Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Turkish alphabet is a modified version of the Latin alphabet and consists of 29 letters. Included are 6
additional letters - ç, ğ, ı, ö, ş, ü - while - q, w, x - are excluded.
Upper Case
A B C Ç D E F G Ğ H I İ J K L M N O Ö P R S Ş T U Ü V Y Z
Lower Case
a b c ç d e f g ğ h ı i j k l m n o ö p r s ş t u ü v y z
Vowels: a, e, ı, i, o, ö, u, ü
Consonants: b, c, ç, d, f, g, ğ, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, ş, t, v, y, z
PRONUNCIATION
Most Turkish letters are similar in pronunciation to their English counterparts. There are a few letters however
whose pronunciation is unique to Turkish.
"Yumuşak ge" (Ğ ğ) or "soft g" for example always follows a vowel and is pronounced in one of two ways. If the
vowel before it is one of a, ı, o, u then "yumuşak ge" will lengthen the sound of that vowel, eg. yağmur, ağaç. If
the vowel is one of e, i, ö, ü then "yumuşak ge" will be pronounced as "y", eg. eğitim, iğne. Since "yumuşak ge" is
always preceded by a vowel there are no words in Turkish that start with it.
Approximate
Letter Name Audio Turkish Example
Pronunciation
Ee e egg ev (house)
Ss se soccer su (water)
For Turkish, we use a personal pronoun, a noun/adjective and a personal suffix. For example: "Ben doktorum",
"Ben" is the personal pronoun, "doktor" is the noun and "-um" is the personal suffix. The personal pronoun and
the personal suffix are associated with each other.
I Ben
You Sen
He / She / It O
We Biz
They Onlar
POSITIVE
Each personal suffix has more than one form(spelling). We choose the correct form of the personal suffix based on
the last vowel of the noun/adjective. This is done to preserve vowel harmony:
Examples:
doktor - doctor güzel - beautiful
Ben doktorum I am a doctor Ben güzelim I am beautiful
Sen doktorsun You are a doctor Sen güzelsin You are beautiful
O doktor He/she/it is a doctor O güzel He/she/it is beautiful
Biz doktoruz We are doctors Biz güzeliz We are beautiful
Siz doktorsunuz You are doctors Siz güzelsiniz You are beautiful
Onlar doktorlar They are doctors Onlar güzeller They are beautiful
For "Biz", if the last letter of the noun/adjective is a vowel we add the buffer letter "y" to prevent having two
vowels side by side. Eg.:
NEGATIVE
Ben değilim
Sen değilsin
O değil
Biz değiliz
Siz değilsiniz
Onlar değiller
Examples:
doktor - doctor güzel - beautiful
Ben doktor değilim I am not a doctor Ben güzel değilim I am not beautiful
Sen doktor değilsin You are not a doctor Sen güzel değilsin You are not beautiful
O doktor değil He/she/it is not a doctor O güzel değil She/it is not beautiful
Biz doktor değiliz We are not doctors Biz güzel değiliz We are not beautiful
Siz doktor değilsiniz You are not doctors Siz güzel değilsiniz You are not beautiful
Onlar doktor değiller They are not doctors Onlar güzel değiller They are not beautiful
POSITIVE QUESTION
To form a question we utilize variations of the word "mi" together with personal suffixes. We choose one of
mı/mi/mu/mü. This is done to preserve vowel harmony:
O mı mi mu mü
Onlar mı mi mu mü
Examples:
doktor - doctor güzel - beautiful
Sen doktor musun? Are you a doctor? Sen güzel misin? Are you beautiful?
Siz doktor musunuz? Are you doctors? Siz güzel misiniz? Are you beautiful?
Onlar doktor mu? Are they doctors? Onlar güzel mi? Are they beautiful?
NEGATIVE QUESTION
Negative questions combine "değil" and "mi" to give "değil mi". The personal suffixes get attached to "mi". Unlike the
positive question, for the negative question "mi" has only one form (and not four) for each personal suffix:
Examples:
doktor - doctor güzel - beautiful
Ben doktor değil miyim? Am I not a doctor? Ben güzel değil miyim? Am I not beautiful?
Sen doktor değil misin? Are you not a doctor? Sen güzel değil misin? Are you not beautiful?
O doktor değil mi? Is he/she/it not a doctor? O güzel değil mi? Is he/she/it not beautiful?
