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Türkçe Di̇l Bi̇lgi̇si̇ Üni̇te 11
Türkçe Di̇l Bi̇lgi̇si̇ Üni̇te 11
DERS 51
In this dialogue İffet suggests visiting her brother and his family who live in Ankara.
dayı = maternal uncle (compare with amca meaning paternal uncle and enişte meaning uncle-
in-law)
eczacı = pharmacist or chemist .... be careful with the pronunciation of this word: edge-za-ji
yenge = aunt-in-law (compare with hala meaning paternal aunt and teyze meaning maternal
aunt)
*Yıldız means star and can be used both as a male or a female name, and that’s why Volkan is
asking if Yıldız is a girl or boy.
Some names in Turkish are unisex, meaning both sexes can use them: Armağan (gift), Bulut
(cloud), Cihan (world, universe), Deniz (sea), Devlet (state), Doğa (nature), Evren (Universe),
Gökmen (blue-eyed and fair), Günay (Daytime sunshine), İlhan, İsmet, Kamuran, Kudret
(power), Muhterem (respectable), Ömür (lifetime), Servet (treasure), Sezen (sensitive), Tuna
(Danube) etc.
dolmuş = shared taxi, similar to Marshrutkas in Russian. Several riders get in and share the
ride on a set course.
Dolmuş or the shared taxi is a commonly used form of public transportation in Turkey. Because
city buses do not cover all the routes, dolmuş taxis may cover additional routes. ‘dolmuş’ means
filled and derives from the verb ‘dolmak’, and true to the meaning it may really fill up and you
may feel you’re travelling in a can of sardines. Still, many people prefer dolmuş taxis to buses
because you can get to your destination quicker.
UNCLES and AUNTS
colloquial meanings:
amca – anybody who is at your father’s age could be affectionately called ‘amca’
Suppose you see an old man or a middle-aged man in the street who looks very sick. You could
ask him: Amca, nasılsın? İyi misin? Otur, lütfen.
Uncle, how are you? Are you well? Sit down, please.
Or suppose you are a man and you are travelling in Turkey. You run into some boys playing
soccer in the street, and their ball comes rolling to your feet. The kids could say:
Amca, topu verir misin? Uncle, could you give (us) the ball?
dayı – a man who acts like a bully or as if he owns the place could be called ‘dayı’
In fact, there is a verb ‘dayılanmak’ which means to bully others and act like the boss.
enişte - a woman could call her girl friend’s husband ‘enişte’. This sort of signals: ‘look, you are
like a sister to me and your husband is therefore like a brother-in-law to me’
Arab learners! Don’t confuse!! ( )ﺧﺎﻟﺔis maternal aunt in Arabic but hala is paternal aunt in
Turkish.
Also don’t confuse hala with hâlâ meaning still – the pronunciation is also different.
colloquial meanings:
Just like amca above, teyze could be used for any woman who is at the age to be your mother.
For example, you could call your neighbor Ayşe Hanım affectionately as Ayşe Teyze if she is
roughly at the age to be your mother. If she is older than you but not that old, perhaps only ten
years older than you, use abla as some women may be offended with the teyze thinking you
consider them to be older.
yenge – a man could call his friend’s wife ‘yenge’. This sort of signals: ‘look, you are like a
brother to me and your wife is therefore like a sister-in-law to me’
DERS 52 DİL BİLGİSİ NOTU
LET’S LEARN – ÖĞRENELİM
This is easy! -elim /-alım after consonants and -yelim /-yalım after vowels to mean let’s
You can usually supplement the let’s expression with hadi OR haydi meaning ‘come on’.
(İffet, Volkan and Aslı all sit in the back seat. There are three rows of seats, so Volkan asks a
fellow passenger in front to pass forward their fee)
yolcu = passenger
para üstü = change (money returned)
Hatice ve Sertaç metroya binerler. Şişli’de inerler. Markete giderler. Marketten makarna ve
şarap alırlar. Sertaç’ın evine giderler. Sertaç salata yapar, Hatice de makarna yapar. Yemek
yerler, şarap içerler, müzik dinlerler. Sertaç Hatice’ye sorar:
ÖRNEK:
İffet, Tahsin’in karısı, Volkan ve Aslı’nın annesi, Tarık’ın ablası, Ece ve Yıldız’ın halasıdır.
1- Tahsin, İffet’in ---, Volkan ve Aslı’nın ---, Tarık’ın ve Semiha’nın ---, Ece ve Yıldız’ın ---
dir.
2- Volkan, Tahsin ve İffet’in ---, Aslı’nın ---, Tarık’ın ve Semiha’nın ---, Ece ve Yıldız’ın ---
dir.
