Professional Documents
Culture Documents
In English the expressions; Good evening and Good night are singular. In Turkish they are plural.
“Merhaba” corresponds to “Hello!, Hi!” in English. Its usage is identical in either language. . The reply for “Merhaba”
is “Merhaba”. But, “Merhaba” is not used for “Hello!” on the telephone. This type of “Hello” is “Alo”
Selamünaleyküm: literally means “May God’s peace be upon you” and is used by Muslims as a greeting.
“Allahaısmarladık” is literally, “I leave you to God’s care”. It is almost the same with “Goodbye” “Goodbye” in
English is the clipping of “ God bless you”.
Either “Allahaısmarladık” or “Hoşca kalın” is correct in informal situations. But in formal situatiaons “Hoşca kalın” is
better.
Its usage is almost the same as in English. It is also the formal of “Allahısmarladık” and “Hoşca kalın”.The reply for
“İyi günler” is either “İyi günler” or “Size de” (same to you)
Allah rahatlık versin : This is an informal expression for “Good night”. It means “May God give you peace and
comfort” It is generally used by the members of the family at home or friends before going to bed. The reply for
“Allah rahatlı versin” is “Sana da”(same to you)
Buyurun, Buyrun :
1. When someone wants to visit you , and asks if you have time, your positive answer will be “Buyrun”, which
literally is an invitation and it means that the speaker will be happy to see the quest in his/her home.
2. When someone wants to say or ask you someting you will give him the chance to speak by saying “Buyrun!”.
This corresponds to “Yes, please” in English.
3. When you go in a store the shopkeeper will say “Buyrun” to you. It means “May I help you?” in English.
4. When you offer your guest something to eat or drink you bring it and say “Buyrun” to the guest. This
corresponds to “This is for you”, or “Help yourself, please.” in English. In this usage the reply for “Buyrun” is
“Teşekkür ederim” (Thank you)
5. If you want to give way to someone at a door or you want him go first you step aside and say “Buyrun” It
corresponds “After you” in English. The reply is “Teşekkür ederim”
6. When someone at your door and wants to go in you say “Buyrun” , and he comes in. This is for “Come in,
pls” in English.
7. When someone comes to visit you you offer him a seat by saying “Buyrun” This is “Have a seat, pls” in
Turkish.
8. When you pick up the receiver to answer the phone you can either say “Alo!” , or “Buyrun!” This is “Hello!”
in English.
Hoş geldiniz, Hoş bulduk:
The reply for teşekkür ederim is “Bir şey değil” or “Rica ederim” ( You are wellcome)
Gözünüz aydın: When something which the speaker longing for comes true, he tells the others about it. They say
“Gözünüz aydın” to the speaker. The expression indicates that the others share the speaker’s happiness, and that
they are also happy about it. The reply for “Gözünüz aydın” is “Teşekkür ederim.”
Hayırlı olsun: When someone opens a shop or starts a new bussiness, others say “Hayırlı olsun” to him. The
expression indicates the speaker’s wish that the new bussiness will bring him prosperity, and it will be profitable.
The reply for “Hayırlı olsun” is “Teşekkür ederim”
Güle güle kullan / kullanın: When someone buys a thing, such as a new clothes, shoes or a car his friends say “Güle
güle kullan / kullanın” It indicates the speaker’s wish that use it with joy. Sometimes “Hayırlı olsun” is said in such
condition. The reply for both expressions is “Teşekkür ederim”.
Kolay gelsin: This is used when the speaker sees someone working, busy with something. It can be a physical, or
mental work. The expression indicates the speaker’s wish that whatever that person is doing at the moment, may be
easy for him. The reply for “Kolay gelsin” is “Teşekkür ederim”
Afedersiniz: “Excuse me”. Afederniz! İstasyona nasıl gidebilirim? “Excuse me! How can I get to the station?”
Özür dilerim: “I am sorry”. Sometimes “Afedersiniz” is used instead of “Özür dilerim”. But “Özür dilerim” is more
formal. And it sounds better in formal situations.
Bir şey değil, Rica ederim: “You are wellcome” used in reply to “Teşekkür ederim”
Peki : “Yes” , in the sense of “All right, O.K and also “If that’s so then…”
Geçmiş olsun : “Get well soon” is used when a friend is ill or has had an accident. The reply for “Geçmiş olsun” is
“Teşekkür ederim”.
Başınız sağolsun : “My condolences” The reply for “Başınız sağolsun” is “Siz de sağolun, Dostlar sağolsun”.
Turkish Alphabet
Turkish alphabet is composed of twenty-one consonants and eight vowels. It lacks the English letters q, w, and x
and has the following additional letters: ç, ğ, i, ö, ş, ü
The general rule is in Turkish is that every vowel will take the consonant before it to form a syllable, so apart from
the first syllable of a word, every syllable in a pure Turkish word begins with a consonant. This applies also when
suffixes are added to a word and when two or more words form a single unit.