Biz doktor değil miyiz? Are we not doctors? Biz güzel değil miyiz? Are we not beautiful?
Siz doktor değil misiniz Are you not doctors? Siz güzel değil misiniz? Are you not beautiful?
Onlar doktor değiller mi? Are they not doctors? Onlar güzel değiller mi? Are they not beautiful?
Numbers
1 - Bir 10 - On 1 000 - Bin
4 - Dört 40 - Kırk
6 - Altı 60 - Atmış
7 - Yedi 70 - Yetmiş
8 - Sekiz 80 - Seksen
9 - Dokuz 90 - Doksan
10 - On 100 - Yüz
Examples:
11 - On bir
57 - Elli yedi
82 - Seksen iki
144 - Yüz kırk dört
500 - Beş yüz
999 - Dokuz yüz doksan dokuz
1024 - Bin yirmi dört
1986 - Bin dokuz yüz seksen altı
2016 - İki bin on altı
Plurals
The plural suffixes in Turkish are -lar and -ler. We use the rules of Major Vowel Harmony to decide which suffix to
use. Words whose last vowel is one of (a, ı, o, u) will get -lar added to it, while those whose last vowel is one of
(e, i, ö, ü) will be followed by -ler.
Possession
Possession in Turkish works using pronouns and suffixes. Each pronoun is associated with its own suffix. The
suffixes may take on different forms depending on the last letter and the last vowel of the original word. There are
six pronouns of possession:
Pronouns of Possession
My Benim
Your Senin
His / Her / Its Onun
Our Bizim
Your (Plural) Sizin
Their Onların
Each suffix has more than one form. We choose the correct form of the suffix based on the last vowel of our original
word. This is done to preserve Vowel Harmony.
Suffixes of Possession
Last Vowel ▶ a/ı e/i o/u ö/ü
Examples:
Benim çantam - My bag
Senin annen - Your mother
Onun topu - His/Her/Its ball
Bizim arabamız - Our car
Sizin kuzunuz - Your (Plural) lamb
Onların kitapları - Their book
When adding suffixes to a word, we make sure that we never have two vowels side-by-side.
Letters indicated inside round brackets () in the Suffixes of Possession table should be added when the last letter
of the original word is a consonant. Eg.:
Adım - My name
Evin - Your house
Otelimiz - Our hotel
Okulunuz - Your (Plural) school
For "Onun", the letter "s" indicated inside square brackets [s] in the Suffixes of Possession table above should be
added when the last letter of the original word is a vowel. Eg.:
Onun parası - His/Her/Its money
Onun dedesi - His/Her/Its grandfather
Onun havlusu - His/Her/Its towel
1. Positive - Var
2. Negative - Yok
3. Positive Question - Var mı
4. Negative Question - Yok mu
1. POSITIVE - VAR
Var basically means "there is".
Examples:
Garajda araba var - There is a car in the garage
Parkta çoçuk var - There is a child in the park
Futbol sahasında top var - There is a ball on the football field
Trende yolcu var - There is a passenger on the train
Camide müezzin var - There is a muezzin in the mosque
2. NEGATIVE - YOK
Yok is used to mean "there isn't".
Examples:
Garajda araba yok - There isn't a car in the garage
Parkta çoçuk yok - There isn't a child in the park
Futbol sahasında top yok - There isn't a ball on the football field
Trende yolcu yok - There isn't a passenger on the train
Camide müezzin yok - There isn't a muezzin in the mosque
3. POSITIVE QUESTION - VAR MI
In Turkish we use the different forms of "mi" to form questions ("mı"/"mi"/"mu"/"mü"). By applying the rules of
vowel harmony we add "mı" to "var" to get the positive question form var mı.
Examples:
Garajda araba var mı? - Is there a car in the garage?
Parkta çoçuk var mı? - Is there a child in the park?
Futbol sahasında top var mı? - Is there is a ball on the football field?
Trende yolcu var mı? - Is there is a passenger on the train?
Camide müezzin var mı? - Is there is a muezzin in the mosque?
