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!)