CHAPTER 1TURKE

A. Basic Information

At first, the Turkish language can seem very hard to get a grasp on due to its many differences to the English language. However, you will soon realise that due to the rules of grammar never changing it is actually quite easy once you get the hang of it!There are 4 points that you need to know about the Turkish language:

1. Word Order

Perhaps the hardest thing to learn is word order, as it is almost the direct opposite of English. For example, in English we would say 'I am going to the shop with my friend'.In Turkish we would say 'With my friend to the shop I am going'. See how it's the opposite way around?The basic rule for word order in Turkish is generally subject + object + verb , for example;

The cat wanted food = kedi (the cat) yemek (food) istedi (wanted).2. Gender

Another difference between English and Turkish is that there is no gender; he/she/it are all counted as the same, which can be quite confusing sometimes! 'He', 'She' and 'It' are all the same word in Turkish - 'O'. So the sentence 'O gidiyor' can mean either 'It is going' or 'He is going' depending on the context.

3. Suffixes

Unlike English, suffixes are used for almost everything in Turkish. By adding a suffix onto the root word you can completely change the meaning of the word. Words such as 'my, from, to, with, in, before' and many more are all added to the root word rather than being a seperate word on their own. For example - 'from my house' - 'evimden'.

4. Vowel Harmony

The last point to explain here is vowel harmony. Vowel harmony means that when a suffix is added, its vowels will sometimes change depending on what the last vowel of the root word was. This makes it easy to pronounce. This is quite a hard topic to get your head around at first so click on vowel harmony for more detail.

Days, Months and Seasons

Numbers

Personal PronounsPersonal Pronouns are words put before a verb to show the person or thing who is doing the act. For example, in the sentence 'I went to the beach', the personal pronoun would be 'I'. In the sentence 'His bike', the personal pronoun would be 'His'.

Personal pronouns are not used as widely in Turkish as they are in English, and can be left out altogether. This is because personal endings are put on the end of a verb showing who the subject is, therefore there is not always a need to add a personal pronoun.

For example, 'I went home' in Turkish is 'Ben eve gittim'. Both the parts in blue show who the subject is, meaning we can remove one and still know, making the sentence 'Eve gittim'. Likewise, 'My cat' is 'Benim kedim', and can be shortened to simply 'kedim'. This is why the personal pronouns are not always used.

The main reason for using personal pronouns is for emphasisim, for example 'Benim kedim', (emphasising the fact its yours. not someone elses).

Here are some personal pronouns;

Ben - I

Sen - You (singular/familiar)

O - He/she/it

Biz - We

Siz - You (plural/polite)

Onlar - They

Beni - Me

Seni - You (singular/familiar)

Onu - Him/her/it

Bizi - Us

Sizi - You (plural/polite)

Onlar - Them

Benim - My

Senin - Your (singular/familiar)

Onun - His/her/its

Bizim - Our

Sizin - Your (plural/polite)

Onlarn - Their

Bana - To me

Sana - To you (singular/familiar)

Ona - To him/her/it

Bize - To us

Size - To you

Onlara - To them

Bende - In me

Sende - In you (singular/familiar)

Onda - In him/her/it

Bizde - In us

Sizde - In you (plural/polite)

Onlarda - In them

Benden - From me

Senden - From you (singular/familiar)

Ondan - From him/her/it

Bizden - From us

Sizden - From you (plural/polite)

Onlardan - From them

Kendim - Myself

Kendin - Yourself (singular/familiar)

Kendi - Himself/herself/

PluralsTo make the plural of a word, simply add either '-ler' or '-lar' as a suffix depending on vowel harmony.

If the last vowel in the word is e/i// add -ler

If the last vowel in the word is a//o/u add -lar

Examples

Car -Araba

Cars - Arabalar

Book - Kitap

Books - Kitaplar

Boy - Erkek

Boys - Erkekler

Thing - ey

Things - eyler

Telling The TimeTo ask 'what is the time?' in Turkish, we must say 'saat ka?'.

It is 2 o'clock - saat iki

It is 5 o'clock - saat be

It is 11 o'clock - saat on bir

Past the hour

To tell the time past the hour, the hour comes first followed by either -(y)i//u/ depending on vowel harmony. (The -(y) is only added if the last letter is a vowel). Then add the minutes, then 'geiyor'.

To say 'quarter past...', simply put 'eyrek' (quarter) where the minutes would go.

