benim filim would very adamantly make the case that the elephant
was, in fact, mine, and not anyone else's.
Sahip means "owner" or "master", and halı means "rug". Note the logic of "the owner of the rug", where the
rug has an owner, and thus "rug" is the possessor (of an owner) and the owner is the thing possessed (by the
rug). Thus halının sahibi for "the rug's owner".
Finally, note that çocukların bahçeleri is ambiguous, it could mean either "the garden of the children" or
"the gardens of the children". It must be derived from context (about the number of gardens), or by
intentionally malforming the possessed item as çocukların bahçesi to explicitly mean the one garden of the
multiple children.
Postpositions :
They work somewhat as prepositions do in English, and fall into three classes depending on the declension
of the modified word.
Class 0 —
absolute
üzere,
üzre
on yol üzere = on the road
Class I —
ablative: -den
başka
other than, except for bizden başka = except for us
köpeklerimden başka = except for my dogs
beri
since, subsequent to on saatten beri = for the past 10 hours
saat ondan beri = since 10:00
bu yana since Cumadan bu yana = since Friday
dolayı
because of Atatürk'ten dolayı, şimdi Turkiye iyi millet.
Because of Atatürk, Turkey is a good country now.
önce
evvel
before, earlier than bizden önce = earlier than us
saat ondan önce = before 10:00
Evvel is not originally Turkish. It used to be used more
commonly during the first years of the Republic, but today önce
is used more.
içeri inside, into Kebapcıdan içeri girdik = We went into a kebap shop.
itibaren
with effect from, starting from Cumadan itibaren her gün, kebapçıdan içiri gireceğiz.
Every day starting from Friday, we will go into a kebap shop.
sonra
after, later than bizden sonra = later than us
saat ondan sonra = after 10:00
Class II —
dative: -(y)e
dair about, concerning Osmanlı tarihine dair bir kitap = A book about Ottoman history
doğru
straight toward Bu yol İstanbul'a doğru gitiyor.
This road goes straight toward Istanbul
göre
according to Gazeteye göre, hava güzel olacak.
According to the newspaper, the weather is going to be nice.
karşı against, opposite bana karşı = against me
nazaran
compared to, in regard to Kediye nazaran filim daha büyük. = Compared to a cat, my
elephant is larger.
rağmen despite ona rağmen = despite that
Class III —
genitive for these pronouns:
ben, sen, o, biz, siz, bu, şu, kim
absolute for all other words
gibi
like, similar to kedi gibi = like a cat
sizin gibi = like you
için because of, for, for the purpose of bunun için = because of this
ile / -
(y)le
with, by the kedi ile -or- kediyle = with a cat
Haşhişi kilo ile satıyorum. = I sell hashish by the kilogram.
kadar
up to, until, as far as, as much as (from Arabic word for amount)
saat ona kadar = until 10:00
evime kadar = as far as my house
Bir saat kadar otobüse bindim. = I rode the bus for one hour.
İndiana'da halk filler kadar şişman. = People in Indiana are as
fat as elephants.
Senin kadar zeki değilim. = I'm not as smart as you.
Melek kadar güzeldi. = She was as beautiful as an angel.
Cehenneme kadar yolun var! = Go to Hell! (literally You go until
arriving at Hell.)
Yumuşayana kadar kaynat. = Boil it until it gets soft.
Hastalık Amerika'ya kadar yayılmış. = It seems the disease has
spread to America.
Other qualifiers or pronouns
Bazı,
kimi some
bazı adam, kimi adam = some man
bazı adamlar, kimi adamlar = some men
her every Bu tren her gün Istanbul'a gidiyor. = This train goes to Istanbul every
day.
biraz a little,
from az, little
Az şarapı içerim. = I drink little wine.
Bojangels Bey dedi, "Biraz içerim". = Mr Bojangles said, "I drinks a
bit".
kimse
whoever,
or no one in the
negative
Bir kimse size arıyordu. = Someone was looking for you.
Kimse aldırış etmiyor. = No one is paying attention.
Conjunctions
ve and Evimde sıcak ve soğuk su var. In my house there is hot and cold water
veya
ya da or İstanbul'e veya Ankara'ya gideceğim. I will go to Istanbul or Ankara.
ki that Diroylar ki olmayacak. They are saying that it will not happen
de too, also Biz de mi gidelim? Shall we too go?
Morphology, Character Shifts and Some Irregularities and
Complications
Many thanks to Fatih Aygün for explaining these to me! These are his examples:
1. In most nouns ending in -ç, -k, -nk and -p, the last consonant lenites (softens or weakens) before a
vowel to become -c, -ğ, -ng and -b, respectively. However, this does not always happen. The word
for "tail", "queue", "follower" etc changes as expected to form the accusative -i/ı/ü/u:
kuyruk —> kuyruğu
but the word for "law" does not:
hukuk —> hukuku
2. In some nouns the final consonant geminates (lengthens) before an added vowel. However, this
does not always happen. The word for "forgiveness" changes as expected to form the dative -e/a:
af —> affa
but the word for "shelf" does not:
raf —> rafa
3. Some nouns lose the vowel before a final consonant when a vowel is suffixed. The word for "breast"
does when forming the accusative:
koyun —> koynu
but the identically spelled word for "sheep" does not:
koyun —> koyunu
4. Sometimes that vowel loss is followed by an internal assimilation where the consonant ending of the
previous consonant becomes hard or voiceless; for example, the word for "transcript" or "records":
zabıt —> zaptı
5. Some nouns end with a back vowel (a/ıo/u) but take a front vowel (e/i/ö/ü) in suffixes. The word for
"left" changes as expected forming the dative:
sol —> sola
but the identically spelled word for the musical note does not:
sol —> sole
I wonder if this may have something to do with the second of those being a rather arbitrary and
borrowed "word" or really just a name.
6. Some pronouns and some compound nouns formed from noun phrases take n rather than y before a
suffixed vowel, and sometimes even before a suffixed consonant. The word for "army" behaves as
expected forming the accusative and nominative plural:
ordu —> orduyu
ordu —> ordular
but the word for the plant purslane formed the accusative differently than expected:
semizotu —> semizotunu
and the demonstative pronoun "this" forms both differently:
bu —> bunu
bu —> bunlar
Similarly, see the pronoun o with its plural onlar. As for the compound nouns, see the following!
7. The interrogative pronoun ne or "what" is irregular in forming the possessive:
ne —> neyim, but nem is also somewhat acceptable
and the genitive:
ne —> neyin (and not the expected *nenin)
The word for "water", su, is similarly irregular.
8. There is a morphologic process of partial reduplication to make Turkish adjectives and adverbs
stronger in meaning. Take the beginning of the word through the first vowel, add m, p, r or s, then
repeat the entire adjective. However, there is no pattern for predicting which letter will be used
(other than it's always p if the adjective starts with a vowel), and sometimes extra letters appear:
yeni "new" —> yepyeni "all new", "very new"
yeşil "green" —> yemyeşil "all green", "very green"
mavi "blue" —> masmavi "all blue", "very blue"
temiz "clean" —> tertemiz "all clean", "very clean"
and worse yet, plus a vowel or even a vowel-consonant pair:
yalnız "alone" —> yapayalnız "all alone", "very alone" Not the expected yapyalnız
çıplak "naked" —> çırılçıplak "all naked", "very naked" Not the expected çırçıplak
Now, as for those compound nouns, John Guise pointed out that the word for purslane is a compound noun
made of two words that does not follow vowel harmony rules internally. Semiz (fat or meat) + ot-u (its-
plant-or-grass). The second of those is already suffixed, so adding a further suffix requires a buffer letter -n-
so we have semizotunu (as if it were semiz otunu) and not the expected semizotuyu. As for other examples
John pointed out:
Hava + gaz became the compound havagazı (town its-gas):
Evet, aşağı yukarı bir sene evvel havagazını açık bırakarak böyle bir iş yapmak istemişti.
Yes, about a year ago she had wanted to do such a thing by leaving the town gas open.
(Cumhuriyet Gazete, possibly reporting a suicide attempt)
Hanın + el became the compound hanımelı (lady her-hand, or honeysuckle)
Önce bir tutam hanımelını bir bardak su ile kısık ateşte.
Siz hiç çocukluğunuzda hanımelını çiçeklerinin balılnı emdiniz mi?
Çiçeklerden en çok hanımelını seviyorum.
Firstly boil a handful of honeysuckle with a tumbler of water.
Didn't you ever suck the honeysuckle flower's nectar when you were a child?
Of (all) flowers I like the honeysuckle best.
(WWW)
Ayak + kap became the compound ayakkabı (foot its-cover, or shoe(s)):
Ayakkabını nasıl bağlarsın?
Kendi ayakkabını tasarlayabilmek ne kadarda süper bir şey.
How do you tie your shoes?
How great to be able to design your own shoes.
(WWW)
Semiz + ot became the compound semizotu (meat its-grass, or purslane).
Semizotunu ayıklayarak bol su ile iyice yıkayıp üçe bölün, dövülmüş sarımsakları, süzme yoğurdu,
semizotunu, tuz ve zeytinyağını bir kapta karıştırın.
Supyalı semizotu'nu seviyorum.
Wash the purslane thoroughly with plenty of water and divide into three, crushed garlic, strained
yogurt, purslane, and mix in a bowl with salt and olive oil.