Examples:
bil-gi-sa-yar - computer
ma-sa - table
bar-dak- glass
ka-lem - pencil
ki-tap - book
te-le-fon - phone
a-dam - man
def-ter - notebook
Stress in words
Turkish words are usually stressed on their last syllable. The common exceptions to this rule are place names,
adverbs, compound words, certain foreign borrowings, and some words denoting relatives and living creatures.
Some suffixes are not stressed but usually when a suffix is added the stress moves to the last syllable of the
resultant word:
ar-ka-daş (friend)
ar-ka-da-şım (my friend)
ar-ka-da-şı-ma (to my friend)
ma-sa (table)
ma-sa-da ( on the table) Na-sıl-sı-nız?(How are you?)
İ-yi-yim (I'm fine.)
Vowel Harmony
Wowel harmony in Turkish can be defined as the tendecy for vowels in a word to be similar to the first vowel in that
word.
A wovel may be classified according to the shape and position of the organs of speech when making that particular
sound. Turkish vowels are classified as follows:
Unrounded Rounded
Low a ı o u
High e i ö ü
Front vowels are pronounced with the middle of the tongue raised towards the highest part of the palate.
Back vowels are pronounced with the back of the tongue raised towards the soft back part of the palate.
Unrounded vowels are produced with spread lips touching the front teeth.
High vowels are produced with the tongue closer to the palate, and the opening of the mouth is narrower than for low
vowels
Low vowels are produced with the tongue in a lower position and the chin dropped lower than for high vowels.
Vowel harmony results from the natural tendency towards minimising the effort required to pronounce a word. Since
to change from, say, an “a” sound to an “ı” sound requires less movement from the organs of speech than to change
from “a” to “ü”, it is common for “a” to be followed by “ı” but rare for “a” to be followed by “ü”
If the first vowel in a word is high the following vowels will also be high. If it is low the rest of the vowels in the same
word will also be low. That is, all the vowels in a word agree. Some borrowed words break this rule.
Suffixes are also based on vowel harmony rule. Usually the last vowel in the word determines the vowel in the suffix.
That is, if the last vowel in a word is high the vowel in the suffix will also be high. If the last vowel in a word is low the
vowel in the suffix will also be low.
High vowels ( e – i – ö –ü ) harmony: if the first vowel in a word is one of these high vowels the following vowels will
also be one of these high vowels as in examples below:
E İ Ö Ü
defter(notebook) iki(two)
if the first vowel in a word is one of these low vowels the following vowels will also be one of these low vowels as in
examples below:
A I O U
Plurals
The plural suffixes are –ler and –lar. All the nouns, countable or uncountable, and all the adjectives can be made
plural. Adjectives function as a noun in this case.
When adding a plural suffix to a word you normally have to choose the vowel that harmonises with the last vowel in
the receiving word. If the last vowel of the receiving word is one of the high vowels (e – i – ö – ü ) add –ler suffix to
the word.
Examples:
If the last vowel of the receiving word is one of the low vowels ( a – ı – o – u ) add –lar suffix to the word.
Examples:
Turkish singular noun English singular noun Turkish plural noun
If the last consanant of a word is “l” with a preceding vowel double the letter “l” when adding plural suffixes –ler or –
lar as in examples below:
Sınıfta on beş öğrenci var. There are fifteen students in the class.
Dolapta çok bardak var. There are a lot of glasses in the cupboard.
Partide kaç kişi vardi. How many people were there in the party?
Kalemler çekmecede. The pencils are in the drawer.
In question and negative “…var mı?” (Is / are there any…) and “…yok” (There isn’t / aren’t any…) sentences plural
suffix is not added to the noun as in examples below:
Sınıfta hiç öğrenci var mı? Are there any students in the class?
Masada hiç kitap yok. There aren’t any books on the table.
Buzdolabında hiç yumurta yok. There aren’t any eggs in the fridge.
CONJUGATION TABLE
Personal Personal Affirmative Negative Interrogative Negative Interrogative
Pronouns Endings
The personal endings are unstressed, so the stress usually falls on the preceding syllable:
If one of the demonstrative adjectives ‘bu', ‘şu' and ‘o' precedes any plural noun. They do not themselves take
plural suffixes in such cases as in the examples below:
O adamlar polis(tir).
Especially in spoken Turkish the third person suffixes ‘-dir' and ‘-dirler' are usually omitted:
Onlar İngiliz(dirler).
However, when giving information in a rather formal way as opposed to making a mere personal observation ‘-dir' and
‘-dirler' are used:
Ay Dünya'nın uydusudur.
O adamlar polistir. (the speaker guesses the men in question might be undercover policemen as they aren't in the
uniforms.)