On the hour:
["Saat"] [hour]
03:00 : Saat üç
05:00 : Saat beş
10:00 : Saat on
18:00 : Saat altı
21:00 : Saat dokuz
Quarter past:
["Saat"] [hour + "ı/i/u/ü"] ["çeyrek geçiyor"]
03:15 : Saat üçü çeyrek geçiyor
05:15 : Saat beşi çeyrek geçiyor
10:15 : Saat onu çeyrek geçiyor
18:15 : Saat altıyı çeyrek geçiyor
21:15 : Saat dokuzu çeyrek geçiyor
Half past:
["Saat"] [hour] ["buçuk"]
03:30 : Saat üç buçuk
05:30 : Saat beş buçuk
10:30 : Saat on buçuk
18:30 : Saat altı buçuk
21:30 : Saat dokuz buçuk
Quarter to:
["Saat"] [hour + "a/e"] ["çeyrek var"]
03:45 : Saat dörde çeyrek var
05:45 : Saat altıya çeyrek var
10:45 : Saat on bire çeyrek var
18:45 : Saat yediye çeyrek var
21:45 : Saat ona çeyrek var
Examples
The time is 09:00 - Saat dokuz
The time is 13:15 - Saat biri çeyrek geçiyor
The time is 15:30 - Saat üç buçuk
The time is 23:45 - Saat on ikiye çeyrek var
2. At what time? - Saat kaçta?
We use this to specify the time at which something will happen or take place.
On the hour:
["Saat"] [hour + "da/de/ta/te"]
03:00 : Saat üçte
05:00 : Saat beşte
10:00 : Saat onda
18:00 : Saat altıda
21:00 : Saat dokuzda
Quarter past:
["Saat"] [hour + "ı/i/u/ü"] ["çeyrek geçe"]
03:15 : Saat üçü çeyrek geçe
05:15 : Saat beşi çeyrek geçe
10:15 : Saat onu çeyrek geçe
18:15 : Saat altıyı çeyrek geçe
21:15 : Saat dokuzu çeyrek geçe
Half past:
["Saat"] [hour] ["buçukta"]
03:30 : Saat üç buçukta
05:30 : Saat beş buçukta
10:30 : Saat on buçukta
18:30 : Saat altı buçukta
21:30 : Saat dokuz buçukta
Quarter to:
["Saat"] [hour + "a/e"] ["çeyrek kala"]
03:45 : Saat dörde çeyrek kala
05:45 : Saat altıya çeyrek kala
10:45 : Saat on bire çeyrek kala
18:45 : Saat yediye çeyrek kala
21:45 : Saat ona çeyrek kala
Examples
Lessons start at 09:00 - Ders saat dokuzda başlar
The bell rings at 13:15 - Zil saat biri çeyrek geçe çalar
Azan is at 15:30 - Ezan saat üç buçukta okunur
The match ends at 23:45 - Maç saat on ikiye çeyrek kala biter
Consonant Mutation
In Turkish, there are certain consonants that are replaced by other letters when suffixes are added to them.
When we add a suffix to word that ends in "p/ç/t/k" and the consonant has a vowel both before and after it, the
consonant will change:
p ➨ b
ç ➨ c
t ➨ d
k ➨ ğ/g
Examples:
EXCEPTIONS
In general, single syllable words don't have consonant mutation applied to them:
Words that are derived from other languages (French, English, Arabic, etc.) don't experience any consonant
mutation:
Degrees Of Comparison
We use Degrees of Comparison to compare people, places or things. An adjective can have one of three forms:
Positive, Comparitive or Superlative. For example, for the adjective "big" the Positive form would be "big" itself,
the Comparitive form would be "bigger" and the Superlative form would be "biggest".
In Turkish, we express the Comparitive form using "daha" and the Superlative form using "en". For example, for
the adjective "büyük" the Positive form would be "büyük" itself, the Comparitive form would be "daha büyük"
and the Superlative form would be "en büyük".
Examples:
Vowels: a, e, ı, i, o, ö, u, ü
Hard vowels: a, ı, o, u
Soft vowels: e, i, ö, ü
Straight vowels: a, e, ı, i
Round vowels: o, ö, u, ü
There are four Vowel Harmony rules in total: two Major Vowel Harmony and two Minor Vowel Harmony rules.
a/ı/o/u ➨ a/ı/o/u
e/i/ö/ü ➨ e/i/ö/ü
a/e/ı/i ➨ a/e/ı/i
o/ö/u/ü ➨ a/e/u/ü
Definite past tense is similar to ordinary past tense in English. We use it when we know for sure that something
has taken place. In other words when there is certainty about something that has happened.