The formula for telling the time 'past the hour' therefore is;

saat + hour + -(y)i + minute + geiyorexamples

saat bei on geiyor (10 past 5)

saat yirmi be geiyor (25 past 3)

saat on ikiyi eyrek geiyor (quarter past 12)

To the hour

To tell the time to the hour, the hour comes first followed by either '-(y)e/a' depending on vowel harmony. (The -(y) is only added if the last letter is a vowel again). Then add the minutes, then 'var'.

Once again, to say 'quarter to', put 'eyrek' (quarter) where the minutes would go.

The formula for telling to time 'to the hour' therefore is;

saat + -(y)e/a + minute + var

examples

saat + hour + -e/a + minute + var

saat yediye yirmi var (20 to 7)

saat on bire be var (5 to 11)

saat dokuza eyrek var (quarter to 9)

Half past

To say 'half past....' add 'buuk' after the hour.

examples

half past 4 - drt buuk

half past 10 - on buuk

half past 12 - yarm (simply meaning 'half', this is used for 'half past 12')

To say 'at' a certain time such as 'at half 8', the same formulas are used but with a different ending.

The formula for 'at...past...' is;

hour + -(y)i + minute +gee

examples

alt on gee = at 10 past 6

ikiyi eyrek gee = at quarter past 2

The formula for 'at....to...' is;

hour +-(y)a/e +minute + kala

examples

dokuza be kala = at 5 to 9

sekize eyrek kala = at quarter to 8at 8 o'clock = sekizde

at half 4 = drt buukta

Turkish AlphabetThe Turkish alphabet contains 29 letters, 8 of which are vowels and 21 of which are consonants.

Here is the alphabet, with the vowels in red and the consonants in black;

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p r s t u v y z

PronounciationTurkish is generally quite easy to pronounce, mainly because unlike English, words are said just as they are written and every letter (with the exception of - '') are pronounced. The unfamiliar letters are pronounced as follows:

- 'ch' (as in 'church')

c - 'j' (as in jealous)

- silent but lengthens the vowel before

- 'uh' (as in but)

- 'er' (as in burn)

- 'sh' (as it shut)

- 'ooh' (as in few)

Examples :

eker (sugar) is pronounced 'she-ker'

gz (eye) is pronounced 'gurz'

almak (to work) is pronounced 'cha-lush-mak'

kadn (woman) is pronounced 'ka-duhn'

utanga (shy) is pronounced 'utan-gach'

cuma (friday) is pronounced 'juma'

souk (cold) is pronounced 'so-ook'

Useful Phrases

B. Other Grammar

Asking QuestionsTo turn this tense into a question, such as 'Am I English?' or 'Are you alright?' we must add the question marker '-mi?' after the adverb, then add the personal suffix after that.

Examples

'Am i happy? = 'Mutlu muyum?'

'Are you tired?' = 'Yorgun musun?'

'Is he alright?' = 'yi mi?'

'Are we here?' = 'Burada myz?'

'Are you happy?' = 'Mutlu musunuz?'

'Are they Turkish?' = 'Trkler mi?'

('They' is the exception as the marker always comes last).

With questions in the past tense, simply add 'mi....' to the adverb, then add the personal suffix.

Examples

'Were you tired?' = 'Yorgun muydun?'

'Were they alright?' = 'yi miydiler?'

etc

'Can.../Can't...'Yet again, a suffix is used to express this tense in Turkish. This suffix depends on vowel harmony just like the others.

If the last letter in a verb is;e/i// - the suffix is '-(y)ebilir'a//o/u - the suffix is '-(y)abilir'The (y) is only used if the last letter in the verb is a vowel.

The only letter in the suffix which changes with vowel harmony is the 'e/a', '-bilir' will always stay the same.

Examples

gidebilir - it can go

yapabilir - it can do

yryebilir - it can walk

anlayabilir - it can understand

To make these into personal sentences, for example 'I can go', or 'You can stay', we must then add a personal suffix. These are the same as the 'To Be' personal suffixes;

'I can...' - '...ebilirim'

'You can...' (singular/familiar) - '....ebilirsin'

'He/She/It can...' - '...ebilir'

'We can...' - '...ebiliriz'

'You can...'(plural/polite) - '...ebilirsiniz'

'They can...' - '...ebilirler'

Examples

I can go - gidebilirim

You can stay - kalabilirsin

It can be - olabilir

We can play - oynayabiliriz

You can write - yazabilirsiniz

They can walk - yryebilirler

'Can't...'

To say 'I can't...' in Turkish, we add a different suffix to the verb.

