Introduction

Grammar

Turkish grammar is simplistic once you get used to the style. However, it can seem to be
very difficult since the grammatical structure is totally different from the Indo-European
languages. This is because Turkish is from a different language family called Ural-Altaic
languages. Some languages similar to Turkish are ´Finnish, Hungarian, Estonian, Japanese,
Korean, Mongolian, Kazak, Uzbek, Tatar, Manchu´. Compared to English, the most
fundamental differences in Turkish grammar can be listed as:
Ordering of sentence parts
A typical Turkish sentence is ordered as (subject + object + verb)
Arkadaşım [My friend --> subject] araba [car -->object] aldı [bought-->verb].
No gender
There are no articles in Turkish, and no gender associated with words
No gender in personal pronouns (the Turkish word for he, she and it is o)
Vowel harmony
Harmony of vowels is a very fundamental property of Turkish. The rules concerning vowel
harmony need to be learned as one of the first steps because they affect the way almost all
the other rules are applied.
Use of suffixes
Suffixes are very widely used in Turkish. The meaning of prepositions, personal pronouns
and tenses are all countered by adding suffixes to word roots.
Kalbimdesin [You are in my heart]

Once you get to these differences and learn the basic harmony rules, the rest of the
grammar is quite simple. Almost everything follows well defined, simple rules.
Sounds

Another important point is the way you read a written text. There is exactly one sound for
each character in Turkish. A character always represents the same sound, regardless of its
position in a word or the characters next to it. Therefore, it is straightforward to pronounce
a word that you see for the first time once you are familiar with the characters in the Turkish
alphabet.
Vocabulary

Once you are comfortable or at least familiar with the harmony rules, the main challenge
will be the vocabulary. Turkish vocabulary can be very challenging since the words have no
resemblance to the European languages except the few words adapted directly from these
languages.
Alphabet

Turkish alphabet consists of 29 letters - 8 vowels and 21 consonants.

Each letter has exactly one associated sound which never changes.

Three letters of the English alphabet are missing in the Turkish alphabet.
(Q-q)
(W-w)
(X-x)
There are seven additional characters not found in the English alphabet.
(Ç-ç)
(Ğ-ğ)
(I-ı)
(İ-i)
(Ö-ö)
(Ş-ş)
(Ü-ü)
The letters of Turkish alphabet and the sounds associated with these are in the following
table...

Letter
Pronunciation
A, a
like the a in car
B, b like the b in bet
C, c like the g in gender
Ç, ç like the ch in chance
D, d like the d in debt
E, e like the e in less
F, f like the f in felony
G, g like the g in game
Ğ, ğ this is a very weak sound, not pronouncing at all will be ok
H, h like the h in hello
I, ı like the e in halted
İ, i like the ee in keen
J, j like the s in leisure
K, k
like the k in kelly
L, l like the l in lamb
M, m like the m in man
N, n like the n in neighbor
O, o like the a in ball
Ö, ö like the u in urge
P, p like the p in pen
R, r like the r in rent
S, s
like the s in send
Ş, ş like the sh in shed
T, t like the t in tennis
U, u like the oo in good
Ü, ü like the u in nude
V, v like the v in vent
Y, y like the y in yes
Z, z like the z in zen

3 Numbers
Constructing numbers in Turkish is simple and straightforward. The rule is to line up the
parts in decreasing magnitude like in English, but without putting any conjunctive words in
between. For example, direct translation of 1256 from Turkish would be ´thousand two
hundred fifty six´. Let´s continue to construct numbers after you take a look at the table
below. The numbers from 0 to 10 definitely need to be learned without any rule, as well as
10, 20, ..., 100 and 1,000-1,000,000-1,000,000,000.... After that, it´s all about applying the
simple-straightforward rules and practicing.

0 sıfır 21 yirmi bir

1 bir 22 yirmi iki
2 iki 30 otuz
3 üç 40 kırk
4 dört 50 elli
5 beş 60 altmış
6 altı 70 yetmiş
7 yedi 80 seksen
8 sekiz 90 doksan
9 dokuz 100 yüz
10 on 137 yüz otuz yedi
11 on bir 200 iki yüz
12 on iki 300 üç yüz
13 on üç 1,000 bin
14 on dört 2,000 iki bin
15 on beş 10,000 on bin
16 on altı 25,000 yirmi beş bin
17 on yedi 1,000,000 bir milyon
18 on sekiz 1,000,000,000bir milyar
19 on dokuz
20 yirmi
Looking at the table above, let us see how some numbers are read in different cases:58 -->
elli sekiz 63 --> altmış üç 97 --> doksan yedi
104 --> yüz dört 148 --> yüz kırk sekiz 752 --> yedi yüz elli iki
1,765 --> bin yedi yüz altmış beş 48,392 --> kırk sekiz bin üç yüz doksan iki 305,018
--> üç yüz beş bin on sekiz
4,762,345,258 --> dört milyar yedi yüz altmış iki milyon üç yüz kırk beş bin iki yüz elli sekiz
Now, practice time. Try tofigure out the number correspondin to thefollowing (answers are
below the list) Turkish spelling Number
dört ?
on dört ?
kırk dört ?
yüz yetmiş dört ?
altı yüz yirmi dokuz ?
yedi yüz yirmi dört ?
bin yedi yüz seksen beş ?
bir milyon üç ?
üç yüz yirmi sekiz ?
bin dokuz yüz on dokuz ?
iki bin dört ?
bin yedi yüz seksen dokuz ?
Correct answers in sequence are: 4, 14, 44, 174, 629, 724, 1785, 1000003, 328, 1919, 2004,
1789
Fractions

Another point to note here is how to read fractions. The most commonly used form, x.5, is
read as the whole part of the number followed by buçuk. The only exception to this is the
0.5 case, which is read like the other fractions. For the other fractions, the whole part of the
number is read first, and then the fractional part is read as if it is a seperate number after
saying virgül . Acually virgül means comma, and this word is used for separating the whole
part and the fractional part of a number. Comma is used instead of point or dot because in
Turkish convention fractions are separated by comma. Here are some examples:

2.5 --> iki buçuk 274.5 --> iki yüz yetmiş dört buçuk 0.5 --> sıfır virgül beş
104.25 --> yüz dört virgül yirmi beş 14.8 --> on dört virgül sekiz 7.52 --> yedi
virgül elli iki
1.705 --> bir virgül yedi yüz beş 48.012 --> kırk sekiz virgül sıfır on iki
305.008 --> üç yüz beş virgül sıfır sıfır sekiz

We should also look at the translations of fraction denoting adjectives. These are:

Half --> Yarım (Be careful that this is used only as an adjective, the word buçuk is used
instead when you are reading numbers - half a bread is yarım ekmek, one and a half is bir
buçuk)

Quarter --> Çeyrek

Some sentences and prases using these adjectives would be:

Half an hour --> yarım saat

Buy half a bread. --> Yarım ekmek al.

Joe made a foul in the last quarter. --> Joe son çeyrekte bir faul yaptı.

Sequence Numbers

Now, let us take a look at how order is indicated using the numbers. The suffix used for
order is -inci. Adding this at the and of any number will give the meaning of order. An
important point to pay attention here, as always, is that this suffix changes according to
vowel harmony.1st --> birinci 2nd --> ikinci (not ikiinci, one vowel falls when there is
two next to each other)
3rd --> üçüncü 4th --> dördüncü
5th --> beşinci 6th --> altıncı (again, not altııncı because one of the double ı´s falls)
7th --> yedinci 10th --> onuncu
25th --> yirmi beşinci 50th --> ellinci (note the same vowel fall here)

4 Pronouns

1Personal Pronouns

Here are the Turkish translations of the personal pronouns. However, these pronouns are
generally omitted in sentences since person is implied in the adjectives or the verbs in
sentences. They are often used to stress the person.

i ben i am adjective ben adjective-im

you sen you are adjective sen adjective-sin
he

she

it o he

she | is adjective

it / o adjective
we biz we are adjective biz adjective-iz
you siz you are adjective siz adjective-siniz
they onlar they are adjective onlar adjective-ler

güzel --> beautiful

I am beautiful. --> Ben güzel-im. --> Güzelim. (Personal pronoun is implied)

You are beautiful. --> Sen güzel-sin. --> Güzelsin.

He/she/it is beautiful. --> O güzel. --> Güzel.

We are beautiful. --> Biz güzel-iz. --> Güzeliz.

You are beautiful. --> Siz güzel-siniz. --> Güzelsiniz.

They are beautiful. --> Onlar güzel-ler. --> Güzeller.

kötü --> bad

I am bad. --> Ben kötü-y-üm. --> Kötüyüm. (Note how kötü and -üm are connected with the
fusion consonant ´y´.)

You are bad. --> Sen kötü-sün. --> Kötüsün.

He/she/it is bad. --> O kötü. --> Kötü.

We are bad. --> Biz kötü-y-üz. --> Kötüyüz.

You are bad. --> Siz kötü-siniz. --> Kötüsünüz.

They are bad. --> Onlar kötü-ler. --> Kötüler.

geliyor --> coming (present continuous tense)

I am coming. --> Ben geliyor-um. --> Geliyorum.

You are coming. --> Sen geliyor-sun. --> Geliyorsun.

He/she/it is coming. --> O geliyor. --> Geliyor.

We are coming. --> Biz geliyor-uz. --> Geliyoruz.

You are coming. --> Siz geliyor-sunuz. --> Geliyorsunuz.

They are coming. --> Onlar geliyor-lar. --> Geliyorlar.

For nouns other than these pronouns, you must use the third person case.

Marzena is beautiful. --> Marzena güzel.

Marzena is very beautiful. --> Marzena çok güzel.

Joe is bad. --> Joe kötü.

Joe is coming. --> Joe geliyor.

Demonstrative pronouns

These are the pronouns used for obects instead of people. this bu
that (between this and that) şu
that o
these bunlar
those (between these and those) şunlar
those onlar
kitap --> book

Bu bir kitap. --> This is a book.

Şu bir kitap. --> That is a book.

O bir kitap. --> That is a book.

Bunlar kitaplar. --> These are books.

Şunlar kitaplar. --> Those are books.

Onlar kitaplar. --> Those are books.

Possessive Pronouns

Personal posessive pronouns:my ben-im my noun ben-im noun-im

your sen-in your noun sen-in noun-in
his

her

its o-n-un his

her | noun

its / o-n-un noun-i

our biz-im our noun biz-im noun-imiz
your siz-in your noun siz-in noun-iniz
their onlar-ın their noun onlar-ın noun-leri

Notice his/her/its is o-n-un instead of o-un. Since two vowels don´t come together in
Turkish, one fusion consonant is added in between. It is ´n´ in this case. Either a fusion
consonant is added in between, or one of the vowels is dropped whenever a vowel is
followed by another vowel. Which technique must be used changes among different rules,
but it is consistent in a single rule. This will be mentioned in different lessons when
necessary.
ev --> house

my house --> ben-im ev-im --> evim (personal pronoun is implied)

your house --> sen-in ev-in --> evin

his/her/its house --> o-n-in ev-i --> onun evi --> evi

our house --> biz-im ev-imiz --> evimiz

your house --> siz-in ev-iniz --> eviniz

their house --> onlar-ın ev-leri --> evleri

araba --> car

my car --> ben-im araba-m --> arabam (the suffix -im becomes -m when added after a vowel,
since two vowels don´t come together in Turkish)

your car --> sen-in araba-n --> araban

his/her/its car --> o-n-in araba-s-ı --> onun arabası --> arabası (Instead of dropping one
vowel, here the fusion consonant ´s´ is added between vowels since the suffix is only a
single vowel.)

our car --> biz-im araba-mız --> arabamız

your car --> siz-in araba-nız --> arabanız

their car --> onlar-ın araba-ları --> arabaları

For nouns other than these pronouns, always the third person form is used.

Gizem´s house --> Gizem´in evi

Gizem´s car --> Gizem´in arabası

My mother´s house --> Annemin evi

Demonstartive posessive pronouns:

of this bu-n-un
of that (between this and that) şu-n-un
of that o-n-un
of these bunlar-ın
of those (between these and those) şunlar-ın
of those onlar-ın

Bunun evi --> The house of this

Şunun evi --> The house of that

Onun evi --> The house of that

Bunların evleri --> The house of these.

Şunların evleri --> The house of those.

Onların evleri --> The house of those.

For nouns other than these pronouns, always the third person form is used.

The room of the house --> Evin odası

Cat´s food --> Kedinin yemeği

Reflexive Pronouns

The way reflexive pronouns are constructed in Turkish is very similar to the way we do it in
English. The Turkish word for self is kendi. The reflexive pronouns hence are as follows:

myself kendi-im kendim

yourself kendi-in kendin
himself

herself

itself kendi-si kendisi

ourselves kendi-imiz kendimiz
yourselves kendi-iniz kendiniz
themselves kendi-leri kendileri

5
Pronouns 2

In the previous lesson on pronouns, we covered the basic pronouns. The topics covered were:

Personal pronouns (ben, sen, o, biz, siz, onlar)

Demonstrative pronouns (bu, şu, o, bunlar, şunlar, onlar)

Possessive pronouns

Personal possessive pronouns (benim, senin, onun, bizim, sizin, onların)

Demonstrative possessive pronouns (bunun, şunun, onun, bunların, şunların, onların)

Reflexive pronouns (kendim, kendin, kendisi, kendimiz, kendiniz, kendileri)

There are also other pronouns used for many different situations, like everybody, nothing... Let's now see the
Turkish meanings for these pronouns.English Turkish
Basic components of these pronouns
every her
thing şey
none hiç
any herhangibir
one, a bir
some bazı
all bütün
Pronouns
everything herşey
something birşey (singular)

birşeyler (plural)
nothing hiçbir şey
anything herhangibir şey
everybody herkes
somebody birisi (singular)

birileri (plural)
nobody hiç kimse
anybody herhangi birisi
all of these (bunların) hepsi
all of those (onların) hepsi
all of us hepimiz
all of you hepiniz
none of these (bunların) hiçbiri
none of those (onların) hiçbiri
none of us hiçbirimiz
none of you hiçbiriniz
some of these (bunların) bazıları
some of those (onların) bazıları
some of us bazılarımız
some of you bazılarınız

In English, some of these pronouns that have negative meanings are used in positive sentences. For
example,
There is nobody here. (Instead of there isn't nobody here)

In Turkish, you never do this. If the meaning of a pronoun is negative, it must always be used in a negative
sentence. Similarly, pronouns with positive meanings must always be used in positive sentences.

There is nobody here. --> Burada hiçkimse yok.

Now, let's use some of these pronouns in sentences:

Every flower does not smell. --> Her çiçek kokmaz.

What is this thing? --> Bu şey ne?

There is none left. --> Hiç kalmadı.

Some students are here. --> Bazı öğrenciler burada.

All students are here. --> Bütün öğrenciler burada.

Everything's ok. --> Herşey yolunda.

Everything is here. --> Herşey burada.

Ask something. --> Birşey sor.

I saw nothing. --> Hiçbir şey görmedim.

Is there anything? --> Herhangibir şey var mı?

Is everybody here? --> Herkes burada mı?

Somebody came. --> Birisi geldi.

Nobody came. --> Hiç kimse gelmedi.

Anybody can come. --> Herhangi birisi gelebilir.

All of these are mine. --> Bunların hepsi benim.

6 Date and Time

1. Time

Let´s start with simple dialogue sentences about time, the question and different
answers.Time - English Turkish (Parantheses for explanation only)
What time is it? Saat kaç?
It is ten o´clock. Saat on (10).
It is five past ten. Saat onu (10-i) beş (5) geçiyor.
It is five past five. Saat beşi (5-i) beş (5) geçiyor.
It is five past six. Saat altıyı (6-[y]-i) beş (5) geçiyor.
It is five past three. Saat üçü (3-i) beş (5) geçiyor.
It is quarter past ten. Saat onu (10-i) çeyrek (quarter) geçiyor.
It is ten twenty. Saat onu (10-i) yirmi (20) geçiyor.
It is half past ten. Saat on (10) buçuk (half).
It is ten thirty five. Saat on bire (11-e) yirmi beş (25) var.
It is ten forty. Saat on bire (11-e) yirmi (20) var.
It is quarter to eleven. Saat on bire (11-e) çeyrek (quarter) var.
It is ten to eleven. Saat on bire (11-e) on (10) var.
It is eleven. Saat on bir (11).
Now, time to explain the words and phrases used in this table. Let´s start with the question,
´Saat kaç?´. Word by word:

Saat --> Hour

Kaç --> How many

It is not perfectly logical, but the question sentence used for asking the time is ´Saat kaç?´.
Then, you may say, how do you ask how many hours? To say ´How many hours?´ you
would say ´Kaç saat?´. ´Saat kaç?´ is a special phrase for asking the time which otherwise
would not be very meaningful. More or less the same is true for the answer. The best thing
is to try to learn the main phrase instead of trying to learn the logic, because the logic used
here does not apply to other cases in the language. You basically say "Saat xxx.".

From the exact hour to half past, you say the time as minutes past hour. From half past to
the next hour, convention is to sat the time as minutes to hour.
The word for past is ´geçiyor´.

The word for to is ´var´.

The word for half is ´buçuk´.
The word for quarter is ´çeyrek´.
The general phrase for "It is minutes past hours" is:

Saat hours-i minutes geçiyor. (Note the vowel harmony rules for the suffix -i)

And the general phrase for "It is minutes to hours" is:

Saat hours-e minutes var. (Note the vowel harmony rules for the suffix -e)

2. Date

Let´s start with the days of the week and months:English Turkish
Days of the week
Sunday Pazar
Monday Pazartesi
Tuesday Salı
Wednesday Çarşamba
Thursday Perşembe
Friday Cuma
Saturday Cumartesi
Months
January Ocak
February Şubat
March Mart
April Nisan
May Mayıs
June Haziran
July Temmuz
August Ağustos
September Eylül
October Ekim
November Kasım
December Aralık

2.1. Day of the week

A simple conversation about the day of the week would be like the following:English
Turkish

A. What´s the day? A. Bugün günlerden ne?

B1. Today is Monday. B1. Bugün günlerden pazartesi.
B2. Monday. B2. Pazartesi.

Let´s examine the parts of the question sentence first:

bu --> this

gün --> day

bugün --> today

günler --> days

günlerden --> from the days (also means among the days)

ne --> what

Putting all these words together, the direct translation of ´Bugün günlerden ne?´ would be
´Today among the days what?´. Funny? That´s the way you ask the day of the week. After
these explanations and translations, the answer sentence should be clear.
2.2. Whole Date

To ask the date, you say:

-Bugünün tarihi ne?

-14 Temmuz 2004.

Vocabulary:

bugün --> today

tarih --> date

bugünün tarihi --> today´s date

ne --> what

Using these, the direct translation of the question sentence would be: ´Today´s date what?
´. Actually, this is how you form a regular question sentence in Turkish. You shouldn´t worry
about this yet, we´ll cover it later in another lesson.

The answer doesn´t need much explanation. The day number, followed by month´s name,
and finally the year. The day number and the year are both read as a regular numbers. For
reading years, it is always read as a whole as a single number. Years are never read as two
parts like it is done in English in the case of 1996 (nineteen ninety six). The way you read
this year in Turkish would be ´bin dokuz yüz doksan altı´ (one thousand nine hundred ninety
six).

3. Seasons

Let´s see the words used for seasons in Turkish:English Turkish

spring bahar or ilkbahar
summer yaz
fall, autumn sonbahar or güz
winter kış

7 Date and Time1. Time

Let´s start with simple dialogue sentences about time, the question and different
answers.Time - English Turkish (Parantheses for explanation only)
What time is it? Saat kaç?
It is ten o´clock. Saat on (10).
It is five past ten. Saat onu (10-i) beş (5) geçiyor.
It is five past five. Saat beşi (5-i) beş (5) geçiyor.
It is five past six. Saat altıyı (6-[y]-i) beş (5) geçiyor.
It is five past three. Saat üçü (3-i) beş (5) geçiyor.
It is quarter past ten. Saat onu (10-i) çeyrek (quarter) geçiyor.
It is ten twenty. Saat onu (10-i) yirmi (20) geçiyor.
It is half past ten. Saat on (10) buçuk (half).
It is ten thirty five. Saat on bire (11-e) yirmi beş (25) var.
It is ten forty. Saat on bire (11-e) yirmi (20) var.
It is quarter to eleven. Saat on bire (11-e) çeyrek (quarter) var.
It is ten to eleven. Saat on bire (11-e) on (10) var.
It is eleven. Saat on bir (11).

Now, time to explain the words and phrases used in this table. Let´s start with the question,
´Saat kaç?´. Word by word:

Saat --> Hour

Kaç --> How many

It is not perfectly logical, but the question sentence used for asking the time is ´Saat kaç?´.
Then, you may say, how do you ask how many hours? To say ´How many hours?´ you
would say ´Kaç saat?´. ´Saat kaç?´ is a special phrase for asking the time which otherwise
would not be very meaningful. More or less the same is true for the answer. The best thing
is to try to learn the main phrase instead of trying to learn the logic, because the logic used
here does not apply to other cases in the language. You basically say "Saat xxx.".

From the exact hour to half past, you say the time as minutes past hour. From half past to
the next hour, convention is to sat the time as minutes to hour.

The word for past is ´geçiyor´.

The word for to is ´var´.

The word for half is ´buçuk´.

The word for quarter is ´çeyrek´.