The definite past tense attaches the suffixes "dı/di/du/dü" to the verb root. We obtain the verb root by removing
"mak/mek" from the infinitive form. For example, the verb root of "yazmak" would be "yaz", "düşmek" would be
"düş" and "izlemek" would be "izle".
Personal pronouns
I Ben
You Sen
He / She / It O
We Biz
You (Plural) Siz
They Onlar
POSITIVE
For positive, we focus on two particular letters in the verb root. Firstly, we focus on its last vowel. Secondly, we
take note of its last letter.
Based on the last vowel, we attach one of "dı/di/du/dü" to the verb root. This is done to preserve vowel harmony.
If the very last letter of the verb root is one of "ç/f/h/k/s/ş/t/p", we replace the "d" in the definite past tense
suffixes with a "t". Our suffixes then become "tı/ti/tu/tü". A helpful method of memorizing these letters is by
remembering the phrase "fıstıkçı şahap".
Lastly we attach the personal suffix. Each personal pronoun has its own set of personal suffixes.
Last Vowel of
a/ı e/i o/u ö/ü
verb root▶
If the letter at the end of the verb root is one of "ç/f/h/k/s/ş/t/p", we replace the "d" in the definite past tense
suffix with a "t":
konuşmak - to speak düşmek - to fall
Ben konuştum I spoke Ben düştüm I fell
Sen konuştun You spoke Sen düştün You fell
O konuştu He/she/it spoke O düştü He/she/it fell
Biz konuştuk We spoke Biz düştük We fell
Siz konuştunuz You spoke Siz düştünüz You fell
Onlar konuştular They spoke Onlar düştüler They fell
NEGATIVE
The negative suffixes are "ma/me". We attach the appropriate suffix to the verb root based on the rules of vowel
harmony. Thereafter we attach one of "dı/di". Basically if we consider these together we will only be attaching one
of "madı/medi" to the verb root. Lastly we attach the personal suffix.
Last Vowel of
a/ı/o/u e/i/ö/ü
verb root▶
POSITIVE QUESTION
In order to turn a positive verb into a question, all we do is add one of "mı/mi/mu/mü" after it. These are not
suffixes but separate words altogether. "Onlar", however, only gets one of "mı/mi" added after it.
Examples:
yazmak - to write izlemek - to watch
Ben yazdım mı? Did I write? Ben izledim mi? Did I watch?
Sen yazdın mı? Did you write? Sen izledin mi? Did you watch?
O yazdı mı? Did he/she/it write? O izledi mi? Did he/she/it watch?
Biz yazdık mı? Did we write? Biz izledik mi? Did we watch?
Siz yazdınız mı? Did you write? Siz izlediniz mi? Did you watch?
Onlar yazdılar mı? Did they write? Onlar izlediler mi? Did they watch?
If the letter at the end of the verb root is one of "ç/f/h/k/s/ş/t/p", we replace the "d" in the definite past tense
suffix with a "t":
NEGATIVE QUESTION
To convert a negative verb into a question, we simply add "mı/mi" at the end.
Last Vowel of
a/ı/o/u e/i/ö/ü
verb root▶
We use reported past tense for events that are "reported" to us by someone else. It is used when there isn't
complete certainty about whether a particular event has taken place or not.
For example, let's say you ask your friend about where he went for the summer holiday. He tells you that he went
to Turkey. Now if someone else asks you about where your friend went for the holiday, you would tell them
"Arkadaşım Türkiyeye gitmiş" ("My friend went to Turkey"). Since you didn't witness your friend spend his holiday,
the information is only reported.
Since reported past tense has no equivalent in English, definite and reported past tense usually look the same
when translated:
Arkadaşım Türkiyeye gitti - My friend went to Turkey
Arkadaşım Türkiyeye gitmiş - My friend went to Turkey
To form a reported past tense verb we start by choosing one of "mış/miş/muş/müş" based on the last vowel of the
verb root. We obtain the verb root by removing the "mak/mek" from the infinitive form. For example, the verb
root of "yazmak" would be "yaz", "gitmek" would be "git" and "düşmek" would be "düş".
Personal pronouns
I Ben
You Sen
He / She / It O
We Biz
You (Plural) Siz
They Onlar
POSITIVE
We attach one of "mış/miş/muş/müş" to the verb root based on its last vowel. We then add the personal suffix.