The suffix is;

e/i// - the suffix is '-(y)eme'a//o/u - the suffix is '-(y)ama'Again, the (y) is only used if the last letter in the verb is a vowel.

Then we must add the personal endings.

With the exception of 'I' and 'We', the personal endings all begin with '-(y)emez'/'-(y)amaz' and then have the same personal endings as the 'To Be' tense.

'You can't...' (singular/familiar) - '...(y)emezsin' or '...(y)amazsn'

'He/She/It can't...' - '...(y)emez' or '...(y)amaz'

'You can't...' (plural/polite) - '...(y)emezsiniz' or '...(y)amazsnz'

'They can't...' - '...(y)emezler' or '...(y)amazlar'

'I can't...' - '...(y)emem' or '...(y)amam'

'We can't...'- '...(y)emeyiz' or '...(y)amayz'

Examples

I can't go - gelemem

You can't stay - kalamazsn

It can't give - veremez

We can't walk - yryemeyiz

You can't say - soyleyemezsiniz

They can't do - yapamazlar

Consonant ChangesWhen a suffix starting with a vowel is added to a root word that ends in some certain letters, the last letter of the root word must change into a different letter to keep the pronounciation smooth.

These letters are:

Examples

For these examples we will use the '-(i)m' (my....) suffix.

The '-(i//u/)' is only used if the last letter is a consonant, otherwise just 'm' is added.

Bed - Yatak

My bed - Yatam

Cupboard - dolap

My cupbard - dolabm

Plug - tka

My plug - Tkacm

Dog - Kpek

My dog - Kpeim

Wolf - Kurt

My wolf - Kurdum

In some cases, the last letter of a root word can change the first letter of an added suffix. The letters which can change this are;

K / p / / f / t / h / b / s /

When a suffix beginning with 'd' is added to one of these above letters, the first letter of the suffix changes from 'd' to 't'. This occurs in suffixes such as '-den/-dan' (from) and '-de/-da' (in/at/on).

If you have trouble remembering these consonants, try and remember this phrase -

Charlie Found He Kould Put Strong Sheds Together

(Many thanks to Neil Avery for this!)

Examples

Bed - Yatak

From the bed - Yataktan

Dog - Kpek

On the dog - Kpekta'If....'A suffix is added on to a verb to express the English word 'If'. The suffix is;

'-se / sa'

(see vowel harmony to know which to use)

The word 'eser' is sometimes used at the start of a conditional sentence and simply means 'if', but this doesn't have to be used as the suffix will show it is a conditional sentence.

The formula to make this tense is;

verb + -se/sa + personal ending

It takes the same personal endings as the past tense which are;

examples (verb + -se/sa + personal ending)gel + se + m = if i come

oku + sa + n = if you come

bil + se = if he knows

git + se + k = if we go

anla + sa + nz = if you understand

oku + sa + lar = if they read

This can also be used with the present continuous tense

Examples (verb + present continuous + -se/sa + personal)gel + iyor + sa + n = geliyorsan = if you are coming

oku + yor + sa + m = okuyorsam = if i am reading

gel + mi + yor + sa + n = gelmiyorsan = if you are not coming

etc

It can also be used with 'var' and 'yok';

'varsa' = 'if there is....'

'yoksa' = 'if there isn't'

examples

araba varsan = if there is a car

para yoksa = if there is no money

The conditional tense can also be used with the 'to be' tense. It uses the same personal endings but if placed after a vowel, you must change it into 'yse/ysa'.

examples

hastaysam = if i am ill

yorgunsan = if you are tired

mutluysak = if we are happy

iyi deilsen = if you are not alright

'Let's...'To say 'Let's....', two suffixes need to be added onto the verb base.

1) The first suffix is '-(y)e/a-' (the 'y' is only used if the last letter is a vowel)

2) The second suffix is the personal ending.

= -(y)e/a- +

* For he/she/it, there are two choices.

Either;

The first suffix '-(y)e/a' is used and no personal ending e.g gel-e (let him go)

or

The first suffix is left out and just the personal ending is used e.g gel-sin (let him go)

** 'They' is similar; either gel-e-ler or gel-sinler is used.

examples

Let me come - gel-e-yim

Let me take - al-a-ym

Let you come - gel-e-sin

Let him come - gel-e or gel-sin

Let's come- gel-e-lim

Let you come - gel-siniz

Let them come - gel-sinler or gel-e-ler

This suffix can be used for a number of meanings. The most common meaning is 'let's...' or 'let me....'.