The general phrase for "It is minutes past hours" is:

Saat hours-i minutes geçiyor. (Note the vowel harmony rules for the suffix -i)
And the general phrase for "It is minutes to hours" is:

Saat hours-e minutes var. (Note the vowel harmony rules for the suffix -e)

2. Date

Let´s start with the days of the week and months:English Turkish
Days of the week
Sunday Pazar
Monday Pazartesi
Tuesday Salı
Wednesday Çarşamba
Thursday Perşembe
Friday Cuma
Saturday Cumartesi
Months
January Ocak
February Şubat
March Mart
April Nisan
May Mayıs
June Haziran
July Temmuz
August Ağustos
September Eylül
October Ekim
November Kasım
December Aralık

2.1. Day of the week

A simple conversation about the day of the week would be like the following:English
Turkish

A. What´s the day? A. Bugün günlerden ne?

B1. Today is Monday. B1. Bugün günlerden pazartesi.
B2. Monday. B2. Pazartesi.

Let´s examine the parts of the question sentence first:

bu --> this

gün --> day

bugün --> today

günler --> days

günlerden --> from the days (also means among the days)

ne --> what

Putting all these words together, the direct translation of ´Bugün günlerden ne?´ would be
´Today among the days what?´. Funny? That´s the way you ask the day of the week. After
these explanations and translations, the answer sentence should be clear.
2.2. Whole Date

To ask the date, you say:

-Bugünün tarihi ne?

-14 Temmuz 2004.

Vocabulary:

bugün --> today

tarih --> date

bugünün tarihi --> today´s date

ne --> what

Using these, the direct translation of the question sentence would be: ´Today´s date what?
´. Actually, this is how you form a regular question sentence in Turkish. You shouldn´t worry
about this yet, we´ll cover it later in another lesson.

The answer doesn´t need much explanation. The day number, followed by month´s name,
and finally the year. The day number and the year are both read as a regular numbers. For
reading years, it is always read as a whole as a single number. Years are never read as two
parts like it is done in English in the case of 1996 (nineteen ninety six). The way you read
this year in Turkish would be ´bin dokuz yüz doksan altı´ (one thousand nine hundred ninety
six).

3. Seasons

Let´s see the words used for seasons in Turkish:English Turkish

spring bahar or ilkbahar

summer yaz
fall, autumn sonbahar or güz
winter kış
8 Love

In this lesson, we will cover the love words and expressions in Turkish. In English, you can
use words like 'honey, darling, sweetheart' to call the person you love. Let's start with a list
of love words used to call the person you love in Turkish. A general point here is that you
always use these words with possession in Turkish. Instead of saying 'honey', the word you
use in Turkish means 'my honey'. I will also give the direct translations of these words to
English. Although the meaning of some of these words may seem strange, they can all be
used to call the person you love. TurkishEnglish
aşkım
my love
canım my life
bi tanem my only one
hayatım my life
sevgilim my darling
balım my honey
tatlım my sweety (used for girls)
güzelim my beautiful (used for girls)
çiçeğim my flower (used for girls)
gülüm my rose (used for girls)
meleğim my angel (used for girls)

Now, let's see some common love phrases in Turkish and their meanings: Turkish
English
Seni seviyorum.
I love you.
Seni çok seviyorum. I love you very much.
Senden çok hoşlanıyorum. I like you very much.
Benimle çıkar mısın? Would you like to go out with me?
Benimle dans eder misin? Would you like to dance with me?
Benimle evlenir misin? Will you marry me?
Evlenme teklifi. Marriage proposal.
Nişanlı Fiancee
Rüyalarımın erkeğisin/kadınısın. You are the man/woman of my dreams.
Seninle olmak istiyorum. I want to be with you.
Seninle kalmak istiyorum. I want to stay with you.
Seni çok özlüyorum. I am missing you very much.
Seni çok özledim. I missed you very much.
Biraz daha kalabilir misin? Can you stay a little longer?
Seni bir daha ne zaman göreceğim? When will I see you next?
Bir yerlerde buluşalım. Let's meet somewhere.
Seni görmek istiyorum. I want to see you.
Çok güzelsin. You are very beautiful.

Now, time to use what you learned.

9 Antonyms

A set of important antonyms you need to know...English Turkish

big-small
büyük-küçük
fast-slow hızlı-yavaş
quick-slow çabuk-yavaş
full-empty dolu-boş
easy-difficult kolay-zor
heavy-light ağır-hafif
open-shut açık-kapalı
right-wrong doğru-yanlış
old-new eski-yeni
old-young yaşlı-genç
first-last ilk-son
beautiful-ugly güzel-çirkin
free-busy serbest-meşgul
good-bad
iyi-kötü
better-worse daha iyi-daha kötü
the best-the worst en iyi-en kötü
early-late erken-geç
cheap-expensive ucuz-pahalı
near-far yakın-uzak
here-there burada-orada
right-left sağ-sol
tall-short uzun-kısa
dark-light koyu-açık
high-low yüksek-alçak
open-closed açık-kapalı
thin-thick ince-kalın
slim-fat zayıf-şişman

10
Quantity Words

English Turkish

a little, some
biraz
very, much, many çok
enough yeterli
any, no, nonehiç
few az
too much, too many çok fazla
too fazla
more daha fazla, daha çok
less daha az
a few birkaç (tane)

11 Colors

English Turkish

Black
Siyah
White Beyaz
Red Kırmızı
Blue Mavi
Orange Turuncu
Green Yeşil
Purple Mor
Pink Pembe
Brown Kahverengi
Yellow Sarı
Grey Gri
Color Renk
Light Açık
Dark Koyu
The question for asking colors is constructed similar to the way it´s done in English:

Eng: What color is XXX?

Tr: XXX ne renk? (Here, ne is what and renk is color)

The answer is also simple:

Eng: XXX is red.

Tr: XXX kırmızı.

However, note the difference in word ordering when you want to add a color (or any
adjective) to an indefinite noun.

Eng: A red XXX.

 Tr: Kırmızı bir XXX. (Not ´Bir kırmızı XXX´)

Now, try to understand the following sentences. English translations are below the Turkish
sentences.

1. Bu araba açık mavi.

2. Evim koyu kırmızı.

3. Gözlerin ne renk?

4. Beyaz bir gömlek aldım.

1. This car is light blue. 2. My house is dark red. 3. What color are your eyes? 4. I bought a
white shirt.

12 Family

English Turkish
father
baba
mother anne
brother (erkek) kardeş
sister (kız) kardeş
elder brother abi
elder sister abla
son oğul - erkek çocuk
daughter kız - kız çocuk
aunt (mother side) teyze
aunt (father side) hala
grandfather dede - büyükbaba
grandmother nine - büyükanne
grandmother (mother side) anneanne
grandmother (father side) babaanne
nephew, niece yeğen
uncle (father side) amca
uncle (mother side) dayı
cousin kuzen
father-in-law kayınbaba - kayınpeder
mother-in-law kaynana - kayınvalide
sister-in-law baldız
sister-in-law's husband bacanak
son-in-law damat
daughter-in-law gelin
sister's husband enişte
grandson, granddaughter, grandchild torun
twin ikiz
twin brother, twin sister ikiz kardeş
wife eş, hanım, karı
husband koca
step mother üvey anne
step father üvey baba

Fruits and vegetables

English Turkish
Fruits --- Meyveler
banana
muz
apple elma
orange portakal
grape üzüm
cherry kiraz
tangerine mandalina
sour cherry vişne
pear armut
avocado avokado
pineapple ananas
strawberry çilek
currant kuşüzümü
grapefruit greyfurt
fig incir
watermelon karpuz
melon kavun
apricot kayısı
kiwi kivi
mulberry dut
raspberry ahududu
blackberry böğürtlen
plum erik
Vegetables --- Sebzeler
lettuce marul
eggplant patlıcan
zucchini kabak
cucumber salatalık - hıyar
parsley maydanoz
potato patates
onion soğan
tomato domates
pepper biber
cabbage lahana
cauliflower
karnıbahar
lemon limon
Weight is measured with kilograms in Turkey like in Europe, unlike pounds used in America.
Some sentences useful for buying fruits and vegetables would be:

Sentences for request:

A. Bir kilo domates alabilir miyim? (Can I get one kilogram tomatoes?)

A. İki kilo elma verir misiniz? (Can you give me two kilograms of apple?)

A. Yarım kilo çilek alacaktım. (Something like "I would like to buy half a kilogram of
strawberries.")
Possible response of the seller:

B. Tabi, buyrun.(Sure, here you are)

B. Hemen. (Immediately)

B. Buyrun, afiyet olsun. (Here you are, good appetite)

Reply to the seller before leaving:

 A. Teşekkürler. (Thank you)

A. Hayırlı işler. (Something like "Have a fruitful work day")

A. İyi günler. (Have a nice day)

Another point worth noting if you are in Turkey is that bargaining is very common :) You can
buy many things under the display price with some bargaining. However, this is not true if
you are shopping from a supermarket where you buy things and pay to the cashier.

Body parts

English Turkish
Vücudumuz --- Our Body
head
kafa - baş
body vücut - gövde
arm kol
leg bacak
hand el
foot ayak
finger parmak
index finger işaret parmağı
thumb baş parmak
eye göz
ear kulak
hair saç
nail tırnak
nose burun
mouth ağız
tooth diş
tongue dil
cheek yanak
chin çene
throat boğaz
neck boyun
eyelash kirpik
eyelid göz kapağı
eyebrow kaş
forehead alın
temple şakak
wrist bilek - kol bileği
ankle ayak bileği
heel topuk
elbow dirsek
knee diz
lip dudak
moustache bıyık
beard sakal
shoulder omuz
waist bel
toe ayak başparmağı
abdomen karın
Organs --- Organlar
heart kalp
lung akciğer
liver karaciğer
kidney böbrek
stomach mide
vein damar - toplardamar
blood kan
brain beyin

Animals

English Turkish
Animals --- Hayvanlar
animal hayvan
lion aslan
tiger kaplan
sheep koyun
cow inek
bull boğa
ox öküz
hen tavuk
rooster horoz
pig domuz
horse at
donkey eşek
turkey hindi
dog köpek
cat kedi
mouse fare
fish balık
whale balina
dolphin yunus
shark köpek balığı
octopus ahtapot
insect, bug böcek
butterfly kelebek
bee arı
ant karınca
wolf kurt
deer geyik
bat yarasa
beaver kunduz
gull martı
hawk şahin
hedgehog kirpi
squirrel sincap
stork leylek
vulture akbaba
worm kurt - solucan
wasp eşek arısı
millipede kırkayak
hyena sırtlan
grasshopper çekirge
zebra zebra
fox tilki
snake yılan
elephant fil
bear ayı
giraffe zürafa
penguin penguen
spider örümcek
crocodile timsah
lizard kertenkele
turtle kaplumbağa
rabbşt tavşan
bird kuş
fish balık
frog kurbağa
monkey maymun

Character
English Turkish

Character --- Karakter

behavior davranış
honest dürüst
patient sabırlı
impatient sabırsız
kind kibar
proud gururlu
polite kibar
impolite kaba
decent terbiyeli - nazik
skilful yetenekli
witty, clever zeki - akıllı
quite suskun - sessiz
curious meraklı
funny komik
boring sıkıcı
cruel zalim
talkative konuşkan
good iyi
bad kötü
naive saf
optimistic iyimser
pessimistic kötümser
shy utangaç
strange garip
sensitive duygusal
crazy çılgın
tolerant toleranslı
clumsy sakar
tidy düzenli
untidy düzensiz
friendly cana yakın
glad memnun
hardworking çalışkan
lazy tembel
joyful neşeli
happy mutlu
unhappy mutsuz
sad üzgün
surprising şaşırtıcı
serious ciddi
charming çekici
angry sinirli - kızgın
stupid aptal
arrogant küstah
jealous kıskanç
understanding anlayışlı

excuse özür
obedient itaatkar
active aktif
nice hoş
amusing eğlenceli
joyful neşeli
arrogant kibirli
modest alçak gönüllü

House and furniture

English Turkish

House --- Ev
door kapı
room oda
front door ön kapı
back door arka kapı
window pencere
kitchen mutfak
bedroom yatak odası
dining room yemek odası
living room oturma odası
chıldren's room çocuk odası
bathroom banyo
toilet tuvalet
balcony balkon
corridor koridor
garden bahçe
basement bodrum
ground floor zemin kat
garage garaj
terrace teras
yard avlu
upper floor/story üst kat
loft tavan arası
cellar kiler
stairs merdiven
step basamak
lift, elevator asansör
wall duvar
roof çatı
fireplace şömine
Furniture --- Eşyalar
table masa
bookcase kitaplık
chair sandalye
wardrobe gardrop
shelf raf
armchair koltuk
sofa koltuk - kanepe
shower duş
trash bin çöp kutusu
ashtray kül tablası
bathtub küvet
door mat paspas
tap musluk
heating kalorifer
candlemum
key anahtar
lamp lamba
frame çerçeve
socketpriz
plug fiş
mirror ayna
door bell kapı zili
radio radyo
television televizyon
computer bilgisayar
pan tava
glass bardak
bottle şişe
plate tabak
spoon kaşık
fork çatal

Illness
English Turkish

Sicknesses
sick hasta, rahatsız
headache baş ağrısı
to catch a cold soğuk almak
flu grip
measles nezle
tootache diş ağrısı
stomach ache karın ağrısı
contagious bulaşıcı
ulcer ülser
cancer kanser
to faint bayılmak
hiccups hıçkırık
migraine migren
heart attack kalp krizi
itch kaşıtı
to itch kaşınmak
angina anjin
bronchitis bronşit
Now, some sentences for telling you or somebody is sick.

- I am sick. (Hastayım.)

- I am very sick. (Çok hastayım.)

- I have a toothache. (Dişim ağrıyor.)

- I have a cold. (Nezleyim. or Nezle oldum.)

- I got sick. (Hasta oldum. or Hastalandım.)

 - I don´t feel well. (İyi hissetmiyorum. )

- My foot is itching. (Ayağım kaşınıyor.)

If somebody tells you that he is sick or somebody close to him is sick, you say:

- Geçmiş olsun. (This is like wishing for recovery.)

Major Vowel Harmony

Vowel harmony is one of the most fundamental and important aspects of Turkish grammar.
Turkish words generally obey two vowel harmony rules, called the major vowel harmony
and the minor vowel harmony. More important than the words obeying these rules, there are
ways these rules change the vowels in the suffixes added to words. A good understanding
of these rules is necessary to be able to use suffixes, hence to be able to make correct and
meaningful sentences.

1. Major Vowel Harmony

The 8 vowels in the Turkish alphabet are separated into two groups called hard vowels and
soft vowels. There are 4 hard vowels and 4 soft vowels.Hard vowels: a, ı, o, u
Soft vowels: e, i, ö, ü

Words of Turkish origin generally (not always) have all hard or all soft vowels. This is just a
generalization that you won´t use for constructing Turkish words and sentences. Words that
have hard and soft vowels together are said to violate the major vowel harmony. A word that
violates the major vowel harmony probably has been adopted from another language or has
been changed in the lifetime of the Turkish language.
Each of the hard vowels are the hard counterparts of one soft vowel (and vice versa).
Following this rule, vowels can be paired with their counterparts as follows:Hard Soft
a e
ı i
o ö
u ü

A Turkish word is either a hard word or a soft word depending on its last vowel.
ev[home] is a soft word since its last and only vowel, e, is a soft vowel.

okul[school] is a hard word since its last vowel, u, is a hard vowel.

kahve[coffee] is a soft word since its last vowel, e, is a soft vowel.

Now, try to guess if the following words are hard or soft. The correct answers are below the
table.Word Hard or Soft
meslek[job] ?
araba[car] ?
güzel[beautiful] ?
yemek[food] ?
gülümse[smile] ?
çabuk[quick] ?
gül[rose] ?
göl[lake] ?
gidelim[let´s go] ?
telefon[telephone] ?

(Correct answers: soft, hard, soft, soft, soft, hard, soft, soft, soft, hard)

Major vowel harmony states that:

Any suffix appended to a hard word must have hard vowels
Any suffix appended to a soft word must have soft vowels
As an example to this rule let´s consider the suffix -de. When added to a noun, this suffix
gives the meaning of "at/in the location expressed by that noun". When added to a soft
word like ev[home], this suffix is -de. However, when added to a hard word like
okul[school], the soft vowels in this suffix are replaced by their hard counterparts and the
suffix becomes -da. Hence:

at home --> evde

at school --> okulda

in the car --> arabada

at the lake --> gölde

Minor Vowel Harmony
Vowel harmony is one of the most fundamental and important aspects of Turkish grammar.
Turkish words generally obey two vowel harmony rules, called the major vowel harmony
and the minor vowel harmony. More important than the words obeying these rules, there are
ways these rules change the vowels in the suffixes added to words. A good understanding
of these rules is necessary to be able to use suffixes, hence to be able to make correct and
meaningful sentences.

2. Minor Vowel Harmony

We saw that the 8 vowels in the Turkish alphabet are divided into two groups as hard and
soft vowels. Besides this grouping, the 8 vowels are divided into two groups as round
vowels and flat vowels. There are 4 flat and 4 round vowels. A vowel´s being round or flat is
actually determined from the shape of the mouth when pronouncing that vowel, but it can
also be seen in the shape of the capital characters.Flat vowels: A, E, I, İ
Round vowels: O, Ö, U, Ü
A Turkish word is either a round word or a flat word depending on its last vowel.

ev[home] is a flat word since its last and only vowel, e, is a flat vowel.

okul[school] is a round word since its last vowel, u, is a round vowel.

kahve[coffee] is a flat word since its last vowel, e, is a flat vowel.

Now, try to guess if the following words are round or flat. Move the mouse over the right
table cell of the word to see the answer.Word Round or Flat
meslek[job] ?
araba[car] ?
güzel[beautiful] ?
yemek[food] ?
gülümse[smile] ?
çabuk[quick] ?
gül[rose] ?
göl[lake] ?
gidelim[let´s go] ?
telefon[telephone] ?

(Correct answers: flat, flat, flat, flat, flat, round, round, round, flat, round)
Minor vowel harmony states that:

If a suffix starting with -i is appended to a round word, the -i in the suffix becomes -u or -ü.
This depends on whether the word is hard or soft. The major vowel harmony and the minor
vowel harmony apply to words simultaneously. This means:

If a suffix starting with -i is added to a hard and round word, the -i in the suffix becomes -u.
okul --> school [a hard vowel]
suffix we will add is -im (gives the meaning my)
my school --> okulum [the suffix -im changes according to vowel harmonies and becomes
-um]
If a suffix starting with -i is added to a soft and round word, the -i in the suffix becomes -ü.
gül --> rose
suffix we will add is -im (gives the meaning my)
my rose --> gülüm [the suffix -im changes according to vowel harmonies and becomes -üm]
my telephone --> telefonum

my beautiful --> güzelim

my lake --> gölüm

Notes on Vowel Harmony

Vowel harmony is one of the most fundamental and important aspects of Turkish grammar.
Turkish words generally obey two vowel harmony rules, called the major vowel harmony
and the minor vowel harmony.
These rules change the vowels in the suffixes added to words. A good understanding of
these rules is necessary to be able to use suffixes, hence to be able to make correct and
meaningful sentences.

3. Practical notes about vowel harmony rules

As far as vowel harmony is concerned, we can separate all the suffixes in Turkish into two
main groups. Thinking in terms of these two cases simplifies these seemingly complicated
rules. These are:
Case 1:

The suffixes with first vowel -i (the suffixes -i, -di, -iyor, -im, -in ...)
Case 2:

suffixes with first vowel -e (the suffixes -e, -de, -den, -erek, ...)
All suffixes with first vowel -i, -ı, -u, -ü fall into the first group, and they are different forms of
this case modified according to vowel harmony rules.

bal-ım --> balım (my honey)

ev-im --> evim (my home)

sınıf-im --> sınıfım (my class)

dil-im --> dilim (my tongue)

sol-im --> solum (my left)

göz-im --> gözüm (my eye)

okul-im --> okulum (my school)

üzüm-im --> üzümüm (my grape)

All suffixes with first vowel -e, -a fall into the second group, and they are different forms of
this case modified according to vowel harmony rules.

araba-den --> arabadan (from the car)

ev-den --> evden (from home)

kapı-den --> kapıdan (from the door)

deniz-den --> denizden (from the sea)

sol-den --> soldan (from the left)

göz-den --> gözden (from the eye)

okul-den --> okuldan (from school)

kapı-den --> kapıdan (from the door)

Note that no suffix has -o or -ö as the first vowel. Actually, no suffix has the letter -ö in it and
there is only one suffix that has the vowel -o (this is the suffix for present continuous tense,
-iyor and this -o does not change according to any vowel harmony rules).

bak-iyor --> bakıyor (he/she/it is looking)

gel-iyor --> geliyor (he/she/it is coming)

sık-iyor --> sıkıyor (he/she/it is squeezing)

bil-iyor --> biliyor (he/she/it knows)

koş-iyor --> koşuyor (he/she/it is running)

gör-iyor --> görüyor (he/she/it is seeing)

bul-uyor --> buluyor (he/she/it is finding)

gül-iyor --> gülüyor (he/she/it is laughing)

The suffixes in case 1 are affected from both the major vowel harmony and the minor vowel
harmony. For example, the suffix -di can become -di, -dı, -du or -dü depending on the word
at which it is appended.

ara-di --> aradı

gel-di --> geldi

kır-di --> kırdı

bil-di --> bildi

sol-di --> soldu

gör-di --> gördü

bul-du --> buldu

üşü-di --> üşüdü

The suffixes in case 2 are affected by only the major vowel harmony rule. For example, the
suffix -erek can become -erek or -arak depending on the word at which it is appended.
bak-erek --> bakarak (with looking)

sev-erek --> severek (with loving)

sık-erek --> sıkarak (with squeezing)

bil-erek --> bilerek (with knowing, knowingly)

koş-erek --> koşarak (with running)

gör-erek -- görerek (with seeing)

vur-erek -- vurarak (with hitting)

bük-erek -- bükerek (with bending)

Vowel Rules
Besides the vowel harmony rules, there are other basic rules that affect the way suffixes are
used. A vowel following another is never allowed in Turkish, and there are rules to avoid
these situations when they occur as a result of other rules. There are also rules about
consonant harmony, that make some consonants change in certain cases.