As the grammatical person is clearly indicated by the personal ending on the verb, personal pronouns are usually
omitted. If, however, there is a need to emphasize the person personal pronouns may be used:
Note that when third persons ‘-dir' and ‘-dirler' drop the third person plural pronoun ‘onlar' never drops. Since neither
third singular person pronoun ‘O' nor the third plural person pronoun ‘Onlar' has no a personal ending in such a case
it isn't clear whether the speaker means ‘O' or ‘Onlar'.
In plural persons ‘Biz, Siz, Onlar' the noun following them is always singular as these personal pronouns have the
plural quality:
Both ‘sen' and ‘siz' may be used when addressing the second singular person. ‘Sen' is informal and used when
addressing a close friend or family members. ‘Siz' is formal and used when addressing anyone with whom there is
formality. And also ‘siz' is used as a sign of respect for the addressed person. The person whom the speaker addresses
‘siz' doesn't necessarily address the speaker ‘siz'. It may as well be the other way round. For example: The teacher
addresses a student ‘sen'. But the student always addresses the teacher ‘siz'.
NEGATIVE FORM
To form the negative of the simple present tense of the verb ‘to be' the word ‘değil' is placed after the word it negates
and the appropriate personal endings are added to ‘değil':
INTERROGATIVE FORM
In the interrogative form the personal endings are usually added to the interrogative particle
Pay attention to vowel harmonization of the ending with the receiving word.
The stress falls on the syllable before the interrogative particle: öğretmen misin?
NEGATIVE INTERROGATIVE
The negative interrogative form of the verb ‘to be' is made with ‘değil mi':
The past tense of the verb ‘to be' is formed by adding the past tense suffix ‘-di (idi)' to the noun-based words: ‘yalnız-
dı, okulda-y-dı, güzel-di, sıcak-tı, kapalı-y-dı' etc.
CONJUGATION TABLE
Pronouns Endings
● The suffix ‘-di' with third person plural can be added either before the personal suffix ‘-ler' or after the suffix:
yalnızdılar / yalnızlardı
The past tense of the verb ‘to be' can be expressed in two ways: ‘yalnız idim.' (written separately) or ‘yalnızdım.' (as
a suffix). The second use is more common in Turkish.
The stress normally falls on the syllable before the tense suffix: yalnızdım
NEGATIVE
To form the negative of the simple past tense of the verb ‘to be' the word ‘değil' is placed after the word it negates
and the appropriate personal endings are added to ‘değil':
INTERROGATIVE
In the interrogative form the personal endings are usually added to the interrogative particle ‘-mi' which is written
separately from the preceding word:
Mutlu muydunuz?
The stress falls on the syllable before the interrogative particle: Mutlu muydunuz?
NEGATIVE INTERROGATIVE
The negative interrogative form of the verb ‘to be' is made with ‘değil mi':
The indefinite past tense of the verb ‘to be' is formed by adding the tense suffix
‘-miş' (-mış, -müş, -muş) to noun-based words: ‘güzel-miş, hasta-y-mış, evde-y-miş, , sıcak-mış' etc.
CONJUGATION TABLE
Pronouns Endings
●The suffix ‘-miş' with third person plural can be added either before the personal suffix ‘-ler' or after the suffix:
güzelmişler / güzellermiş
USE
A used to indicate that the speaker is reporting hearsay information which is true for the past:
An hour later
Hakan : Evet.
Bu Ahmet'in eski arabasıymış. (ie, The speaker might have been told by Ahmet or someone else it was Ahmet's
sometime in the past - but it's no longer his.)
Hava geçen hafta sonu İstanbul'da çok sıcakmış. (‘My brother in İstanbul told me that on the phone.')
B used to report inferred information which is true for the past or started sometime in the past and continues to the
present. It covers the past as well as the present:
Öğrenci : Hastaymış. (= Her illness started sometime in the past and she's still ill.)
Çoçuklar bir saattir parktalarmış. (= They went to the park an hour ago - and they are still in the park.)
Ahmet Ankara'daymış.
C used to say what you have just found (out), noticed or learned something new that you didn't until at the moment
of speaking:
Yüzüğüm banyo aynasının önündeymiş. (‘I searched everywhere for my ring. I found that in front of the bathroom
mirror in the end.')
Hava çok sıcakmış. (implies that the speaker has just went out and noticed the weather is very hot.)
Fransızca çok zormuş. (‘I have been learning French for some time. I find it very difficult')
Fransızca zor değilmiş. (implies that the speaker was either told or thought French is difficult, but after starting to
learn it he finds himself that it isn't difficult or, he merely express his opinion as it is in the preceding sentence.)