However it can also be used with questions to mean 'shall i....'. To make a question out of it, simply add the question marker -'mi' and change accordingly with vowel harmony.

examples

shall i come = gel-e-yim mi?

shall we wait = bekle-ye-lim mi?

etc

PossessionIn Turkish, possession is shown by adding a suffix onto the noun. Possissive adjectives before the noun can also be used, but are mostly used for special emphasis. However, it is very important that these are learnt because it can make learning the suffixes easier.

These adjectives are :

Benim - My

Senin - Your (familiar or singular)

Onun - His/her/Its

Bizim - Our

Sizin - Your (formal or plural)

Onlarn - Their

SuffixesFollowing vowel harmony, the suffixes change depending on what the last vowel was. This table shows which suffix should be used for which vowels, for example if the noun is 'el' (hand), the last vowel is an 'e' and therefore 'my hand' would be 'elim'.

The letters in brackets are only used if the last letter is a consonant, apart from 'onun-his/her/its' where the 's' is used if the last letter is a vowel.

Examples

Look at the table and see if you can work out how these suffixes fit with the nouns.

My car - (Benim) arabam

Your house - (Senin) evin

His garden - (Onun) bahesi

Our friend - (Bizim) arkadamz

Your mother - (Sizin) anneniz

Their cat - (Onlarn) kedileri

For some words, adding a suffix starting with a vowel changes the last consonant of a noun. These letters that change are k-g, p-b, and -c. So, for the word 'kpek' (dog), 'My dog' would become 'Benim kpeim'. For the word 'Dolap' (cupboard), 'Your cupboard' would become 'Senin dolabn'.

SuffixesSuffixes are used very widely in the Turkish language and are often added on to words where in the equivalent English language they would be a seperate word.

In most suffixes the rules of vowel harmony apply and therefore the vowels in it might have to change (e.g '-ler/lar' - choose '-ler' if the last vowel in the base words is either 'e/i//' and '-lar' of the last vowel is either 'a//u/o'.

If the suffix contains a (y) or (n), it is only used if the last letter is a vowel.

If the suffix contains a (i), it is only used if the last letter is a consonant.

Here are some of the most common suffixes;

'-ler/lar' = 's' (kediler = cats)

'-de/da' = 'in/at/on' (evde = in the house, evlerde = to the houses)

'-den/dan' = 'from' (evden = from the house)

'-(y)e/a' = 'to' (eve = to the house)

'-siz/sz/suz/sz' = 'without...' (stsz = without milk)

'-li/l/lu/l)' = 'with/containing...' (ekerli = with sugar)

'-le/la' = 'with...' (annemle = with my mum)

'-(n)in/n/un/n' = 's/of (annemin evi = my mums house)

'-(i//u/)m' = 'my' (kedim = my cat)

'-(i//u/)yorum' = 'i am....ing' (gidiyorum = i am going)

'-(i//u/)yordum' = 'i was....ing' (gidiyordum = i was going)

'-(y)im/m/um/m' = 'i am..' (mutluyum = i am happy)

'-(y)dim/dm/dum/dm' = 'i was...' (i was happy = mutluydum)

'-(y)eceim/acam' = 'i will...' (i will go = gideceim)

'-meyeceim/mayacam' = 'i will not...' (i will not go = gitmeyeceim)

'-mem' = 'i don't' (i don't go = gitmem)

'-emem' = 'i can't' (i can't go = gidemem)

'-(y)ebilirim = 'i can' (i can go = gidebilirim)

'-miim/m m/muum/mm' = 'apparently i..' (apparently i went = gitmiim)

'-(y)elim = let's...' (let's go = gidelim)

'-sem' = 'if i...' (if i go = gitsem)

'-den/dan beri' = 'since' (iten beri = since work)

'-dikten sonra' = 'after...ing' (geldikten sonra = after coming)

'-den/dan sonra' = 'after' (iten sonra = after work)

'-den/dan nce' = 'before' (iten nce = before work)

'-meden/madan' = 'without' (gelmeden = without coming)

'-(y)erek/arak' = 'by...ing' (yryerek = by walking)

'-ince/nc/uncu/nc' = 'on...ing' (gidince = on going)

'-ken' = 'whilst...ing'

'-meyi/may' = 'to....' (yzmeyi seviyorum = i love to swim)

'-meye/maya' = 'to....' (yazmaya baladm = i started to write)

'-(y)e/a ihtiya var' = i need...