1. When two vowels come together

In Turkish, two vowels can never come together (note that there are a few exceptions to this
rule). So, what do we do when we need to add a suffix that starts with a vowel at the end of
a word that ends with a vowel? There are two cases here:

1.1. Dropping a vowel

To say my house, you append the suffix meaning my (-im) to the word meaning house (ev).
Simple enough, ´my house´ --> evim.

You want to say ´my car´.

Car is araba and the suffix that gives the meaning my is -im. Change the suffix according to
vowel harmony rules so that is can be appended to araba (a hard and flat word) and -im
becomes -ım.

So, to put it together, my car becomes ´araba-ım = arabaım´. However, two vowels can not
come together in Turkish. Trouble...

To avoid this, we drop one of the vowels in this case.

i. If both of the vowels are in the group "-i, -ı, -u, -ü" than these two vowels have to be the
same (look at the vowel harmony rules to understand why). Since the two vowels are the
same, it does not matter which one we drop in this case.

ii. However, if one of the vowels is in the group "-i, -ı, -u, -ü" but the other is not (meaning
that it is one of "a, e, o, ö") then generally the vowel in the group "-i, -ı, -u, -ü" is dropped.
There are some exceptions to this, however, and these exceptions will be noted when
necessary.

Applying these rules, ´my car´ becomes ´arabam´.

1.2. Adding a buffer consonant in between

You are asked where you are going. You want to say "(to) home". Hence, you append the
suffix giving the direction meaning (-e) to the word meaning home (ev) and your reply
becomes "eve".

However, if you are going to the car and you want to tell this to your friend, things are not
that simple for you:
First, change the suffix -e according to vowel harmony rules according to araba and it
becomes -a.
Now, add this suffix -a at the end of our word araba, and get arabaa.

We have two vowels together. Drop one? Unfortunately, not this time.

In this case we need to add a buffer consonant between the two vowels. There is not a
simple rule to tell why. Sometimes one of the two vowels is dropped, sometimes one buffer
consonant is added in between.

However, what you do is consistent for a given suffix. If you are adding the suffix -e to a
word that ends with a vowel (like araba), you always add the fusion consonant y in between.
Saying to the car then becomes arabaya.

Too much effort spent to say a very simple word? More to come. Let´s practice on a few
other words:

Coast --> Kıyı | To the coast --> Kıyı-e --> Kıyıya

Room --> Oda | To the room --> Oda-e --> Odaya

Ship --> Gemi | To the ship --> Gemi-e --> Gemiye

This may take some time to get used to, definitely doable. Unfortunately, that´s not
everything. The buffer consonant is not y every time. y is the most common one, so you can
put y whenever you don´t remember which one to put, chances are high you´ll be right. The
other consonants that are sometimes used as fusion consonants are s and n.

Let´s see different cases where these fusion consonants are used:
a. The suffix -i

If the suffix -i is used as the -i form of a noun, making it a direct object (like the in English),
then the fusion consonant y is used.

araba-i sat -> araba-y-ı sat -> arabayı sat (sell the car)
yazı-i oku -> yazı-y-ı oku -> yazıyı oku (read the text)

If the suffix -i is used as the third person posessive (his-her-its), then the fusion consonant
s is used.

araba-i -> araba-s-ı -> arabası (his-her-its car)

para-i -> para-s-ı -> parası (his-her-its money)

kedi-i -> kedi-s-i -> kedisi (his-her-its cat)

* Note that the word for water (su) is an exception for this case, the fusion consonant y is
used with the word su (water).

su-i -> su-y-u -> suyu (his-her-its water)

b. The suffix -e (direction suffix, adds the meaning of preposition to)

When the direction suffix -e is added to a word that ends with a vowel, the fusion
consonant y is added in between.

araba-e -> araba-y-a -> arabaya (to the car)

konu-e -> konu-y-a -> konuya (to the topic)

pencere-e -> pencere-y-e -> pencereye (to the window)

c. The suffix -in (gives the genitive meaning, like Andy´s)

When the suffix -in is added to a word that ends with a vowel, the fusion consonant n is
added in between.

araba-in -> araba-n-ın -> arabanın (of the car, the car´s)

konu-in -> konu-n-un -> konunun (of the topic)

pencere-in -> pencere-n-in -> pencerenin (of the window)

* Note that the suffix -in is also used with the second person posessive meaning.

If the suffix -in used as second person possessive is added to a word that ends with a
vowel, than the letter i of the suffix is dropped. The same is true for the first person
possessive suffix, -im, first person plural possessive suffix, -imiz and second person plural
possessive suffix, -iniz.

araba-im -> araba-m -> arabam (my car)

kedi-in -> kedi-n -> kedin (your cat)

kapı-imiz -> kapı-mız -> kapımız (our door)

para-iniz -> para-nız -> paranız (your (plural) money)

pencere-im -> pencere-m -> pencerem (my window)

There are also other uses of fusion consonants besides separating two vowels.
d. The suffix -le (with, by)

When the suffix -le is added to a word that ends with a vowel, the fusion consonant y is
added in between.

araba-le git -> araba-y-la git -> arabayla git (go by car)

kedi-le oyna -> kedi-y-le oyna -> kediyle oyna (play with the cat)

gemi-le gel -> gemi-y-le gel -> gemiyle gel (come by ship)

e. The suffix -de (location, like propositions at, in, on) and the suffix -den (proposition from)

When the suffix -de or -den is added to a word as the first suffix, no fusion consonant is
used. But when one of -de or -den/ is added to a word that already has a suffix or a series of
suffixes that end with a vowel, the fusion consonant n is added in between.

araba-de -> araba-da -> arabada (in the car)

kedi-den -> kediden (from the cat)

araba-si-de -> araba-sı-n-da -> arabasında (in his-her-its car)

kedi-in-ki-den -> kedi-n-in-ki-n-den -> kedininkinden (from the cat´s)

gemi-leri-den -> gemi-leri-n-den -> gemilerinden (from their ship)

Consonant Harmony
Besides the vowel harmony rules, there are other basic rules that affect the way suffixes are
used. A vowel following another is never allowed in Turkish, and there are rules to avoid
these situations when they occur as a result of other rules. There are also rules about
consonant harmony, that make some consonants change in certain cases.
2. Consonant Harmony

Vowel harmony rules cause the vowels of suffixes to be modified when they are added to
some words. There are similar rules about consonants. However, you may feel that all these
rules are too many just for a simple start. Then, I advice you to omit the consonant harmony
rules when you want to say or write something, just for the beginning. You will still be
understood. Consonant harmony is mainly for making speech more fluent, it does not have
a major effect on understandability. You will eventually learn these if you decide to continue
learning Turkish, as you read sentences or listen to Turkish speakers.
Tip

Consonant harmony is mainly for making speech more fluent, it does not have a major
effect on understandability.
There are two different cases of consonant harmony - either the last consonant of the main
word changes, or the first consonant of the suffix changes. The trouble making consonants
in this case are p, ç, t and k. Let´s call the words that end with one of p, ç, t or k the trouble
words.
CASE A - Word mutation.

Two conditions must be satisfied for word mutation to occur:

You have a word ending with one of ´p, ç, t, k´.

You want to add this word a suffix that starts with a vowel.

If the word has only one syllable, like saç, you are safe. The word usually does not change.

saç-ı --> saçı (his/her/its hair)

sap-a --> sapa (to the handle)

However, if the word has more than one syllable, than the consonant at the end usually
changes.
p becomes b
ç becomes c
t becomes d
k becomes ğ
And here are some examples to this:

ağaç-a --> ağaca (to the tree)

şarap-ın --> şarabın (of the wine)

kağıt-a --> kağıda (to the paper)

geyik-e --> geyiğe (to the deer)

Tip

There are exceptions to both the single syllable and multiple syllable cases mentioned
above. For example:

kap-a --> kaba (to the container)

saat-in --> saatin (the clock´s)

You should still learn and apply the rules though, there are not too many of these
exceptions.

CASE B - Suffix mutation.

Two conditions must be satisfied for suffix mutation to occur:

You have a word ending with one of p, ç, t, k, f, h, s, ş.
You want to add this word a suffix that starts with c or d.

In this case, the first letter of the consonant changes.

c becomes ç
d becomes t
Examples:

Leh --> Polish (people)

Leh-ce --> Lehçe --> Polish (language)

Türk --> Turkish (people)

Türk-ce --> Türkçe --> Turkish (lanuage)

yap --> do

yap-di --> yaptı --> he did

Infinitives and Plurals1. Infinitives

Verbs in Turkish, when used alone, have the imperative meaning as in English.

do --> yap

come --> gel

go --> git

drink --> iç

sleep --> uyu

In order to make a verb infinitive, the suffix -mek is used.

to do --> yapmak (changes to -mak since yap[do] is a hard word)

to come --> gelmek

to go --> gitmek

to drink --> içmek

to sleep --> uyumak

The following are examples to the use of infinitives in Turkish:

It is good to sleep. --> Uyumak iyi(dir).

It is difficult to study. --> Çalışmak zor(dur).

I want to go. --> Gitmek istiyorum.

I want to walk. --> Yürümek istiyorum.

2. Plurals

To make plurals of nouns, the suffix -ler is used. Below are some examples, note how the
suffix -ler becomes 'sometimes -ler, sometimes -lar' obeying the rules of vowel harmony.

road(s) --> yol --> yollar

tree(s) --> ağaç --> ağaçlar

rose(s) --> gül --> güller

room(s) --> oda --> odalar

house(s) --> ev --> evler

job(s) --> meslek --> meslekler

Negatives1. Negatives of nouns and adjectives

To make a noun or adjective negative, add the word değil at the end of the adjective or
noun. Positive Negative
Bu bir araba. [This is a car.] Bu bir araba değil. [This is not a car]
O bir ev. [That is a house.] O bir ev değil. [That is not a house]
O çok güzel. [She is very beautiful.] O çok güzel değil. [She is not very beautiful.]
Bu araba beyaz. [This car is white.] Bu araba beyaz değil. [This car is not white]

2. Negatives of verbs

To make a verb negative, add the suffix -me at the root of the verb.

to come --> gel-mek

not to come --> gel-me-mek (the negating suffix is always added at the verb root)

Note how the suffix is added at the root. This is always the case. A verb may have many
suffixes, but the negating suffix is always immediately after the verb root. All the other
suffixes follow as if they are being added to the positive of the verb.

gel-di --> geldi --> he came

gel-me-di --> gelmedi --> he did not come

ol-mak ya da ol-ma-mak --> olmak ya da olmamak --> to be or not to be

3. There is, there is not

In Turkish, there are special words for there is and there is not. In particular:

there is --> var

there is not --> yok

Let's make sentences with these words:

There is a book on the table. --> Masada bir kitap var.

There isn't a table in this room. --> Bu odada (bir) masa yok.

The words 'var' and 'yok' are more important than this, since they are used when you want
to say "I have" or "I don't have" as well. In Turkish, to say "I have something", you say
"There is my something". Let's give examples:

I have a book. --> (Benim) kitabım var.

Aylin has a car. --> Aylin'in arabası var.

This woman has seven cats. --> Bu kadının yedi kedisi var. (Like saying "There is this
woman's seven cats")

I don't have a car. --> (Benim) arabam yok.

My uncle does not have a daughter. --> Amcamın kızı yok.

Noun states
In Turkish, a noun has 5 fundamental states, produced using suffixes, that correspond to
meanings of some prepositions in English. It is not necessary to learn these as the states of
nouns, but learning these suffixes is important since they are very commonly used. State
Meaning
Nothing state (no suffix) Just the plain noun.
-i state Marks the noun as the subject of an action.
-e state Adds the meaning of direction (very similar to the proposition to)
-de state Adds the meaning of position (Used for the prepositions in, at, on)
-den state Adds the meaning of from, used for this preposition

An important thing to note here is the use of the -i form. It is used to denote the subject of
an action, and adds the meaning of "being known, specified" just as the meaning given by
"the". This will be more clear after looking at the sentences below. (bir --> one, kedi --> cat,
gördüm --> I saw)

Bir kedi gördüm. --> I saw a cat. (Note that although cat is the object of the action here, the
-i form of kedi is not used since it is not known, i.e. it is a cat, not the cat)

Kediyi gördüm. --> I saw the cat. (Note that kedi has the suffix -i, but the two -i's are
separated by the fusion consonant 'y'.)

Now, example sentences for all the cases.

Nothing state:
This is a house. --> Bu bir ev.
-i state:
I saw the house. --> Evi gördüm.

-e state:

Go home. --> Eve git. (House and home are the same word in Turkish, 'ev'.)

-de state:

The pen is on the table. --> Kalem masada.

Joe is at school. --> Joe okulda.

Your mother is in that room. --> Annen o odada.

-den state:

I came from home. --> Evden geldim.

To be
The verb to be (for the ´is´ in English) is handled in a special way, it is different from the
other verbs. This is also the case in Turkish, the use of the verb to be is very unique. Unlike
all the other verbs, to be is expressed with suffixes. It can be in one of present tense or past
tense. Let´s see it in present tense and past tense for different cases of personal pronouns.

English Turkish Suffix

Present tense to be

i am xxx ben xxx-im -im

you are xxx sen xxx-sin -sin
he \

she | is xxx

it / o xxx -(none)

or

-dir
we are xxx biz xxx-iz -iz
you are xxx siz xxx-siniz -siniz
they are xxx
onlar xxx

or

onlar xxx-ler
none

or

-ler
Past tense to be

i was xxx ben xxx-dim -dim

you were xxx sen xxx-din -din
he \

she | was xxx

it / o xxx-di -di
we were xxx biz xxx-dik -dik
you were xxx siz xxx-diniz -diniz
they were xxx onlar xxx(-y)-diler
(-y)-diler

NOTE 1

For the third person of the present tense to be, there are two cases. One with no suffix and
one with -dir. If you are making a personal statement or you are talking in a casual way, you
use the no suffix case. However, if you want to make a definitive or informative statement
like one in an encyclopedia, you use the suffix -dir. Both have the same meaning, and
sometimes can be used interchangeably. Let´s see examples to this.

This house is very big. --> Bu ev çok büyük.

That is my house. --> O benim evim.

He is a student. --> O bir öğrenci.

Spider is an animal. --> Örümcek bir hayvandır. (The -dir case is used since this is an
informative statement)

Sun is larger than earth. --> Güneş dünyadan daha büyüktür. (Again, this is an informative
statement)
NOTE 2

When constructing the third person plural past tense form of to be, the suffix -ler can be
ommitted in some cases. These are explained below:

a. Humans or objects that have no individuality take singular conjugation for third person
plural. But if the speaker wants to give objects individuality then he can use plural. This
would be a poetic sentence.

b. Humans and other things that have individuality (for instance animals that have names)
can take either singular or plural conjugation. Usually if the subject is defined (if we known
them) then we use plural conjugation. If the subject is undefined then we use singular
conjugation.

NOTE 3

Since the verb to be is different for each personal pronoun, personal pronouns can be
omitted in speech or writing. The meaning of person is given with this verb. To say "I am
beautiful." you can use one of:

"Ben güzelim."

"Güzelim.".

Using the personal pronoun adds the meaning of stressing person. We will use the
personal pronoun in parenthesis to indicate that it is optional.

Now, let´s see where to be is used:

To construct a sentence with a noun or adjective instead of a verb, like in English. The verb
to be is the implicit verb here.
You are beautiful. --> (Sen) güzelsin.
You were beautiful. --> (Sen) güzeldin.
This is a house. --> Bu bir ev.
That was a house. --> O bir evdi.
To construct verbs in different tenses, the suffix for each tense is used with either present
tense of to be or past tense of to be. Actually, it is present tense of to be in all cases except
the regular past tense.

Adjective and noun clauses

In this lesson, we will learn how adjective clauses (for describing a noun using an adjective,
like beautiful girl) and noun clauses (for describing ownership relationships between
nouns, like car's door) are formed in Turkish. First, let's start with the adjective clauses
which is simpler and then we'll look at noun clause construction.
Adjective clauses

Constructing adjective clauses in Turkish is very simple and straightforward, almost the
same as in English. The only thing you need to do is to put the correct adjective before the
noun.

beautiful girl ==> güzel kız

fast car ==> hızlı araba

big house ==> büyük ev

thick book ==> kalın kitap

high building ==> yüksek bina

hard lesson ==> zor ders

slow train ==> yavaş tren

If you don't add the adjective before the noun but use it as the main expression in the
sentence, the word order changes in English and it changes the same way in Turkish.

This girl is beautiful. --> Bu kız güzel

This car is fast. --> Bu araba hızlı.

Ahmet is tall. --> Ahmet uzun.

I am tall. --> Ben uzunum. (Note the use of verb to be with the adjective)

You are tall. --> Sen uzunsun.

However, note that when you want to say a beautiful girl, the word for a (bir) is placed
between the adjective and the noun.

a small piece ==> küçük bir parça

a greedy man ==> açgözlü bir adam

a blue book ==> mavi bir kitap

a short tree ==> kısa bir ağaç

a long movie ==> uzun bir film

Let's now apply what we've learned in the construction of a few sentences.

This is a red rose. ==> Bu kırmızı bir gül.

Joe is a quiet kid. ==> Joe sessiz bir çocuk.

Joe is a very quiet kid. ==> Joe çok sessiz bir çocuk.
Noun clauses

Two nouns form a clause in three different ways in Turkish:

Case1:

The first noun tells what the second noun is made of (i.e. metal box, plastic plate...). In this
case, you just write these nouns in the same order as you do in English without adding any
suffixes.

metal box ==> metal kutu

plastic plate ==> plastik tabak

Case2:

The first noun describes the second noun, wıth any relationship except for the made-of
relationship we saw above and the specific ownership relationship. Examples to this case
can be car key, book shelf, garden door, window glass... In this case, you write the nouns in
the same order as English, but add the suffix -i at the end of the second noun. If the noun to
which you append suffix -i already ends with a vowel, you add the fusion consonant -s
between these vowels to separate the two vowels. The third example below demonstrates
this case.

car key ==> araba anahtarı

book shelf ==> kitap rafı

garden door ==> bahçe kapısı (note the fusion consonant s here)

window glass ==> pencere camı

Case 3:

There is a specific ownership relationship between the two nouns (the key of the car, the
door of the garden, Kemal's daughter, the door of the car). In this case, you write the
describing noun first and the described noun second as it was done in the preceding two
cases. However, you add the suffix -in to the first noun and the suffix -i to the second noun.
If the noun to which you append the suffix -in already ends with a vowel, you add the fusion
consonant n between the two vowels to separate them. For the suffix -i, the fusion
consonant is same as told in the previous case. You add the consonant s to separate the
word ending with a vowel from the suffix -i.

the key of the car ==> arabanın anahtarı (note the use of fusion consonant n here for the
first noun, araba)

the door of the garden ==> bahçenin kapısı

Kemal's daughter ==> Kemalin kızı

the door of the car ==> arabanın kapısı (note the use of fusion consonant n for the first
noun and the fusion consonant s for the second noun)

exception: The word for water, su, is an exception for the fusion consonants in noun
clauses. The fusion consonant for water (su) is always 'y'.

color of water --> su-in renk-i --> suyun rengi (not sunun rengi)

water of Kemal --> Kemal-in su-i --> Kemal'in suyu. (not Kemal'in susu)

(Note that ' is used in Turkish to separate the suffixes from private words that need to be
always capitalized, like Kemal in this case)
Present Continuous TenseTenses

There are 5 fundamental tenses in Turkish. These are:

Present simple tense (Geniş zaman)

Present continuous tense (Şimdiki zaman)

Future tense (Gelecek zaman)

Past tense with -di (-di'li geçmiş zaman) --> Regular past tense

Past tense with -miş (-miş'li geçmiş zaman) --> Also called the story past tense

In the basic grammar lessons, we will cover the present continuous tense and the future
tense. Rest will be covered in the intermediate level lessons.

To start with, let's review some verbs we'll use in the following lessons and their meanings:

gelmek --> to come

gitmek --> to go

okumak --> to read

kapatmak --> to close

koşmak --> to run

aramak --> to call

konuşmak --> to talk

vermek --> to give

kaynamak --> to boil

çalışmak --> to work

yemek --> to eat

beklemek --> to wait

The meaning of tenses are given using some suffixes. There are some important properties
common to all these suffixes denoting tense:

The suffix for tenses is added right after the verb root if the verb is positive, or after the
negating suffix if the verb is negative.

The present tense for of 'to be' comes after the suffix for tense.

Therefore, the order becomes: verb root + (negative) + tense + present tense to be

This is different only for the regular past tense, where past tense form of to be is used.
1. Present continuous tense (Şimdiki zaman)

The suffix for present continuous tense is -iyor. Present continuous tense is used, very
much like the one in English:

To tell what you are currently doing

I am working now. --> Şimdi çalışıyorum.

I am eating ice cream. --> Dondurma yiyorum.

To tell something you will do in the close future

Wait, I'm coming in 5 minutes. --> Bekle, 5 dakika içinde geliyorum.