Selin'le Seden kardeşlermiş. (‘I didn't know it. I have just learned it')
FORMATION
The ‘di'li geçmiş zaman' of the verb is formed by adding the tense suffix ‘-dı' (-di, -du, -dü / -tı, -ti, -tu, -tü) to the
verb base : ‘anla-dı, gel-di, ara-dı, çalış-tı, hazırla-dı' etc
STEP 1: Remove ‘-mek / -mak' from the infinitive form of the verb:
STEP 2: Add the tense suffix ‘-dı' (-di, -du, -dü / -tı, -ti, -tu, -tü):
anla→anla-dı
STEP 3: Add appropriate personal endings (-m, -n,- / -k, -niz, -ler):
As you can see these personal endings are the same as for the past tense of the verb ‘to be' with the exception of no
buffer letter.
NEGATIVE FORM
STEP 1: Remove ‘-mek / -mak' from the infinitive form of the verb:
anla → anla-ma
STEP 3: Add the tense suffix ‘-dı' (-di, -du, -dü / -tı, -ti, -tu, -tü):
anla-ma →anla-ma-dı
STEP 4: Add appropriate personal endings (-m, -n,- / -k, -niz, -ler):
The stres falls strongly on the syllable before the negative ending: anlamadım
INTERROGATIVE FORM
The interrogative verb is formed by adding the interrogative particle ‘-mi' (-mı, -mü, -mu) to the affirmative verb
separately. Unlike in all the other tenses, the personal endings in the interrogative and negative interrogative forms
precede the interrogative particle ‘-mi':
anla-dı-m mı, anla-dı-n mı, anla-dı mı / anla-dı-k mı, anla-dı-nız mı, anla-dı-lar mı
The negative interrogative verb is formed by adding the interrogative particle ‘-mi' (-mı, -mü, -mu) to the negative
verb - the way it is added to affirmative verb to form the interrogative verb:
anla-ma-dı-m mı, anla-ma-dı-n mı, anla-ma-dı mı / anla-ma-dı-k mı, anla-ma-dı-nız mı, anla-ma-dı-lar mı
CONJUGATION TABLE
USE
Most common time expressions used with the ‘di'li geçmiş zaman' are as follows:
dün : yesterday
dün (sabah, öğleden sonra, akşam,) : yesterday (morning, afternoon, evening)
geçen (salı..., hafta, ay, eylül..., yaz..., sene [= yıl] ) : last (Tuesday..., week, month, September..., summer..., year)
geçen (gün, sabah, öğleden sonra, akşam, gece) : the other (day, afternoon, evening, night)
geçen defa (= sefer) : last time (in the sense of the previous time)
(iki) saat, gün, hafta, ay, yıl önce (= evvel) : (two) days, weeks, hours, years ago
(birkaç) dakika, saat, gün, ay, yıl önce : (a few) minutes, hours, days, years ago
B used to relate past events known to the narrator through his education:
C used instead of the ‘gelecek zaman' in order to assure the one whom we address on the action to be done in a short
time or, to sound persuasive:
A woman making up in the bathroom for a party may reply his husband calling her at the door ‘Geç kalıyoruz, acele
et!' as ‘geldim!'. (the woman implies that ‘I have almost finished it. Don't be impatient. I am coming.').
Anyone working on a work may also reply the question, ‘İşini ne zaman bitireceksin' as ‘bitti'. (It is meant by the
word ‘bitti' that it's almost finished, or is going to finish in seconds).
Note that The ‘di'li geçmiş zaman' covers the English simple past tense as well as the present perfect tense (which is
used for past actions whose time is not given and not definite. And also used for actions which occur further back in
the past, provided the connection with the present is still maintained, that is, the action could be repeated in the
present).
‘I have done my homework.' and ‘I did my homework.' are both translated into Turkish as ‘Ev ödevimi yaptım.' Or, ‘We
have seen some foxes in the forest.' as ‘Ormanda birkaç tane tilki gördük.'
Actions which have only just finished expressed by either the present perfect simple or the present perfect continuous
(in English) are expressed in Turkish by the ‘di'li geçmiş zaman' as well. It can be used with ‘şimdi', ‘yeni', ‘biraz / az
önce', ‘henüz' (Apart from ‘henüz', other words aren't normally used in the negative.)
Özür dilerim, geç kaldım. Çok bekledin mi? (I am sorry I am late. Have you been waiting long?)
Annem evden şimdi çıktı. (My mother has just left home.)
Ev ödevini henüz bitirmedin mi? (Haven't you finished your homework yet?)
FORMATION
The ‘şimdiki zaman' of the verb is formed by adding the tense suffix ‘-iyor' (-ıyor,
STEP 1. Remove the ‘-mek / -mak' from the infinitive form of the verb:
ver → ver-iyor
If the resultant base ends in a vowel remove it before adding the tense suffix; in affirmative verb (including
interrogative verb), the wovel at the end drops, because the tense suffix ‘-iyor' starts with a wovel:
demek → de → d → d-iyor
STEP 3. Add the appropriate personal ending (-um, -sun,- / -uz, -sunuz, -lar):
As you can see these personal endings are the same as the present tense ‘to be' endings.