'-meli/mal' = must (gelmeliyim = i must go)

'-en/an' = 'the one who/...who...' (giden = the one who goes)

'-dii' = '....which...' (sevdii adam = the man which she loves)

Other suffixes'-dii gibi' = just as/like

'-dii halde' = although

'-dii iin' = due to/because

'-dii kadar' = as far as

'-dii zaman' = when

'-diinde' = when

'-diinden baka' = apart from

'-(y)e/a gre' = according to

'-mektense/maktansa' = 'rather than'

'-in altnda' = under

'-in nnda' = in front of

-'in arkasnda' = behind

'-in yaninda' = beside'There is../There isn't..''There is...'

- To say 'there is....', or to say that something exists we use the word 'var' after the word.

'There isn't...'

- To say 'there is....' or to say that something doesn't exist we use the word 'yok' after the word.

examples

araba var = there is a car

odada bir masa var = there is a table in the room

kedi yok = there isn't a cat

masada bir kitap yok = there isn't a book on the table

We can also use the words 'var' and 'yok' to show that we have something. We do this by adding the word after a possessive sentence.

The literal translation into English of this would be 'my ...... exists' or 'my ...... doesn't exist'.

examples

kedi = cat

kedim = my cat

benim kedim var = i have a cat (my cat exists)

senin evin var = you have a house

onun araba yok = he doesn't have a car

'There was../There wasn't..'To say 'there was.....' or 'there wasn't.....', we must use 'var' or 'yok' in the past tense by adding the past suffix '-di'. This will then change to vowel harmony to become;

'vard' and 'yoktu'

examples

araba vard = there was a car

araba yoktu = there wasn't a car

Questions with Var/YokTo ask a question, for example 'is there a car?', we must add the question marker.

'.....var m?' = 'is there......?'

'.......yok mu?' = 'isn't there.......?'

examples

is there a car? = araba var m?

is there not a car? = araba yok mu?

bahede kedi var m? = is there a cat in the garden?

senin kedin var m? = do you have a cat?

onun kalemi yok mu? = doesn't he have a pen?

Turkish SlangWhen learning another language it's important to make sure you learn at least a little bit of slang, otherwise you won't have a clue what some people are talking about!

Here is a list of some Turkish slang and the English translation;

MSN / Text Turkish Slang!If you talk to Turkish people on MSN or other messenger services, these might come in handy!

C. Tenses

Future Tensesuffix to say 'I will...' is 'Ben ...(y)eceim'

Just like with the present tense and the future tense, the ending will change according to vowel harmony.

If the last vowel in the verb is e/i//, then the suffix will be '-(y)eceim'

If the last vowel in the verb is a//o/u, then the suffix will be '(y)acam'

(the 'y' in the bracket is only used if the last letter in the verb is a vowel.)

(to emphasise the sentence, eg 'I will go, you will not', add the personal pronoun before the verb eg 'ben gideim, sen gitmeyeceksin')

Personal endings

I will... = '...(y)eceim' or '...(y)acam'

You will...(singular/familiar) = '...(y)eceksin' or '...(y)acaksn'

He/She/It will... = '...(y)ecek' or '...(y)acak'

We will... = '(y)eceiz' or '...(y)acaz'

You will...(plural/polite) = '...(y)eceksiniz' or '...(y)acaksnz'

They will... = '...(y)ecekler' or '...(y)acaklar'

Examples

Come - Gel

I will come - Geleceim

Be - Ol

You will be - Olacaksn

Drink -

He will drink - ecek

Want - ste

We will want - steyeceiz

Walk - Yr

You will walk - Yryeceksiniz

Jump - Atla

They will jump - Atlayacaklar

Future negative tenseTo make the future negative tense, simply add '-me/ma' after the verb then add the appropriate personal ending.

Examples

I will not come - Gel - me - yeceim

You will not jump - Atla - ma - yacaksn

etc

Asking questions in the future tense

We add the question marker '-mi' (or 'm/m/mu) after the future suffix to make a sentence into a question.

To ask a positive question in the future tense, you must follow this formula;

verb + future suffix + mi +personal ending

Examples

Gel + ecek + mi + yim = Gelecek miyim? = Will I come?

Otur + acak + m + sn = Oturacak msn? = Will you sit?

+ ecek + mi = ecek mi? = will he drink?

Gel + me + yecek misin? = Will you not come?

etc

(to say 'will they...?', the question marker '-mi' always comes at the end of the sentence after the personal ending

Example

Gel-ecek-ler mi? = Will they come?Past Continuous TenseThe past continuous tense is the equivalent of 'I was....ing' in English. It describes an action that was taking place in the past.

