The Turkish Alphabet The 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; abcdefgghiijklmnoprsstuvyz Pronounciation Turkish 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) g - 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'

Basic Information 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 though we would say 'With my friend...to the shop...I am going'.

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).

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!

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 a word. Words such as 'my, from, to, with, in, before, after, whilst' 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'. Vowel Harmony Part 1 Vowel harmony is essential to learn in order to speak Turkish well, however at first it is quite hard to understand, so I will try to make this guide as simple to understand as possible! In Turkish there are 8 vowels. We can split these into 2 groups. These are: e, i, , (known as 'front' vowels) a, , o, u (known as 'back' vowels)

It is essential to learn which vowels go into which group. To make this easier, think of them as the 'e dotted group' (which contains 'e' and the 3 vowels with dots), and the 'a undotted group' (which contains the 'a' and the 3 undotted groups). Many suffixes are also split into two, for example '-den/-dan' (from), '-de/-da' (in/on/at), and '-(y)e/(y)a' (to). Vowel harmony ensures that the correct suffix is used depending on what the last vowel in the word is. If the last letter is a 'front' vowel, then '-den', '-de', and '-(y)e' would be used. If the last letter is a 'back' vowel, then '-dan', '-da', and '-(y)a' would be used.

Examples House = Ev Car = Araba From = -den (suffix) In = -de (suffix) To = -(y)e (suffix)

From the house = Evden From the car = Arabadan To the house = Eve To the car = Arabaya In the house = Evde In the car = Arabada Vowel Harmony Part 2 You should have already looked at the Vowel Harmony 1 section and you will have seen how the vowels are split into 2 groups, each of which take different suffixes. However, there are other suffixes that instead of taking either 'e' or 'a', take either 'i, , , u', such as ...'-(i)yorum' (i am ....ing), '..dim' (i did...), and '-siz' (without). Therefore we need to split the suffixes into more groups in order to add the suffixes with the correct vowels. For example if the suffix is '-siz' (without) then the 'i' will change into: If the last vowel is: 'e' or 'i' - stays as 'i' (-siz) 'a' or '' - changes to '' (-sz) '' or ' - changes to '' (-sz) 'u' or 'o' - changes to 'u' (-suz) This applies to a number of suffixes, such as the past suffix ('...dim'), the possessive suffix (-im, -sin etc) and the 'without' suffix (-siz), as well as many more. Click on the suffixes page to discover more.

Examples For now we will just use just two suffixes, the '-siz' suffix, meaning 'without....'. and '-li', meaning 'with...'. sugar - eker without sugar - ekersiz with sugar - ekerli milk - st without milk - stsz with milk - stl ice - buz without ice - buzsuz with ice - buzlu

money -para without money -parasz with money - paral

Consonant Changes When 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 cupboard - dolabm plug - tka my plug - tkam 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 - Kpekte Suffixes learn-turkish@hotmail.com Suffixes 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 Plurals learn-turkish@hotmail.com To 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 Personal Pronouns learn-turkish@hotmail.com Personal 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/itself Kendimiz - Ourselves Kendiniz - Yourself (plural/polite) Kendileri - Themselves Benimki - Mine Seninki - Yours (singular/familiar) Onunki - His/hers/its Bizimki - Ours Sizinki - Yours (plural/polite) Onlarnki - Theirs 'To Be...' - Positive Tense learn-turkish@hotmail.com

To 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...' - Negative Tense learn-turkish@hotmail.com

This 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 Tense To 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).