The stress falls lightly on the syllable before the tense suffix: veriyorum
NOTE:
The following verbs ending in the hard consonant ‘t' changes to its respective soft consonant ‘d' before the tense
suffix ‘-iyor' is added:
Note that this rule doesn't apply to all verbs ending in a hard consonant ‘t'.
As shown above, the ‘-yor' part of the tense suffix is not subject to vowel harmony; it is always ‘-yor'.
The negative verb is formed from the negative infinitive by following the steps below:
STEP 1. Remove ‘-mek / -mak' from the negative infinitive form of the verb:
STEP 2.Remove the final vowel ( the wovel ‘e' [a, ü, u]) in the negative particle ‘-me'(-ma, mü, mu) drops before
adding the tense suffix ‘-iyor'. (This rule applies to the ‘şimdiki zaman' only):
verme→ verm
verm → verm-iyor
STEP 4. Add appropriate personal ending (-um, -sun,- / -uz, -sunuz, -lar):
The stress falls on the syllable before the negative suffix: vermiyorum
Note that the rule in the step two doesn't apply in forming negative forms of the other tenses.
The interrogative verb formed from the affirmative verb by following the steps below:
STEP 1. Add the interrogative particle ‘-mi' (the wovel in the ‘-mi' - except for the third person plural - is always ‘u' to
harmonize with the wovel ‘o' in the ‘-yor'.) to the affirmative verb (the interrogative particle ‘-mi' is written
separately from the verb.):
STEP 2. Add appropriate personal ending (-um, -sun, - / -uz, -sunuz, -lar):
veriyor muyum, veriyor musun, veriyor mu / veriyor muyuz, veriyor musunuz, veriyorlar mı ( ie, the wovel in the
interrogative particle ‘-mi' changes to ‘ı' in the third person plural to harmonize with the preceding wovel ‘a' )
The stress falls on the syllable before the interrogative particle: veriyor musun
The negative interrogative verb is formed by adding the interrogative particle ‘-mi' (-mı, -mü, -mu) to the negative
verb - the way it is added to affirmative verb to form the interrogative verb:
vermiyor mu-y-um, vermiyor mu-sun, vermiyor mu / vermiyor mu-y-uz, vermiyor mu-sunuz, vermiyorlar mı
The syllable before the negative suffix is heavily stressed: vermiyor musun
Note that in the interrogative and negative interrogative forms the personal endings (except for the third person
plural) are attached not to the tense suffix but to the interrogative particle '-mi'. The buffer letter ‘y' is required
before the first person endings (-y-um, -,- / -y-uz,- -).
CONJUGATION TABLE
Pronouns Endings
USE
B for an action happening about this time but not necessarily at the moment of speaking:
Dans dersleri alıyorlar. (They may not be doing at the moment of speaking either.)
C for a definite arrangement in the future; The time of the action is always mentioned, asotherwise there might be
confusion between present and future meaning:
The reason for using the ‘şimdiki zaman' instead of the ‘gelecek zaman' in the sentences above is that the actions
have been arranged. If there have merely been expressions of intentions we use the ‘gelecek zaman'. The use of the
‘şimdiki zaman' in such situations is to strengthen and make the action definite. The use of the ‘gelecek zaman' in the
sentences above would not be wrong nevertheless.
D to indicate an established state of affairs:
We can also use the ‘geniş zaman' instead of the ‘şimdiki zaman' in the sentences above.
‘Sabahları saat 7:00'de kalkıyorum.' and ‘Sabahları erken kalkarım.'. The former implies that I have recently made a
habit of getting up at 7:00 in the mornings. On the other hand the latter implies that I have made that habit for a long
time. That's, the latter use is broader than the former one in the scope of the aorist tense.
E in sentences indicating that action began at a stated previous time and is still continuing:
Such sentences expressed with the present perfect and the present perfect continuous tense in English are translated
into Turkish in the ‘şimdiki zaman'. The tranlations of the sentences above into English would be:
As you can see the prepositions for and since are translated into Turkish as the suffixes respectively ‘-dir'(-dır, -dür, -
dur) and ‘-den (-dan) beri' which are attacted to the time expressions.