Last Vowel of
a/ı e/i o/u ö/ü
verb root▶
Ben -mışım -mişim -muşum -müşüm
Sen -mışsın -mişsin -muşsun -müşsün
O -mış -miş -muş -müş
Biz -mışız -mişiz -muşuz -müşüz
Siz -mışsınız -mişsiniz -muşsunuz -müşsünüz
Onlar -mışlar -mişler -muşlar -müşler
Examples:
yazmak - to write gitmek - to go
Ben yazmışım I wrote Ben gitmişim I went
Sen yazmışsın You wrote Sen gitmişsin You went
O yazmış He/she/it wrote O gitmiş He/she/it went
Biz yazmışız We wrote Biz gitmişiz We went
Siz yazmışsınız You wrote Siz gitmişsiniz You went
Onlar yazmışlar They wrote Onlar gitmişler They went
NEGATIVE
The negative suffixes here are "ma/me". We attach the appropriate suffix to the verb root according to the rules of
vowel harmony. We then attach one of "mış/miş". Together we will only be attaching one of "mamış/memiş" to the
verb root. Lastly we attach the personal suffix.
Last Vowel of
a/ı/o/u e/i/ö/ü
verb root▶
Examples:
yazmak - to write gitmek - to go
Ben yazmamışım I did not write Ben gitmemişim I did not go
Sen yazmamışsın You did not write Sen gitmemişsin You did not go
O yazmamış He/she/it did not write O gitmemiş He/she/it did not go
Biz yazmamışız We did not write Biz gitmemişiz We did not go
Siz yazmamışsınız You did not write Siz gitmemişsiniz You did not go
Onlar yazmamışlar They did not write Onlar gitmemişler They did not go
POSITIVE QUESTION
In order to form a question out of the positive verb we split it after the reported past tense suffix
"mış/miş/muş/müş", forming two words. We then attach one of "mı/mi/mu/mü" before the personal suffix.
Collectively, we are left with four options to attach to the verb root before adding the personal suffix: "-mış mı-/-
miş mi-/-muş mu-/-müş mü-".
Onlar only gets "mı" or "mi" added to it at the end. Furthermore, for Ben and Biz we add a "y" before the personal
suffix to prevent having two vowels side by side.
Last Vowel of
a/ı e/i o/u ö/ü
verb root▶
Examples:
yazmak - to write gitmek - to go
Ben yazmış mıyım? Did I write? Ben gitmiş miyim? Did I go?
Sen yazmış mısın? Did you write? Sen gitmiş misin? Did you go?
O yazmış mı? Did he/she/it write? O gitmiş mi? Did he/she/it go?
Biz yazmış mıyız? Did we write? Biz gitmiş miyiz? Did we go?
Siz yazmış mısınız? Did you write? Siz gitmiş misiniz? Did you go?
Onlar yazmışlar mı? Did they write? Onlar gitmişler mi? Did they go?
NEGATIVE QUESTION
To convert a negative reported past tense verb into a question we split it after "mış/miş", thereafter attaching one
of "mı/mi" before the personal suffix.
Onlar only gets "mı" or "mi" added to it at the end. Furthermore, for Ben and Biz we add a "y" before the personal
suffix to prevent having two vowels side by side.
Last Vowel of
a/ı/o/u e/i/ö/ü
verb root▶
Ben -mamış mıyım -memiş miyim
Sen -mamış mısın -memiş misin
O -mamış mı -memiş mi
Biz -mamış mıyız -memiş miyiz
Siz -mamış mısınız -memiş misiniz
Onlar -mamışlar mı -memişler mi
Examples:
yazmak - to write gitmek - to go
Ben yazmamış mıyım? Did I not write? Ben gitmemiş miyim? Did I not go?
Sen yazmamış mısın? Did you not write? Sen gitmemiş misin? Did you not go?
O yazmamış mı? Did he/she/it not write? O gitmemiş mi? Did he/she/it not go?
Biz yazmamış mıız? Did we not write? Biz gitmemiş miyiz? Did we not go?
Siz yazmamış mısınız? Did you not write? Siz gitmemiş misiniz? Did you not go?
Onlar yazmamışlar mı? Did they not write? Onlar gitmemişler mi? Did they not go?
We obtain the verb root by removing the "mak/mek" from the infinitive form. For example, the verb root of
"yazmak" would be "yaz", "izlemek" would be "izle" and "konuşmak" would be "konuş".