I like cuttlefish with purslane.
(WWW, Ayvalık Recipe)
All these are compound nouns and the suffix and vowel harmony rules depend on the last word in the
compound. Looked at that way, they are not irregular once you realize that the rules depend on the last word
component. If that second word is already suffixed, then further accusative suffixes must take the buffer
letter -n-. As John says, most Turks cannot explain when the buffer letter -y- is used versus -n-. For
example:
Kediyi tekmeledim.
I kicked the cat.
Buffer letter -y- applies to a plain noun when adding the accusative -i marker.
Kedisini tekmeledim.
I kicked his cat.
Buffer letter -n- applies to an extended (already suffixed) noun when adding the accusative -i
marker.
Verbs
Infinitive
This uses -mek, and is the form found in the dictionary:
anlamak = to understand
görmek = to see
gitmek = to go
okumak = to read
Verb Formation
Verbs can be formed from "substantives" or other non-verb words. A few, not many, are formed simply by
adding the infinitive -mek to an adjective or noun.
boya = "paint", while boyamak = "to paint".
eski = "old", while eskimek = "to wear out".
gerek = "necessary", while gerekmek = "to be necessary".
There aren't many examples of this type of verb formation. Many more verbs are formed by starting with a
substantive word and then adding a suffix and the infinitive -mek. See G.L. Lewis' Turkish Grammar,
chapter 14, sections 20-29.
-e-
o oyun = "game", while oynamak = "to play".
o yaş = "age", while yaşamak = "to live".
-le-
o su = "water", while sulamak = "to irrigate".
o kilit = "lock", while kilitlemek = "to lock".
o kir = "dirt", while kirlemek = "to make dirty".
o temiz = "clean", while temizlemek = "to make clean".
As Lewis notes, you cannot always guess the meaning of the verb from that of the starting noun or
adjective. Köpek and kuzu mean "dog" and "lamb", respectively, while köpeklemek and kuzulamak
mean "to cringe" to "to lamb", respectively. If kuzalamak means "to give birth to lambs", then why
doesn't köpeklemek mean "to give birth to puppies"? And why does köpeklemek mean "to cringe"
when few mammals of its size are as easily frightened as a lamb?
Notice that -le- is used for the category of words describing the sounds animals make:
o hav hav = the sound a dog makes, while havlamak = "to 'woof woof' like a dog"
o miyav = the sound a cat makes, while miyavlamak = "to 'meow' like a cat"
-len-
The reflexive and passive of -le-, also some verbs synonymous with the -le- form, and some verbs
for which there is no -le- form.
o kir = "dirt", kirlemek = "to make dirty", kirlenmek = "to be made dirty".
o temiz = "clean", temizlemek = "to make clean", temizlenmek = "to be made clean".
o serin = "cool", serinlemek = "to become cool", serinlenmek = "to become cool".
Note that there are causative forms of these, appending a following -dir or -t- as discussed in the
following section on verb modification. Some make the verb causitive, some just make another
synonym for the -le- form:
o can = "life", canlanmak = "to come to life", canlandırmak = "to bring to life",
o kirlemek = "to make dirty", kirletmek = "to make dirty"
o temiz = "clean", temizlemek = "to make clean", temizletmek = "to be made clean".
-leş-
Reciprocal of -le- or to form "to become ..."
o karşılamak = "to meet", karşılaşmak = "to meet one another"
o mektup = "letter", mektuplaşmak = "to correspond"
o bir = "one", birleşmek = "to become united"
-el- / -l-
Added usually to adjectives, infrequently to nouns, to form "to become ..."
o az = "little", while azalmak = "to diminish"
o çok = "much", while çoğalmak = "to increase"
-er-
Used with color adjectives to form "to become ...", with other words to form an active verb. Note, as
described in some detail in Lewis' book, that two-syllable color words actually have their final
syllable replaced by -er-.
o az = "white", ağarmak = "to become white"
o gök = "blue" or "green", göğer or göver = "to become blue green"
o kızıl = "red", kızarmak = "to become red" or "to be roasted"
o yaş = "moisture", yaşarmak = "to become moist"
-se-
The only surviving example of the once common "to want" is susamak for "to thirst". Otherwise, a
few verbs use this to form "to regard as ..."
o benim = "mine" (or "of me"), benimsemek = "to regard as one's own"
o mühim = "important", mühimsemek = "to regard as important"
-imse
Used similarly to -se- to form "to regard as ..." or "to consider to be ..."
o az = "little", azımsamak = "to consider inadequate"
o çok = "much", çoğumsamak = "to consider excessive"
-de-
Used in onomatopoeic words which end in r or l and which can be repeated to form an adverb. For
example, cızır is "sizzling", the sound made by frying food; cızır cızır is then "sizzlingly", and
cızırdamak is "to make a sizzling sound", and just cızırtı is the noun "sizzling". There are similar sets
of words for "creaking", "growling", "snoring", "crunching", "pattering" (as in footsteps),
"glittering" (seldom a noisy activity), and "tapping" (as in ravens at doors).
Verb Modification
There are several ways of modifying verbs to produce related words. Some of these begin to show how
complex verbs, expressed as phrases in English, are made by combining suffixes. Presumably a large
dictionary would cover these other forms, but you often have to (de)construct your own...
Negative — -me- or infrequently -mez-
o For most tenses, add -me-
görmek = "to see"
görmemek = "not to see"
o For the general (or aorist) tense only, add -mez- in place of the characteristic aorist -(i)r-
suffix, except for the 1st person, where it is just -me-.
Ahmet yazar = Ahmet is a writer.
Ahmet yazmaz = Ahmet is not a writer.
Barişnikov dans etir. Siz, Senatör Kuğayl, siz dans etmezsiniz.
Baryshnikov is a dancer. But you, Senator Quayle, you are not a dancer.
See the aorist section below for an explanation of "aorist" and why these examples were
used.
Passive — -n- or -il- or -in-
o For verb stems ending in vowels, add -n-
okumak = "to read",
okunmak = "to be read"
o For verb stems ending in consonants other than l, add -il-
vermek = "to give",
verilmek = "to be given"
o For verb stems ending in l, add -in-
bilmek = "to know",
bilinmek = "to be known"
Causative — -dir- or -t- or -it-
o Most verbs add -dir-
bilmek = "to know",
bildirmek = "to inform" or "to announce"
o Verbs ending in a vowel, or l, or r, add only -t-
anlamak = "to understand",
anlatmak = "to explain"
o Verbs ending in Ģ or ç add -ir-
içmek = "to drink",
içirmek = "to cause or make to drink"
o A few monosyllable verb stems ending in k add -it-.
o Doubly causative verbs are possible:
pişmek = "to cook" (intransitive, the meat cooks)
pişirmek = "to cook" (transitive, the chef cooks the meat)
pişirtmek = "to have something cooked"
ölmek = "to die"
öldürmek = "to kill"
öldürtmek = "to have someone killed"
Higher-order causation is grammatically possible, but stilted:
öldürttürmek = "to get someone to have someone killed", or to get someone else to hire a
hitman.
öldürttürtmek = the same thing but one more step removed, "to get someone to get someone
to have someone killed", or to get someone else to contact an agency to have them hire the
hitman.
Reflexive — -in-
o giymek = "to wear clothes"
o giyinmek = "to dress oneself"
o giyindirmek = "to dress someone else"
o giyindirilmek = "to be dressed by someone else"
o giyindirildirmek = "to be forced to be dressed by someone else"
Verbs of mutual action — -iş-
o görmek = "to see"
o görüşmek = "to see one another" or "to converse"
o görüşülmek = "to be conversed about"
o görüştürmek = "to make to converse with one another"
o görüştürülmek = "to be made to converse with one another"
Order for applying modification: 1. Reflexive
2. Reciprocal
3. Causative
4. Passive
For example:
acımak = "to feel pain" (simple)
acınmak = "to feel pain in oneself, to grieve" (reflexive)
acındırmak = "to cause to grieve" (causative)
acındırılmak = "to be made to grieve" (passive)
tanımak = "to know" (simple)
tanışmak = "to know one another" (reciprocal)
tanıştırmak = "to introduce" (causative)
tanıştırılmak = "to be introduced" (passive)
Negation, -me, plus ability, -ebil, and inability, -eme (see below) are added after these.
Table of all tenses and moods
From G.L. Lewis' Turkish Grammar, especially page 136 (section VIII,38).
1. Drop the -mek from the infinitive to get the stem:
görmek —> gör-
2. Add any modifications to the meaning of the verb, as listed above.
3. Select the tense:
Tense Append Meaning
Present -(i)yor- Actions happening now, or started in the recent past and continuing.
I am writing. — The point is that I am writing even as I speak.
Note that the o does not undergo vowel harmony.
General (Aorist) -(i)r- Things generally true, hence timeless.
I am a writer. — Although I am not necessarily writing anything at this very moment.
See the aorist section below for an explanation of "aorist".
Future -(y)ecek- Actions that will happen.
miş-past -miş- A present state caused by past action,
or things the speaker is reporting without having seen.
di-past -di- Both the simple past (did) and the perfect past (have done).
Necessity -meli- Actions that must, or should, be taken.
Conditional -se- If ...