By and large the point of view or approach of the speaker determines the use of the ‘şimdiki zaman' instead of the
‘geniş zaman'; the expressions, ‘Kışın Erzurum'a çok kar yağıyor.' and ‘Kışın Erzurum'a çok kar yağar.' don't give the
same meaning precisely. The approach of the speaker in the first one is subjective. Someone who lives in Erzurum or
has been to Erzurum in winter before says the sentence in the ‘şimdiki zaman' (Kışın Erzurum'a çok kar yağıyor). On
the other hand someone who doesn't live in Erzurum or hasn't been there before says the sentence in the ‘geniş
zaman' (Kışın Erzurum'a çok kar yağar). His approach is objective. He makes that statement depending on his
knowledge about the region's weather in winter, not on his own experience.
Verbs usually used in the present continuous tense
In English, some verbs aren't normally used in the present continuous tense (including other continuous tenses); the
continuous tenses are normally used only for deliberate actions. But in Turkish, those verbs are used in the present
continuous tense. They indicate either the present continuous or the simple present tense depending on the context.
(They are used in the simple present tense too.)
The following most common verbs that aren't normally used in the simple present tense (in English) are mostly used
in the present continuous tense in Turkish:
Anneannem çok yaşlı, ama her şeyi çok iyi duyuyor. (her zaman)
Sen de yanık kokusu alıyor musun?Hayır. Nezleyim, burnum koku almıyor. (şimdi)
A It can be used instead of the ‘di'li geçmiş zaman' in an informal account of an event, dream etc. in order to give
vividness to the meaning and is used when trying to remember orimagine past expriences:
Sabah park yerine gidiyorum, bakıyorum, arabamı yerinde göremiyorum, hemen polisi arıyorum (= gittim, baktım,
göremedim, aradım)...
Dün gece rüyamda kendimi çok yüksek bir dağın zirvesinde görüyorum, elimi bulutlara uzatıyorum, elimden bir el
tutuyor ve beni yukarı çekiyor (= gördüm, uzattım, tuttu, çekti).
B It can be used instead of the ‘miş'li geçmiş zaman' in indicating a hearsay account of event, dream etc:
Ayşe okula gitmek için evden çıkıyor, yolda Zeynep ile karşılaşıyor, okula gitmiyorlar, sinemaya gidiyorlar (= çıkmış,
karşılaşmış, gitmemişler, gitmişler).
Rüyasında denizde boğuldunu görüyor ve o günden sonra bir daha hiç denize girmiyor (= görmüş, girmemiş).
C It can be used in giving a formal account of a novel, play or other work of art:
D It can be used in telling jokes ( other than traditional jokes such as Nasreddin Hoca stories, for which the aorist
tense is always used):
Bir gün Temel, Dursun'a balığa cıkalım diyor...
Bir laz, bir İngiliz, bir de Fıransız birlikte uçak yolcuğu yapıyorlar...
The speaker would like to have his order done as soon as he gives the order as it is in the first sentence above.
Sometimes the speaker may give his order in the ‘şimdiki zaman', not in the imperative mood to sound polite or not to
sound as if he was not giving an order, but making a request as it is in the sentence:
Actually giving orders in the imperative mood isn't an impolite way of giving orders depending on the relationship
with the person whom we address. And also we can finish our orders in the imperative mood with the magical word
‘lütfen'.
The suffix ‘-dir' at the end gives the meaning of probability or possibility to the action:
continuous tense
It is formed by adding locative case ending ‘-de' (-da) to the infinitive form of the verb:
The action in the the present continuous tense formed with these suffixes has definitely began and is still continuing.
We can explain the reason for the action has definitely began through the locative case suffix ‘-de' (-da). As this form
refers only to the actual present, not to the future. Its use is more restricted than the ‘-iyor' form; although we can
say ‘Yarın geliyorum.', we can't say ‘Yarın gelmekteyim.' The ‘-mekte' form is used in written language only. Its use in
spoken language is rare. The suffix ‘-dir' is generally added to the end.
Firmamızın dış ticaret bölümüne çok iyi derecede İngilizce bilen elaman aranmaktadır.
FORMATION
The ‘miş'li geçmiş zaman' of the verb is formed by adding the tense suffix ‘-miş' (-mış, -müş, -muş) to the verb base:
‘anla-mış, gel-miş, ara-mış, çalış-mış, hazırla-mış' etc.
STEP 1: Remove ‘-mek / -mak' from the infinitive form of the verb:
anla → anla-mış
STEP 3: Add appropriate personal endings (-im, -sin,- / -iz, -siniz, -ler):
NEGATIVE FORM
STEP 1: Remove ‘-mek / -mak' from the infinitive form of the verb:
anla→ anla-ma
anla-ma →anla-ma-mış
STEP 4: Add appropriate personal endings (-im, -sin,- / -iz, -siniz, -ler):
The stres falls strongly on the syllable before the negative ending: anlamamış
INTERROGATIVE FORM
The interrogative verb is formed by adding the interrogative particle ‘-mi'(-mı, -mü, -mu) to the affirmative verb
separately.
anla-mış mı-y-ım, anla-mış mı-sın, anla-mış mı / anla-mış mı-y-ız, anla-mış mı-sınız, anla-mış-lar mı
The negative interrogative verb is formed by adding the interrogative particle ‘-mi' (-mı, -mü, -mu) to the negative
verb - the way it is added to affirmative verb to form the interrogative verb:
anla-ma-mış-lar mı
Note that in the interrogative and negative interrogative forms the personal endings (except for the third person
plural) are attached not to the tense suffix but to the interrogative particle ‘-mi'. The buffer letter ‘y' is required
before the first person endings (-y-im, -,- / -y-iz, -, -).