Personal pronouns
I Ben
You Sen
He / She / It O
We Biz
You (Plural) Siz
They Onlar
POSITIVE
To form a positive verb we start off with the verb root. If the verb root ends in a vowel, we drop the vowel at the
end completely.
To it we attach one of "ı/i/u/ü". The letter that we choose depends on the verb root's last vowel. Choosing the
correct letter is done to preserve vowel harmony. Next we attach the present continuous tense suffix "yor". Lastly
we attach the personal suffix.
Suffixes to be added to the verb root (Positive)
Last Vowel of
a/ı e/i o/u ö/ü
verb root▶
NEGATIVE
For negative, we start off once again with the verb root. However, unlike for positive we don't drop any letters. We
attach one of "mı/mi/mu/mü" based on the last vowel of the verb root. Next we attach the present continuous
tense suffix "yor". Finally we attach the personal suffix.
Last Vowel of
a/ı e/i o/u ö/ü
verb root▶
Examples:
yazmak - to write izlemek - to watch
Ben yazmıyorum I am not writing Ben izlemiyorum I am not watching
Sen yazmıyorsun You are not writing Sen izlemiyorsun You are not watching
O yazmıyor He/she/it is not writing O izlemiyor He/she/it is not watching
Biz yazmıyoruz We are not writing Biz izlemiyoruz We are not watching
Siz yazmıyorsunuz You are not writing Siz izlemiyorsunuz You are not watching
Onlar yazmıyorlar They are not writing Onlar izlemiyorlar They are not watching
POSITIVE QUESTION
In order to form a question from the positive form, we split the verb after "yor" and add "mu" before the personal
suffix. "Onlar" is an exception, all we do is add "mı" at the end. Since we can't have two vowels side by side, we
attach a "y" to turn "muum" into "muyum" for "Ben". Likewise we turn "muuz" into "muyuz" for "Biz".
Last Vowel of
a/ı e/i o/u ö/ü
verb root▶
Forming a question out of the negative form is similar to the positive. We break the negative verb into two parts
after "yor" and place "mu" just before the personal suffix. "Onlar" doesn't obey the rule, all we do is add "mı" at
the end.
Last Vowel of
a/ı e/i o/u ö/ü
verb root▶
Examples:
yazmak - to write izlemek - to watch
Ben yazmıyor muyum? Am I not writing? Ben izlemiyor muyum? Am I not watching?
Sen yazmıyor musun? Are you not writing? Sen izlemiyor musun? Are you not watching?
O yazmıyor mu? Is he/she/it not writing? O izlemiyor mu? Is he/she/it not watching?
Biz yazmıyor muyuz? Are we not writing? Biz izlemiyor muyuz? Are we not watching?
Siz yazmıyor musunuz? Are you not writing? Siz izlemiyor musunuz? Are you not watching?
Onlar yazmıyorlar mı? Are they not writing? Onlar izlemiyorlar mı? Are they not watching?
I write
I eat
He thinks
She uses
They draw
In Turkish, we indicate the present simple tense by attaching certain suffixes to the verb root. We obtain the verb
root by removing the "mak/mek" from the infinitive form. For example, the verb root of "yazmak" would be "yaz",
"kullanmak" would be "kullan" and "yemek" would be "ye".
Personal pronouns
I Ben
You Sen
He / She / It O
We Biz
You (Plural) Siz
They Onlar
POSITIVE
We form a positive present simple tense verb in one of three ways, depending on the structure of the verb root. In
all three cases the suffix that we attach to the verb root includes the letter "r". Each case attaches it in a different
way. The key is to always remember the "r".
We focus on two attributes of the verb root: whether its last letter is a vowel or consonant and the number of
syllables it's made up of.
For example: başlamak (başla), yemek (ye), okumak (oku). This case applies to verbs with any amount of
syllables, the only condition is that the letter at the end of the verb root is a vowel.
To form the positive present simple tense verb, all we do is attach "r" to the verb root followed by the personal
suffix.
Last Vowel of
a/ı e/i o/u ö/ü
verb root▶
Ends in a consonant
Has exactly one syllable
For example: yazmak (yaz), çizmek (çiz), sormak (sor), gülmek (gül). The helping verb "etmek" (et) also falls
under this category.