3- Yıldız, Tahsin ve İffet’in ---,Volkan ve Aslı’nın ---, Tarık’ın ve Semiha’nın ---, Ece’nin ---
dir.
4- Tarık, İffet’in ---, Volkan ve Aslı’nın ---, Semiha’nın ---, Ece ve Yıldız’ın ---dır.
5- Semiha, Tahsin ve İffet’in ---, Volkan ve Aslı’nın ---, Tarık’ın ---, Ece ve Yıldız’ın ---dir.
DERS 53 DİL BİLGİSİ NOTU
İDİ and İMİŞ – the two ways of saying WAS and WERE
imiş: This is used for reported past, when you discover something for the first time.
Cüzdan masanın üstünde imiş. = The wallet was on the table – I asked my friend and he said it
was there.
Para cüzdanda imiş. = The money was in the wallet. – I have just discovered that the money is
apparently in the wallet.
If you get rid of the i- at the beginning, you can connect the -di and the -miş to other words. Of
course, rules of vocal harmony apply, and there is a connecting -y- sound after vowels.
I know most of you would prefer to use the forms idi and imiş which do not get affected by vocal
harmony, but refrain from doing so as these separate forms are used only in formal speech or
when narrating a fairy tale.
dün = yesterday
dün akşam = yesterday evening
dün gece = last night
dün sabah = yesterday morning
geçen hafta = last week
geçen ay = last month
geçen yıl = last year
Note that the -miş ending does not necessarily convey a past meaning:
Banka pastanenin karşısındaydı. = The bank was across from the bakery.
Banka pastanenin karşısındaymış. = The bank is across from the bakery, as I have just found
out.
You can conjugate both for person and number:
-dim = I sure was
-din = you sure were (singular / informal)
-di = he/she/ it sure was
-dik = we sure were ... note the use of -k for we, a suffix we have not used up until now
-diniz = you sure were (plural / formal)
-diler = they sure were
Anna Karenina çok ilginç bir romandı. = Anna Karenina was an interesting novel, as I have
attested to this fact myself when I read it.
Anna Karenina çok ilginç bir romanmış. = I was told that Anna Karenina is an interesting novel,
but I myself haven’t read it yet. OR Anna Karenina turned out to be a very interesting novel, as I
have just finished reading it.
You can bring these endings after -yor to get the equivalent of Past Continuous:
Hatice dün parkta ne yapıyormuş? = So, what was Hatice doing at the park yesterday?
Geziyormuş. = She was walking about, so I was told.
-Dİ suffix has 12 different forms!!!
When using -di suffix for the meaning of was/were, you use:
-di/-dı/-dü/-du after voiced consonants (ğ, j, l, m, n, r, v, y, z) *
-ti/-tı/-tü/-tu after unvoiced consonants (ç, f, h, k, p, s, ş, t)
-ydi/-ydı/-ydü/-ydu after vowels
When using -di suffix for building past tense, you use:
-di/-dı/-dü/-du after voiced consonants (ğ, j, l, m, n, r, v, y, z) AND after vowels
-ti/-tı/-tü/-tu after unvoiced consonants (ç, f, h, k, p, s, ş, t)
When using -miş suffix for the meaning of reported was/were, you use:
-miş/-mış/-müş/-muş after consonants
-ymiş/-ymış/-ymüş/-ymuş after vowels
When using -miş suffix for building reported past tense, you use:
-miş/-mış/-müş/-muş for all endings
Örnekler:
geldi / gelmiş = he/she/it came OR he/she/it has come
gitti / gitmiş = he/she/it went OR he/she/it has gone
yaptı / yapmış = he/she/it made OR he/she/it has made
aldı / almış = he/she/it took / bought OR he/she/it has taken/ bought
gördü / görmüş = he/she/it saw OR he/she/it has seen
okudu / okumuş = he/she/it read OR he/she/it has read
düşündü / düşünmüş = he/she/it thought OR he/she/it has thought
oynadı / oynamış = he/she/it played OR he/she/it has played
Note that neither of the Turkish past tenses (-dili Geçmiş Zaman NOR -mişli Geçmiş Zaman)
convey the difference between simple past tense vs present perfect in English.
In some textbooks -mişli Geçmiş Zaman is presented as the equivalent of Present Perfect,
which is WRONG!
-mişli Geçmiş Zaman only conveys a sense of reported past tense in contrast to -dili Geçmiş
Zaman which is the witnessed past tense.
DERS 53 Diyalog
İffet and her children are back at the hotel after visiting their uncle Tarık. Tahsin Bey
also returns from his conference. Note the past tense forms in the dialogue.