With non-simple moods, expresses unfulfilled conditions, hopeless wishes of the past, etc.
Subjunctive -e- No statement of fact, things that might happen or have happened.
With non-simple moods, this expresses unfulfillable past wishes, or quotes of those expressions.
4. Select the mood, noting that not all tense/mood combinations exist:
Mood Append Conjugation
pattern
Simple - I (mostly)
Past -idi- II
Conditional -ise- II
Past conditional -idi- + -isi- II
Inferential -imiş- I
Inferential conditional -imiş- + -ise- II
5. Apply the appropriate conjugation ending for person and number:
Type I
-im -iz
-sin -siniz
(-dir) -(dir)ler
Type II
-m -k
-n -niz
- -ler
Type III
-eyim -elim
-esin -esiniz
-e -eler
6. Note that there are exceptions in the mapping from simple mood to conjugation pattern, and some
combinations of tense and mood do not exist. Really apply this pattern:
Simple
I Past
-idi + II Conditional
ise + II
Past
conditional -idi- + -ise- + II
Inferential -imiĢ- + I
Inferential
conditional -imiĢ- + -ise-
+ II
Present -(i)yor-
-
(i)yor + I
-
(i)yordu + II
-
(i)yorsa + II
-
(i)yorduysa + II
-
(i)yormuş + I
-
(i)yormuşsa + II
General
(aorist) -(i)r-
-(i)r + I -(i)rdi + II -(i)rse + II -(i)rdise + II -(i)rmiş + I -(i)rmişse + II
Future -ecek-
-ecek + I -ecekti + II -ecekse + II -ecektiyse + II -ecekmiş + I -ecekmişse + II
miş-past -miş-
-miş + I -mişti + II -mişse + II -miş idiyse + II -miş imiş + I -miş imişse + II
di-past -di-
-di + II -diydi + II -diyse + II -di idiyse + II — —
Necessity -meli-
-meli + I -meliydi + II — — -meliy
miş + I —
Conditional -se-
-se + II -seydi + II — — -sey miş + I —
Subjunctive -e-
-e + III -edi + II — — -ey miş + I —
So, to discuss looking at dervişler —
Simple
I Past
-idi + II Conditional
ise + II Past conditional -idi- + -ise- + II
Inferential -imiĢ- + I
Inferential
conditional -imiĢ- + -ise- + II
Present -(i)yor-
Dervişleri
görüyorum. I am seeing
Dervishes.
Dervişleri
görüyordum. I was seeing
Dervishes.
Dervişleri
görüyorsam, ... If I am seeing
Dervishes, ...
Dervişleri
görüyorduysam, ... If I was seeing
Dervishes, ...
Dervişleri görüyormuşum.
I am said to be seeing
Dervishes.
Dervişleri görüyormuşsam,
... If, as they say, I am seeing
Dervishes, ...
— or — If I am said to be seeing
Dervishes, ...
General
(aorist) -(i)r-
Dervişleri görürüm.
I see Dervishes.
Dervişleri
görürdüm.
I used to see Dervishes.
Dervişleri görürsem, ...
If I see Dervishes, ...
Dervişleri
görürdüysem, ...
If I used to see Dervishes, ...
Dervişleri görürmüşüm.
I am said to see Dervishes.
Dervişleri görürmüşsem, ... If, as they say, I see
Dervishes, ...
— or — If I am said to see
Dervishes, ...
Future -ecek-
Dervişleri
göreceğim.
I will see Dervishes.
Dervişleri
görecektim. I was going to see
Dervishes.
Dervişleri
göreceksem, ... If I am going to see
Dervishes, ...
Dervişleri
görecektiysem, ... If I was going to see
Dervishes, ...
Dervişleri görecekmişim. I am said to see Dervishes.
Dervişleri görecekmişsem,
... If, as they say, I was going
to see Dervishes, ...
— or —
If I am said to be about to
see Dervishes, ...
miş-past -miĢ-
Dervişleri görmüşüm.
I saw Dervishes. (so
they say)
Dervişleri
görmüştüm.
I had seen Dervishes. (so they
say)
Dervişleri görmüşsem, ...
If I have seen
Dervishes, ...
Dervişleri görmüş idiysem, ...
If I had seen
Dervishes, ...
Dervişleri görmüş ümüşüm.
I am said to have seen
Dervishes.
Dervişleri görmüş ümüşsem, ...
If, as they say, I have seen
Dervishes, ... — or —
If I am said to have seen
Dervishes, ...
di-past -di-
Dervişleri gördüm. I saw Dervishes.
— or —
I have seen Dervishes.
(II)
Dervişleri
gördüydüm.
I had seen Dervishes.
Dervişleri
gördüysem.
If I saw Dervishes, ...
— or —
If I have seen Dervishes, ...
Dervişleri gördü
üdüysem, ...
If I had seen Dervishes, ...
— —
Necessity -meli-
Dervişleri
görmeliyim. I must see
Dervishes.
Dervişleri
görmeliydim. I needed to see
Dervishes.
— —
Dervişleri görmeliymişim.
They say I ought to see
Dervishes.
—
Conditional -se-
Dervişleri görsem,
...
If I were to see Dervishes, ...
Dervişleri
görseydim, ...
If only I had seen Dervishes, ...
— —
Dervişleri görseymişim. They say that if I were to
see Dervishes, ...
— or — They say, "If only I would
see Dervishes"!
—
Subjunctive -e-
Dervişleri göreyim. I might see
Dervishes, maybe
later.
(III)
Dervişleri göreydim! Would that I had
seen Dervishes!
— — Dervişleri göreymişim! They say, "Would that I
had seen Dervishes"!
—
Or going to Konya — notice the d/t variation in gitmek! In a few verbs (etmek, tatmak, gitmek, etc) the final
t lenites (becomes voiced) before a vowel, but in others it doesn't:
Simple
I Past
-idi + II Conditional
ise + II Past conditional -idi- + -ise- + II
Inferential -imiĢ- + I
Inferential
conditional -imiĢ- + -ise- + II
Present -(i)yor-
Konya'ya
gidiyorum. I am going to
Konya.
Konya'ya
gidiyordum. I was going to
Konya.
Konya'ya
gidiyorsam, ... If I am going to
Konya, ...
Konya'ya
gidiyorduysam, ... If I was going to
Konya, ...
Konya'ya gidiyormuşum.
I am said to be going to
Konya.
Konya'ya gidiyormuşsam,
... If, as they say, I am going
to Konya, ...
— or — If I am said to be going to
Konya, ...
General
(aorist) -(i)r-
Konya'ya giderim.
I go to Konya.
Konya'ya giderdim. I used to go to
Konya.
Konya'ya gidersem, ...
If I go to Konya, ...
Konya'ya
giderdiysem, ...
If I used to go to Konya, ...
Konya'ya gidermişim
I am said to go to Konya.
Konya'ya gidermişsem, ... If, as they say, I go to
Konya, ...
— or — If I am said to go to Konya,
...
Future -ecek-
Konya'ya
gideceğim. I will go to Konya.
Konya'ya gidecektim.
I was going to go to Konya.
Konya'ya gideceksem, ...
If I am going to go to
Konya, ...
Konya'ya gidecektiysem, ...
If I was going to go to
Konya, ...
Konya'ya gidecekmişim.
I am said to be going to go to Konya.
Konya'ya gidecekmişsem, ...
If, as they say, I am going
to go to Konya, ... — or —
If I am said to be going to
go to Konya, ...
miş-past -miĢ-
Konya'ya gitmişim. I went to Konya.
(so they say)
Konya'ya gitmiştim. I had gone to Konya.
(so they say)
Konya'ya gitmişsem,
...
If I have gone to Konya, ...
Konya'ya gitmiş
idiysem, ...
If I had gone to Konya, ...
Konya'ya gitmiş imişim. I am said to have gone to
Konya.
Konya'ya gitmiş imişsem,
...
If, as they say, I have gone
to Konya, ...
— or —
If I am said to have gone to Konya, ...
di-past -di-
Konya'ya gittim.
I went to Konya. — or —
Konya'ya gittiytim.
I had gone to Konya.
Konya'ya gittiysem.
If I went to Konya, ...
Konya'ya gitti
idiysem, ... If I had gone to
— —
I have gone to
Konya. (II)
— or —
If I have gone to Konya, ...
Konya, ...
Necessity -meli-
Konya'ya
gitmeliyim.
I must go to Konya.
Konya'ya
gitmeliydim. I needed to go to
Konya.
— —
Konya'ya gitmeliymişim.
They say I ought to go to
Konya.
—
Conditional -se-
Konya'ya gitsem, ... If I were to go to
Konya, ...
Konya'ya gitseytim,
...
If only I had gone to Konya, ...
— —
Konya'ya gitseymişim. They say that if I were to
go to Konya, ...
— or — They say, "If only I would
go to Konya"!
—
Subjunctive -e-
Konya'ya gideyim. I might go to
Konya, maybe later
(III)
Konya'ya gideydim!
Would that I had
gone to Konya!
— —
Konya'ya gideymişim!
They say, "Would that I
had gone to Konya"!
—
The above tables may be adequate for your needs. Below here are tables of examples, including negative,
interrogative, and negative interrogative forms. Also the the forms of the verb to be, participles, ability-to
..., and imperatives.