Present continuous tense is used only for verbs, it is not meaningful for nouns and
adjectives.
Present continuous tense of a verb is constructed this way:

verb root + (negative) + iyor + present tense to be

If the verb you want to add the suffix -iyor ends with a vowel, drop the last vowel and add
-iyor. Otherwise, just simply add -iyor. Be careful about the vowel harmony rules for the 'i' of
-iyor. Let's see how a verb is put into present continuous tense on the following examples:

gel-iyor --> geliyor --> he is coming

git-iyor-im --> gidiyorum --> i am going

oku-iyor --> okuyor --> he is reading

kapat-iyor-iz --> kapatıyoruz --> we are closing

koş-iyor --> koşuyor --> he is running

ara-iyor-sin --> arıyorsun --> you are calling

konuş-iyor --> konuşuyor --> he is talking

ver-me-iyor --> vermiyor --> he is not giving

ye-me-iyor --> yemiyor --> he is not eating

gel-me-iyor-siniz --> gelmiyorsunuz --> you are not coming (plural you)
And let's see how present continuous tense is used with different cases of person.English
Turkish
to come --> gelmek
i am coming (ben) geliyor-im --> geliyorum
you are coming (sen) geliyor-sin --> geliyorsun
he \

she | is coming

it / (o) geliyor
we are coming (biz) geliyor-iz --> geliyoruz
you are coming (siz) geliyor-siniz --> geliyorsunuz
they are coming (onlar) geliyor-ler --> geliyorlar

Future TenseTenses

There are 5 fundamental tenses in Turkish. These are:

Present simple tense (Geniş zaman)

Present continuous tense (Şimdiki zaman)

Future tense (Gelecek zaman)

Past tense with -di (-di'li geçmiş zaman) --> Regular past tense

Past tense with -miş (-miş'li geçmiş zaman) --> Also called the story past tense

In the basic grammar lessons, we will cover the present continuous tense and the future
tense. Rest will be covered in the intermediate level lessons.
To start with, let's review some verbs we'll use in the following lessons and their meanings:

gelmek --> to come

gitmek --> to go
okumak --> to read

kapatmak --> to close

koşmak --> to run

aramak --> to call

konuşmak --> to talk

vermek --> to give

kaynamak --> to boil

çalışmak --> to work

yemek --> to eat

beklemek --> to wait

The meaning of tenses are given using some suffixes. There are some important properties
common to all these suffixes denoting tense:

The suffix for tenses is added right after the verb root if the verb is positive, or after the
negating suffix if the verb is negative.

The present tense for of 'to be' comes after the suffix for tense.

Therefore, the order becomes: verb root + (negative) + tense + present tense to be

This is different only for the regular past tense, where past tense form of to be is used.
2. Future tense (Gelecek zaman)

The suffix for future tense in Turkish is -ecek. There are not two different cases like in
English will and is going to. Future tense is always constructed using the suffix -ecek. The
uses of the Turkish future tense is just like a union of the uses of will and going to in
English.

To express any action that will take place in the future.

Future tense is used only for verbs, it is not meaningful for nouns and adjectives.

Future tense of a verb is constructed this way:

verb root + (negative) + ecek + present tense to be

When you want to append the suffix -ecek to a verb that ends with a vowel, you add the
fusion consonant 'y' between the verb and the suffix to separate the two vowels. Otherwise,
just simply add the suffix -ecek. Be careful about the harmony rules though, as always.
Let's see how future tense is obtained using some example verbs:

gel-ecek --> gelecek --> he will come

git-ecek-im --> gideceğim --> I will go

oku-ecek-sin --> okuyacaksın --> you will read

kapat-ecek-iz --> kapatacağız --> we will close

koş-ecek-siniz --> koşacaksınız --> you will run (plural you)

ara-ecek-ler --> arayacaklar --> they will call

konuş-me-ecek --> konuşmayacak --> he will not talk

ver-me-ecek-sin --> vermeyeceksin --> you will not give

To see the use of future tense with different cases of person, check the following table:
English Turkish
to close --> kapatmak
i will close (ben) kapatacak-im --> kapatacağım
you will close (sen) kapatacak-sin --> kapatacaksın
he \

she | will close

it / (o) kapatacak
we will close (biz) kapatacak-iz --> kapatacağız
you will close (siz) kapatacak-siniz --> kapatacaksınız
they will close (onlar) kapatacak-ler --> kapatacaklar

QuestionsQuestion Sentences

Question sentences in Turkish can be classified into two groups like in English:
Yes-no questions
Regular questions

There are also question tags, i.e. questions of the form "You are coming, aren't you?".

In this lesson, we will see how these different types of questions can be asked in Turkish.

Before looking at how questions are constructed, let's see the question words in Turkish.
English Turkish
what? ne?
who? kim?
which? hangi?
where? nere?
when?ne zaman?
how? nasıl?
how many? kaç tane?
how much? ne kadar?
how often? ne sıklıkla
Now, let's see how different types of question sentences can be constructed.
1. Yes-no questions

In Turkish, yes-no questions are constructed with the question suffix '-mi'. It is important to
note, however, the question suffix -mi is written separate from the word it is appended to.
You can ask at this point: "Why is it a suffix instead of a separate word if it is written
separately?". The reason question suffix -mi is regarded as a suffix is that it has to satisfy
the major and minor vowel harmony rules for the word it is appended to. Let's see some
example sentences demonstrating the use of the question suffix -mi.

A. This is a book. --> Bu bir kitap.

B. Is this a book? --> Bu bir kitap mı? (Note how the regular sentence is turned into a yes-no
question sentence by the addition of the question suffix -mi)

A1. Yes, this is a book. --> Evet, bu bir kitap.

A2. No, this is not a book. This is a notebook. --> Hayır, bu bir kitap değil. Bu bir defter.

A. His name is Ahmet. --> Onun adı Ahmet.

B. Is his name Ahmet? --> Onun adı Ahmet mi?

A1. Yes, his name is Ahmet.

A2. No, his name is not Ahmet. His name is Mehmet. --> Hayır, onun adı Ahmet değil. Onun
adı Mehmet.

A3. No. His name is Mehmet. --> Hayır. Onun adı Mehmet.

A. This is my house. --> bu benim evim

B. Is this your house? --> Bu senin evin mi?

A1. Yes, this is my house. --> Evet, bu benim evim.

A2. No, this is not my house. This is my mother's house. --> Hayır, bu benim evim değil. Bu
annemin evi.

2. Regular questions

Regular questions are the ones constructed using the question words listed above and the
answers to these questions are not simply yes or no. In English, there is a certain word
order for regular question sentences. The question word comes first, and the rest of the
sentence elements follow it. In Turkish, however, questions are constructed in a quite
different way. To learn how to construct a question, a simple way is to follow the following
steps. This will work in most cases:
Construct the answer sentence.
Locate the word or phrase that is the actual answer to the question.
Just replace that word or phrase with the appropriate question word.

Let's apply this on an example. The question we want to ask is, "Who is this?".
The answer sentence will be something like "This is my brother. --> Bu benim kardeşim."
The answer to the question is the phrase "my brother --> benim kardeşim".
Replace this phrase with the question word "who --> kim" and the question sentence
becomes "Bu kim?".

To summarize, a question sentence has the same word order as a regular sentence. The
difference is that the part of the sentence that is asked is replaced by the appropriate
question word. The question word takes all the suffixes of the word it is replaced for.

Consider the sentence "Ahmet eve gidiyor. --> Ahmet is going home."

Who is going home? --> Kim eve gidiyor? (Ahmet in the regular sentence is replaced by
who. The rest of the sentence is the same.)

Where did Ahmet go? --> Ahmet nereye gitti? (ev in the regular sentence is replaced by
nere. Note that the question word nere also takes the suffix -e of the word ev and becomes
nereye, meaning 'to where')

What is Ahmet doing? --? Ahmet ne yapıyor? (The phrase 'eve gidiyor' in the original
sentence is replaced by "ne yapıyor --> what's he doing")
Note that to make a question sentence asking a verb, we use :

"What + to be (in the appropriate tense) + object + to do (in the appropriate tense)"

Ex1: What are you doing?

Ex2: What did Ahmet do?

In Turkish, this structure becomes:

"Object + ne + yapmak (in the appropriate tense and person)"

Ex1: (Sen) ne yapıyorsun?

Ex2: Ahmet ne yaptı?

This is simply the regular sentence where the action is replaced by "ne + yapmak", which is
consistent with our rule for constructing question sentences.
3. Question tags

Question tags are the questions of the form:

You are home, aren't you?

He did his homework, didn't he?

Mehmet will come today, won't he?

Constructing question phrases in Turkish is very simple and straightforward. You just add
"değil mi" at the end regardless of the sentence. The translations for the question tags
above are then:

Evdesin, değil mi?

Ödevini yaptı, değil mi?

Mehmet bugün gelecek, değil mi?

Imperatives - Let
Making a verb imperative for the second singular person (sen), is the same as it is done in
English. Just use the plain verb without any suffix or change. When you want to order
something to a single person listening to you, you just say the plain verb. Examples:

Come! --> Gel!

Go! --> Git!

Read! --> Oku!

Sit down! --> Otur!

Stand up! --> Kalk!

However, different from English, there is an imperative form for different cases of person.
Let´s see now how these are constructed:
Personal Pronoun Suffix
Ben No first person singular form
Sen
- (no suffix)
O -sin
Biz No first person plural form
Siz -in
Onlar -sinler
Now, let´s see the meaning of each case using the verb to go (gitmek).
Case Meaning
(sen) git
go! (singular, to a single person)
(o) git-sin --> gitsin
let him go (not like "allow him to go", this has the meaning that you want him to go in an
imperative way)
(siz) git-in --> gidin go! (plural, to multiple people)
(onlar) git-sinler --> gitsinler let them go (again, the meaning is not like "allow them to
go", gitsinler means that you want them to go and you are expressing this in an imperative
way)
As you can see, a commonly used clause, "let´s", is included in the imperative definition. If
you want to say "Let´s go to the movie", it becomes "Sinemaya gidelim" in Turkish. Now, let
´s see how the example verbs we used above are made imperative with respect to different
cases of person.

Personal Pronoun
gelmek - to come gitmek - to go okumak - to read oturmak - to sit down
kalkmak - to stand up
sen
gel git oku otur kalk
o gelsin gitsin okusun otursun kalksın
siz gelin gidin okuyun oturunkalkın
onlar gelsiler gitsinler okusunlar otursunlar kalksınlar
There is no first person singular or first person plural form of the imperatives, but there is
another form called wish clause that gives a similar meaning for the first person singular
and plural. Note that only the first person singular and first person plural forms of the wish
clause are used in practice. Here is how the wish clause is constructed:
Personal Pronoun
Suffix

Ben
-eyim

Biz
-elim
Case
Meaning

(ben) git-eyim --> gideyim

let me go

(biz) git-elim --> gidelim

let´s go
Personal Pronoun
gelmek - to come
gitmek - to go
okumak - to read
oturmak - to sit down
kalkmak - to stand up

Ben
Geleyim
gideyim
okuyayım
oturayım
kalkayım

Biz
Gelelim
gidelim
okuyalım
oturalım
kalkalım

Degrees of Adjectives
Comparatives and superlatives are constructed in a very straightforward way in Turkish.
Besides these, there is a special way of making adjectives stronger in Turkish and this is
not very trivial. I this lesson, we will cover all these topics.
1. Comparatives
1.1. More, Less

Comparative of an adjective is obtained by adding the word "daha" before the adjective. We
can say that daha is the word for more and all adjective comparatives are constructed like
'more clever' (not like faster).

faster --> daha hızlı

slower --> daha yavaş

more intelligent --> daha zeki

more hardworking --> daha çalışkan

more beautiful --> daha güzel

If you want to say less beautiful or less hardworking, then replace the word 'daha' with
'daha az'.

less fast --> daha az hızlı

less intelligent --> daha az zeki

less hardworking --> daha az çalışkan

less beautiful --> daha az güzel

Now, let's see how the comparative form of an adjective is used in sentences.

I am beautiful. --> (Ben) güzelim.

I am more beautiful. --> (Ben) daha güzelim.

You are more beautiful. --> (Sen) daha güzelsin.

She is more beautiful. --> (O) daha güzel.

This is a fast car. --> Bu hızlı bir araba.

This is a faster car. --> Bu daha hızlı bir araba.

This car is faster. --> Bu araba daha hızlı.

1.2. More than

If you want to compare two nouns with respect to an adjective, the structure used in
English is as follows:

noun1 is more adjective than noun2

Ex1: Ahmet is more hardworking than Mehmet.

Ex2: I am more intelligent than you.

The structure to express the same meaning in Turkish is as follows:

noun1 noun2-den daha adjective

Ex1: Ahmet Mehmet'ten daha çalışkan. (Note that the ' sign is used to separate private
names from their suffixes)

Ex2: Ben senden daha zekiyim.

Now, let's see a few example sentences with this expression.

- Beril is beautiful. --> Beril güzel.

- Gökçe is more beautiful. --> Gökçe daha güzel.

- Gökçe is more beautiful than Beril. --> Gökçe Beril'den daha güzel.

- He is more hardworking than me. --> O benden daha çalışkan.

- My car is faster than your car. --> Benim arabam senin arabandan daha hızlı.

- US is larger than Turkey. --> Amerika Türkiye'den daha büyük.

1.3. As ... as

If you want to say that two nouns are equal with respect to an adjective, the strıctıre used in
English is:

noun1 is as adjective as noun2

Ex1: Beril is as beautiful as Gökçe.

Ex2: I am as beautiful as you.

The structure to express the same meaning in Turkish is as follows:

.noun1 noun2 kadar adjective

or

noun1 de noun2 kadar adjective

Both of these expressions have the same meaning, you will understand the very slight
difference as you see them used. One point to note here is that if noun2 is a simple pronoun
(like ben, sen, bu, şu) then it is used in possessive form (like benim, senin, bunun, şunun).

Ex1: Beril de Gökçe kadar güzel.

Ex2: Ben de senin kadar güzelim.

Now, let's see a few example sentences with this expression.

- Beril is beautiful. --> Beril güzel.

- Gökçe is also beautiful. --> Gökçe de güzel. (de means 'also', 'as well')

- Gökçe is as beautifl as Beril. --> Gökçe de Beril kadar güzel.

- He is as hardworking as me. --> O da benim kadar çalışkan.

- My car is as fast as your car. --> Benim arabam da senin araban kadar hızlı.

- US is almost as large as China. --> Amerika neredeyse Çin kadar büyük. (neredeyse means
almost)
2. Superlatives

Superlatives are also straightforward in Turkish, like it is in English. Instead of 'the most',
you use 'en', and all superlatives are constructed using this word.

the fastest --> en hızlı

slower --> en yavaş

the most intelligent --> en zeki

the most hardworking --> en çalışkan

the most beautiful --> en güzel

Now, let's see how the superlative form of an adjective is used in sentences.

I am beautiful. --> (Ben) güzelim.

I am more beautiful. --> (Ben) daha güzelim.

When you want to use the superlative form in a sentence, there are two different cases:

I am the most beautiful. --> (Ben) en güzelim. (This has the meaning of describing yourself,
like an answer to the question "What are your traits?")

I am the most beautiful. --> En güzel benim. (This has the meaning of the answer to the
question "Who is the most beautiful?")
I am the most beautiful girl. --> En güzel kız benim.

I am the most beautiful girl in this class. --> Bu sınıftaki en güzel kız benim.
You are the most beautiful girl in this class. --> Bu sınıftaki en güzel kız sensin.

She is the most beautiful girl in this class. --> Bu sınıftaki en güzel kız o.
3. Making an adjective stronger
3.1. Very

In English, when you want to make an adjective stronger, you use the word 'very'. Saying
very fast is a stronger statement than just saying fast. The same method is applied also in
Turkish, and the word for very is 'çok'. Hence:

very fast --> çok hızlı

very slow --> çok yavaş

very intelligent --> çok zeki

very hardworking --> çok çalışkan

very beautiful --> çok güzel

You are very beautiful. --> (Sen) çok güzelsin.

She is a very beautiful girl. --> (O) çok güzel bir kız.

This girl is very beautiful. --> Bu kız çok güzel.

3.2. Too

Another way of making an adjective stronger, but this time giving the meaning extreme, is
to use the word too. Saying something is too fast gives the meaning that it is extremely fast
and should be slower. The word for too in Turkish is 'fazla'.

too fast --> fazla hızlı

too slow --> fazla yavaş

too intelligent --> fazla zeki

too hardworking --> fazla çalışkan

too beautiful --> fazla güzel

We are too fast. --> (Biz) fazla hızlıyız.

This car is too fast. --> Bu araba fazla hızlı.

3.3. Other ways

A third way commonly used in Turkish (which is not seen in English) to make an adjective
stronger is adding a modified form of the first syllable before the adjective. Important points
to note here are:
There is not a rule for how this first syllable should be modified, which makes this rule hard
to learn.
This gives the same meaning as using the word 'very' and makes the adjective stronger.
All adjectives can't be made stronger using this method, and there is not a rule to
understand for which adjectives this method can be used. A group of adjectives you can
always use this method is colors, to express that the color is strong. However, there is no
rule to exactly say which adjectives can be made stronger like this.
Because there is not a well-defined rule, it will be very difficult to go over adjectives and see
what the stronger form of each adjective is. I think you should not try to learn this for each
adjective at this step. The best strategy here would be to note that there is a rule like this
and when you see it used, you will understand what it means. In your sentences, you simply
can use 'çok + adjective' instead and you will be clearly understood.

Let's see some examples to this rule:

hızlı --> fast

hıphızlı --> very fast

sarı --> yellow

sapsarı --> very yellow, strong yellow

mavi --> blue

masmavi --> very blue, strong blue

beyaz --> white

bembeyaz --> very white, strong white

çabuk --> quick

çarçabuk --> very quick

kalın --> thick

kapkalın --> very thick

Another way to make an adjective stressed and stronger is to repeat it twice. Again, this is
not done with all adjectives and the best way to learn for which adjectives this rule is
applicable is to note when you hear an adjective used like this. Don't be afraid by these
rules, you will learn how to use them if you start reading Turkish texts or if you speak to
native speakers. You can still express yourself without using these methods for making
adjectives stronger. Simply use the word 'çok' before the adjective. I am giving these rules
now so that you know the meaning when you see such a usage somewhere.

büyük büyük evler --> big houses, the property big is stressed

sarı sarı elmalar --> yellow apples, the property yellow is stressed

There is also another way to stress an adjective and make it stronger. That is, adding a
modified form of the adjective after the original form. This is again an irregular rule and you
don't need to know this completely, just understand it when you see this usage. Sometimes,
an adjective followed by the modified form of that adjective may have a slightly different
meaning.

yaşlı --> old (for people)

yaşlı başlı --> old, mature

eski --> old (for objects)

eski püskü --> very old and useless

Present Simple TenseTenses

There are 5 fundamental tenses in Turkish. These are:

Present simple tense (Geniş zaman)

Present continuous tense (Şimdiki zaman)

Future tense (Gelecek zaman)
Past tense with -di (-di'li geçmiş zaman) --> Regular past tense
Past tense with -miş (-miş'li geçmiş zaman) --> Also called the story past tense
Present simple tense (Geniş zaman)
The present simple tense is used, very much ike the one in English:
To make general statements
Water boils at 100 degrees. --> Su 100 derecede kaynar.
To mention things you do regularly
I run every morning. --> Her sabah koşarım.
Present simple tense is used only for verbs, it is not meaningful for nouns and adjectives.
Present simple tense of a verb is constructed this way:

verb root + ir or er + present tense to be

The suffix for constructing the present simple tense of a verb is not always the same. The
suffix is sometimes -ir, sometimes -er. This is the only tense with this irregularity, but there
are certain rules that will tell you which one to choose most of the time. The rules that will
help you choose which one of -ir or -er to use as suffix are as follows:

If the verb ends with a vowel, the vowel of the suffix falls and you add only -r.
ara-r --> arar --> he calls

oku-r --> okur --> he reads

If the verb has more than one syllable, use -ir

kapat-ir --> kapatır --> he closes

konuş-ir --> konuşur --> he talks

If the verb has only one syllable:

If the vowel of this syllable is 'a' or 'e' and if the verb ends with 'l', 'n' or 'r' then use -ir

gel-ir --> gelir --> he comes

ver-ir --> verir --> he gives

Use -er for the other single syllable cases

git-er --> gider --> he goes

koş-ar --> koşar --> he runs

Now, let's look at how the present simple tense is used with different personal
pronouns:English Turkish
Example 1

to come --> gelmek

i come(ben) gelir-im --> gelirim
you come (sen) gelir-sin --> gelirsin
he \

she | comes

it / (o) gelir
we come (biz) gelir-iz --> geliriz
you come (siz) gelir-siniz --> gelirsiniz
they come (onlar) gelir-ler --> gelirler
Example 2

to talk --> konuşmak

i talk (ben) konuşur-im --> konuşurum
you talk (sen) konuşur-sin --> konuşursun
he \

she | talks

it / (o) konuşur
we talk (biz) konuşur-iz --> konuşuruz
you talk (siz) konuşur-siniz --> konuşursunuz
they talk (onlar) konuşur-ler --> konuşurlar

The negative of present simple tense is a little different than just adding the negative-
making suffix -me. Construction of negatives of present simple tense is given in the table
below. The negative-making suffix becomes -mez except for I and we. Moreover, when
negative suffix is used, the present simple tense suffix is not used. English Turkish
Example 1

to come --> gelmek

i don't come (ben) gel-me-im --> gelmem
you don't come (sen) gel-mez-sin --> gelmezsin
he \

she | doesn't come

it / (o) gel-mez --> gelmez

we don't come (biz) gel-me-iz --> gelmeyiz
you don't come (siz) gel-mez-siniz --> gelmezsiniz
they don't come (onlar) gel-mez-ler --> gelmezler
Present simple tense is the most irregular tense in Turkish, it's not simple as the name
implies.

Past TenseTenses

There are 5 fundamental tenses in Turkish. These are:

Present simple tense (Geniş zaman)

Present continuous tense (Şimdiki zaman)

Future tense (Gelecek zaman)

Past tense with -di (-di'li geçmiş zaman) --> Regular past tense

Past tense with -miş (-miş'li geçmiş zaman) --> Also called the story past tense
Past tense with -di (-di'li geçmiş zaman) --> Regular past tense

There is no suffix for the regular past tense. The only point is that you must use the past
tense form of to be. Be careful about the harmony rules though, as always. The use of the
past tense with -di is almost the same as the English past tense.

To tell an action that took place in the past.

He came. --> Geldi.