Present Continuous Tense The 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 tense To 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 Past Continuous Tense learn-turkish@hotmail.com The 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/y - 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' = 'Kaliyordun' 'He was looking' = 'Bakiyordu' 'We were coming' = 'Geliyorduk' 'You were going' = 'Gidiyordunuz' 'They were looking' = 'Bakiyorlardi'

Negative tense To 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 Simple Present - Positive Tense The 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 ? Do they come? - Gelirler mi ? (to say 'do they...?', the question marker always comes after the personal ending). Simple Present - Negative Tense

To 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 Past Tense learn-turkish@hotmail.com

The 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, kald = stayed gr = see, grd = saw git = go, gitti = went

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. I You (singular/familiar) He/She/It We You (plural/polite) ....m ....n (no personal ending) ....k ....niz (or 'nz'/'nz'/'nuz')

They

....ler (or 'lar') Negative Simple Past Tense To 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? Future Tense learn-turkish@hotmail.com The suffix 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 tense To 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?

Possession learn-turkish@hotmail.com In 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 Suffixes Following 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'. Click here for more detail on consonant changes. If the noun is a plural, the possessive suffix always comes after the plural suffix, for example 'my cars' would be 'Benim araba-lar-m. How To Express Need learn-turkish@hotmail.com

Just like in English, there are a number of ways to express need in Turkish, such as 'I need to.....', 'I have to.....' and 'I must......'.

'Meli' = 'Must' To make a sentence using this word, such as 'I must go', you must follow this formula; verb + -meli/mal- + personal 'to be' suffix Examples Git + meli + yim = gitmeliyim = I must go Gel + meli + sin = gelmelisin = You (singular/familiar) must come Gelmeli = He/she/it must come Gelmeliyiz = We must come Gelmelisiniz = You (plural/polite) must come Gelmeliler = They must come

'Lazm' = 'Have to' To make a sentence using this word, such as 'i have to go' in Turkish, you must follow this formula; verb + -me/ma- + personal possessive suffix + 'lazm' Examples Git + me + m + lazm = 'Gitmem lazm' = 'I have to go' Gel + me + n + lazm = 'Gelmen lazm' = 'You have to come' Kal + ma + mz + lazm = 'Kalmamz lazm' = 'We have to stay' To make these sentences into negative questions in Turkish, such as 'I don't have to go', add 'deil' after 'lazm' Examples Gitmem lazm deil = I don't have to go Olman lazm deil = You don't have to be

In order to express a need for yourself or someone else, the person or thing who is in need takes the dative suffix '-(y)e/a'. Examples Bana araba lazm = I need a car Sana para lazm = You need money Sana araba lazm m? = Do you need a car? 'Gerek' can be used instead of 'lazm' to express a need, however it is used differently than 'Lazm' as it is used in the present continuous tense. Examples Gelmem gerekiyor = I have to come Gelmem gerekmiyor = I don't have to come Olman gerekiyor = You have to be

~ Basic Turkish ~ Important Info Info For Beginners Alphabet/ Pronounciation Basic Information

~ Grammar ~ Essentials Vowel Harmony 1 Vowel Harmony 2 Consonant Changes Suffixes Plurals Personal Pronouns

~ Grammar ~ Tenses

'To Be' - Positive 'To Be' - Negative Present Continuous Tense Past Continuous Tense Simple Present - Positive Simple Present - Negative Simple Past Tense Future Tense

~ Grammar ~ Other Possession Express Need 'There is/There isn't..' 'I can/I can't...' 'Let...' 'If...' 'Apparently...' Telling The Time

~ Useful ~ Information Useful Words Useful Verbs Useful Phrases Numbers Days, Weeks and Months Turkish Slang

~ Other ~

Learning Tips Worksheets About Me Links There Is.../There Isn't... learn-turkish@hotmail.com '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/Yok

To 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 kalem yok mu? = doesn't he have a pen?

'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 '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.

* 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 (second suffix below) Let me... Let you..(singular/familiar) Let him/her/it Let's Let you...(plural/polite) Let them...

...(y)im ...sin ...sin * ...lim ...siniz ...sinler or ...ler **

'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;

I You (singular/familiar) He/She/It We You (plural/polite) They

....m ....n (no personal ending) ....k ....niz (or 'nz'/'nz'/'nuz') ....ler (or 'lar')

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 etc

'Apparently...'