To form this tense add the following suffix onto a verb;

'-iyordum' - 'I was...'

eg 'I was coming' - 'Gel-iyordum'

Following the same pattern as the present continuous tense we must change parts of the ending according to vowel harmony.

If the last vowel in the verb is;

e/i - the suffix will stay '-iyordum'

a/ - the suffix will become '-yordum'

o/u - the suffix will become '-uyordum'

/ - the suffix will become '-yordum'

Personal endings

'-iyordum' - 'I was.....'

'-iyordun' - 'You were....'(singular/familiar)

'-iyordu' - 'He/she/it was.....'

'-iyorduk' - 'We were.....''

'-iyordunuz' - 'You were......(plural/polite)

'-iyorlard' - 'They were.......'

examples

'I was going' = 'Gidiyordum'

'You were staying' = 'Kalyordun'

'He was looking' = 'Bakyordu'

'We were coming' = 'Geliyorduk'

'You were going' = 'Gidiyordunuz'

'They were looking' = 'Bakyorlardi'

Negative tenseTo turn this tense negative, eg 'they were not looking', we must add the negative marker

'-me/ma' and change the 'e' to 'i' or the 'a' to ''.

Follow this formula;

verb + negative (mi/m) + past continuous + personal

Bak + m + yordu + m = 'I was not looking'

Git + mi + yordu + n = 'You were not looking'

etc

Present Continuous TenseThe present continuous tense in English would be 'I am.....ing'. To form this tense, you must add the present progressive suffix '-(i)yorum' to the verb and then add the appropriate ending depending on vowel harmony.

There are 4 different endings that can be used;

if the last vowel in the verb is -

e/i - the suffix will be - '-iyorum'

a/ - the suffix will be - '-iyorum'

o/u - the suffix will be - '-uyorum'

/ - the suffix will be - '-yorum'

If the last letter in the verb is already either 'i//u/', just add '-yorum'. If the last letter in the verb is either 'e/a/o/', change it to 'i//u/' depending on vowel harmony.

For example; 'yemek' = 'to eat'. 'I am eating' = 'yiyorum'.

'okumak' = 'to read'. 'I am reading' = 'okuyorum'.

Personal suffixes for the present progressive tense-iyorum = i am ...ing

-iyorsun = you are ...ing (singular/familiar)

-iyor = he/she/it is ...ing

-iyoruz = we are ...ing

-iyorsunuz = you are ...ing (plural/polite)

-iyorlar = they are ...ing

Examples

To come = Gelmek

I am coming = Geliyorum

You are coming = Geliyorsun

He is coming = Geliyor

We are coming = Geliyoruz

You are coming = Geliyorsunuz

They are coming = Geliyorlar

Using other words with their suffixes, we can now make sentences.

I am walking to my house = Ev-im-e yryorum

I am coming from the bank = Banka-dan geliyorum

You are staying at my house = Ev-im-de kalyorsun

What are you doing? - Ne yapyorsun?

Where is he going? - Nereye gidiyor?

Why are they coming? - Niye geliyorlar?

Negative present progressive tenseTo turn a verb into the present progressive tense, for example 'I am not going', simply add the negative suffix '-me/ma- after the verb. Then you must change it according to vowel harmony so that it becomes either -mi/m/mu/m-, then add the appropriate ending.

Examples

I am not coming - Gelmiyorum

You are not staying - Kalmyorsun

He/she/it is not thinking - Dnmyor

They are not asking - Sormuyorlar

etc

Asking questions in the present progressive tense

Examples

Am I staying? - Kalyor muyum?

Are you coming? - Geliyor musun?

Is he/she/it going? - Gidiyor mu?

Are we learning? - reniyor muyum?

Are you walking? - Yryor musunuz?

Are they thinking? - Dnyorlar m?

(for 'they', the question marker always comes at the end after the personal suffix).

Negative questions follow the same formula;

Are you not staying? - kalm yor musun?

Is he not coming? - gelmiyor mu?

etc

Simple Past TenseThe past tense in Turkish is used in exactly the same way as the past tense in English, which is to express actions done, such as 'I went' and 'I saw'. The suffix used to create this tense is

'-di'

To create a sentence in the simple past tense, follow these rules;

1) Take a verb, such as 'kalmak' - 'to stay' or 'gelmek' - 'to come', and remove the 'mek/mak' leaving just the verb base.