To make a statement that was true in the past.

She was beautiful. --> Güzeldi.

The same way regular past tense is applied to verbs, it can also be applied to nouns and
adjectives using the past tense form of to be. The meaning in this case is the same as the
meaning of 'was' in English.

He was good. --> İyiydi.

I was successful. --> Başarılıydım.

Regular past tense of a word is constructed this way:

word root + (negative) + past tense to be

Let's see how a verb is used in regular past tense on the following examples:

gel-di --> geldi --> he came

git-me-di --> gitmedi --> he did not go

oku-di --> okudu --> he read

kapat-dik --> kapattık --> we closed

koş-din --> koştun --> you ran

ara-diniz --> aradınız --> you called (plural you)

konuş-me-di --> konuşmadı --> he did not talk

ver-me-dim --> vermedim --> I did not give

çalış-ma-dik --> çalışmadık --> we did not work

ye-diler --> yediler --> they ate

bekle-me-diler --> beklemediler --> they did not wait

Note that making the past tense of a verb and making the past tense of a noun or adjective
is the same, but only as long as they are positive. The negative suffix for verbs is -me, but
negatives of nouns and adjectives are constructed using değil. Değil is not a suffix, it is
used as a seperate word. Let's see a few examples to how nouns and adjectives are
expressed in past tense.

She was beautiful. --> Güzeldi.

She was not beautiful. --> Güzel değildi. (Note what we did is just to replace the suffix -me
for verbs with the word değil in the case of nouns and adjectives. The ordering is still the
same. Past tense of to be, which followed -me for verbs, is now put after değil)

You were not kids. --> Çocuk değildiniz.

Let's see how these personal suffixes are used on some example verbs:English Turkish
to wait --> beklemek
i waited (ben) bekle-dim --> bekledim
you waited (sen) bekle-din --> bekledin
he \

she | waited

it / (o) bekle-di --> bekledi

we waited (biz) bekle-dik --> bekledik
you waited
(siz) bekledi-niz --> beklediniz
they waited (onlar) bekle-diler --> beklediler
to work --> çalışmak
i worked (ben) çalış-dim --> çalıştım
you worked (sen) çalış-din --> çalıştın
he \

she | worked

it / (o) çalış-di --> çalıştı

we worked (biz) çalış-dik --> çalıştık
you worked
(siz) çalış-diniz --> çalıştınız
they worked (onlar) çalış-diler --> çalıştılar

Story Past TenseTenses

There are 5 fundamental tenses in Turkish. These are:

Present simple tense (Geniş zaman)
Present continuous tense (Şimdiki zaman)
Future tense (Gelecek zaman)
Past tense with -di (-di'li geçmiş zaman) --> Regular past tense
Past tense with -miş (-miş'li geçmiş zaman) --> Also called the story past tense

To obtain the story past tense of a verb, we append the suffix -miş to the verb. Be careful
about the harmony rules. Past tense with -miş is used:
To talk about something you learned from somebody else or some other resource, there is
some uncertainty in the statement. If you use the story past tense when talking about
something, it implies that you are not the source of the information and you shouldn't be
responsible for the mistakes.

I talked to his mother. He went to school. --> Annesiyle konuştum. Okula gitmiş. (The part
about talking to the mother is your direct experience, so you tell it using regular past tense.
However, the part about he going to school is information you got from the mother, so you
tell it using story past tense.)

To talk about something you just learned or understood

Is this your daughter? She is very beautiful. --> Bu senin kızın mı? Çok güzelmiş. (You just
noticed that she is beautiful, and you express this using story past tense)
Simple stories are written and told in using this tense.

Story past tense of a word is constructed this way:

word root + (negative) + miş + present tense to be

The same way story past tense is applied to verbs, it can also be applied to nouns and
adjectives.

I talked to Kemal about her. She is sick. --> Kemal'le onun hakkında konuştum. Hastaymış.
(You learned that she is sick from Kemal)

Prime minister was in France yesterday. --> Başbakan dün Fransadaymış. (You use story
past tense because you learned this from somebody else or from the news)

Prime minister was not in France yesterday. --> Başbakan dün Fransada değilmiş.
(Remember that negatives of non-verbs are made with değil)
Let's see the use of story past tense on some example verbs.

gel-miş --> gelmiş --> he came

git-miş-siniz--> gitmişsiniz --> you went (plural you)

oku-miş-sin--> okumuşsun --> you read

kapat-miş-ler--> kapatmışlar --> they closed

koş-me-miş--> koşmamış --> he did not run

ara-me-miş-sin--> aramamışsın --> you did not call

konuş-me-miş-ler--> konuşmamışlar --> they did not talk

ver-miş-iz--> vermişiz --> we gave

Finally, let's see how a verb is used in the story past tense with different personal
pronouns. English Turkish
to wait --> beklemek
i waited (ben) beklemiş-im --> beklemişim
you waited (sen) beklemiş-sin --> beklemişsin
he \

she | waited
it / (o) beklemiş
we waited (biz) beklemiş-iz --> beklemişiz
you waited
(siz) beklemiş-siniz --> beklemişsiniz
they waited (onlar) beklemiş-ler --> beklemişler

Must, Have to, Need to, Want to1. Must

The best counterpart in Turkish for the meaning of necessity that is given with 'must' in
English is the suffix '-meli'. The skeleton for using a verb with this suffix is as follows:

verb-meli-to be
I must go --> git-meli-im --> gitmeliyim (note the use of the fusion consonant y)

We must study --> çalışmalıyız (note that the suffix -meli becomes -malı due to the major
vowel harmony)

You must sit down (plural) --> oturmalısınız

You must go home now. --> Şimdi eve gitmelisin.

We can show how to express the necessity of a verb the for different cases of person:
Personal Pronoun Suffix
Ben -meliyim
Sen
-melisin
O -meli
Biz -meliyiz
Siz -melisiniz
Onlar -meliler

2. Have to

The meaning of formal obligation that 'have to' gives in English is best given by the word
'lazım' in Turkish. The structure for using this construct is as follows:

verb-me-possession (blank space) lazım

This might seem confusing, let us explain how this structure works. The suffix -me allows a
verb to be used like a noun, it is similar to a gerund. You might ask at this point, wasn't the
suffix -me used for negating verbs? That is right, but the suffix for negating verbs and the
suffix for using a verb like a noun are the same. So, okuma can mean either don't read or
reading according to the context in which it is used. In this case, we are concerned about
the second meaning. So, in the phrase okumam lazım, the part okumam means my reading
and the part lazım means required. When we put these together, it becomes my reading is
required and this is what we use for I have to read in Turkish. Let's look at a few examples
to clarify this further:

I have to go to school tomorrow. --> Yarın okula gitmem lazım.

I have to work now. --> Şimdi çalışmam lazım.

We have to get ready. --> Hazırlanmamız lazım.

You have to go. --> Gitmen lazım.

3. Need to
This is very similar to the use of have to, both in meaning and structure. The word we use to
give the meaning of need to is 'gerekiyor'. It is similar to 'have to' in meaning, so that it can
be used interchangeably with have to (lazım). It is similar in structure, which can be seen in
the structural skeleton:

verb-me-posession (blank space) gerekiyor

The following examples will clarify this further:

I need to go home. --> Eve gitmem gerekiyor.

You need to be here at 2. --> Saat ikide burada olman gerekiyor.

You need to sleep early. --> Erken uyuman gerekiyor.

She needs to see a doctor. --> Doktora gitmesi gerekiyor.

4. Want to

The use of want to is logically almost identical to the English counterpart. One important
difference is that you use the verb 'to want' in present continuous tense instead of present
simple. The turkish verb for to want is istemek. The structure goes as follows:

verb(infinitive) (blank space) istiyor-to be

I want to go. --> Gitmek istiyorum.

I want to sleep. --> Uyumak istiyorum.

I want to take a rest. --> Dinlenmek istiyorum.

I want to go home. --> Eve gitmek istiyorum.

What do you want? --> Ne istiyorsun?

Konuşmak istiyor musun? --> Do you want to talk?

______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________

Pazar: Sunday
Pazartesi (Pazar + ertesi, the day after Sunday): Monday
Salı: Tuesday
Çarşamba: Wednesday
Perşembe: Thursday
Cuma: Friday
Cumartesi (Cuma + ertesi, the day after Friday): Saturday.
In Turkey, Cumartesi and Pazar are official holiday days, working days are Pazartesi, Salı,
Çarşamba, Perşembe and Cuma.
Ocak: January
Şubat: February
Mart: March
Nisan: April
Mayıs: May
Haziran: June
Temmuz: July
Ağustos: August
Eylül: September
Ekim: October
Kasım: November
Aralık: December
In Turkey, new year begins by 01 Ocak and ends by 31 Aralık.
And these are numbers:
Bir: One

İki: Two

Üç: Three

Dört: Four

Beş: Five

Altı: Six

Yedi: Seven

Sekiz: Eight

Dokuz: Nine

On: Ten

Yirmi: Twenty

Otuz: Thirty

Kırk: Fourty

Elli: Fifty

Altmış: Sixty

Yetmiş: Seventy

Seksen: Eighty

Doksan: Ninety

Yüz: Hundred

Bin: Thousand

Yüz Bin: Hundred Thousand

Milyon: Million

Trilyon: Billion.

For example, to say "Fifty five" , "Elli + beş = 55"

Eleven: On + bir = On bir = 11

Twelve: On + iki = On iki = 12

Three thousand: Üç + bin = Üç bin = 3000

And these are colors:

black
white
green
red
yellow
blue
dark blue
pink
violet
orange

siyah
beyaz
yeşil
kırmızı
sarı
mavi
lacivert
pembe
mor
turuncu
Other Time Concepts:
Saniye: Second
Dakika: Moment
Saat: Hour
Gün: Day
Hafta: Week
Ay: Month
Yıl/Sene: Year
On Yıl: Decade
Yüzyıl: Century
Bugün: Today
Dün: Yesterday
Yarın/Ertesi Gün: Tomorrow
Sabaha Karşı: Time period between midnight and sunrise.
Sabah: Morning
Öğlen: Noon
Öğleden Sonra: Afternoon
İkindi: Time period between afternoon and sunset
Akşamüstü: Time period between sunset and twilight.
Akşam: Evening
Gece: Night (After nine o´clock generally)
Geceyarısı: Midnight
Yarım: 12:30 and 00:30 are called as "yarım".
HOURS (SAATLER):
In Turkey we use 24-hour system.
Immediate Hour Concepts:
Saat üç: It´s three o´clock (may be 03:00 or 15:00)
Saat beş: It´s five o´clock (may be 05:00 or 17:00)
Çeyrek: Quarter
Buçuk: Half
Saat beş buçuk: It is half past five (17:30 or 05:30)
Saat dört buçuk: It is half past four
It is quarter to four:
Saat dörde çeyrek var.
Its quarter past six:
Altıyı çeyrek geçiyor.
Note: For another time, we use "geçe" and "kala"
Dörde çeyre kala: When it is quarter to four.
Dördü çeyrek geçe: When it is quarter past four.
In here, we use Accusative and Dative Forms, so I will tell about these at next unites.

Relative Pronouns and Relative Suffixes

In English, we use six main relative pronouns; "my, your, her/his/its, our, your, their."
In Turkish, we use six main relative pronouns, too. But additional to relative pronouns, we
also use "relative suffixes" for each pronoun.
Unfortunately, the personal pronoun and relative pronoun of 1st Singular Pronoun looks
same, and it is very possible to get confused. Because of that, I am always going to use
"relative pronouns" with nouns.
Usage of relative pronouns is not compulsory, but in order not them to mix with personal
pronouns, I am going to use relative pronouns always.
With a simple formula, a sentence with relative pronouns and relative suffixes are done like
below:
relative pronoun + noun+relative suffix
First of all, let´s see relative pronouns and their suffixes with a simple table:
R.Pronoun/Last Vowel - Suffix
Meaning
If last vowel is “a,ı”
If last vowel is “e,i”
If last vowel is “o, u”
If last vowel is

“ö, ü”

my
benim
-(ı)m
-(i)m
-(u)m
-(ü)m

you
senin
-(ı)n
-(i)n
-(u)n
-(ü)n

his, her, its

onun
-(s)ı
-(s)i
-(s)u
-(s)ü

our
bizim
-(ı)mız
-(i)miz
-(u)muz
-(ü)müz

your
sizin
-(ı)nız
-(i)niz
-(u)nuz
-(ü)nüz

their
onların
-ları
-leri
-ları
-leri
Don´t allow that table to fear your eyes, lean your back and read this table for a minute. And
then watch the text below:
Let´s start by looking at "ev" word. And let´s say "my home."
My means "benim" in Turkish. "Benim ev" is correct but sounds like something are minus
there. Relative suffixes are going to help us for that. Look at the table now, "benim" has got
four suffixes. "If last vowel is e,i" what is going to noun recieve? It is going to receive "-
(i)m"!
NOTE: If noun ends with a VOWEL, we never put VOWELS of RELATIVE SUFFIXES which
are shown in paranthesyses. You´ll now see what I´m trying to say.
Benim evim: My home!
Senin okulun: Your school!
Benim defterim: My notebook!
Senin defterin: Your notebook!
Sizin okulunuz: Your school!
Ev, okul and defter. Attention at their last vowels. We have selected suffixes according to
their last vowel.
Now, I have prepared four tables for "ev, okul, defter" and "araba (car)" nouns:
English Sentence
Turkish Meaning
my car
benim arabam

your car
senin araban

his/her/its car
onun arabası

our car
bizim arabamız

your car
sizin arabanız

their car
onların arabası/arabaları
English Sentence
Turkish Meaning
my notebook
benim defterim

your notebook
senin defterin

his/her/its notebook
onun defteri

our notebook
bizim defterimiz

your notebook
sizin defteriniz

their notebook
onların defteri/defterleri
English Sentence
Turkish Meaning

my school
benim okulum

your school
senin okulun

his/her/its
onun okulu

our school
bizim okulumuz

your school
sizin okulunuz

their school
onların okulu/okulları
English Sentence
Turkish Meaning

my name
benim adım

your name
senin adın

his/her/its name
onun adı

our name
bizim adımız

your name
sizin adınız

their name
onların adı/adları
Have you seen how easy it is! Look at the examples below:
Onun şarkısı: Her song.
Bizim düşüncemiz: Our thought/idea.
Sizin kitabınız: Your notebook (plural).
NOTE: If one of "p, t, k and ç" remains between two vowels (such as "kitap") they become
"b, d, ğ and ç"
Ağaç: tree
Benim ağacım: My tree
Next unit is going to be "Possesive Constructions."

Respond to question of "yakamozz" user: Because at daily speech, both are used.

Even though at "their car" "car" is not plural, onların arabaları is correct, too; for daily
speech. Sorry, I should have added that note.

Personel Pronouns and Personel Endings - TO BE

TO BE VERB IN TURKISH!
Hello again. In this lesson, we are going to discuss about the personal pronouns and their
personal endings. Because of Personal Pronouns and Personal Endings are one of the
most important topics of Turkish language lessons, I have put this lesson at Beginner
Level. Let´s start the lesson!
In English, we use six personal pronouns and these are; I am, You are, he/she/it is, We are,
You are (plural) and They are.
In Turkish, we have got six personal pronouns too. Let´s see these pronouns with simple
table below:
Pronoun
Turkish
I
ben

You (singular)
sen

He, She, It
o

We
biz

You (plural)
siz

They
onlar
In English, we describe personal pronouns by "am/is/are" postposition. In Turkish, we don´t
do like this. In Turkish, we do this by the personal-ending-suffixes.
First, let´s see personal endings table and then talk about it:
Pronoun
Turkish
Personal Ending

I
ben
-(u,ı,i,ü)m

You (singular)
sen
-s(u,ı,i,ü)n

He, She, It
o
no ending

We
biz
-(u,i,ü,ı)z

You (plural)
siz
-s(u,ı,i,ü)n(u,ı,i,ü)z

They
onlar
-ler/-lar

Now relax! Never allow this table to fear your eye, vowel in paranthysis may fear you but we
will detect them according to Major Vowel Harmony. By a simpler table below, you are goint
to see that personal endings are too easy to use:
Last Vowel/Per.End.
ben
sen
biz
siz

u, o
-um
-sun
-uz
-sunuz

ü, ö
-üm
-sün
-üz
-sünüz

a, ı
-ım
-sın
-ız
-sınız

e, i
-im
-sin
-iz
-siniz
As you see, we choose these vowels according to the last vowel of words. Now, describe
personal pronouns by some very-known adjectives. We are going to use "öğrenci (student),
uzun (tall), short (kısa), zeki (clever, intelligent), güzel (beautiful) :
Pronoun/Word
öğrenci
uzun
kısa
zeki
güzel

Ben
öğrenciyim
uzunum
kısayım
zekiyim
güzelim

Sen
öğrencisin
uzunsun
kısasın
zekisin
güzelsin

O
öğrenci
uzun
kısa
zeki
güzel

Biz
öğrenciyiz
uzunuz
kısayız
zekiyiz
güzeliz

Siz
öğrencisiniz
uzunsunuz
kısasınız
zekisiniz
güzelsiniz

Onlar
öğrenciler
uzunlar
kısalar
zekiler
güzeller

As you see, by using the conjugation table of personal endings, it is easier to decide which
suffix we are going to use. Note that we always look at last vowel. When adding suffix, we
don´t care other vowels of words. By the way, I hope you have noticed about the unbold "y"
character This is a connection word for two vowels. If word ends with a vowel and if suffix
starts with a vowel, too, then we put "y" between them.
Ben bir öğrenciyim: I am a student.
Sen bir öğrencisin: You are a student.
Biz öğrenciyiz: We are students.
Ben uzunum: I am tall
Sen kısasın: You are short.
Sen çok zekisin: You are very clever.
O çok güzel: She is very beautiful.
Now, let´s conjugate "aç, tok, mutlu and mutsuz" adjectives.
Aç: hungry ... tok: not hungry, full ... mutlu: happy ... mutsuz: unhappy.
Conjugation for "aç" and "tok" adjectives:
Pronoun/Adjactive
aç (hungry)
tok (not hungry, full)

Ben
açım
tokum

Sen
açsın
toksun

O
aç(tır)
tok(tur)

Biz
açız
tokuz

Siz
açsınız
toksunuz

Onlar
aç(lar)
tok(lar)

Conjugation for "mutlu and mutsuz" adjectives:

Pronoun/Adjective
mutlu (happy)
mutsuz (unhappy)

Ben
mutluyum
mutsuzum

Sen
mutlusun
mutsuzsun

O
mutlu(dur)
mutsuz(dur)

Biz
mutluyuz
mutsuzuz

Siz
mutlusunuz
mutsuzsunuz
Onlar
mutlu(lar)
mutsuz(lar)

Ben çok mutluyum: I am very happy.

Sen çok mutsuzsun: You are very unhappy.
Biz açız: We are hungry.
Siz toksunuz: You are not hungry, you are full.
Examples:
Biz turistiz: We are tourists.
Siz öğretmensiniz: You are teachers.
We can also use this to structure to express our Occupations!
Ben bir doktorum: I am a doctor.
Ben bir pilotum: I am a pilot.
Siz hemşiresiniz: You are nurses.
Ben bir askerim: I am a soldier.
You are going to understand better this structure as you set new sentences. Next topic is
going to be the negative form of "to be."

Question Form of Personal Pronouns, TO BE and Negative Questions.

The simplest question suffix (I call it suffix but it is always written apart) is "mi?" in Turkih.
Ev mi? A home?
Sen mi? You?
"Mi" is conjugated according to both Vowel Harmony and Personal Pronouns. First, let´s
see how we can conjugate "mi" according to Vowel Harmony:
Last Vowel
Conjugated Form

a, ı
mı?

e, i
mi?

o, u
mu?

ö, ü
mü?
Okul mu? School?
Araba mı? Car?
Now, let´s see the table of "mi" for conjugation table for both Vowel Harmony and Personel
Endings:
Pronoun/Vowels
a, ı (mı?)
e,i (mi?)
o, u (mu?)
ö, ü (mü?)

Ben
mıyım?
miyim?
muyum?
müyüm?

Sen
mısın?
misin?
musun?
müsün?

O
mıdır?
midir?
mudur?
müdür?

Biz
mıyız?
miyiz?
muyuz?
müyüz?

Siz
mısınız?
misiniz?
musunuz?
müsünüz?

Onlar
mı?
mi?
mu?
mü?
Note that "y" characters at table are "connection characters."

Did you notice? Just like in "değil" structure, we don´t conjugate Adjective or Noun, we
conjugate QUESTION SUFFIX:

With a simple formula:

Personal Pronoun + Simple Form of Adjective/Noun + Conjugated "Mi"
Let´s ask: Are you student?
Sen öğrenci misin?
Have you seen that we have congujated "mi" for both Vowel Harmony (according to the last
vowel of "öğrenci" noun) and Personal Ending.

Personal Ending is conjugated according to the vowel of QUESTION SUFFIX !

Ben uzun muyum?
Am I tall?
Biz kısa mıyız?
Are we short?
Let´s conjugate "aç, tok, mutlu and mutsuz" adjective according to that structure:
Pronoun/Adjective
aç (hungry)
tok (not hungry, full)

Ben
aç mıyım?
tok muyum?

Sen
aç mısın?
tok musun?
O
aç mı?
tok mu?

Biz
aç mıyız?
tok muyuz?

Siz
aç mısınız?
tok musunuz?

Onlar
aç(lar) mı?
tok(lar) mı?
Now, let´s do it for "mutlu and mutsuz"
Pronoun/Adjective
mutlu (happy)
mutsuz (unhappy)

Ben
mutlu muyum?
mutsuz muyum?

Sen
mutlu musun?
mutsuz musun?

O
mutlu mu?
mutsuz mu?

Biz
mutlu muyuz?
mutsuz muyuz?