-di-Past
-di-Past Simple — -di + I
I did and I have done
Things that have been finished.
-dim -dik
-din -diniz
-di -diler
Konya'da dervişleri gördüm. I saw dervishes in Konya.
I have seen dervishes in Konya.
Konya'ya gittim. I went to Konya.
I have gone to Konya.
-di-Past Pluperfect — -di -idi + II
I had done
Action that really was completed well back in the past. So far back that you could have used the past
tense in the past. Also called pluperfect.
-diydim -diydik
-diydin -diydiniz
-diydi -diydiler
-or-
-dimdi -dikti
-dindi -dinizdi
-diydi -dilerdi
Konya'da dervişleri gördüydüm.
Konya'da dervişleri gördümdü. I had seen dervishes in Konya.
Konya'ya gittiytim.
Konya'ya gittimdi. I had gone to Konya.
-di-Past Conditional — -di -ise + II If I did or If I have done
-diysem -diysek
-diysen -diyseniz
-diyse -diyseler
-or-
-dimse -dikse
-dinse -dinizse
-diyse -dilerse
Konya'da dervişleri gördüysem ...
Konya'da dervişleri gördümse ... If I saw dervishes in Konya ...
Konya'ya gittiysem ...
Konya'ya gittimse ... If I went to Konya ...
-di-Past Pluperfect Conditional — -di -idi -ise + II If I had done
-di idiysem -di idiysek
-di idiysen -di idiyseniz
-di idiyse -di idiyseler
-or-
-dim idiyse -dik idiyse
-din idiyse -din idiyizse
-diy idiyse -diler idiyse
Konya'da dervişleri gördü idiysem ...
Konya'da dervişleri gördüm idiyse ... If I had seen dervishes in Konya ...
Konya'ya gitti idiysem ...
Konya'ya gittim idiyse ... If I had gone to Konya ...
miş-Past
miş-Past Simple, or Past Indefinite — -miş- + I I have done
Events that supposedly happened in the past, but the speaker does not have adequate information to
definitively report it without question. As opposed to "He definitely went", this can render "He
(apparently, allegedly, reportedly, presumably, or ostensibly) went (but I am not sure enough of this
assertion to honestly use the past definite form)." And since the first-person singular exists, you can
make unfounded allegations about yourself!
Put another (less entertaining) way, the point is that something has happened, not the activity itself.
Lewis' example is kar yağmiş, or snow has fallen, where the point is that there is snow on the
ground, never mind the details of how it got there.
Positive Positive Interrogative
-mişim -mişiz -miş miyim? -miş miyiz?
-mişsin -mişsiniz -miş misin? -miş misiniz?
-miş -mişler -miş mi? -mişler mi?
Negative Negative Interrogative
-memişim -memişiz -memiş miyim? -memiş miyiz?
-memişsin -memişsiniz -memiş misin? -memiş misiniz?
-memiş -memişler -memiş mi? -memişler mi?
Konya'da masalarda dans etmişim.
Supposedly I danced on the tables in Konya.
(But I can't really say definitely, I don't remember a thing!
Next time, less rakı!)
Konya'da masalarda dans etmemişim. Supposedly I did not dance on the tables in Konya.
Konya'da masalarda dans etmiş miyim? Did I supposedly dance on the tables in Konya?
Konya'da masalarda dans etmemiş miyim? Did I supposedly not dance on the tables in Konya?
Konya'ya gitmişim. I went to Konya, so they say.
Konya'ya gitmemişim. I did not go to Konya, so they say.
Konya'ya gitmiş miyim? Did I go to Konya?
Konya'ya gitmemiş miyim? Did I not go to Konya?
miş-Past Past, or Pluperfect — -miş- -iti- + II I had done
Action that really was completed well back in the past. So far back that you could have used the past
tense in the past. Also called pluperfect.
Positive Positive Interrogative
-miştim -miştik -miş miydim? -miş miydik?
-miştin -miştiniz -miş miydin? -miş miydiniz?
-mişti -mişlerdi -miş miydi? -miş miydiler?
Negative Negative Interrogative
-memiştim -memiştik -memiş miydim? -memiş miydik?
-memiştin -memiştiniz -memiş miydin? -memiş miydiniz?
-memişti -memişlerdi -memiş miydi? -memiş miydiler?
Konya'da dervişleri görmüştüm. I had seen dervishes in Konya.
Konya'da dervişleri görmemüştüm. I had not seen dervishes in Konya.
Konya'da dervişleri görmüş müydüm. Had I seen dervishes in Konya?
Konya'da dervişleri görmemüş müydüm. Had I not seen dervishes in Konya?
Konya'ya gitmiştim. I had gone to Konya, so they say.
Konya'ya gitmemiştim. I had not gone to Konya, so they say.
Konya'ya gitmiş miydim? Had I gone to Konya?
Konya'ya gitmemiş miydim? Had I not gone to Konya?
miş-Past Narrative — -miş- + I + suffixed with -dir Used by the media to report He has ..., in situations where normal spoken Turkish would simply use
di-past —
Positive Negative
-mişimdir -mişizdir -memişimdir -memişizdir
-mişsindir -mişsenizdir -memişsindir -memişsenizdir
-mişdir -mişlerdir -memişdir -memişlerdir
Dervişler Konya'ya gitmişlerdir In tonight's news, dervishes went to Konya.
Dervişler Konya'ya gitmemişlerdir In tonight's news, dervishes did not go to Konya.
miş-Past Conditional — -miş- -ise- + II If I have done
Positive Negative
-mişsem -mişsek -memişsem -memişsek
-mişsen -mişseniz -memişsen -memişseniz
-mişse -mişseler -memişse -memişseler
Konya'da dervişleri görmüşsam, .... If I had seen dervishes in Konya, ...
Konya'ya gitmişsem ... If I had gone to Konya ...
Konya'ya gitmemişsem ... If I had not gone to Konya ...
miş-Past Inferential — -miş- -miş- + I I am said to have done...
-mişmişim -mişmişiz -miş imişim -miş imişiz
-mişmişin -mişmişiniz -miş imişin -miş imişiniz
-mişmiş -mişmişler -miş imiş -miş imişler
Konya'da dervişleri görmüşmüşüm.
Konya'da dervişleri görmüş imişim. I am said to have seen dervishes in Konya.
Konya'ya gitmişmişim.
Konya'ya gitmiş imişim. I am said to have gone to Konya.
miş-Past Inferential conditional — -miş- -miş- + I If I am said to have done...
-miş imişsem -miş imişsek
-miş imişsen -miş imişsiniz
-miş imişse -miş imişseler
Konya'da dervişleri görmüş ümüşsem, ... If I am said to have seen dervishes in Konya, ...
Konya'ya gitmiş imişsem, ... If I am said to have gone to Konya, ...
Present
Used for actions in progress, or generally done, or anticipated.
Note that the o in the suffix -yor does not vary under vowel agreement, and so the vowels in the suffixes
added onto that are always back vowels.
Also note that the suffixed -yor is added to a verb stem ending in e or a, then that e or a "narrows" to i or ı,
respectively. So, I understand would be:
anlamak —> anla - yor - um —> anlıyorum.
The negative is indicated by -me, also subject to this rule, so I do not understand would be:
anlamak —> anla -me - yor - um —> anlamiyorum.
In the verbs demek ("to say" or "to name") and yemek ("to eat") just the stem e narrows before y:
denemek -> deneyecek
yenemek -> yeneyecek
but:
demek -> diyecek
yemek -> yiyecek
Present Simple — -(i)yor- + I I am doing
Positive Negative
-(i)yorum -(i)yoruz -miyorum -miyoruz
-(i)yorsun -(i)yorsunuz -miroysun -miyorsunuz
-(i)yor -(i)yorlar -miyor -miyorlar
Konya'da dervişleri her gün görüyorum. I see dervishes in Konya every day.
Konya'ya gidiyorum. I am going to Konya. (note t->d change)
Konya'ya gitmiyorum. I am not going to Konya.
Present Past — -(i)yor- -idi- + II I was doing
Positive Negative
-(i)yordum -(i)yorduk -miyordum -miyorduk
-(i)yordun -(i)yordunuz -miroydun -miyordunuz
-(i)yordu -(i)yorlardı
-(i)yordular -miyordu
-miyorlardı
-miyordular
Konya'da dervişleri her gün görüyordum. I saw dervishes in Konya every day.
Dervişler Konya'ya gidiyorlardı.
Dervişler Konya'ya gidiyordular. Dervishes were going to Konya.
Present Conditional — -(i)yor- -ise- + II If I am doing ...
Positive Negative
-(i)yorsam -(i)yorsak -miyorsam -miyorsak
-(i)yorsan -(i)yorsanız -miyorsan -miyorsanız
-(i)yorsa -(i)yorlarsa
-(i)yorsalar -miyorsa
-miyorlarsa
-miyorsalar
Konya'da dervişleri her gün görüyorsam ... If I see dervishes in Konya every day ...
Konya'ya dervişler gidiyorlarsa ...
Konya'ya dervişler gidiyorsalar ... If Dervishes are going to Konya ...
Present Past Conditional — -(i)yor- -idi- -ise- + II If I was doing ...