We attach one of "ar/er" based on the last vowel found in the verb root. Then we attach the personal suffix.
Last Vowel of
a/ı/o/u e/i/ö/ü
verb root▶
Ends in a consonant
Has more than one syllable
For example: kullanmak (kullan), öğrenmek (öğren), oturmak (otur), düşünmek (düşün). We attach one of
"ır/ir/ur/ür" depending on the verb root's last vowel. Thereafter we attach the personal suffix.
Last Vowel of
a/ı e/i o/u ö/ü
verb root▶
Examples:
kullanmak(kullan) - to use düşünmek(düşün) - to think
Ben kullanırım I use Ben düşünürüm I think
Sen kullanırsın You use Sen düşünürsün You think
O kullanır He/she/it uses O düşünür He/she/it thinks
Biz kullanırız We use Biz düşünürüz We think
Siz kullanırsınız You use Siz düşünürsünüz You think
Onlar kullanırlar They use Onlar düşünürler They think
Note:
Sometimes helping verbs such as "etmek" or "olmak" are fused together with other words to form one big verb eg.
seyretmek, bahsetmek, kaybolmak, affolmak. Verbs like these do not fall under this category and we apply the
appropriate rule based on "etmek" or "olmak" only. In other words we treat them as if "etmek" or "olmak" are
written separately.
NEGATIVE
There is just one way of forming the negative present simple tense verb. We attach one of "maz/mez" to the verb
root depending on its last vowel. We then attach the personal suffix.
"Ben" and "Biz" are a bit different. For "Ben" we attach "mam/mem" instead of "maz/mez". For "Biz" we attach
"mayız/meyiz".
Suffixes to be added to the verb root (Negative)
Last Vowel of
a/ı/o/u e/i/ö/ü
verb root▶
POSITIVE QUESTION
While there are three different ways of forming a positive present simple tense verb, we can use one short method
to turn them all into questions.
The key is to focus on the "r" that was added when the positive verb was formed. The first thing we do is split the
verb after the "r". To this we add "mı/mi/mu/mü" separately, based on the vowel before the "r". Lastly we attach
the personal suffix.
For "Onlar", the personal suffix remains attached to the "r". All we do is add "mı" or "mi" to it at the end.
Furthermore, for "Ben" and "Biz" we add a "y" before the personal suffix to prevent having two vowels side by
side.
Vowel before
a/ı e/i o/u ö/ü
"r"▶
NEGATIVE QUESTION
To form a negative question, we attach "maz/mez" to the verb root depending on its last vowel. We then
separately add "mı/mi" together with the personal suffix.
For "Onlar", the personal suffix gets attached to "maz/mez" instead. Furthermore, for "Ben" and "Biz" we add a "y"
before the personal suffix to prevent having two vowels side by side.
Last Vowel of
a/ı/o/u e/i/ö/ü
verb root▶
Future Tense
(acak/ecek)
Turkish future tense uses the suffixes "acak" and "ecek". The future tense verb contains the verb root, "acak" or
"ecek" and the personal suffix.
We obtain the verb root by removing the "mak/mek" from the infinitive form. For example, the verb root of
"yazmak" would be "yaz", "izlemek" would be "izle" and "başlamak" would be "başla".
Personal pronouns
I Ben
You Sen
He / She / It O
We Biz
You (Plural) Siz
They Onlar
POSITIVE
To form a positive future tense verb, we start off with the verb root. We attach one of "acak/ecek" based on the
last vowel found in the verb root. Finally we attach the personal suffix.
If the verb root ends in a vowel, we add a "y" before "acak/ecek" as two vowels cannot be placed side by side.
Furthermore, for "Ben" and "Biz", the "k" at the end of "acak/ecek" turns into a "ğ" since the letter immediately
after it is a vowel.
Last Vowel of
a/ı/o/u e/i/ö/ü
verb root▶
The letter "y" indicated inside square brackets [y] in the table above should be added when the last letter of the
verb root is a vowel:
NEGATIVE
For negative future tense, we attach one of "ma/me" to the verb root based on its last vowel. We would then add the
future tense suffix "acak/ecek", but because this would place two vowels side by side we have to add a "y" in the
middle. Unlike for positive, this "y" will always be there no matter what the verb root is. Finally we add the personal
suffix.