Siz
mutlu musunuz?
mutsuz musunuz?

Onlar
mutlu mu?
mutsuz mu?
Mixed Examples:

Sen şişman mısın? (are you fat) Hayır, ben şişman değilim. (no i’m not fat)
Biz yaşlı mıyız? (are we old?) Hayır, biz yaşlı değiliz, biz genciz. (no we aren’t old, we are
young)
Onlar uzun mu? (are they tall?) Evet, onlar uzunlar. (yes, they are tall)
Let’s talk about “yoksa”. It means “or”. For example:
Sen bir öğrenci misin yoksa işadamı mı? (are you a student or a businessman?)
YOU DON’T HAVE TO CONJUGATE THE SECOND QUESTION WORD FOR PERSONAL
ENDINGS.
Sen bir doktor musun yoksa bir pilot mu? (are you a doctor or a pilot?)
Ben doktor değilim, ben bir pilotum. (i am not a doctor, i am a pilot)
Biz hemşire miyiz yoksa veteriner mi? (are we nurse or veterinerian?)
Biz veteriner değiliz, biz hemşireyiz. (we arent veterinerian, we are nurse)
Sen bir avukat mısın yoksa ev hanımı mı? (are you lawyer or a house-wife?)
Sen bir şoför müsün yoksa mimar mı? (are you a driver or an architect?)
Ben bir mimar değilim, ben bir şoförüm (i am not an architect, i am a driver)
O bir oyuncu mudur yoksa bir şarkıcı mı? (is he an actor or a singer?)
O bir oyuncu değil, o bir şarkıcı (he is not an actor, he is a singer)
Sen uzun musun yoksa kısa mı? (are you tall or short?)
Ben uzun değilim, ben kısayım. (i am not tall, i am short)
Ben güzel miyim yoksa çirkin mi? (am i beautiful or ugly?)
Sen çirkin değilsin, sen güzelsin. (you aren’t ugly, you are beautiful)
Siz şişman mısınız yoksa zayıf mı? (are you fat or thin?)
Biz şişman değiliz, biz zayıfız. (we aren’t fat, we are thin)
Sen emekli misin yoksa doktor mu? (are you retired or doctor?)
Ben emekli değilim, ben bir doktorum. (i’m not retired, i’m a doctor.)
Siz aç mısınız? (are you hungry)
Hayır, biz aç değiliz, biz tokuz. (no we aren’t hungry, we are full)
Sen aç mısın? (are you hungry?)
Hayır, ben aç değilim, ben tokum. (no i’m not hungry, i’m full)
Sen mutlu musun yoksa mutsuz mu? (are you happy or unhappy?)
Ben mutsuz değilim, ben mutluyum. (i’m not unhappy, i’m happy!)
For the negative form of this structure, just put "değil" between adjective/noun and
conjugated "mi".

As "mi" is conjugated here, we NEVER conjugate "değil" .

Negative Form of TO BE - Negative Sentence with "değil" Postposition.

At previous lesson, we learned how to describe pronouns by personal ending suffixes. So,
question is how we can make these forms “negative” ? It too easy with magical “değil”
word! It means “not”. We put it at the end of sentence.
When we want to use negative forms of pronouns, first we detect which pronoun we will
use. Then we put noun or adjactive in front of pronoun.
Most important rule of negative form is that we conjugate “değil” word, WE DON’T
CONJUGATE NOUN OR ADJACTIVE.
With a very simple formula:
Pronoun + simple/unconjugated form of adjective + conjugated form of "değil."
Before examples, let´s see the conjugation table of "değil" structure:
Pronoun
Conjugation

Ben
değilim

Sen
değilsin

O
değil

Biz
değiliz

Siz
değilsiniz

Onlar
değiller
"Ben uzunum" means "I am tall."
So, how can we say "I am not tall?"
Ben uzun değilim: I am not tall!
As you see, we didn´t conjugate the adjective, we conjugated "değil" structure.
Sen uzun değilsin: You aren´t tall.
Biz kısa değiliz: We aren´t short.
Biz kısa değiliz, biz uzunuz: We aren´t short, we are tall.
Ben asker değilim, ben bir pilotum: I am not a soldier, I am pilot.
Next lesson is going to be the question form of "TO BE."
Note: "değil" is pronounced close to "deyil."
Plural Suffixes and Relative Suffixes for Plural Nouns (Subtitle I)
We don´t use different relative suffixes for Plural Nouns. But, first, let´s see how we create
plural nouns in Turkish.
We do it by two suffixes "-ler/-lar". We select one of them according to the Vowel Harmony.
If last vowel is one of "a , ı , o, u" we add "-lar" because of vowel harmony.
If last vowel is one of "e , i , ö , ü" then we add "-ler" because of vowel harmony.
ev: house > evler: houses
araba: car > arabalar: cars
defter: notebook > defterler: notebooks
kalem: pen/pencil > kalemler: pens/pencils
gün: day > günler: days
şarkı: song > şarkılar: songs
ders: lesson > dersler: lessons
düşünce: idea/thought > düşünceler: ideas/thoughts
şehir: city > şehirler: cities
Now, I´m going to tell you a very important clue:
Plural Suffixes always come before Relative Suffixes and Relative Suffixe MAY CHANGE
ACCORDING TO THE STRUCTURE OF PLURAL SUFFIX
benim evim: my home > benim ev + ler + im: my homes in here, relative suffix did not
change.
benim arabam: my car > benim araba + lar + ım in here, relative suffix HAS CHANGED
because
"arabalar" noun has ended with a consonant.
benim günüm: my day > benim gün + ler + im
As you see, we detect relative suffix according to "-ler/-lar"
senin evin: your house > senin evlerin: your houses.
bizim defterimiz: our notebook > bizim defterlerimiz: our notebooks
sizin düşünceniz: your idea/thought > sizin düşünceleriniz: your idea/thought.

Possessive Constructions I

In Turkish, we create Possessive Construction with a very simple rule:

Tamlayan + Tamlanan
"Tamlayan" tells what "tamlanan" belongs to. For example, at sentence of "the door of car",
the door belongs to car, so door is "tamlanan" and car is "tamlayan."
In Turkish, we do it at opposite side; "car´s door" explains this better. We add some suffixes
nearby both Tamlanan and Tamlayan. Let´s see their suffixes.
Tamlayan Suffix:
Last Vowel of First Noun
Suffix

a, ı
-ın

e, i
-in

o, u
-un

ö, ü
-ün
"Tamlayan" noun welcomes these suffixes. Vowel Harmony is going to help us at choosing
which suffix we are going to use.
Let´s see suffixes of Tamlayan, Tamlayan welcomes 3rd Singular Person´s Relative Suffixes
as shown at the table below:
R.Pronoun/Last Vowel - Suffix
Meaning
If last vowel is “a,ı”
If last vowel is “e,i”
If last vowel is “o, u”
If last vowel is

“ö, ü”

his, her, its

onun
-(s)ı
-(s)i
-(s)u
-(s)ü
How to say "the door of car?"
Let´s replace the nouns and turn it into "car´s door."
arabanın kapısı (note: if at this structure, tamlayan ends with a vowel, put "n" for
connection between TWO vowels.)
How to say "window of home?"
Window: Pencere, Home: Ev ...
Evin penceresi: Home´s window/Window of home.
Page: Sayfa Notebook: Defter
Notebook´s Page >> Defterin Sayfası
Roof: Çatı Ev: Home
Home´s Roof/ Roof of Home >> Evin Çatısı
At unit "Possesive Constructions II" I am going to tell about plurals.
Possessive Constructions II - Plurals

What happens if one of Tamlayan or Tamlanan is plural? Such as "the doors of car" or
"door of cars" ?
Or, "windows of home".
When I told you about the plural structure of Relative Mode, I said the Plural Suffixes have
got priority. Same rule is valid here, too. We put plural suffix before Tamlayan/Tamlanan
Suffixes.
When Tamlanan is Plural:
Evin kapısı : the door of home >> the doors of home > Evin kapıları
Because of "kapılar" ends with a consonant, we just put "ı", which is relative suffix of 3rd
singular person.
Page of notebook: defterin sayfası > pages of notebook: defterin sayfaları
Book of student: Öğrencinin kitabı > Books of student: Öğrencinin kitapları
Hand: El ... Kid: Çocuk
Hand of Kid: Çocuğun eli >> Hands of Kid: Çocuğun elleri
Note: Underlined "n" at "öğrencinin" character is connection character here.
When Tamlayan is Plural:
Ön: Front
Arka: Back
Front of School: Okulun önü >> Front of schools: Okulların Önü.
Back of Building: Binanın arkası >> Back of Buildings: Binaların arkası.
Roof of House: Evin Çatısı >> Roof of Houses: Evlerin Çatısı.
When Tamlayan and Tamlanan are Plural at Once:
Fronts of Schools: Okulların Önleri
Backs of Buildings: Binaların Arkaları
Roofs of Houses: Evlerin Çatıları.
Possessive Construction III - Undefitine Possessive Constructions
At previous lesson, we have learnt that both "tamlayan" and "tamlanan" have received
suffixes. But sometimes, "tamlayan" may not need a suffix. That happens when a noun
describes another noun.
Such as:
"Winter night" is noun sentence, "winter" and "night" are both noun. Althought "winter" is
not an
ADJECTIVE, it describes the noun "night". When this happens in Turkish, we do not add
any suffixes at
noun, which describes the noun in front of it.
Let´s see it with an example:
Winter: Kış Night: Gece
Kış Gecesi : Winter Night.
Did you see? Second noun has met its "tamlanan" suffixes (if you don´t remember tamlayan
and tamlanan suffixes, turn back to Possessive Constructions I and read the tables again)
Wednesday Day: Wednesday noun describes "Day" noun.
Çarşamba Günü : Wednesday Day (We use days in Turkish like that)
Turkish Flag > Turkish: Türk , Flag: Bayrak
Türk Bayrağı : Turkish Flag (Not that "k" became "ğ" when it took its place between two
vowels)
House wife: Ev hanımı
Businessman: İş adamı (Daily usage is, İşadamı)
Song Contest: Şarkı Yarışması
Rain Cloud: Yağmur Bulutu (Bulut exceptionally does not become "bulud" when "t"
consonant take its place between two vowels)
Public School: Devlet Okulu
Possesive Constructions + Relative Pronouns (For Singular and Plural)
Now, we know Relative Pronouns/Relative Suffixes and Possessive Construction. Let´s
combine them.
For example: The door of my car. How can we say that? It is very easy. Let´s go step my
step:
1) As a principle, start to translate FROM THE END OF SENTENCE. Because Turkish
sentences are set by the opposite side of English sentences.
First let´s say my car: benim arabam
2) In here, we are going to imagine "benim arabam" as a single noun. "The doof my car."
Now, let´s go on. "....of my car": benim arabamın .. Did you see it ? We go from the end of
sentence.
3) And now, we will imagine "benim arabamın" as an apart noun: "the door of my car"
my car´s door: benim arabamın kapısı
Kapı is tamlanan in here, so it MUST MEET TAMLANAN SUFFIX. "benim arabam" is
TAMLAYAN. SO, IT IS GOING TO MEET TAMLAYAN SUFFIX!
Let´s make another example:
The garden of my home:
Home: Ev
Garden: Bahçe
1) Start by the end of sentence. my home: benim evim.
2) Walk from the end of sentence straight to the start of sentence. Now, we are in the middle
of sentence:
....of my home: benim evimin. (my home´s)
3) let´s add tamlanan right now: garden of my home: benim evimin bahçesi.
bahçe is tamlanan, that´s why it meets tamlanan suffixes.
Another example:
Front of your school (your is plural your, "sizin")
1) your school: sizin okulunuz.
2) ...of your school/your school´s: sizin okulunuzun.
3) and adding tamlanan; sizin okulunuzun önü.
Another example:
the page of his notebook
1) his notebook: onun defteri.
2) ...of his notebook/his notebook´s: onun defterinin.
note: underlined "n" is connection word. tamlayan suffix came nearby a vowel, so we added
"n")
3) adding tamlayan: onun defterinin sayfası.
"sayfa" is tamlanan, it met tamlanan suffixes.
Another example:
Back of our home
as a reminder, back: arka
1) our home: bizim evimiz.
2) ...of our home/our home´s: bizim evimizin.
3) adding tamlanan: bizim evimizin arkası.
FOR PLURAL NOUNS:
Plural suffix is going to have priority in here, too. Let´s make plural the sentences above:
the gardens of my homes:
1) my homes: benim evlerim.
2) ...of my homes: benim evlerimin.
3) adding tamlanan:
garden: bahçe ... gardens: bahçeler
4) benim evlerimin bahçeleri
the pages of his notebooks:
1) his notebooks: onun defterleri.
2) ...of his notebooks: onun defterlerinin.
(underlined "n" is connection word!)
3) adding tamlanan:
page: sayfa ... pages: sayfalar
4) onun defterlerinin sayfaları.
Simple Present Tense I
Welcome to the lesson again. At previous lesson, we made an entrence for the usage of
verbs and we have learnd positive/negative forms of Imperative Mood. Imperative Mood was
first step for us, because it is the simplest form of a verb. Now, let´s start to learn
complicated verb forms. Our second step is going to be learning Simple Present Tense.
In English, we use Simple Present Tense without using any suffixes (except "s" suffix for
he/she/it) and we use the simplest forms of verbs. But in Turkish, this is not like that.
When we want to creat a verb such as "I go", we follow these three steps
1) We detect the verb root/stem and we seperate stem and infitinty suffix (-mek/-mak)
2) Then we add "Simple Present Tense Suffix" nearby the verb root/stem and we handle
"Main Simple Present Tense Form of Verb, shortly Main Form."
3) Then we congjugate this Main Form by Personal Endings and we create our sentence.
The main Simple Present Suffix is "-r" suffix. If a verb ends with o vowel, we directly put "-
r". But, if a verb ends with consonant, we add vowel between last consonant and "-r" suffix
which we choose according to the vowel Harmony. Let´s see this table:
Last Vowel
Simple Present Form Suffix

a, ı
-(a)r

e, i
-(e)r
i, e
-(i)r (this is only for “bilmek” and "gelmek")

u
-(u)r

ö, ü
-(ü)r
Simple Form or Main Form for Present Tense is also Present Tense Conjugation of 3rd
Singular Pronoun. When we add one of these suffixes nearby the verb root/stem, we gain
both Present Tense Conjugation of 3rd Singular Pronoun and Main Form of Verb for Present
Tense. Because we conjuagte this form for other pronouns. First, lets handle the Main Form
of Present Tense for verbs, which is also going to be Present Tense Conjugation of 3rd
Singular Pronoun.
Let´s look at "Yapmak" verb, which means "to do, to make"
Verb root is "yap" . What is the last vowel? Last vowel of this verb is also its only vowel and
it is "a". Look at the table. What happens if last vowel of a verb is "a"? We add -(a)r nearby
the verb root/stem.
Yap + ar ! : He, she, it does!
Let´s do this for "Bakmak" which means "to look".
Verb root/stem is "bak" and its last and only vowel is "a".
Bak + ar ! : He, she, it looks!
Now, let´s find the Simple/Main Forms of verbs below:
Bakmak (to look) , okumak (to read) , yazmak (to write) , yemek (to eat) , içmek (to drink) ,
atmak (to throw) , gitmek (to go) , kapatmak (to close) , bilmek (to know) , gelmek (to come) :
Bak + ar ! : He, she, it looks!
Oku + r : He, she, it reads.
Yaz + ar : He, she, it writes.
Ye + r : He, she, it eats.
İç + er : He, she, it drinks.
At + ar : He, she, it throws.
Gid + er : He, she, it goes (t became d)
Kapat + ır : He, she, it closes (Kapat is an exception and receives -(ı)r.)
Bil + ir : He, she, it knows. (Bil is an exception and receives -(i)r.)
Gel + ir : He, she, it comes. (Gel is an exception and recieves -(i)r.)
Let´s look the Present Tense forms of Other Pronouns. I will tell conjugation for each
Personal Pronoun. Let´s start:
1) Present Tense for "Ben" (I am) Pronoun.
When we want to say "I go" or "I do" in Turkish, we should follow the steps below:
a) First, find the Present Tense form of 3rd Singular Pronoun, which we also called Main
Form for Present Tense.
b) And then, conjugate it according to the Personal Endings of "ben". Let´s remember the
Personal Endings of "ben" with a table below:
R.Pronoun/Last Vowel - Suffix
Meaning
If last vowel is “a,ı”
If last vowel is “e,i”
If last vowel is “o, u”
If last vowel is

“ö, ü”

I
ben
-(ı)m
-(i)m
-(u)m
-(ü)m
Let´s start and conjugate the verbs below:
Bakmak (to look) , okumak (to read) , yazmak (to write) , yemek (to eat) , içmek (to drink) ,
atmak (to throw) , gitmek (to go) , kapatmak (to close) , bilmek (to know) , gelmek (to come),
unutmak (to forget), giymek (to wear), görmek (to see) :
Bak + ar + ım : I look!
Yap + ar + ım : I do!
Oku + r + um : I read!
Yaz + ar + ım : I write!
Ye + r + im : I eat!
İç + er + im : I drink!
At + ar + ım : I throw!
Gid + er + im : I go!
Kapat + ır + ım : I close!
Bil + ir + im : I know!
Gel + ir + im : I come!
Unut + ur + um : I forget
Giy + er + im : I wear!
Gör + ür + üm : I see!
2) Present Tense for "Sen (You are)" Pronoun:
a) First, find the Present Tense form of 3rd Singular Pronoun, which we also called Main
Form for Present Tense.
b) And then, conjugate it according to the Personal Endings of "sen". Let´s remember the
Personal Endings of "sen" with a table below:
R.Pronoun/Last Vowel - Suffix
Meaning
If last vowel is “a,ı”
If last vowel is “e,i”
If last vowel is “o, u”
If last vowel is

“ö, ü”

you
sen
-sın
-sin
-sun
-sün
Let´s start and conjugate the verbs below:
Bakmak (to look) , okumak (to read) , yazmak (to write) , yemek (to eat) , içmek (to drink) ,
atmak (to throw) , gitmek (to go) , kapatmak (to close) , bilmek (to know) , gelmek (to come),
unutmak (to forget), giymek (to wear), görmek (to see) :
Bak + ar + sın : You look!
Yap + ar + sın : You do!
Oku + r + sun : You read!
Yaz + ar + sın : You write!
Ye + r + sin : You eat!
İç + er + sim : You drink!
At + ar + sın : You throw!
Gid + er + sin : You go!
Kapat + ır + sın : You close!
Bil + ir + sin : You know!
Gel + ir + sin : You come!
Unut + ur + sun : You forget
Giy + er + sin : You wear!
Gör + ür + sün : You see!
3) Present Tense for Biz (We) Pronoun.
a) First, find the Present Tense form of 3rd Singular Pronoun, which we also called Main
Form for Present Tense.
b) And then, conjugate it according to the Personal Endings of "biz". Let´s remember the
Personal Endings of "biz" with a table below:
Let´s remember the conjugation table for "biz":
R.Pronoun/Last Vowel - Suffix
Meaning
If last vowel is “a,ı”
If last vowel is “e,i”
If last vowel is “o, u”
If last vowel is

“ö, ü”

we
biz
-ız
-iz
-uz
-üz
Let´s start and conjugate the verbs below:

Bakmak (to look) , okumak (to read) , yazmak (to write) , yemek (to eat) , içmek (to drink) ,
atmak (to throw) , gitmek (to go) , kapatmak (to close) , bilmek (to know) , gelmek (to come),
unutmak (to forget), giymek (to wear), görmek (to see) :
Bak + ar + ız : We look!
Yap + ar + ız : We do!
Oku + r + uz : We read!
Yaz + ar + ız : We write!
Ye + r + iz : We eat!
İç + er + iz : We drink!
At + ar + ız : We throw!
Gid + er + iz : We go!
Kapat + ır + ız : We close!
Bil + ir + iz : We know!
Gel + ir + iz : We come!
Unut + ur + uz : We forget
Giy + er + iz : We wear!
Gör + ür + üz : We see!
4) Present Tense for "Siz" Pronoun:
a) First, find the Present Tense form of 3rd Singular Pronoun, which we also called Main
Form for Present Tense.
b) And then, conjugate it according to the Personal Endings of "siz". Let´s remember the
Personal Endings of "siz" with a table below:
R.Pronoun/Last Vowel - Suffix
Meaning
If last vowel is “a,ı”
If last vowel is “e,i”
If last vowel is “o, u”
If last vowel is

“ö, ü”

you
siz
-sınız
-siniz
-sunuz
-sünüz
Let´s start and conjugate the verbs below:
Bakmak (to look) , okumak (to read) , yazmak (to write) , yemek (to eat) , içmek (to drink) ,
atmak (to throw) , gitmek (to go) , kapatmak (to close) , bilmek (to know) , gelmek (to come),
unutmak (to forget), giymek (to wear), görmek (to see) :
Bak + ar + sınız : You look!
Yap + ar + sınız : You do!
Oku + r + sunuz : You read!
Yaz + ar + sınız : You write!
Ye + r + siniz : You eat!
İç + er + siniz : You drink!
At + ar + sınız : You throw!
Gid + er + siniz : You go!
Kapat + ır + sınız : You close!
Bil + ir + siniz : You know!
Gel + ir + siniz : You come!
Unut + ur + sunuz : You forget
Giy + er + siniz : You wear!
Gör + ür + sünüz : You see!
5) For the Present Tense for "Onlar", you can use Main Form or add Plurality Suffixes -ler/-
lar.
IMPORTANT! EXCEPTIONAL RULES:
If a verb root has got more than one vowels;
a) If last vowel is a and ı, it receives -ır
b) If last vowel is e and i, it receives -ir
Anlatır: He/she/it tells.
Saldırır: He/she/it attacks
Patlatır: He/she/it blows
Verb root/stem + Present Simple Tense Suffix + Personal Endings.
A funny note:
I have added a song with name "Yanarım" from Sertab Erener, meaning "I burn"
Yanmak:
Yan + ar + ım : I burn :)
SYNTAX IN TURKISH LANGUAGE I - Pronoun + Obj. + Verb
Unlike many other languages, syntax in Turkish is different. We put verbs at the end of
sentences.
We mainly seperate sentences in two branches:
1) Regular Sentences
2) Irregular Sentences
We will first start with Regular Sentences.
We can simply formulize RS as shown here:
Pronoun (Özne) + Object (Nesne) + Verb (Fiil / Yüklem)
In English, this formula is "pronoun + verb + object". In Turkish, verb and object change
place. Let´s see:
I read book: I; pronoun + read; verb + book; object.
In Turkish; I is "ben" , read is "okumak" and book is "kitap". "I read" is a Simple Present
Tense for 1.Singular Pronoun;
Okumak > Okurum = I read
Let´s remember the formula:
Pronoun (Özne) + Object (Nesne) + Verb (Fiil / Yüklem)
Ben + kitap + okurum
Have you seen the difference?
Let´s do it with "I am studying lesson".
study: çalışmak and lesson: ders
Pronoun (Özne) + Object (Nesne) + Verb (Fiil / Yüklem)
 Ben + ders + çalışıyorum
Let´s do it for "We are studying lesson"
Biz + ders + çalışıyoruz
Sentences:
You read book, we studied lesson.
Siz kitap okudunuz, biz ders çalıştık.
They drunk tea, we drunk coke.
Onlar çay içti, biz kola içtik.
I watched television.
Ben televizyon izledim/seyrettim.
I´m playing computer.
Ben oyun oynuyorum.
You didn´t do homework:
Sen ödev yapmadın.
I saw the teacher:
Ben öğretmeni gördüm.
We didn´t see the teacher:
Biz öğretmeni görmedik.
In next chapter, we will see sentences with "Dolaylı Tümleç"; when an object receives "-e,
-de and -den" suffixes.