Positive Negative
-(i)yorduysam
-(i)yor idiysem
-(i)yorduysak
-(i)yor idiysek -miyorduysam
-miyor idiysem
-miyorduysak
-miyor idiysek
-(i)yorduysan
-(i)yor idiysen
-(i)yorduysanız
-(i)yor idiyseniz -miyorduysan
-miyor idiysen
-miyorduysanız
-miyor idiyseniz
-(i)yorduysa
-(i)yor idiyse
-(i)yorduylarsa
-(i)yorduysalar
-(i)yor idiylerse
-(i)yor idiyseler
-miyorduysa
-miyor idiyse
-miyorduylarsa
-miyorduysalar
-miyor idiylerse
-miyor idiyseler
Konya'da dervişleri her gün görüyorduysam ...
Konya'da dervişleri her gün görüyor idiysem ... If I saw dervishes in Konya every day ...
Konya'ya dervişler gidiyorduylarsa ...
Konya'ya dervişler gidiyorduysalar ...
Konya'ya dervişler gidiyor idiylerse ...
Konya'ya dervişler gidiyor idiyseler ...
If Dervishes were going to Konya ...
Present Inferential — -(i)yor- -imiş- + I I am said to be doing ...
Positive Negative
-(i)yormuşum -(i)yormuşuz -miyormuşum -miyormuşuz
-(i)yormuşsun -(i)yormuşssunuz -miyormuşsun -miyormuşssunuz
-(i)yormuş -(i)yormuşlar -miyormuş -miyormuşlar
Konya'da dervişleri her gün görüyormuşum. I am said to see dervishes in Konya every day.
Konya'ya dervişler gidiyormuşlar. Dervishes are said to go to Konya.
Present Inferential Conditional — -(i)yor- -imiş- -ise- + II If I am, as they say, doing ... or
I gather that if I was doing ...
Positive Negative
-(i)yormuşsam
-(i)yor imişsem
-(i)yormuşsak
-(i)yor imişsek -miyormuşsam
-(i)yor imişsem
-miyormuşsak
-(i)yor imişsek
-(i)yormuşsan
-(i)yor imişsen
-(i)yormuşsunaz
-(i)yor imişseniz -miyormuşsan
-miyor imişsen
-miyormuşsunaz
-miyor imişsen
-(i)yormuşsa
-(i)yor mişse
-(i)yormuşsalar
-(i)yor imişseler -miyormuşsa
-miyor mişse
-miyormuşsalar
-miyor imişseler
Konya'da dervişleri her gün görüyormuşsam, ...
Konya'da dervişleri her gün görüyor imişsem, ... If I am, as they say, seeing dervishes in Konya every day, ...
Konya'ya dervişler gidiyormuşsalar, ...
Konya'ya dervişler gidiyor imişseler, ... If dervishes, as they say, are going to Konya, ...
General / Aorist
About things always true and hence timeless, denoting continuing activity:
I am painting would use the Present Simple.
I am a painter or I paint would be Aorist.
It is discussed in Turkish Grammar by G.L. Lewis as follows, in chapter 8, section 24:
This term, borrowed from Greek grammar, means 'unbounded' and well
describes what the Turks call geniş zaman 'the broad sense', which denotes
continuing activity.
And then in chapter 8, section 25:
The aorist denotes continuing activity, but to equate, for example, yapar-ım with
'I do' and yapıyor-um with 'I am doing' is a misleading oversimplification.
Fundamentally, yaparım means 'I am a doer' and according to context it may
represent
'I habitually do';
'by and large I am the sort of person who does';
'I am ready, willing, and able to do';
'I shall do'.
yapıyorum means
'I have undertaken, and am now engaged in, the job of doing';
'I am doing now';
'I am doing in the future';
i.e., 'I have the job in hand'. yazarım and yazıyorum may both be translated 'I
write'. But more specifically: yazarım 'I am a writer; in principle I write
(although I may not yet have put pen to paper)'. yazıyorum 'I am writing now';
'as a matter of fact I do write'; 'I write, for example, for four hours every
morning' — her sabah dört saat yazıyorum — where the broad yazarım would
be incongruous with the precise expression of time. For 'I love you' the Turk says
seni seviyorum; if he said seni severim that would sound far too vague and
without immediacy, corresponding rather to 'I like you'. '
So, my silly examples were:
Ahmet yazar = Ahmet is a writer.
Ahmet yazmaz = Ahmet is not a writer.
Ahmet is or is not the sort of person who habitually writes.
Barişnikov dans etir. = Baryshnikov is a dancer.
He isn't necessarily dancing right now, but generally speaking, he dances.
Senatör Kuğayl dans etmezsiniz. = Senator Quayle is not a dancer.
He is not ready, willing, or able to dance.
The aorist is used for:
Requests: Oturur musunuz? Will you sit down?
Promises: Yarın gelirim. Tomorrow I shall come.
With olmak,
(to become or happen),
to ask permission:
Olur mu?.
Is it all right?.
Literally, Does it happen?
Answer: olur (all right) or olmaz (no)
In proverbs: It ürür, kervan geçer. The dogs howl, the caravan moves on.
What to add? It depends on the verb stem:
-r + I Verb stem ends with a vowel.
anlamak = to understand anlar = he understands
-ar + I Verb stem ends with a consonant, single syllable.
etmek = to do eder = he does
-ir + I
14 exceptions to the above rule add i/ü/ı/u:
almek = to take alır = he takes
bilmek = to do bilir = he does
bulmak = to find bulur = he finds
durmak = to stand durur = he stands
gelmek = to come gelir = he comes
görmek = to see görür = he sees
kalmak = to remain kalır = he remains
olmak = to become / be / happen olur = it becomes / is / happens
ölmek = to die ölür = he dies
sanmak = to think sanır = he thinks
varmak = to reach varır = he reaches
vermek = to give verir = he gives
vurmak = to strike vurur = he strikes
yenmek = to be eaten yenir = it is eaten
However, yenmek "to win" forms "he wins" as the expected yener
-ir + I
Polysyllabic verb stems, and extensions of monosyllabic verb stems
konuşmak = to speak konuşur = he speaks
demek = to say
de-n-mek = to be said
der = he says
denir = it is said
Some compound verbs with etmek take -er, in which case there is also lenition, as in "to transport":
nakletmek -> nakleder
The negative is formed unusually: -mez is used where the -(i)r is used in the positive (and just -em is used in
the first person. See the below tables for examples.
Aorist Simple — -(i)r- + I or -(a)r- + I
Positive Negative
-(i)rim -(i)riz -mem -meyiz
-(i)rsin -(i)rsiniz -mezsin -mezsiniz
-(i)r -(i)rler -mez -mezler
Konya'da dervişleri görürüm. I see dervishes in Konya.
Indiyana'da dervişleri görmem. I do not see dervishes in Indiana.
Konya'ya dervişler dans etirler. Dervishes dance in Konya.
Indiyana'da dervişler dans etmezler. Dervishes do not dance in Indiana.
Aorist Past — -(i)r- -idi- + II I used to do or I used to be a doer
Positive Negative
-(i)rdim -(i)rdik -medim -medik
-(i)rdin -(i)rdiniz -mezdin -mezdiniz
-(i)rdi -(i)rdiler -mezdi -mezdiler
Konya'da dervişleri görürdüm. I used to see dervishes in Konya.
Indiyana'da dervişleri görmedim. I was not a seer of dervishes in Indiana.
Konya'ya dervişler dans etirdiler. Dervishes were dancing in Konya.
Indiyana'da dervişler dans etmezdiler. Dervishes were not dancing in Indiana.
Aorist Conditional — -(i)r- -ise- + II If I do ...
Positive Negative
-(i)rsem -(i)rsek -mesem -mesek
-(i)rsen -(i)rseniz -mezsen -mezseniz
-(i)rse -(i)rseler
-(i)rlerse -mezse -mezseler
Konya'da dervişleri görürsem ... If I see dervishes in Konya ...
Indiyana'da dervişleri görmesem ... If I do not see dervishes in Indiana ...
Konya'ya dervişler dans etirseler.
Konya'ya dervişler dans etirlerse. If dervishes dance in Konya ...
Indiyana'da dervişler dans etmezseler ... If dervishes do not dance in Indiana ...
Aorist Past Conditional — -(i)r- -idi- -ise- + II If I do ...
Positive Negative
-(i)rdiysem
-(i)r idiysem
-(i)rdiysek
-(i)r idiysek -mediysem -mediysek
-(i)rdiysen
-(i)r idiysen
-(i)rdiyseniz
-(i)r idiyseniz -mezdiysen -mezdiyseniz
-(i)rdiyse
-(i)r idiyse
-(i)rdiyseler
-(i)r idiyseler -mezdiyse -mezdiyseler
Konya'da dervişleri görürdüysem ...
Konya'da dervişleri görür idiysem ... If I saw dervishes in Konya ...
Indiyana'da dervişleri görmediysem ... If I did not see dervishes in Indiana ...
Konya'ya dervişler dans etirdiyseler.
Konya'ya dervişler dans etiri idiyseler. If dervishes danced in Konya ...
Indiyana'da dervişler dans etmezdiyseler ... If dervishes did not dance in Indiana ...