SÖZCÜK BİLGİSİ
ne yap-tınız? = what did you guys do?
gör-dük = we saw
git-tik = we went
gör-dünüz mü? = have you seen?
unut-tum = I forgot
görme-dik = we haven’t seen
gelme-di = she didn’t come
çalışıyor-du = she was working
orada mı-ydı? = were their children there?
tanış-tık = we met
daha = more … daha büyük = bigger
ise = whereas, however
Ne konuş-tunuz onlarla? = What did you guys talk about with them?
Filmler-den konuş-tuk = we talked about movies (literally from movies)
sev-dim = I liked
nerede-ydi? = where was it? (his pharmacy)
git-tiniz = you went
bin-diniz = you got on
bin-dik = we got on
kalkıyor-muş = they depart, they leave, as we have found out (there is no -lar because
the subject dolmuşlar already had the plural marker)
Sıra bekle-diniz mi? = did you wait in line?
öde-diniz = you paid
öde-dik = we paid
dön-dünüz = you went back / you came back
yorgun-du = she was tired
dön-dük = we returned
ver-diniz = you guys gave
cimri = stingy, somebody who doesn’t like to spend money
sadece sor-dum = I have only asked
Toplantın nasıl-dı? = how was your conference?
son = last … son gün = the last day
ne hakkında? = about what?
antibiyotik = antibiotic
Anıtkabir = the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Ankara Kale-si = Ankara Castle (kale = castle, fort)
gez-dik = we visited
Tunalı Hilmi Caddesi = a trendy boulevard in Ankara
kafelerin kafesi = the café of the cafés
pahalı = expensive
çocuklarım ile beraber = together with my children
DERS 53 ALIŞTIRMA 1
Answer the questions by using the cues given in parantheses and translate (only your answer)
to English:
ÖRNEK:
Dün ne yaptın? (televizyon seyretmek) --- Dün televizyon seyrettim.
(What did you do yesterday? (to watch TV) --- I watched TV yesterday.)
Latife Tekin is one of the best Turkish novelists. She is not as well-known as Orhan Pamuk but
in my opinion she writes much more beautifully. Her style is similar to that of the Chilean writer
Isabel Allende in that she makes use of a good dose of surrealism in her novels. I have
mentioned the title of one of her novels above: Sevgili Arsız Ölüm has fortunately been
translated into English under the title Dear Shameless Death. I very much recommend you all
this novel which is a surrealist Bildungsroman partly in the style of Anne Frank's Diary.
DERS 53 ALIŞTIRMA 2
Answer the questions this time with ‘we’! You are asking two very active boys what they did
throughout the week:
ÖRNEK:
Çocuklar dün ne yaptınız? (ders çalışmak) --- Dün ders çalıştık.
(What did you do yesterday, kids? --- Yesterday we studied)
1- Pazartesi ne yaptınız? (sinemaya gitmek)
2- Salı ne yaptınız? (Beyoğlu’nu gezmek)
3- Çarşamba ne yaptınız? (futbol oynamak)
4- Perşembe ne yaptınız? (evde televizyon seyretmek)
5- Cuma ne yaptınız? (alışveriş yapmak)
6- Cumartesi ne yaptınız? (vapura binmek / Kadıköy’e gitmek)
7- Pazar ne yaptınız? (parkta voleybol oynamak)
DERS 53 ALIŞTIRMA 3
Answer the following questions with no and give the correct answer.
ÖRNEK:
Bu sabah kahvaltıda yumurta mı yedin? (tereyağ ve bal) --- Hayır, tereyağ ve bal yedim.
1- Bağcılar’a otobüsle mi gittin? (metroyla)
2- Restoranda mı buluştunuz? (kafede)
3- Dün akşam dizi mi seyrettin? (Türk filmi)
4- Otobüs’e Şişli’de mi bindin? (Taksim’de)
5- Otobüs’ten Kocamustafapaşa’da mı indin? (Aksaray’da)
6- Sabah çay mı içtin? (kahve)
7- Eve saat sekizde mi geldin? (saat dokuzda)
8- Bu ekmeği bakkaldan mı aldın? (marketten)
9- Bu kitap için yirmi lira mı ödedin? (otuz lira)
10- Okulda Almanca mı öğrendin? (Fransızca)
DERS 54
a story about the Maiden’s Tower in Istanbul. Try to see when we use the -di vs the -miş past
tense in the story.
Cadı gülmüş: ‘Ha ha ha! İmparator Aleksis, sen beni bilmiyorsun. Ben bir cadıyım!’
Cadı: ‘Tamam gidiyorum. Ama ben gelecekte ne olacak biliyorum. Kızının geleceğini biliyorum.
Sana söylemek istiyorum. Kızının kaderini öğrenmek istemiyor musun?’