Let´s remember dative, locative and ablative suffixes of Turkish:

Dative: -a, -e
Locative: -de, -da, -te, -ta
Ablative: -den, -dan, -ten, -tan
In Turkish, when an object meets any of these suffixes, it turns to "Dolaylı Tümleç (Indirect
Object)" from "Object (Nesne)".
Dolaylı Tümleç looks for the answers these questions:
To where, Whom, To what - Nereye, kime, neye? (Dative Form)
Where? Whom? In What? - Nerede, kimde, neyde? (Locative Form)
From Where? From Whom? From What? - Nereden? Kimden? Neyden? (Ablative Form)
For example; I went school. By asking "Where did you?" to this question, you can find
Indirect Object, Dolaylı Tümleç.
Simple Formula is;
Pronoun (Özne) + Indirect Object (Dolaylı Tümleç) + Verb (Fiil / Yüklem)
(Ben) Okula gittim: I went to school.
(Sen) Nereye gittin? (Where did you go?)
(Ben) Evden çıktım: I left home. (çıkmak; also means "leaving a place" and it is an ablative
verb.)
(Sen) Nereden çıktın? : Where did you leave?
Arkadaşta kaldım: I stayed at friend(´s home).
(Sen) Nerede kaldın? : Where did you stay at?
(Sen) Nereden baktın? Where did you look from?
(Ben) Pencereden baktım: I look from window.
Okuldan çıktım ve eve gittim: I left school and went home.
SENTENCES WITH "DOLAYLI TÜMLEÇ" AND "NESNE":
I saw him, in here, "him" is accusative.
Shortly, let´s remember the acc. dat. loc. and abl. forms of "him/her/it"
Accusative > onu
Dative > ona
Locative > onda
Ablative > ondan
I saw him > Onu gördüm
I saw him in market: Onu markette gördüm.
markette is a Dolaylı Tümleç (Indirect Object, meets locative form suffix "-te")
Now a little warning here; if who you saw is more important than where you saw, then put
object before verb.
Markette onu gördüm: I saw him in market; when I went to market, I saw him. Market,
location is not important here.
But, in "onu markette gördüm", location is more important. We set "stress" by this way.
Ondan kitap aldım: I borrowed a book from her. "Kitap" is important here, and we stress
that noun because it comes before verb.
Bu kitabı ondan aldım: I borrowed this book from her; person is important here, from who
you borrowed it.
Benden kağıt ve kalem istedi: He asked me for paper and pencil.
But, "kağıt ve kalem benden istedi" is incorrect; becuase "kağıt" and "kalem" do not meet
any form suffixes here!
Kağıdı ve kalemi benden istedi; is correct. It is more important that who he asked for paper
and pencil! "Benden" is Dolaylı Tümleç (Ind. Obj.), "kağıdı ve kalemi" is Acc. Object, Nesne.
Bu kitabı evden getirdim: I brought this book from home; location is important because
"evden" is before verb, "getirdim"
Evden bu kitabı getirdim: This book I brought from home (obj. is important).
It may look a little complicated. If you have any questions about this text, share by
"comment" with us.

SYNTAX IN TURKISH LANGUAGE III - Time Concepts for Verb

In previous lessons, we learnt to combine verbs and location and quatity. In this lesson,
we are going to combine time concepts and verbs and create new lessons.
First of all, I should remind you some known time concepts and teach you new ones:
bugün : today
bu ay : this month
bu yıl / sene : this year
dün : yesterday
yarın : tomorrow
sabah : morning
sabahleyin : at morning
öğlenleyin : at noon
öğleden sonra : afternoon
akşam : evening
akşamleyin / akşama : at evening
gece : night
geceleyin : at night
And now, let´s learn to express date:
Ayın + (number + 3rd singular relative suffix) = ...th day of Month.
Ayın beşi : fifth day of month.
Ayın yedisi : seventh day of month
Ayın üçü : third day of month.
Do we remember the names of Months? Let´s remember them shortly by order:
Ocak, Şubat, Mart, Nisan, Mayıs, Haziran, Temmuz, Ağustos, Eylül, Ekim, Kasım and Aralık.
Examples:
Haziran´ın beşi or Haziran´ın 5´i : 5th of June
Mart´ın dördü or Mart´ın 4´ü : 4th of March
Temmuz´un on dokuzu or Temmuz´un 19´u : 19th of July
General question:
Bugün ayın kaçı ? What is date today ?
Bugün ayın ikisi : Today is the second day of month (that we are in).
Now, let´s start to sentence examples. Likewise in previous lessons, "stress" is important
here, too. With two simple formulas, let´s see it:
If "what time" you are going to is more important than "where are you going to go/ what are
you going to do" then use this formula:
Dolaylı Tümleç / Nesne + Time Concept + Verb
And here are the examples:
İstanbul´a bugün dönüyorum : I´m turning to Istanbul today.
Ödevi yarın teslim edeceğim : I will deliver my homework tomorrow. (teslim etmek : deliver)
Sınava dün girdim : I attended to examination yesterday.
Q: Dersler ne zaman başlayacak? When are lessons going to start?
A: Dersler ayın beşinde başlayacak: Lessons are going to start in fifth day of month.
Q: Ankara´ya ne zaman gideceksin? (When are you going to go to Ankara?)
A: Ankara´ya Temmuz´un üçünde gideceğim (I´m gonna go to Ankara in 3rd of July)
Q: Sınav sonuçlarını ne zaman açıklayacaklar? (When are they going to announce the
results of examination?)
A: Sınav sonuçlarını Mart´ın 8´inde açıklayacaklar: They are going to announce the results
of exam on 8th of March.
(Sınav: exam. Sonuç: Result. Sonuçlar: Results. Sınav Sonuçları : Exam Results. Sınav
Sonuçlarını : to the exam results, accusative form suffix)
2) If "where you are going to go / what you are going to do" is more important than "time
concept", then use this formula:
Time Concept + Dolaylı Tümleç / Nesne + Verb
Temmuz´un 3´ünde Ankara´ya gideceğim: I´m gonna go to Ankara, on 3rd of July.
Bugün İstanbul´a dönüyorum: I´m turning to İstanbul, today.
Mart´ın 8´inde sınav sonuçlarını açıklayacaklar: They´re gonna announce results on 8th of
March.
Mixed Examples:
Akşama markete gideceğiz: We´re gonna go to market at evening.
Biz dün okula gitmedik: We haven´t been at school yesterday.
Sabahleyin kahvaltı etmedi: He didn´t have breakfast at morning.
Ben İzmir´e geçen yıl gittim: I went to İzmir last year. (It was last year when I have been to
Izmir).
Hava birazdan yağacak: It is gonna rain a few later.

Verbs / Subtitle I - Accusative Form

Before start to talk about verbs, we have to know about "Accusative, Dative, Locative and
Dative Forms and Suffixes."
In Turkish, by the suffixes that they cause a noun to meet, we can seperate verbs at four
branches:
1) Accusative Verbs
2) Dative Verbs
3) Locative Verbs
4) Ablative Verbs
A verb might be an Dative Verb or might be both Dative and Ablative Verb. As we continue
to talk about verbs, I will tell which verbs is what. And, by time, you are going to understand
yourself that which verbs is what. Now, let´s start with Accusative Form and Suffixes:
ACCUSATIVE FORM:
Accusative Form, or Belirtme Durumu in Turkish, receives one of "-ı, -i, -u and -ü" suffixes.
A noun can end by a vowel. When this happens, as a connection character, we are going to
use "y". This will prevent confussion.
Let´s see these suffixes with a simple table:
Last Vowel
Suffix Form

a, ı
-ı

e, i
-i

o, u
-u

ö, ü
-ü
As you see, just like other suffixes, these suffixes work according to the Vowel Harmony,
too. We are going to look at last vowel and then add suffix.
Example, let´s use "door / kapı" at Accusative Mode:
Kapı, ends with a vowel, and its last vowel is "ı". I said that when a noun ended with vowel,
we will use "y" as connection character.
Not, let´s look at the table. What does table say us? Which suffix are we going to use when
last vowel is "ı"?
Table say: Use "ı" if last vowel is "ı"
Kapı + y + ı : Kapı is noun, y is connection character and "ı" is accusative form suffix.
Let´s use "school / okul" noun at Accusative Form:
Okul ends with a consonant, you we don´t need "y" connection character. Let´s look at
table, table says that if last vowel is "u", then use "-u" suffix.
Okul + u : Okul is noun, "u" is accusative form suffix.
(Note: Do not confuse these suffixes with 3rd Singular Person Relative Suffixes. You will
make this discrimination by the time :) )
I have prepared a table for you below. At this table, you can see Accusative Form usages of
some nouns. I have written suffixes with dark characters, and underlined "y" connection
characters:
English Word
Meaning/Nom.Form
Accusative Form

house
ev
evi

car
araba
arabayı

building
bina
binayı

tree
ağaç
ağacı

garden
bahçe
bahçeyi

book
kitap
kitabı

door
kapı
kapıyı

chair
sandalye
sandalyeyi

table
masa
masayı
school
okul
okulu

student
öğrenci
öğrenciyi

song
şarkı
şarkıyı

notebook
defter
defteri

driver
şoför
şoförü
It is too simple. My friends, don´t fear. These suffixes may be seen complicated and you
may not know how to use them. But when we start to talk about verbs, you are going to
understand exactly. But now, study and learn Accusative, Dative, Locative and Ablative
Form suffixes.
And these are accusative forms for Personal Pronouns:
Personal Pronoun
Accusative form

ben
beni

sen
seni

o
onu

biz
bizi

siz
sizi

onlar
onları
Verbs / Subtitle II - Dative Form
Dative Form, or Yönelme Durumu in Turkish, is easier than Accusative Form, because it has
got only two suffiex, "-a and -e" which changes by Vowel Harmony. Just like in Accusative
Form, we are going to use "y" connection character when a nound ended with a vowel.
Now, with a simple table, let´s see the usage of Dative Form suffixes:
Last Vowel of Pronoun
Suffix Form

a, ı, o, u
-a

e, i, ö, ü
-e
Let´s use "door / kapı" at Dative Form. Kapı ends with a vowel, so we must use "y"
connection character. Kapı ends with "ı", table says us "use "-a" when the noun ends with
"ı" vowel:
Kapı + y +a : Kapı is noun, "y" is connection character and "-a" is Dative Form Suffix.
Now, let´s use "garden / bahçe" at Dative Form. "bahçe" ends with a vowel too, we will use
"y" again. And this noun´s last vowel is "e". Table says, use "-e" if noun´s last vowel is "e"
Bahçe + y + e: Bahçe is noun, y is connection and "-e" is Dative Form Suffix.
I have prepared a table for usage of Dative Form at some Nouns.
house
ev
eve

car
araba
arabaya

building
bina
binaya

tree
ağaç
ağaca

garden
bahçe
bahçeye

book
kitap
kitaba

door
kapı
kapıya

chair
sandalye
sandalyeye

table
masa
masaya

school
okul
okula

student
öğrenci
öğrenciye

song
şarkı
şarkıya
notebook
defter
deftere

driver
şoför
şoföre
It is too easy. And, a table for Dative Forms of Personal Pronouns.
Personal Pronoun
Accusative form

ben
bana

sen
sana

o
ona

biz
bize

siz
size

onlar
onlara

Verbs / Subtitle III - Locative Form

I have told for two times about Locative Form at Beginner Level Lessons. But I am going to
tell it for one more time for you to understand it better.
Locative form has got four vowel, "-de, -da, -te, and -ta" which change according to both
Consonant Mutation and Vowel Harmony.
With a simple table, let´s see the usage of suffixes:
I have prepared this table for both Consonant Mutuation and Vowel Harmony. Read it for a
minute
Last Vowel
Last Consonant
Suffix

e, i, ö, ü
Soft Consonants
-de

a, ı, o, u
Soft Consonants
-da

e, i, ö, ü
p, ç, t, k, s, ş, h
-te

a, ı, o, u
p, ç, t, k, s, ş, h
-ta
Let´s use "kapı" noun at Locative form: Kapı ends with a vowel, so we will accept it as "soft
consotant ended". And ends with "ı". According to the table, we will use "-da"
Kapı + da : Kapıda
Let´s to the same for "breathe / soluk" noun. Soluk ends with "k", which is a hard
consonant. And last vowel is "u". Table says use "-ta"
Soluk + ta: Solukta
I have prepared a table for usage of Locative Form at some nouns:
English Word
Meaning/Nom.Form
Locative Form

house
ev
evde

car
araba
arabada

building
bina
binada

tree
ağaç
ağaçta

garden
bahçe
bahçede

book
kitap
kitapta

door
kapı
kapıda

chair
sandalye
sandalyede

table
masa
masada

school
okul
okulda

student
öğrenci
öğrencide

song
şarkı
şarkıda
notebook
defter
defterde

driver
şoför
şoförde
And, Locative Form for Personal Pronouns:

Personal Pronoun
Locative Form

ben
bende

sen
sende

o
onda

biz
bizde

siz
sizde

onlar
onlarda

Verbs / Subtitle IV - Ablative Form

Ablative Form, or Ayrılma Durumu in Turkish, is simply a respond to "from..." in Englis.
"From school, from home etc.."
Ablative form has got four suffixes, "-den, -dan, -ten, -tan" which change according to both
Consonant Mutuation and Vowel Harmony.
Let´s look at the table below for the suffixes of Ablative Form:
Last Vowel of Pro.
Soft Consonant
p,ç,t,k,s,ş,h Consonants

a, ı, o, u
-dan
-tan

e, i, ö, ü
-den
-ten
Kapı, ends is a vowel, you we will accept it as it ends with a "soft consonant". It also ends
with "ı". Table tell us to choose "-dan" suffix
Kapı + dan: Kapıdan
Let´s do the same for "bahçe / garden". Bahçe ends with a vowel, too and it´s "e". Table
tells us to put "-den" suffix.
Bahçe + den: Bahçeden
I have prepare a table for the usage of this Form at some nouns:
English Word
Meaning/Nom.Form
Ablative Form

house
ev
evden

car
araba
arabadan

building
bina
binadan

tree
ağaç
ağaçtan

garden
bahçe
bahçeden

book
kitap
kitaptan

door
kapı
kapıdan

chair
sandalye
sandalyeden

table
masa
masadan

school
okul
okuldan

student
öğrenci
öğrenciden

song
şarkı
şarkıdan

notebook
defter
defterden

driver
şoför
şoförden
And Ablative Form for Plural Nouns:
Personal Pronoun
Ablative Form

ben
benden

sen
senden

o
ondan

biz
bizden

siz
sizden

onlar
onlardan

Simple Present Tense II - Negative Form

In this lesson, we are going to talk about the negative form of Simple Present Tense.
We use a different structure when we express negativeness for Simple Tense for each
pronoun. We do it by "-ma/-me". Let´s see.
1) Negative Form of Present Tense for "Ben"
We can formulize the structure basicly;
"Verb root + -ma/me + m"
Bil + me + m : I don´t know.
Yap + ma + m : I don´t do.
Kapat + ma + m : I don´t close.
Unut + ma + m : I don´t forget.
Gör + me + m : I don´t see.
Oku + ma + m : I don´t read.
2) Negative Form of Present Tense for "Sen"
With a simple formula:
"Verb root + -me/ma + z + -sin/-sın"
Bil + me + z + sin : You don´t know
Yap + ma + z + sın : You don´t do
Kapat + ma + z + sın : You don´t close
Unut + ma + z + sın : You don´t forget
Gör + me + z + sin : You don´t see
Oku + ma + z + sın : You don´t read
3) Negative Form of Present Tense for "O"
With a simple formula;
"Verb root + -me/-ma + z"
Bil + me + z : He/she/it doesn´t know
Yap + ma + z : He/she/it doesn´t do
Kapat + ma + z : He/she/it doesn´t forget
Unut + ma + z : He/she/it doesn´t forget
Gör + me + z : He/she/it doesn´t see
Oku + ma + z : He/she/it doesn´t read
4) Negative Form of Present Tense for "Biz"
With a simple formula;
"Verb root + -me/-ma + y + -iz/-ız"
Bil + me + y + iz : We don´t know
Yap + ma + y + ız : We don´t do
Kapat + ma + y + ız : We don´t close
Unut + ma + y + ız : We don´t forget
Gör + me + y + iz : We don´t see
Oku + ma + y + ız : We don´t read
5) Negative Form of Present Tense for "Siz"
With a simple formula;
"Verb root + -me/-ma + z + -siniz/-sınız
Bil + me + z + siniz : You don´t know
Yap + ma + z + sınız : You don´t do
Kapat + ma + z + sınız : You don´t close
Unut + ma + z + sınız : You don´t forget
Gör + me + z + siniz : You don´t see
Oku + ma + z + sınız : You don´t read
6) Negative Form of Present Tense for "Onlar"
You can add "-ler/lar" nearby Negative Form for "o".
Introduction to Verbs and Imperative Mood
We have told about the Accusative, Dative, Locative and Ablative modes. Let´s start at the
verbs!
In Turkish, we seperate a verbs at two pieces, root of verbs (called "kök" in Turkish") and
"infitity suffix" of verbs.
Infinity suffixes provide the verb to sound "idle". In English, this is provided to say "to go,
to do." We do this by "-mek/-mak" suffixes, shown at the table below:
This

Last Vowel of Verb

Form of Infinitive Suffix

a, ı, o, u
-mak

e, i, ö, ü
-mek
Yap + mak : to do, to make. (Bold word is the root of verb.)
Git + mek: to go
Bil + mek: to know
Giy + mek: to wear
Duy + mak: to hear
Gör + mek: to see
Kapat + mak: to close
For us, verb roots are more important. Because we provide verbs to gain meaning by
adding suffixes at their roots. In here, there is an important point that verb root is also
imperative for 2nd Singular Person, "sen"
Yap! Do!
Gör! See!
Kapat! Close!
We can also make imperative mood of 3rd Singular person "o" by adding "-sin/-sın/-sun/-
sün" suffixes.
Bak + sın: Let him/her/it look
Yap + sın: Let him/her/it do
Kapat + sın: Let him/her/it close
Unut + sun: Let/him/her/it forget

Present Continious Tense I

Today, we are going to talk about "Present Continious Tense / Şimdiki Zaman."
"I am going, she is reading, etc.." are sentences that belong to Present Continious Tense. In
English, we create this structure by using "-ing" suffix. In Turkish, we do this by adding a
suffix, too.
-yor is the suffix for Present Continious Tense, and it never changes form for Vowel
Harmony, -yor is one of some suffixes that doesn´t meet Vowel Harmony principles.
Do you remember the previous lessons about Simple Present Tense? At those lessons, we
had told about "Main Form of Simple Present Tense (also Simple Present Tense form of
verb for 3rd Singular Person)". Same principle is valid here, too. When we connect VERB
ROO/STEM and -yor suffix, it is the Main Form of Verb for PCT, and PCT form of 3rd Singular
Person, "o")
But, there is a little difference here. When we want to combine verb root and -yor suffix, we
put A VOWEL behind these two structures and we select this according to Vowel Harmony.
"Yap + yor" is incorrect, in here, for an easier pronounce we put a vowel between "yap" and
"-yor".
We select these connection vowel by the principle below:
1) If last vowel of verb stem is "a or ı" , use "ı" as connection vowel,
2) If last vowel of verb stem is "e or i" , use "i" as connection vowel,
3) If last vowel of verb stem is "u or o", use "u" as connection vowel,
4) If last vowel of verb stem is "ü or ö" , use "ü" as connection vowel.
"He/she/it is doing"
To do is "yapmak" in Turkish. Verb stem/root is "yap". We will combine "yap" and "-yor". We
will need connection vowel for this. Last vowel of "yap" is "a", so we need "ı" vowel to put.
Yap + ı + yor : He / she / it is doing!
Let´s use a different verb this time, "anlatmak" means "to tell". Verb stem/root is "anlat" and
last vowel is "a". So, we will put "ı" between verb root/stem and -yor suffix.
Anlat + ı + yor : He / she / it is telling!
Let´s use these verbs:

Bakmak (to look), Bilmek (to know), Görmek (to see), Duymak (to hear), Oturmak (to sit
down), Kalkmak (to stand up), Yazmak (to write), Öğrenmek (to learn), Öğretmek (to teach) :
Bak + ı + yor : He / she / it is looking
Bil + i + yor : He / she / it is knowing
Gör + ü + yor : He / she / it is seeing
Duy + u + yor : He / she / it is hearing
Otur + u + yor : He / she / it is sitting down
Kalk + ı + yor : He / she / it is standing up
Yaz + ı + yor : He / she / it is writing
Öğren + i + yor : He / she / it is learning
Öğret + i + yor : He / she / it is teaching
What is going to happen if a verb ends with a vowel?
Last vowels of some verbs change when they meet "-yor" suffix. We call it "vowel
narrowing."
For "okumak" word, there is not a problem. Oku + yor is correct.
But, there is a little complicated rule if verb ends with "a or e" vowel, at this point:
Atlamak, means "to jump". Verb root/stem ends with "a". And, when it meets "-yor", it gets
narrowed. "a" vowel generally narrows and becomes "ı" but, althought not at common
verbs, if there is a vowel before "a" and if it is "o" or "u", it becomes "u".
Atla + yor > Atlı + yor! : He/she/it is jumping!
Anlamak is "to understand."
Anla + yor > Anlı + yor : He/she/it is understanding!
Saklamak is "to hide"
Sakla + yor > Saklı + yor : He/she/it is ending.
Yaşamak is "to live" :
Yaşa + yor > Yaşı + yor : He/she/it is living.
If last vowel is "e", it becomes "i".
Eklemek means "to add":
Ekle + yor > Ekli + yor : He/she/it is adding
Beklemek means "to wait":
Bekle + yor > Bekli + yor : He/she/it is waiting
Exceptionally, if there is a vowel before "e" and it is "ö" , "e" becomes "ü":
Söylemek means "to say"
Söyle + yor > Söylü + yor > He/she/it is saying
At next lesson, we are going to conjugate this structure for personal pronouns:
"I am going, you are doing etc..."
Present Continious Tense II
In previous lesson, we have told about the Main Form of Present Continious Tense. Now,
we are going to talk about how we can use Present Continious for Personal Pronouns.
We have seen that "-yor" never meets the the principles of Vowel Harmony as an exception.
Because of this rule, we are going to use only one suffix for each personal ending.
We can see Present Continious Personal Endings at the table below.ben -um
sen -sun
o -
biz -uz
siz -sunuz
onlar -lar
Let´s say "I am doing."
1) First, we should find the Main Form for Present Continious Tense;
Yap + ı + yor : He/she/it is doing (also Main Form)
Now, let´s conjugate this Main Form for each Personal Pronoun:
Yapıyor + um : I am doing
Yapıyor + sun : You are doing
Yapıyor : He/she/it is doing
Yapıyor + uz : We are doing
Yapıyor + sunuz : You are doing
Yapıyor + lar : They are doing
Let´s conjugate this verbs for each personal pronoun according for the Present Continious
Tense:
Gitmek (to go), Bilmek (to know), İçmek (to drink), Görmek (to see), Anlatmak (to tell),
Söylemek (to say), Konuşmak (to speak), Gülmek (to laugh), Yazmak (to write), Anlamak (to
understand), Kapatmak (to close):
1) Gitmek:
Main Form is : Gid + i + yor
Gidiyor + um : I am going
Gidiyor + sun : You are going
Gidiyor: He/she/it is going
Gidiyor + uz : We are going
Gidiyor + sunuz : You are going
Gidiyor + lar : They are going
2) Bilmek
Main Form : Bil + i + yor.
Biliyor + um : I know
Biliyor + sun : You know
Biliyor : He/she/it is knows
Biliyor + uz : We know
Biliyor + sunuz : You know
Biliyor + lar : They know
3) İçmek
Main Form > İç + i + yor
İçiyor + um : I´m drinking
İçiyor + sun : You are drinking
İçiyor : He/she/it is drinking
İçiyor + uz : we are drinking
İçiyor + sunuz : You are drinking
İçiyor + lar : They are drinking
4) Görmek
Main Form > Gör + ü + yor
Görüyor + um : I see
Görüyor + sun : You see
Görüyor : He/she/it sees
Görüyor + uz : We see
Görüyor + sunuz : You see
Görüyor + lar : They see
5) Anlatmak
Main Form > Anlat + ı + yor
Anlatıyor + um : I am telling
Anlatıyor + sun : You are telling
Anlatıyor : He/she/it is telling
Anlatıyor + uz : We are telling
Anlatıyor + sunuz : You are telling
Anlatıyor + lar : They are telling
6) Söylemek
Main Form > Söylü + yor
Söylüyor + um : I am saying
Söylüyor + sun : You are saying
Söylüyor : He/she/it is saying
Söylüyor + uz : We are saying
Söylüyor + sunuz : You are saying
Söylüyor + lar : They are saying
7) Konuşmak
Main Form > Konuş + u + yor
Konuşuyor + um : I´m speaking
Konuşuyor + sun : You are speaking
Konuşuyor : He/she/it is speaking
Konuşuyor + uz : We are speaking
Konuşuyor + sunuz : You are speaking
Konuşuyor + lar : They are speaking
8) Gülmek
Main Form > Gül + ü + yor
Gülüyor + um : I´m laughing
Gülüyor + sun : You are laughing
Gülüyor : He/she/it is laughing
Gülüyor + uz : We are laughing
Gülüyor + sunuz : You are laughing
Gülüyor + lar : They are laughing
9) Yazmak
Main Form > Yaz + ı + yor
Yazıyor + um : I´m writing
Yazıyor + sun : You are writing
Yazıyor : He/she/it is writing
Yazıyor + uz : We are writing
Yazıyor + sunuz : You are writing
Yazıyor + lar : They are writing
10) Anlamak
Main Form > Anlı + yor
Anlıyor + um : I understand
Anlıyor + sun : You understand
Anlıyor : He/she/it understands
Anlıyor + uz : We understand
Anlıyor + sunuz : You understand
Anlıyor + lar : They understand
11) Kapatmak
Main Form > Kapat + ı + yor
Kapatıyor + um : I am closing
Kapatıyor + sun : You are closing
Kapatıyor : He/she/it is closing
Kapatıyor + uz : We are closing
Kapatıyor + sunuz : You are closing
Kapatıyor + lar : They are closing
Note: I wrote some English verbs in Simple Tense Form because of they aren´t used in
Present Continious

form.

Pleasantries

In Turkish there are set pleasantries for certain occasions. Learn a few and you can get
away with knowing fewer words in Turkish!
.Afiyet olsun! af-ee-yeht ul-sun
Said to someone who is eating or has just finished eating (literal translation: Bon Appetite/
Let Health Be)
.
Elinize sağlık! el-ee-nee-ze saah-lik
Said to praise someone’s cooking (literal translation: Health to your hands)
.
Kolay gelsin! koh-lay gel-sin
Said to someone working (literal translation: May it come easy)
.
Geçmiş olsun! gech-mish ol-suhn
Said to someone who is ill (literal translation: Get well soon/ may it pass)
.
Çok yaşa! chok yash-ah
Said to someone who just sneezed, similar to god bless you (literal translation: Live long)
.
Sıhhatler olsun! suh-hut-ler ol-suhn
Said to someone who just took a shower, or to a guy who just got a haircut or shaved
(literal translation: Let there be health)
.
Common expressions in Turkish
As your holiday in Turkey progresses, you’ll probably find that your ear slowly becomes
attuned to the Turkish around you. That’s when you’ll start to hear the same key words and
phrases everywhere you go.
Sometimes you’ll even hear the same word in a variety of different situations. Here we look
at some of those words and phrases, examine what they mean and how you can respond.
1. Buyurun

Pronunciation: Booh-rohn
You’ll hear the word buyurun everywhere you go in Turkey, in shops, restaurants and
markets in particular. There is no direct English equivalent. Instead, buyurun acts as an all-
purpose word to prompt you – meaning welcome, please come in, sit down, there you are,
how can I help you or would you like anything else, depending on the context in which it is
used.
You may also hear a variation – buyurun efendim. (Pronounced booh-rohn afen-dehm)
Efendim is a gender-neutral way of addressing a man or a woman, a polite way of saying Sir
or Madam. You may also hear Turkish people answering the telephone using this form of
address.
2. Hadi!

Pronunciation: had-ee
You will no doubt hear hadi almost as often as buyurun in Turkey. It means Come on! Or go
on!
3. Hoş geldiniz

People may say this to you when you arrive in Turkey, check into your hotel, go to a
restaurant, enter a shop or visit someone’s home. It translates as Welcome in English.
There is a set response expected to this – hoş bulduk. Your response equates to ‘Happy to
be here’.

Welcome hoş geldiniz hosh-gel-dinn-iz

Happy to be here hoş bulduk hosh-bol-duhk
4. Nasılsınız?

This is a popular greeting when two people meet. It loosely translates as ‘How are you’?
Again, there is a set response to this – iyiyim, teşekkür ederim. This means I am fine, thank
you.

How are you? Nasılsınız? nah-suhl-suhn –uz

I am fine İyiyim ee-yeem
Thank you teşekkür ederim teh-she-kewr eh-deh-rehm
When the Turkish speak English

Turkish people will be delighted if you try to speak even a few words of their language, but
if you holiday in the resorts around the country, you’ll probably find quite a lot of the Turks
there want to speak English. Sometimes even when you don’t want them to!
That said, however, it’s not always that easy to understand their English either. Here we
highlight a couple of little facts that might help you understand their English a little better!
Turks can’t traditionally pronounce th as there is no equivalent sound in Turkish. You may
find that they say Tank you instead of Thank you or Der instead of There.
They also have a tendency to pronounce W as V. That’s because there is no W in the
Turkish alphabet!
Turkish has a different rhythm of language to English. If a Turk hasn’t fully mastered the
English rhythm, you may still find it difficult to understand them even if they use the right
words.
They may confuse you by saying they are going to ‘drink smoke’. Really, they probably
mean they are going to have a cigarette but in Turkish to verb to drink and the verb to
smoke is the same – içmek. No wonder they’re confused!

Term Definition
biliyorum I know
biliyorsun you know (s)
biliyor he knows
biliyoruz we know
biliyorsunuz you know (p)
biliyorlar they know
görüyorum I see
görüyorsun you see (s)
görüyor he sees
görüyoruz we see
görüyorsunuz you see (p)
görüyorlar they see
okuyorum I am reading
okuyorsun you are reading (s)
okuyor he is reading
okuyoruz we are reading
okuyorsunuz you are reading(p)
okuyorlar they are reading
 başlıyorum I am beginning
başlıyorsun you are beginning(s)
başlıyor he is beginning
başlıyoruz we are beginning
başlıyorsunuz you are beginning(p)
başlıyorlar they are beginning
söylüyorum I am saying
söylüyorsun you are saying(s)
söylüyor he is saying
söylüyoruz we are saying
söylüyorsunuz you are saying(p)
söylüyorlar they are saying
kalıyorum I am staying
kalıyorsun you are staying (s)
kalıyor he is staying
kalıyoruz we are staying
kalıyorsunuz you are staying (p)
kalıyorlar they are staying
yapıyorum I am doing
yapıyorsun you are doing (s)
yapıyor he is doing
yapıyoruz we are doing
yapıyorsunuz you are doing (p)
yapıyorlar they are doing
gidiyorum I am going
gidiyorsun you are going (s)
gidiyor he is going
gidiyoruz we are going
gidiyorsunuz you are going (p)
gidiyorlar they are going

Turkish simple past tense

Term Definition

geldim I came
geldin you came (s)
geldi he came
geldik we came
geldiniz you came (p)
geldiler they came
baktım I looked
baktın you looked (s)
baktı he looked
baktık we looked
baktınız you looked (p)
baktılar they looked
gördüm I saw
gördün you saw (s)
gördü he saw
gördük we saw
gördünüz you saw (p)
gördüler they saw
koştum I ran
koştun you ran
koştu he ran
koştuk we ran
 koştunuz you ran (p)
koştular they ran
yedim I ate
yedin you ate (s)
yedi he ate
yedik we ate
yediniz you ate
yediler they ate
içtim I drank
içtin you drank (s)
içti he drank
içtik we drank
içtiniz you drank (p)
içtiler they drank
kaldımI stayed
kaldın you stayed (s)
kaldı he stayed
kaldık we stayed
kaldınız you stayed (p)
kaldılar they stayed
yazdım I wrote
yazdın you wrote(s)
yazdı he wrote
yazdık we wrote
yazdınız you wrote(p)
yazdılar they wrote
okudum I read
okudun you read (s)
okudu he read
okuduk we read
okudunuz you read (p)
okudular they read
anlamadım I understood
anlamadın you understood (s)
anlamadı he understood
anlamadık we understood
anlamadınız you understood (p)
anlamadılar they understood
oturdum I sat
oturdun you sat (s)
oturduhe sat
oturduk we sat
oturdunuz you sat (p)
oturdular they sat
gittim I went
gittin you went (s)
gitti he went
gittik we went
gittiniz you went (p)
gittiler they went

Most Missed Words

they came → geldiler - 3 misses
I ran → koştum - 3 misses
you ran (p) → koştunuz - 3 misses
you stayed (p) → kaldınız - 3 misses
he sat → oturdu - 3 misses
I came → geldim - 2 misses
he came → geldi - 2 misses

Turkish Adjectives

kırmızıred
pahalı expensive
güçlü strong
yorgün tired
aptal stupid
kötü bad
aç hungary
siyah black
beyaz white
kahverengi brown
mutlu happy
mutsuz unhappy
kalabalık crowded
sıcak warm
zayıf skinny
yakışıklı handsome
güzel beautiful
küçük small
büyük big
soğuk cold
eski old things
yaşlı old people
akıllı intelligent
Amerikalı American
aşk love
az little
beraber together
çalışkan diligent
çok many
erken early
genç young
harika wonderful
hemen hemen almost
ilginç interesting
ıslak wet
iyi good
kahranlık dark
karışıkcomplicated
kirli dirty
kısa short
memnum pleased
meşgul busy
rahat comfortable
sakin calm
sarhoş drunk
sinirli nervous
şışman fat
tecrübeli experienced
tuhaf strange
ucuz inexpensive
ünlü famous
üzgün sad
 uzun long
uzun boylu tall
yakın near
yeni new
yoksulpoor
zenginrich
mavi blue
sarı yellow
yeşil green
pembe pink
mor purple
lacivert navy blue
bej beige
turuncu orange
gri gray
sarışın blonde
açık (in shade of color) light
koyu dark
renk color
renksiz colorless
bütün whole
büyük big
ciddi serious
çirkin ugly
genış spacious
hazır ready
şirin cute
tembel lazy
nefıs exquisite
lezzetli delicious
boş empty/vacant
dahil included
hariç excluded
önemli important
hızlı fast
en kötü worst
en iyi best
hayatta değil deceased
emekle retired
hayatta alive
gerçek reality
yararla useless
farklı different
ortalama average
en çokmost
fazla much
açık open
sahte fake
kapalı closed
bekar single
tehlikeli dangerous
daha ucuz cheaper
daha pahalı more expensive
lux luxurious
değişik different

All 19 Terms Term Definition

 büyük/küçük big/small
uzun/kısa long/short
yeni/eski new/old
temiz/pis clean/dirty
pahalı/ucuz expensive/cheap
güzel/çirkin beautiful/ugly
zor/kolay difficult/easy
genç/yaşli young/old
zengin/fakir rich/poor
iyi/kötü good/bad
yorgun tired
sıcak/soğuk hot/cold
mavi/turuncu blue/orange
siyah/beyaz black/white
yeşil/kırmızı green/red
sarı/mor yellow/purple
kahverengi brown
pembe pink
açık/kapalı open/closed

Turkish verbs
gecik-mek to be late, delayed
kap-mak to grab, to snatch
tak-mak to attach; to wear a tie, jewelry
kravat tak- to wear a tie
koy- (dat) to put, place (in)
seyret-mek to watch, look at (= izle-)
şaşır- (dat) to be surprised (at)
destekle- to support
haraket et- to act, to move
durdurlu-mak to be stopped (by s.o.)
tutuklan-mak to be arrested
tutukla-mak to arrest s.o.
ait ol- (dat) to belong (to s.th.)
dine-mek to try
katıl-mak to participate; to join
işbirliği yap-mak to cooperate
idam et-mek to hang(escude)
geliş-mek to progress (intransitive)
merak et-mek to worry (about)
destekle-mek to support
eşlik et- (dat) to accompany (s.o.)
değerini bil-mek to appreciate (s.th.); to know s.th.´s value
ata bin-mek to ride a horse
vur-mak to hit, strike
yalan söyle-mek to lie
yasakla-mak to forbid
etkile-mek to affect, influence
rica et- (acc)mek to ask, request (s.th.)
düşün- (acc)mek to think about, consider
tartış-mak to debate, discuss
tavsiye et- (-ma verbal noun indirect speech) to recommend
görün-mek to appear, look like (eg to look good)
öner-mek to suggest
yaşlan-mak to grow old
uyan-mak to wake up (self)
şikâyet et-mek to complain
 kararmak to get dark, to darken
kısalmak to shorten, to shrink
sinirlen- (dat)mek to be nervous/ mad (about)
sevin- (dat)mek to be pleased (by)
alış- (dat)mak to be accustomed/ used (to)
utan- (abl)mak to be embarrassed (by)
duygular emotions, feelings
rahatsız ol- (abl)mak to make uncomfortable (about)
emin ol- (abl)mak to be sure, confident (of)
üşü-mek to feel cold
zorluk çek-mek to have difficulty
susa- (-e)mak to thirst (for); to get thirsty
umurunda olmak (= umursamak) to care about
iyileşmek to recover (from an illness); to improve, get better
gecik-mek to be late, delayed
kap-mak to grab, to snatch
tak-mak to attach; to wear a tie, jewelry
kravat tak-mak to wear a tie
koy- (dat)mak to put, place (in)
seyret-mek to watch, look at (= izle-)
şaşır- (dat) to be surprised (at)
destekle- to support
haraket et- to act, to move
durdurlu- to be stopped (by s.o.)
tutuklan- to be arrested
tutukla- to arrest s.o.
ait ol- (dat) to belong (to s.th.)
dine- to try
katıl- to participate; to join
işbirliği yap- to cooperate
idam et- to hang
geliş- to progress (intransitive)
merak et- to worry (about)
destekle- to support
eşlik et- (dat) to accompany (s.o.)
değerini bil-mek to appreciate (s.th.); to know s.th.´s value
ata bin-mek to ride a horse
vur-mak to hit, strike
yalan söyle-mek to lie
yasakla-mak to forbid
etkile-mek to affect, influence
rica et- (acc) to ask, request (s.th.)
düşün- (acc) to think about, consider
tartış-mak to debate, discuss
tavsiye et- (-ma verbal noun indirect speech) to recommend
görün-mek to appear, look like (eg to look good)
öner-mek to suggest
yaşlan-mak to grow old
uyan-mak to wake up (self)
şikâyet et- to complain
kararmak to get dark, to darken
kısalmak to shorten, to shrink

Conversations
TAKSİDE

Müşteri : Boş musunuz? (Are you available?)

Taksici : Buyurun

Müşteri: Taksim’e lütfen. (To Taksim please)

Taksi şöförü. Neresine? (to where (of it))

Müşteri: Meydana (to the square) Ne kadar? (How much)

Taksi şöförü: 22,5 TL.

Müşteri: Teşekkürler. Buyurun. İyi günler. (Thanks. Here you are. Have a nice day.)

Vocabulary for the taxi

Müşteri: Customer

Düz gidin: Go straight

Sağa sapın: Turn right SAĞ: RİGHT

Sola sapın: Turn left SOL: LEFT

Geldik: We came/arrived

Tamam, burası: okay, here we are.

Sağdan ikinci sokak:The second streeet from the right

Birine soralım: Let’s ask someone.

Shopping

Ahmet bey: Bu kazak ne kadar? (How much is this sweater?)

Satıcı: Bu kazak indirimde, 85 TL. (This sweater is on sale, it´s 85 TL)

Ahmet bey: OO çok pahalı. Daha uygun hangi kazak var? (OO it´s very expensive. Is there
any cheaper one?)

Satıcı: Şuradaki kazaklar 75 TL. Daha ucuz yok. (Those overe there cost 75 TL. There are no
cheaper ones.)

Ahmet bey: Tamam. 44 beden bir siyah kazak denemek istiyorum lütfen. (Okay. I want to try
a black, size 44 sweater please.)

A guest

Ahmet bey: Hoşgeldiniz. Böyle oturun lütfen. Bir şey içer misiniz? Çay , kahve? (Wellcome.
Sit here please. Would you like to drink anything? Tea, coffee?)
Ayşe hanım : Hoşbulduk. Bir kahve alırım. (I would take a coffee.)

Ahmet bey: Nasılsınız? Aileniz nasıl? (How are you? How is your family?)

Misafir: Hepimiz iyiyiz. Teşekkürler. (We are all fine. Thank you.)

Ayşe hanım : Eşim ameliyat oldu. Hastanede. (My spouse had an operation. He is in the
hospital.)

Ahmet bey: Çok geçmiş olsun. Nesi var? (I hope he will get better (again an idiom) What has
he got?)

Ayşe hanım: Göz ameliyatı oldu. Şimdi çok iyi. (He had an eye operation. Now he is fine.)

Geçmiş olsun: Idiom that is said to wish for the problem or the sickness should be past
and finished. It means it should be past and finished....olsun is imperative form for to be
olmak)

Hoşbulduk: (Found pleasantly) a funny idiom!!!