Aorist Inferential — -(i)r- -imiş- + I I am said to do or I am said to be a doer
Positive Negative
-(i)rmişim -(i)rmişiz -memişim -memişiz
-(i)rmişsin -(i)rmişsiniz -mezmişsin -mezmişsiniz
-(i)rmiş -(i)rmişler -mezmiş -mezmişler
Konya'da dervişleri görürmişim. I am said to see dervishes in Konya.
Indiyana'da dervişleri görmemişim. I am said not to see dervishes in Indiana.
Konya'ya dervişler dans etirmişler. Dervishes are said to dance in Konya.
Indiyana'da dervişler dans etmezmişler. Dervishes are said not to dance in Indiana.
Aorist Inferential Conditional — -(i)r- -imiş- -ise- + II If I am said to do ... or If, as they say, I do ...
Positive Negative
-(i)rmişsem
-(i)ir imişsem
-(i)rmişsek
-(i)ir imişsek -memişsem -memişsek
-(i)rmişsen
-(i)r imişsen
-(i)rmişseniz
-(i)r imişseniz -mezmişsen -mezmişseniz
-(i)rmişse
-(i)r imişse
-(i)rmişseler
-(i)r imişseler -mezmişse -mezmişseler
Konya'da dervişleri görürmişsem ...
Konya'da dervişleri görür imişsem ... If, as they say, I see dervishes in Konya ...
Indiyana'da dervişleri görmemişsem ... If, as they say, I do not see dervishes in Indiana ...
Konya'ya dervişler dans etirmişseler ...
Konya'ya dervişler dans etir imişseler ... If, as they say, dervishes dance in Konya ...
Indiyana'da dervişler dans etmezmişseler ... If, as they say, dervishes do not dance in Indiana ...
Future
Future Simple, or Future General
Future Positive General Future Positive General Interrogative
-(y)eceğim -(y)eceğiz -ecek miyim? -ecek miyiz?
-(y)eceksin -(y)eceksiniz -ecek misin? -ecek misiniz?
-(y)ecektir -(y)ecekler(dir) -ecek mi? -ecekler mi?
Future Negative General Future Negative General Interrogative
-meyeceğim -meyeceğiz -meyecek miyim? -meyecek miyiz?
-meyeceksin -meyeceksiniz -meyecek misin? -meyecek misiniz?
-meyecektir -meyecekler(dir) -meyecek mi? -meyecekler mi?
Konya'da dervişleri göreceğim. I will see dervishes in Konya.
Konya'da dervişleri görmeyeceğim. I will not see dervishes in Konya.
Konya'da dervişleri görecek miyim? Will I see dervishes in Konya?
Konya'da dervişleri görmeyecek miyim? Will I not see dervishes in Konya?
Future Past (G.L. Lewis pg 113 sec 22b) — Things that were in the future in the past. I was going to ... (but since I do not say that it happened, then probably it did not work out)
-(y)ecektim -(y)ecektik
-(y)ecektin -(y)ecektiniz
-(y)ecekti -(y)eceklerdi
Konya'da Dervişleri görecektim. I was going to see dervishes in Konya.
Filimi dervişleri görecektim,
ama saati yetmidi.
A film having-dervishes I-was-going-to-see,
but time I did-not-have.
Future Conditional If I am about to ...
-(y)eceksem -(y)eceksek
-(y)eceksen -(y)ecekseniz
-(y)ecekse -(y)eceklerse
-(y)ecekseler
Konya'da dervişleri göreceksem, ... If I will see dervishes in Konya, ...
Future Past Conditional If I was about to ...
-(y)ecek idiysem
-(y)ecektiysem
-(y)ecektimse
-(y)ecek idiysek
-(y)ecektiysek
-(y)ecektikse
-(y)ecek idiysen
-(y)ecektiysen
-(y)ecektinse
-(y)ecek idiyniz
-(y)ecektiyseniz
-(y)ecektinizse
-(y)ecek idiyse
-(y)ecektiyse
-(y)ecektise
-(y)ecek idiyseler
-(y)ecektiyseler
-(y)eceklerdiyse
Konya'da dervişleri görecek idiysem, ...
Konya'da dervişleri görecektiysem ...
Konya'da dervişleri görecektimse ...
If I was going to have seen dervishes in Konya, ...
Future Inferential I am/was said to be about to ...
-(y)ecek imişim
-(y)ecekmişim
-(y)ecek imişsiz
-(y)ecekmişsiz
-(y)ecek imişsin
-(y)ecekmişsin
-(y)ecek imişsiniz
-(y)ecekmişsiniz
-(y)ecek imiş
-(y)ecekmiş
-(y)ecek imişler
-(y)ecekmişler
Konya'da dervişleri görecek imişim.
Konya'da dervişleri görecekmişim. It is said that I will see dervishes in Konya.
Future Inferential Conditional If, as they say/said, I am/was about to ...
-(y)ecek imişsem
-(y)ecekmişsem
-(y)ecek imişsek
-(y)ecekmişsek
-(y)ecek imişsen
-(y)ecekmişsen
-(y)ecek imişseniz
-(y)ecekmişseniz
-(y)ecek imişse
-(y)ecekmişse
-(y)ecek imişseler
-(y)ecekmişseler
Konya'da dervişleri görecek imişsem, ...
Konya'da dervişleri görecekmişsem, ... If, as they say, I will see dervishes in Konya, ...
Future II or Ancient Future (G.L. Lewis pg 115 sec 23) According to G.L. Lewis, this verb appears appears only in the third-person singular form, suffixed
with -ası, and is used only for cursing.
Evin yıkılası! May your house be demolished!
Dervişlarin başkaldırası! May your dervishes stage a revolution!
To Be
Some forms are suffixes added to nouns or adjectives only, some forms are independent words following
the noun or adjective, sometimes (as in the past tense) you have a choice.
Past
Past Positive Past Negative
Enclitic form Independent
form Enclitic form Independent form
-(y)dim -(y)dik idim idik değildim değildik değil idim değil idik
-(y)din -(y)diniz idin idiniz değildin değildiniz değil idin değil idiniz
-(y)di -(y)diler idi idiler değildi değildiler değil idi değil idiler
Past Positive Interrogative Past Negative Interrogative
Enclitic form Independent
form Enclitic form Independent form
miydim
? miydik?
mi idim
? mi idik?
değil miydim
? değil miydik?
değil mi idim
? değil mi idik?
miydin? miydiniz
? mi idin?
mi idiniz
? değil miydin?
değil miydiniz
? değil mi idin?
değil mi idiniz
?
miydi? miydiler
? mi idi?
mi idiler
? değil miydi?
değil miydiler
? değil mi idi?
değil mi idiler
?
Atatürk Türk idi.
Atatürk Türkdu. Atatürk was a Turk.
Derviştim.
Derviş idim. I was a dervish
Derviş miydim?
Derviş miyim? Was I a dervish?
Derviş değildim.
Derviş değil idim. I was not a dervish
Derviş değil miydim?
Derviş değil mi idin? Was I not a dervish?
Past Conditional
Positive
Suffixed Suffixed Independent
-(y)diysem -(y)diysek -(y)dimse -(y)dikse idiysem idiysek
-(y)diysen -(y)diyseniz -(y)dinse -(y)dinizse idiysen idiysek
-(y)diyse -(y)diyseler -(y)diyse -(y)diyseler idiyse idiyseler
Negative
Suffixed Suffixed Independent
değildiysem değildiysek değildimse değildikse değil idiysem değil idiysek
değildiysen değildiyseniz değildinse değildinizse değil idiysen değil idiyseniz
değildiyse değildiyseler değildiyse değildilerse değil idiyse değil idiyseler
Derviş idiysem, ... If I had been a dervish, ...
Derviş değil idiysem, ... If I had not been a dervish, ...
Evde idiysem ...
Evdeydiysem ...
Evdeydimse ...
If I had been at home ...
Past Inferential — is said to be or was said to be
Positive
Suffixed Independent
-(y)mişim -(y)mişiz imişim imişiz
-(y)mişin -(y)mişsiniz imişin imişsiniz
-(y)miş -(y)mişler imiş imişler
Negative
Enclitic Independent
değilmişim değilmişiz değil imişim değil imişiz
değilmişsin değilmişsiniz değil imişsin değil imişsiniz
değilmiş değilmişler değil imiş değil imişler
Derviş imiş. He was said to be a dervish.
Derviş değil imiş.
He was said not to be a dervish.
(He was said to be a non-dervish, it was not that he
was a dervish and people failed to comment upon it)
Past Inferential Conditional
Positive
Suffixed Independent
-(y)mişsem -(y)mişsek imişsem imişsek
-(y)mişsen -(y)mişseniz imişsen imişseniz
-(y)mişse -(y)mişseler imişse imişseler
Negative
Enclitic Independent
değilmişsem değilmişsek değil imişsem değil imişsek
değilmişsen değilmişseniz değil imişsen değil imişseniz
değilmişse değilmişseler değil imişse değil imişseler
Derviş imişse ... I gather that if he was a dervish ...
Derviş değil imişse ... I gather that if he was not a dervish ...
Present Note that -dir is not generally used in informal speech or writing. For a copula, or "A = B" sentence,
The girl's name is Fatma:
Formal: Kızın adı, Fatma'dır.
Informal: Kızın adı, Fatma.
It is also used informally to indicate emphasis or a supposition. To answer the question Dervişler
nerede?, or Where are the dervishes?
Camide. In the mosque.