In English, when we want to express the fact that something has reportedly happened but the speaker didn't actually see it first hand, we use the word 'apparently', for example 'apparently he didn't go to school'. In Turkish, a suffix is used (suprise!) to express this. This suffix is; '-mi' Vowel harmony applies to this too, so it can become either 'mi/m/ms/mu' depending on what the last vowel was. We must then add the personal ending onto this suffix, these are; I = '-im' You = '-sin' He/she/it = (no personal ending) We = '-iz' You = '-siniz' They = 'ler/lar' (don't forget to change it according to vowel harmony) This suffix can be used with many tenses, such as; the past tense (add -mi to verb) 'apparently they did' = 'yapmlar' 'apparently he went' = 'gitmi' The 'to be' tense (add -(y)mi + 'to be' personal endings) 'apparently he is ill' = 'hastaym' 'apparently i am fine' = 'iyimiim' 'apparently you were not fine' = 'iyi deilmiin' The present continuous tense 'apparently he is going' = 'gidiyormu' The future tense 'apparently she will come' = 'gelecekmi' The present simple tense 'apparently you go' = 'gidermiin' 'Telling The Time' To 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 + geiyor examples saat + hour + -(y)i + minute + geiyor 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 8 at 8 o'clock = sekizde at half 4 = drt buukta

Food and Drink lettuce - marul cucumber - salatalk parsley - maydanoz potato - patates onion - soan cabbage - lahana mushroom - mantar salad - salata garlic - sarmsak orange - portakol carrots - havu grapes - zm lemon - limon watermelon - karpuz tomato - domates pear - armut beer - bira water - su wine - arap coke - kola milk - st coffee - kahve tea - ay sugar - eker bread - ekmek egg - yumurta flour - un salt - tuz butter - tereya cheese - peynir banana - muz apple - elma soup - orba biscuits - biskvi chicken - tavuk

chocolate - ikolata fish - balk yoghurt - yourt rice - pirin pepper - biber honey - bal jam - reel pasta - makarna plate - tabak bottle - ie spoon - kak fork - atal knife - biak Home and Objects cupboard - dolap chair - koltuk table - masa shower - du bathtub - kvet tap - musluk candle - mum pillow - yastk key - anahtar mirror - ayna radio - radyo television - televizyon room - oda stairs - merdiven wall - duvar roof - at door - kap window - pencere garden - bahe house - ev garage - garaj kitchen - mutfak living room - oturma odas dining room - yemek odas bedroom - yatak odas bathroom - banyo toilet - tuvalet Body Parts cheek - yanak neck - boyun leg - bacak foot - ayak arm - kol

lip - dudak eye - gz ear - kulak hair - sa head - ba nose - burun tooth - di finger - parmak stomach - mide Colours red - krmz brown - kahverengi orange - portakal yellow - sar green - yeil blue - mavi pink - pembe purple - mor black - siyah grey - gri white - beyaz

Verbs to kiss - pmek to marry - evlenmek to go - gitmek to come - gelmek to stay - kalmak to do - yapmak to meet - bulumak topay - demek to put - koymak to sell - satmak to eat - yemek to read - okumak to speak - konumak to say - demek to live - yaamak to walk - yrmek to love - sevmek to see - grmek to send - gndermek to sleep - uyumak to learn - renmek to teach - retmek to think - dnmek to begin - balamak

to drink - imek to buy - almak Opposites cheap - ucuz expensive - pahal old - eski new - yeni good - iyi bad - kt early - erken late - ge heavy - ar light - hafif open - ak shut - kapal short - ksa tall - uzun full - dolu empty - bo easy - kolay difficult - zor big - byk small - kk hot - scak cold - souk near - yakn far - uzak old - ihtiyar young - gen Personality Traits good - iyi bad - kt funny - komik boring - skc quiet - suskun shy - utanga stupid - aptal angry - kzgn