Example -' Kalmak' To stay', 'Kal' - 'Stay'

2) After the verb, add the past simple suffix '-di'. This will change according to vowel harmony, becoming either;

-di / -d / -d / -du

(If the last letter in the verb is either k/p//t then the 'd' will become 't' eg '-ti'/'-tu' etc due to consonant changes)

examples

Ye = Eat, Yedi = Ate

Kal = Stay, Kaldi = Stayed

Gr = See, Grd = Saw

git = go, gitti = went

3) After adding the past simple suffix, we must then add the personal ending so we know who the person doing the act was. The personal endings are;

examples

i came = gel-di-m

you saw = gr-d-n

she looked = bak-t

we went = git-ti-k

you put = koy-du-nuz

they stayed - kal-d-lar

Click here to test your Turkish for 'simple past tense' with questions and answers.

Negative Simple Past TenseTo make the past tense into a negative sentence, eg 'I did not stay', use this formula;

verb + -me/ma + past suffix + personal ending

examples

Gel + me + di + m = Gelmedim = I did not come

Kal + ma + d + n = Kalmadn = You did not stay

Gr + me + di = Grmedi = He did not see

(If you want to give special emphasis to the fact that you (not someone else) did something, simply add the personal pronoun before the verb, eg 'I stayed here, you didn't stay' = 'Ben burada kaldm, sen kalmadn').

Asking questions in the past tense

To ask a question in the past tense, simply add the question marker '-mi?' after the sentence and change it to either '-mi/m/m/mu' depending on vowel harmony.

examples

Geldim mi? = Did I come?

Grdn m? = Did you see?

Koymadm m? = Did I not put?

Gitmedik mi? = Did we not go?

Simple Present - Negative TenseTo make the simple present tense into a negative sentence in Turkish, eg I do not go, add the following endings onto the verb;

-mem - I dont....

-mezsin - You dont...(singular/familiar)

-mez - He/she/it doesnt...

-meyiz - We dont...

-mezsiniz - You dont...(plural/polite)

-mezler - They dont....

(change the vowels in the suffix according to vowel harmony, eg -mam, '-mayz', 'mazlar')

Examples

Gelmem = I dont come

Gitmezsin = You dont go

Kalmaz = He doesnt stay

etc

Asking questions in the negative simple present tense

To ask a question in this tense, add '-mez/maz' after the verb and then add the question marker with the personal ending.

Examples

Gelmez miyim? - Do I not come?

Kalmaz msn? - Do you (singular/familiar) not stay?

Gitmez mi? - Does he not go?

Kalmaz myz? - Do we not stay?

Gelmez misiniz? - Do you (plural/polite) not come?

Okumazlar m? - Do they not read? *

* (as always with questions, the third personal plural is different and the question marker is always at the end of the sentence, after the suffix)

Simple Present - Positive TenseThe simple present tense is the equivalent of 'I...' in English, for example 'I go', or 'I leave'. It is used to describe actions carried out regularly as well as general statements, and is sometimes used to ask a request.

To make this tense in Turkish, we must add a suffix after this verb.

The rules to do this are;

1) If the verb ends in a vowel, simply add -r. (oyna = play, oynar = plays)

2) If the verb is just 1 syllable, add -er/ar according to vowel harmony. (koy = put, koyar = puts)

3) If the verb is 2 or more syllables, add -ir/r/ur/r'. (konu = speak, konuur = speaks)

However

Most verbs that end in either L or R take the -ir ending even if they are just one vowel.

Here is a list of the verbs that take this ending;

gel, al, bil, var, gr, kal, bul, l, ver, ol, san, dur, vur

Examples - 'gelir' = ' comes', 'alr' = 'takes'.

After adding the simple present suffix, we must then add the personal ending on to that accordyng to vowel harmony. They are as follows;

I..... - '....im' (or m/um/m)

You....(singular/familiar) - '....sin' (or sn/sun/sn)

He/she/it.... - (no personal ending)

We.... - '....iz' (or z/uz/z)

You....(plural/polite) - '....siniz' (or snz/sunuz/snz)

They.... - '....ler' (or ...lar)

So , to make a present simple sentece first check if the word ends in a vowel, and then how many syllables it has and add the appropriate suffix. Then check it is not one of the words listed above that break the rules. After that add the personal ending.

Examples

I go = Gid-er-im

You stay - Kal-r-sn

He/she/its puts - Koy-ar

We come - Gel-ir-iz

You play - Oyna-r-snz

They talk - Konu-ur-lar)

Asking questions with the simple present tense

To turn this tense into a question, eg do you go, add the question marker -mi before the personal ending and change according to vowel harmony.