Camideler. They are in the mosque.
Camidedirler. They are surely in the mosque... (supposition)
Camidedirler! They are in the mosque! (emphasis)
Camidelerdir. They are surely in the mosque... (supposition)
Also, -dir may be suffixed to verbs, where it weakens rather than emphasizes the verb.
Biliyorsunuz. You know.
Biliyorsunuzdur. You surely know. or I presume you know.
Arkadaşıma mektup yazdim. I wrote a letter to my friend.
Literally, To-my-friend letter I-wrote.
A simple statement of fact.
Arkadaşıma mektup yazmışım.
It seems that I wrote a letter to my friend.
An inference — I do not remember writing the letter, but I
found a copy on my computer and so I must have written it...
Arkadaşıma mektup yazmışımdır.
I must have written a letter to my friend...
I do not remember writing the letter, nor do I have any evidence
that I did so, but it has been some time since I received his letter
and I'm usually quite punctual with my correspondance...
Finally, the particle mi turns the preceding word into a question. It is a separate word but follows
vowel harmony.
Present positive Present interrogative
-(y)im -(y)iz miyim? Miyiz?
-sin -siniz misin? misiniz?
-(dir) -(dir)ler mi(dir)? midirler?
Present negative Present negative interrogative
değilim değiliz değil miyim? değil miyiz?
değilsin değilsiniz değil misin? değil misiniz?
değildir değildirler değil midir? değil midirler?
Evdeyim. I am at home.
Evde miyim? Am I at home?
Dervişim. I am a dervish.
Derviş miyim? Am I a dervish?
Kızın adı, Fatma'dır. The girl's name is Fatma.
Kızın adı, Fatma mı?
Kızın adı, Fatma mıdır? The girl's name, is it Fatma?
Derviş değilim. I am not a dervish.
Derviş değil miyim? Am I not a dervish?
Present II I am in the act of ...
The infinitive, plus the locative, thus -mekte, followed by some ending of "to be":
Konya'ya gitmekteyim. I am in the act of going to Konya.
Dervişleri görmekteymişim. I am said to be in the act of seeing dervishes.
Var / Yok There take the place of there are and there are not, respectively:
Mercimek çorbası var mı? Is there any lentil soup?
Çorba var. There is soup.
Çorba yok. There is no soup.
Bu evde çok kedi var! There are many cats in this house!
Hoverkraftımda çok yalınbalığı var! My hovercraft is full of eels!
Literally: Hovercraft-of-me-inside many eel(s) exist!
Yeni Meksiko'da uçan daire var mı? Are there flying saucers in New Mexico?
Yeni Meksiko'da yok. There aren't any in New Mexico.
Ama, "Alan Elli Bir'de" çok var. However, there are many at Area 51.
Necessity
Simple necessity I must, I ought to
Positive Negative
-meliyim -meliyiz -memeliyim -memeliyiz
-melisin -melisiniz -memelisin -memelisiniz
-meli(dir) -meli(dir)ler -memeli(dir) -memeli(dir)ler
Konya'ya gitmeliyim. I must go to Konya.
Dervişler fırıl fırıl dönmeliler.
Dervişler fırıl fırıl dönmelidirler. Dervishes must whirl.
Past necessity I had to do, I should have done
Positive Negative
-meli idim
-meliydim
-meli idik
-meliydik -memeli idim
-memeliydim
-memeli idik
-memeliydik
-meli idin
-meliydin
-meli idiniz
-meliydiniz -memeli idin
-memeliydin
-memeli idiniz
-memeliydiniz
-meli idi
-meliydi
-meli idiler
-meliydiler
-melilerdi
-memeli idi
-meliydi
-memeli idiler
-memeliydiler
-memelilerdi
Konya'ya gitmeli idim.
Konya'ya gitmeliydim. I had to go to Konya.
Dervişler fırıl fırıl dönmeli idiler.
Dervişler fırıl fırıl dönmeliydiler.
Dervişler fırıl fırıl dönmelilerdi.
Dervishes needed to whirl.
Inferential necessity They say I must, they say I ought to
Positive Negative
-meliymişim -meliymişiz -memeliymişim -memeliymişiz
-meliymişsin -meliymişsiniz -memeliymişsin -memeliymişsiniz
-meliymiş -meliymişler
-melilermiş -memeliymiş
-memeliymişler
-memelilermiş
Konya'ya gitmeliymişim, ... They say that I should have gone to Konya
Dervişler fırıl fırıl dönmemelimişler.
Dervişler fırıl fırıl dönmemelilermiş. They say that dervishes should not whirl.
Conditional
Conditional simple This expresses remote conditions: If I were to ...
and wishes: If only I were to ...
Positive Negative
-sem -sek -mesem -mesek
-sen -seniz -mesen -meseniz
-se -seler -mese -meseler
Konya'ya gitsem, dervişleri görüyorum. If I were to go to Konya, I would see dervishes.
Dervişler Indiana'ya gitseler, beni görüyorler. If dervishes were to go to Indiana, they would see me.
Conditional past This expresses unfulfilled conditions: If I had ...
and hopeless wishes relating to the past: If only I had ...
Positive Negative
-seydim -seydik -meseydim -meseydik
-seydin -seydiniz -meseydin -meseydiniz
-seydi -seydiler
-selerdi -meseydi
-meseydiler
-meselerdi
Konya'ya gitseydim! If only I had gone to Konya!
Dervişler Indiana'ya gitmeseydiler!
Dervişler Indiana'ya gitmeselerdi! If only the dervishes had not gone to Indiana!
Conditional inferential This quotes remote conditions and wishes:
They say that if I were to ...
They say "If only I were to ..."
Positive Negative
-seymişim -seymişiz -meseymişim -meseymişiz
-seymişsin -seymişsiniz -meseymişsin -meseymişsiniz
-seymiş -seymişler
-selermiş -meseymiş
-meseymişler
-meselermiş
Konya'ya gitseymişim, ... They say that if I were to go to Konya, ...
Dervişler Indiana'ya gitmeseymişler, ...
Dervişler Indiana'ya gitmeselermiş, ... They say that if the dervishes had not gone to Indiana, ...
Subjunctive
Subjunctive simple As per Lewis, this "expresses concepts envisaged by the subject or the speaker; it makes no
statement about facts, except that the first singular is used colloquially with future meaning:
Yarın geleyim. Let me come tomorrow -> I may come tomorrow -> I'll come tomorrow"
The second persons are used in formal speech to relay requests and commands:
Babam dedi ki, yarın bize gelesiniz.
My father said that you-should-come to us tomorrow.
The third singular is used colloquially to ask cautious questions:
Evde mi ola? Might he be at home?
The endings do not follow a consistent pattern used by other verbs, history indicates that this ending
is a hybrid.
Positive Negative
-eyim -elim -meyeyim -meyelim
-esin -esiniz -meyesin -meyesiniz
-e -eler -meye -meyeler
Subjunctive past Used to express unfulfillable past wishes. Lewis' example is:
Bileydim buraya kadar gelmezdim. Had I known, I would not have come this far.
Positive Negative
-eydim -eydik -meyeydim -meyeydik
-eydin -eydiniz -meyeydin -meyeydiniz
-eydi -eydiler
-elerdi -meyeydi
-meyeydiler
-meyelerdi
Subjunctive inferential Infrequently used, this quotes the simple and and past subjunctive:
People say "would that I had ...
Positive Negative
-eymişim -eymişiz -meyeymişim -meyeymişiz
-eymişsin -eymişsiniz -meyeymişsin -meyeymişsiniz
-eymiş -eymişler
-elermiş -meyeymiş
-meyeymişler
-meyelermiş
Ability, to be able to ...
Positive ability Append -(y)ebilmek, conjugated in some form, to the root of the verb:
Görmek to see
Dervişleri görebiliyorum. I can see dervishes.
Dervişleri görebiliyordum. I was able to see dervishes.
Dervişleri görebileceğim. I will be able to see dervishes.
Negative ability Append -(y)eme to the verb root and conjugate:
Konya'ya gitmedim. I did not go to Konya.
Konya'ya gidemedim. I was unable to go to Konya.
Egilizçe anlıyorum. I understand English.
Türkçe anlımıyorum. I do not understand Turkish.
Türkçe anlıyamıyorum. I am unable to understand Turkish.
Türkler Türkçe anlıyabiliyorler. Turks are able to understand Turkish.
Imperative
Second-person form is like a command. Third-person form is used when the command is about someone,
e.g., "Let them eat cake." Second-person singular form is informal or harsh, and an alternative form is the
verb stem with no suffix at all.
The second-person form is like a command. The third-person form is used when the command is
about someone, e.g., "Let them eat cake." The second-person singular form is informal or harsh, and
an alternative form is the verb stem with no suffix at all.
— —
-(y)in -(y)iniz
-sin -sinler
Kebabı yiyin! Eat a kebab! (familiar, informal, harsh)
Kebabı yiyiniz! Eat a kebab! (plural, formal, polite)
Kebablari yesinler! Let them eat kebabs!
Derviş gibi fırıl fırıl dönünüz! Whirl like a dervish!
Participles and Substantives
These words are verb forms that can function as adjectives or nouns, generally:
which-is-verbing
which-is-characterized-by-verbing
Or having-verbed or will-be-verbed or other tenses.