İmparator: ‘Ne? Sen geleceği biliyor musun? Kızımın kaderini biliyor musun? Söyle bana!
Şimdi!’
İmparator: ‘Ne!! Ne diyorsun sen? Kızım on sekiz yaşında ölecek mi? Nasıl? Nasıl ölecek?’
İmparator askerlerine demiş: ‘Bu kadını burada istemiyorum. O kötü bir cadı. Atın onu
saraydan!’
Askerler cadıyı saraydan atmışlar. Ama İmparator çok meraklanmış. Eşi gelmiş, onunla
konuşmuş.
Eşi: ‘Aleksis, ne yapacağız? Kızımız on sekiz yaşında ölecek mi? Kızımızın kaderi niye kötü?’
İmparator: ‘Hayır, kızımız on sekiz yaşında ölmeyecek. Onu yılan sokmayacak. Ben
düşüneceğim, bir çözüm bulacağım.’
Mimar: ‘Denizin ortasında bir ev? Hımm... Tabii ki mümkün. Denizin ortasında bir kule
yapacağım.’
İmparator: ‘Tamam, Mimar Bey! Denizin ortasında bir kule yap. Kızım için kule istiyorum.’
Mimar, İstanbul’da denizin ortasında bir kule yapmış. Bu kulenin adı ‘Kız Kulesi’ imiş. Askerler
kızı bu kuleye getirmişler. Kız hep bu kulede yaşamış. Askerler her hafta kuleye gemiyle yemek
getirmişler.
Her yıl doğum gününde annesi ve babası gemiyle kuleye gelmişler. Kızlarına hediyeler
getirmişler. Anna, annesine babasına hep sormuş:
‘Anne, baba, neden ben hep kulede yaşıyorum? Hep kulede mi yaşayacağım?’
İmparator: ‘Hayır kızım, hep kulede yaşamayacaksın. On sekiz yaş doğum gününden sonra eve
geleceksin, bizimle beraber sarayda yaşayacaksın. Ama on sekiz yaşına dek beklemen gerek.’
Ama mutfağa bir yılan girmiş. Yılan sepetin içine girmiş. Sepette oturmuş.
Anna sormuş: ‘Hoş geldiniz anne! Hoş geldiniz baba! Bana ne getirdiniz?’
Annesi: ‘Bak! Sana pasta getirdik. Sepetin içinde ne var biliyor musun? Al sepeti ve bak!
Anna sepeti almış. Kapağı kaldırmış. Ama sepetin içinde bir yılan varmış. Anna yılanı görmüş.
Yılan Anna’yı sokmuş.
Anna: ‘Ah, anne, baba! Sepetin içinde yılan varmış! Yılan beni soktu! Ben ölüyorum. Sizi çok
seviyorum!’
İmparator: ‘Bu kule hep burada kalacak. Bu kulenin adı Kız Kulesi olacak. Güzel kızım Anna
burada yaşadı, burada öldü! Kaderi buymuş.’
SÖZCÜK BİLGİSİ
Bir varmış, bir yokmuş. = Once upon a time (literally, there was, there was not)
saray = palace
kadın = woman
cadı = witch
kader = fate
yılan = snake
çözüm = solution
kara = land
deniz = sea
kalmak = to stay – kızımın .... kalması lazım = my daughter ... has to stay
mimar = architect
mümkün = possible
kule = tower
-e dek = until --- on sekiz yaşına dek = until eighteen years of age
sepet = basket
kapak = lid
In colloquial Turkish:
burada, buradan become burda, burdan… middle a is omitted
şurada, şuradan become şurda, şurdan… middle a is omitted
orada, oradan become orda, ordan … middle a is omitted
nerede, nereden become nerde, nerden… middle e is omitted
Turkish address forms are very complicated for new learners of Turkish, and you may make
serious mistakes at the beginning – however, this is true for all languages I suppose.
You can address somebody around your age with name alone if you are very intimate. You can
reach intimacy within hours with somebody of your own gender, but I would suggest that you do
not use this for the opposite sex until you have a clear and defined relationship. If you are a
woman, you can call all Turkish women around your age with their names only, but for men
keep the bey for much longer. Vice versa if you are a man.
owner of a grocery store that you know the name of: isim + efendi
a repair person that you know the name of: isim + usta
man at the age to be your father, you know the person’s name: isim + amca
woman at the age to be your mother, you know the person’s name: isim + teyze
you may ask: Size nasıl hitap edeyim? = How should I address you? if you are unsure.
For all others, I would say just observe what the Turks are doing. ‘bayan, ağabey, abla, enişte,
yenge’ could sometimes be problematic if used in the wrong context. If you are not sure, ask!