Examples

Do I read? - Okur muyum ?

Do you go? - Gider misin ?

Does he stay? - Kalr m?

Do we think? - Dnr myz?

Do you suppose? - Sanr msnz? (to say 'do they...?', the question marker always comes after the personal ending).

.

'To Be' - Negative TenseThis tense is quite simple to make. Simply take an word, such as 'fine' or 'tired', and add the word 'deil'. This is not a suffix, but a word on its own. Then add the same personal endings that you would for the 'to be - positive tense'.

Examples

'yi deilim' = 'I' am not fine'

'Mutlu deilsin' = 'You are not happy'

'Yorgun deil' = 'He is not tired'

'Trk deiliz' = 'We are not Turkish'

'Yorgun deilsiniz' = 'You are not tired'

'yi deiller' = 'They are not fine'

Past TenseTo turn this into the past tense, such as 'He was not happy', add the past suffix '-di' and then the personal ending, just like with the 'To be - positive' tense'.

Examples

'yi deildim' = 'I was not fine'

'Mutlu deildin' = 'You were not happy'

Etc.

Asking Questions

To turn this tense into a question, follow this formula;

word + deil + question + personal

Mutlu + deil + mi + sin

= 'Mutlu deil misin?' = 'Are not happy?'

'Mutlu deil miydin?' = 'Were you not happy?'

'Yorgun deil miyim?' = 'Am I not tired?'

'Yorgun deil miydin?'= 'Were you not tired?'

'yi deiller mi?' = 'Are they not alright?'

(For 'they', the question marker comes at the end).

'To Be' - Positive TenseTo say 'I am...', for example 'I am fine', a suffix is used.

Personal pronouns can be used before the adjective but are not necessarily needed as the suffix will make it clear who the subject is, eg 'I am fine = Ben iyiyim'. The personal pronouns are usually only used for emphasis.

(the 'y' in brackets is only used if the last letter in the adjective is a vowel, e.g iyiyim, ktym)

Each of these suffixes change according to vowel harmony.

For example; 'I am....' = '-(y)im'. But, if the last vowel in the adjective is;

'e' or 'i' - stays as 'i' = -(y)im

'a' or '' - changes to '' = -(y)m

'' or ' - changes to '' = -(y)m

'u' or 'o' - changes to 'u' = -(y)um

Examples

'I am fine' = 'yiyim'

'I am happy' = 'Mutluyum'

etc

This is the same with each personal ending, for example;

'I am....' would change to either '-(y)im/m/m/um'

'You are....' would change to either '-sin/sn/sn/sun'

'He/she/it is...' would change to either '-dir/dr/dr/dur' (the '-dir' may change to '-tir' according to consonant changes)

'You are...' would change to either '-siniz/snz/snz/sunuz'

Examples

Fine = yi

I am fine = yiyim

Bad = Kt

You are bad = Ktusn

Hot = Scak

He is hot = O scak

English = Ingiliz

We are English = Ingiliziz

Young = Gen

You are young = Gensiniz

Turkish = Trk

They are Turkish = Trktrler

'To be' Past tenseTo turn this tense into past tense, such as 'I was fine', or 'You were funny', we must add the past suffix to the adjective which is '-(y)di'.

Just like the other suffixes, this changes according to vowel harmony and becomes either '-(y)di/d/d/du'. The 'y' in brackets is only used if the last letter was a vowel. This suffix can also turn into '-ti/t/t/tu' if the last letter in the word was either 'p/t/k//s//f/h'.

To turn a verb into the past tense, add -(y)di then add the personal suffixes which are;

(don't forget to change the vowels according to vowel harmony)

Examples

'I am fine' = 'yiyim'

'I was fine' = 'yi-ydi-m' = 'yiydim'

'You were happy' = 'Mutlu-ydu-n' = 'Mutluydun'

'It was nice' = 'Gzel-di' = 'Gzeldi'

'We were sad' = 'zgn-d-k' = zgndk'

'You were tired' = 'Yorgun-du-nuz' = Yorgundunuz'

'They were English' = 'ngiliz-di-ler' = 'ngilizdiler'

D. Vocabulary

Useful WordsThe following are words that are used quite often in Turkish. The best way to learn these is to print them out and learn about 10 words a day. This should help you remember them and is a lot easier than trying to memorise all of them at one time.

Useful Words 2