serious - ciddi lazy - tembel cheeky - yzsz great - harika sweet - tatl kind - nazk beautiful - gzel ugly - irkin handsome - yakkl Phrases yes - evet no - hayr ok - tamam please - ltfen thank you - teekkr ederim thanks - teekkler you're welcome (response to thank you) - birey deil sorry - zr dilerim excuse me - affedersiniz hello - merhaba hi - selam good morning - gnaydn good afternoon - tnaydn good evening - iyi akamlar good night - iyi geceler good day - iyi gnler goodbye - hoa kaln/gle gle see you - grsrz see you later - sonra grsrz today - bugn tomorrow - yarn yesturday - dn how are you? - naslsn? how is it going? - nasl gidiyor? i'm fine - iyiyim nice to meet you - memnum oldum i am english - ben ingilizim i don't speak turkish - trke bilmiyorum i don't understand - anlamyorum i understand - anlyorum i am learning turkish - trke reniyorum do you speak english? - ingilizce biliyor musunuz? where is .....? - .....nerede? when? - ne zaman? why? - neden? how? - nasl? what? - ne? which? - hangi? what is your name? - adnz ne?

my name is ...... - adm .....

For your lover (I know how charming them Turkish boys can be!)

i love you - seni seviyorum i love you too - bende seni seviyorum do you love me? - beni seviyor musun? i miss you - seni zledim i need you - bana sen lazmsn will you marry me? - benimle evlenir misin? i fell in love - ak oldum kiss me! - p beni! you are beautiful - sen gzelsin you are sexy - sen seksisin you are handsome - sen yakklsn i want to kiss you - seni pmek istiyorum my love - akm my darling - sevgilim sweetheart - tatlm honey - balm my angel - meleim my baby - bebeim my life/darling - canm Numbers 1 - 10 zero - sfr one - bir two - iki three - four - drt five - be six - alt seven - yedi eight - sekiz nine - dokuz ten - on

11 - 19 eleven - on bir twelve - on iki

thirteen - on fourteen - on drt fifteen - on be sixteen - on alt seventeen - on yedi eighteen - on sekiz nineteen - on dokuz Ordinals (simply add -(i)nci/()nc/ etc onto the number depending on vowel harmony) 1st - ilk/birinci 2nd - ikinci 3rd - nc 4th - drdnc 5th - beinci 6th - altnc 7th - yedinci 8th - sekizinci 9th - dokuzuncu 10th - onuncu 100 + one hundred - yz one hundred and one - yz bir two hundred - iki yz one thousand - bin two thousand - iki bin one hundred thousand - yz bin one milion - bir milyon 20 - 99 twenty - yirmi twenty one - yirmi bir twenty two - yirmi iki (the rest follow the same pattern) thirty - otuz thirty one - otuz bir forty - krk forty one - krk bir fifty - elli fifty one - elli bir sixty - altm

sixty one - altm bir seventy - yetmi seventy one - yetmi bir eighty - seksen eighty one - seksen bir eighty - seksen eighty one - seksen bir ninety - doksan ninety one - doksan bir

Days, Months and Seasons Days Sunday - Pazar Monday - Pazartesi Tuesday - Sal Wednesday - arsamba Thursday - Perembe Friday - Cuma Saturday - Cumartesi

Months January - Ocak February - ubat March - Mart April - Nisan May - Mays June - Hazran July - Temmuz

August - Austos September - Eyll October - Ekim November - Kasm December - Aralk

Seasons Spring - lkbahar Summer - Yaz Autumn - Sonbahar Winter - K

Turkish Slang When 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;

Turkish Slang

English Translation

napiyorsun? ne haber/naber ne var ne yok lan bana ne

what are you doing? what's up what's up son/mate i don't care/what's it to me what's it to you/none of your business

sana ne

fistik salak defol valla? vallahi demi hadi ya!

pretty girl idiot get lost really? believe me isn't it come off it! MSN/Text Turkish Slang!

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

slm mrb naber/nbr ya ka? tsk saol kib muck muck

hi hello what's up how old are you? thanks thanks take care kiss kiss