CONJUGATION TABLE
Personal Personal Affirmative Negative Interrogative Negative Interrogative
Forms Endings
USE Note that the time expressions used for the ‘di'li geçmiş zaman' are also used for the ‘miş'li geçmiş zaman'.
A used to indicate that the speaker is reporting hearsay information or acount of events; the actions haven't been
either fulfilled or witnessed by the speaker:
A: Neyi varmış?
A: Sana kim söyledi. (ie, A asks B the question because he has already noticed that B was just reporting the
information.)
Dün gece yarısı Samsun yolunda trafik kazası olmuş. Bu sabah gazetede okudum.
Babamla annem üniversitede tanışmışlar, mezun olduktan sonra da evlenmişler. (ie, the speaker is reporting the
account of how her parents met and got married.)
Dün Mert akşam eve gelince yemekten sonra ev ödevlerini yapmamış, televizyon seyretmiş sonra da ev ödevlerini
yapmadan yatmış. (ie, this is not a first-hand acount of what Mert did until he went to bed after he had come back
home yesterday evening. The speaker didn't witnessed himself)
B used indicate that the speaker is reporting inferred information or what he notices or finds out just before the
moment of speaking:
A: Cep telefonunu kullanabilir miyim? Benimkinin bataryası bitmiş. (ie, the speaker finds that his mobile's battery is
flat as he decides to use it.)
B: Elbette, biraz bekler misin... Aaa! ofiste unutmuşsum. (ie, the speaker finds that he forgot his mobile in the office
when he inserted his hand, may be, inside his pocket or hand bag.)
(Öğretmen öğrencisine): Ev ödevini yapmamışsın. (implies that the teacher notices it while checking the student's
homework.)
Sular kesilmiş. (implies that the speaker noticed that when he turned off the tap.)
Seni çok özlemişim. (implies that the speaker realized how much he missed the person in question when he met her.)
Su kaynamış. (implies that the speaker notices it when he goes into the kitchen. The water boiled before the moment
of his speaking and he wasn't in the kitchen when the water had started boiling. Otherwise he would have said ‘Su
kaynadı.' or, ‘Su kaynıyor.'
C used with first person singular or plural forms to convey an attitude of patronising, superiority or boasting on the
part of speaker. The function of ‘-miş' in this sense can be easily seen within the context:
Biz şu ana kadar kimseye hakkımızı yedirmemişiz!.. Sizden de hakkımızı almayı biliriz.
D used to express your personal opinion on a completed action. The verb ‘olmak' is usually used:
E used to say that you don't consider anything likely while reporting it; you just express your disbelief:
Kadir bana borcunu ödeyecekmiş. (implies that the speaker either considers it unlikely or not believes what he has
been told. The speaker might have been told either by the Kadir (the debtor) himself or someone else speaking on
behalf of the debtor.) Such an expression may be introduced by ‘Güya' (It's as if) to emphasize disbelief:
B: Neden?
A: Güya 8:15 vapurunu kaçırmış, bir sonraki vapuru beklemek zorunda kalmış (= I don't believe what he said).
F used to express bewilderment or denial on the part of the speaker on being told or heard an expression in the ‘miş'li
geçmiş zaman':
B: Birinci mi olmuş? (implies his bewilderment as he didn't expect Ali to come first in the exam.)
A: Ayşe'ye benden hoşlandığını söylemişsin. (A is telling B what she has been told by Ayşe.)
B: Kim? Ben mi söylemişim? (B is expressing his bewilderment implying that he didn't told her such a thing.)
A Adding the suffix ‘-dir' to the third person singular and plural forms implies probablity, certainty or hope. It is
usually used an adverb or exclamation to emphasize the probablity, certainty or hope:
B Repeating what we have been told in the ‘-miş'li geçmiş zaman' implies that we don't believe what we have been
told:
C Instead of the ‘di'li geçmiş zaman'; the speaker, generally the first person, expresses the action he has fulfilled in
the ‘miş'li geçmiş zaman' in order to emphasize the fulfillment of action. The suffix ‘-dir' is usually added to the end to
give the sense of ‘certainty':
FORMATION
The ‘gelecek zaman' of the verb is formed by adding the tense suffix ‘-ecek / -acak' to the verb base: ‘gel-ecek, yap-
acak, oku-y-acak, bil-ecek, gid-ecek' etc.