To be strict, it might be better to use participle to refer to the verbal adjective forms, e.g., "talking people",
and substantive to refer to the forms functioning as nouns, e.g., "those who talk". I have labeled the below
tables simply as "participles" when each table really includes both participles and substantives.
Present Participle -(y)en Verbing, right now.
If the y is needed, it "narrows" the preceding vowel:
koşmak to run Konuşmak
konuşmamak
to talk
to not talk
Köpekler
koşıyorlar.
The dogs are
running.
Bu insanlar
konuşmıyorlar.
These people are not
talking.
koşan köpekler running dogs konuşmıyan insanlar people who are not talking
koşanlar those who are
running Konuşmıyanlar those who are not talking
Aorist Participle -(y)ir Verbing, in general.
Köpekler koşırler. Dogs run. Bu insanlar konuşmıyırlar. These people do not talk
koşır köpekler dogs who run konuşmıyır insanlar people who do not talk
koşırlar those who run konuşmıyırlar those who do not talk
Future Participle -(y)ecek Pertaining-to-future-verbing.
Köpekler
koşacaklar. Dogs will run.
Bu insanlar
konuşmayacaklar.
These people will not
talk
koşacak köpekler dogs who will run konuşmayacak insanlar people who will not talk
koşacaklar those who will
run Konuşmayacaklar those who will not talk
Yiyecek bir kebap istiyorum. I want a kebab to eat.
Pertaining-to-future-eating one-kebab I-want.
miş-Past Participle -miş Pertaining-to-having-verbed.
However, this does not have the inferential I gather that ... sense of the miş-past.
Köpekler
koşmuşlar.
Dogs have run,
apparently.
Bu insanlar
konuşmamışlar.
These people have not talked,
it seems.
koşmuş köpekler dogs who ran konuşmamış insanlar people who did not talk
koşmuşlar those who ran Konuşmamışlar those who did not talk
di-Past Participle -dik Pertaining-to-past-verbing. Most of these are passive and negative:
görmek to see
görülmek to be seen
görülmemek to be unseen
görülmedik extraordinary (that which has not been seen)
Köpekler
koşdılar. Dogs ran.
Bu insanlar
konuşmadılar. These people did not talk.
koşdık köpekler dogs who were
running konuşmadık insanlar
people who were not
talking
koşdıklar those who were
running konuşmadıklar those who were not talking
Personal Participles Add a suffix of possession to mean:
Characterized-by-my/your/his/etc-verbing
bilmek to know
bildik an acquaintance (characterized by knowing)
bildiğim my acquaintance (characterized by my knowing)
bildiklerim my acquaintances (those characterized by my knowing)
Yiyeceğim kebap çok iyi görünir. The kebab I am going to eat looks very good.
Characterized-by-my-future-eating kebab very good is-seen.
İstanbul'a geldiği otobüs dolmuşdan The bus in which he came to Istanbul was bigger than a
büyük. dolmuş.
To-Istanbul pertaining-to-his-having-come bus from-a-dolmuş
bigger is.
Size bir diyeceğim yok. I have nothing to say to you.
To-you one-thing-of-my-future-saying does-not-exist.
Bana bir diyeceğiniz var mı? Do you have anything to say to me?
To-me one-thing-of-your-future-saying exists does-it?
Combine -eceği gel- to form it feels like or the time is coming phrases:
İstanbul'u göreceğim geldi. I feel like seeing Istanbul
Istanbul my-future-seeing has-come.
Verbal Nouns
Infinitive -mek This takes endings to form the various cases, except for genitives and possessives:
o Absolute As subject:
Türkçe öğrenmek çok zor. To learn Turkish is very difficult.
As object of istemek and bilmek (to want and to know):
Türkçe anlamak istiyorum. I want to understand Turkish.
Kebapı almak istiyorum. I want to buy a kebab.
o Accusative as object of other verbs:
Kebapı almağı unuttum. I forgot to buy a kebap.
o Dative: Kebapı almağa başladım. I began to buy a kebab.
Kebapı almağa gittim. I have gone to buy a kebab.
o Locative: Kebapı almakta tehlikeyi görmiyorum. I see no danger in buying a kebap.
o Ablative: Kebapı almaktan kendimi önleyememişim. Apparently I was unable to prevent myself from
buying a kebap.
Gerund verbal nouns -me — the action or result of action
This forms words as verbing and can take every case ending and possessive suffix:
alma buying
gitme going
bekeleme salonu waiting room
-meklik — the fact of action
Kebapı almaklık ticarete iyi. My kebab-buying is good for business (to-business good-is).
-iş — the manner of action, but also the fact of action
Bu kebapı alışlı, ticaret başaracaktır. With this sort of kebab-buying, business will succeed.
giriş entrance (entering, going in)
çıkış exit (exiting, going out)
Gerund
These are adverbal words formed from nouns.
-e — Repeated or continuing activity simultaneous with the main verb:
o geçe, from geçmek, to pass, indicating the time at which something happens:
Saat dörde on geçe gellerdi.
They came at ten past four.
Literally: Hour from-four ten passing they-came.
o deye, from demek, to say, meaning saying:
TEHLİKE diye bir levha
A sign saying DANGER
Literally: DANGER saying one sign.
o rasgele, from rasgelmek, to meet by chance, meaning haphazardly or randomly.
Rasgele bir derviş fırıl fırıl dönmedi.
At random, one dervish did not whirl.
o Repeated, it has an idiomatic use:
Gide gide kebapcıya mı gittin?
Going and going, was it to the kebab shop you went? meaning:
After all that travel, couldn't you find anywhere better to go than to the kebab shop?
Also see Güle güle, said to someone who is departing. Gülmek means to smile.
-erek — Single act or continued activity simultaneous with or slightly before the main verb. Often
corresponds to by doing or with doing:
o bilerek = knowingly
bilmiyerek = unknowingly
o Kapıyı açarak evden gitti. Opening the door, he left the house.
-ip — Used when there are two verbs with identical suffixes joined by "and", to simplify the first
one. To say We got up and we left:
Kalkıp gittik. (and not Kalktık gittik.)
Or, for They are sitting and talking:
Oturup konuşuyorlar. (and not Oturuyorlar konuşuyorlar.)
-ince — Action just prior to the main verb:
Otobüs gelince kalkarım. When the bus arrives, I will get up.
-inceye kadar, -inceyedek, -inceye değin — until
Otobüs gelinceye kadar, gidemedik. Until the bus arrives, we cannot go.
-ene kadar, -enedek, -ene değin — until, less formal
Otobüs gelene kadar, gidemedik. Until the bus arrives, we cannot go.
-esiye — to the point of.
Dervişler bayılasıya fırıl fırıl dönlerdi. The dervishes whirled to the point of fainting.
-eli, -eli beri, eliden beri, -diX -eli — since, with the di-past ending conjugated as needed.
All these mean Since we came to Istanbul it has not rained:
Biz İstanbul'a geleli hiç yağmur yağmadı.
Biz İstanbul'a geleli beri hiç yağmur yağmadı.
Biz İstanbul'a geleliden beri hiç yağmur yağmadı.
Biz İstanbul'a geldik geleli hiç yağmur yağmadı.
-meden, -mezden — before, without, followed by evvel or önce to mean before.
Siz gitmeden evvel beni uyandıriniz. Wake me up before you go.
-dikten sonra — after doing, the converse of -meden evvel / -meden önce
Beni uyandırdıktan sonra gitiniz. Leave after waking me.
-r -mez — used to mean as soon as, or literally, as I was between the states of doing and not-doing:
Ben oturur oturmaz telefon çaldı. As soon as I was sitting down, the telephone rang.
-dikçe — so long as or the more
"Ben fırıl fırıl döndukça, fırıl fırıl dönacağım gelir!", derviş dedi.
"The more I whirl, the more I feel like whirling!", the dervish said.
-dikten başka — apart from doing or in addition to doing
O, kapıyı açdıktan başka, evden gittim. He, in addition to opening the door, left the house.
-diği müddetçe — as long as, all the time
O çalıştığı müddetçe şarkı söyler. He sings all the time he works.
-diği halde — although or in a state of
Bağırdığım halde kimse yardıma gelmedi. Although I shouted, no one came.
Bacağı alçıda olduğu halde eve döndü. He returned home with his leg plastered.
-diği için or -diğinden — because of the verbing
Bir halı aldığı için, vergi ödemeliyim. Because of my purchasing a carpet, taxes I must pay.
-diği kadar — as much as
Istediğiniz kadar kaliniz. Stay as long as you want.
-eceğine or -ecek yerde — instead of verbing
İzmir'e yürüyeceğine, otobüsu bineceğim. Instead of walking to Izmir, I will ride a bus.
-mekle — with/by verbing
Günümü hep yazı yazırmakla geçirdim. All of my day I spent by writing.
-mektense or -mekten ise — rather than
Ankara'ya gitmektense, İstanbul'a gittim. Rather than go to Ankara, I went to Istanbul.
-meksizin — without verbing, -meden is more frequently used.
Otobüsu binmeksizin, İstanbul'a gittim. Without riding a bus, I went to Istanbul.
Otobüsu binmeden, İstanbul'a gittim. Without riding a bus, I went to Istanbul.
(Treni binden!) (I rode a train!)
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