STEP 1: Remove ‘-mek / -mak' from the infinitive form of the verb:
gel → gel-ecek
If the verb base ends with a wovel the buffer letter ‘y' is inserted between:
STEP 3: Add the appropriate personal ending which is the same as the present tense ‘to be' endings (-im, -sin, - / -iz, -
siniz, -ler). As the first person personal endings, ‘-im' and ‘-iz' begin with a vowel the final letter, ‘k' of the tense
suffix changes to ‘ğ':
Note that the ‘gelecek zaman' of ‘demek' is ‘diyecek' and ‘yemek' is ‘yiyecek'. The negative forms are ‘demeyecek' and
‘yemeyecek'.
NEGATIVE FORM
STEP 1: Remove ‘-mek / -mak' from the infinitive form of the verb:
gel →gel-me
gel-me→ gel-me-y-ecek (as the negative particle ‘-me / -ma' ends with a wovel the buffer letter ‘y' is inserted
between)
STEP 4: Add appropriate personal endings (-im, -sin, - / -iz, -siniz, -ler). As the first person personal endings start
with a wovel the ‘k' in the tense suffix changes to ‘ğ':
The stres falls strongly on the syllable before the negative particle: gelmeyeceğim
INTERROGATIVE FORM
The interrogative verb is formed by adding the interrogative particle ‘-mi / -mı' (They are always ‘-mi / -mı' as they
harmonize with tense suffix ‘-ecek / -acak'.) to the affirmative verb separately. As the first person personal endings,
‘-im' and ‘-iz' begin with a vowel the buffer letter ‘y' is inserted between:
gel-ecek mi-y-im gel-ecek mi-sin, gel-ecek mi / gel-ecek mi-y-iz, gel-ecek mi-siniz, gel-ecek-ler mi
The stress falls on the syllable before the interrogative particle: gelecek misin
The negative interrogative verb is formed by adding the interrogative particle ‘-mi / -mı' to the negative verb - the
way it is added to affirmative verb to form the interrogative verb:
gel-me-y-ecek mi-y-im gel-me-y-ecek mi-sin, gel-me-y-ecek mi / gel-me-y-ecek mi-y-iz, gel-me-y-ecek mi-siniz, gel-
me-y-ecek-ler mi
The stress falls on the syllable before the negative particle: gelmeyecek misin
The ‘gelecek zaman' form of ‘var' is ‘olacak'. As you can remember we can use ‘var' in the sense of ‘to have' and ‘there
is / are'. The below sentences are in the sense of ‘to have':
B: Olmayacak.
CONJUGATION TABLE
Pronouns Endings
USE
Most common time expressions used with the ‘gelecek zaman' are as follows:
yarın : tomorrow
(iki) saat, gün, hafta, ay, yıl sonra : after (two) hours, days, weeks, years (... later)
(birkaç) saat, gün, hafta, ay, yıl sonra : after (a few) hours, days, months, years (... later)
(gelecek) salı..., hafta, ay, yıl, kış... : (next) Tuesday..., week, month, year, winter...
(önümüzdeki) salı..., hafta, ay, yıl, kış... : (next) Tuesday..., week, month, year, winter...
yakında : soon
sabaha, öğleden sonraya, akşama, geceye (These expressions are usually used within the current day)
salıya..., haftaya, hafta sonuna yaza..., seneye : (next) Tuesday..., week, weekend, summer..., year (the addition of a /
-e gives the sense of ‘gelecek')]
B used for prediction and probable future. The time is usually not mentioned, but the action is expected to happen in
the near future:
A The ‘gelecek zaman' is used to give orders. It is used in this sense to force someone to do something without
taking his wish into consideration or, without leaving him any choice. As the optative moods don't have direct
indicative mood meanings, but an indirect future tense meaning, and as the indicative moods indicate actions having
begun the process of fulfillment, the indicative moods are stronger than the optative moods. That's why the ‘gelecek
zaman' is usually used instead of the imperative mood.
Saat 23:30 da evde olacaksın (= whether you wish it or not, be home at 23:30. You have no any other choice).
Note that when consecutive verbs in a sentence have the same subject the personal ending is usually added only to
the last verb. This applies to all tenses except the ‘-di'li' geçmiş zaman'. (see word order)
B used instead of the ‘miş'li geçmiş zaman' in order to add vividness to the narration of an incident or events in the
history:
Fatih Sultan Mehmet, gemileri karadan yürütecek (= yürütmüş) ve Haliç'e indirecektir (= indirmiştir).
C used instead of impersonal use of the ‘-meli / -malı':
BIBLIOGRAPHY
KAYNAKÇA