Last Vowel of
a/ı/o/u e/i/ö/ü
verb root▶
To form a question from the positive form, we split the verb after "acak/ecek" and attach one of "mı/mi" before
the personal suffix. "Onlar" doesn't obey the rule, all we do is add "mı/mi" at the end. For "Ben", we also add a "y"
before the personal suffix to prevent having two vowels side by side, giving "mıyım/miyim". We do the same for
"Biz" to get "mıyız/miyiz".
Last Vowel of
a/ı/o/u e/i/ö/ü
verb root▶
The letter "y" indicated inside square brackets [y] in the table above should be added when the last letter of the
verb root is a vowel:
Forming a negative question is similar to forming a positive question. We break the verb into two parts after
"mayacak/meyecek", placing "mı/mi" just before the personal suffix. "Onlar" is an exception, all we do is add
"mı/mi" at the end.
Last Vowel of
a/ı/o/u e/i/ö/ü
verb root▶
Examples:
yazmak - to write izlemek - to watch
Ben yazmayacak mıyım? Will I not write? Ben izlemeyecek miyim? Will I not watch?
Sen yazmayacak mısın? Will you not write? Sen izlemeyecek misin? Will you not watch?
O yazmayacak mı? Will he/she/it not write? O izlemeyecek mi? Will he/she/it not watch?
Biz yazmayacak mıyız? Will we not write? Biz izlemeyecek miyiz? Will we not watch?
Siz yazmayacak mısınız? Will you not write? Siz izlemeyecek misiniz? Will you not watch?
Onlar yazmayacaklar mı? Will they not write? Onlar izlemeyecekler mi? Will they not watch?
Passive Voice
(n , ın/in/un/ün , ıl/il/ul/ül)
Verbs can be stated in the active voice or the passive voice.
In the active voice, the person or thing that is carrying out the action is clear. We know who the "doer" is.
In the passive voice, we are only aware of who/what the action is being performed upon. We don't always know
who is doing the action. In English, we generally express the passive voice using "to be".
In Turkish, we can convert a verb into the passive voice by attaching certain suffixes to its root. We obtain the
verb root by removing the "mak/mek" from the infinitive form. For example, the verb root of "izlemek" would be
"izle", "bulmak" would be "bul" and "açmak" would be "aç".
There are three different passive voice suffixes that we can attach based on the spelling of the verb root. We focus
on whether its last letter is a vowel or consonant.
The first case is when the verb root has a vowel at the end of it. To convert it into the passive voice we attach a
"n" after it.
The second case is when we the verb has the letter "l" at the end of it. To convert it into the passive voice we
attach one of "ın/in/un/ün" after it based on its last vowel:
Last vowel of
a/ı e/i o/u ö/ü
verb root
Suffix -ın -in -un -ün
The third case is when the verb root ends in a consonant besides "l". To convert it into the passive voice we attach
one of "ıl/il/ul/ül" after it based on its last vowel:
Last vowel of
a/ı e/i o/u ö/ü
verb root
Suffix -ıl -il -ul -ül
Active voice Passive voice
açmak (to open) açılmak (to be opened)
unutmak (to forget) unutulmak (to be forgotten)
beğenmek (to like) beğenilmek (to be liked)
Examples:
Active: Ben pencereyi açtım - I opened the window
Passive: Pencere açıldı - The window was opened
Active: Sen çantayı trende unuttun - You forgot the bag on the train
Passive: Çanta trende unutuldu - The bag was forgotten on the train
"Can"
(abil/ebil)
In Turkish, we express "can" using the suffix "abil/ebil". We attach the appropriate one to the verb root based on
its last vowel. "abil/ebil" can be used with any tense but is usually used with present simple tense.
POSITIVE
We begin with the verb root. We attach one of "abil/ebil" depending on the root's last vowel. If the letter at the
end of the verb root is a vowel, we also first attach a "y" to prevent having two vowels side by side. Thereafter we
add the tense suffix followed by the personal suffix.
For negative, we attach one of "a/e" followed by the negative suffix "ma/me" to the verb root. The suffixes we add
depend on the verb root's last vowel. If the letter at the end of the verb root is a vowel, we also first attach a "y"
to prevent having two vowels side by side. Thereafter we add the tense suffix followed by the personal suffix.
"Must"
(malı/meli)
In Turkish we express "must" using the suffixes "malı/meli". We do this by attaching them to the verb root.
Personal pronouns
I Ben
You Sen
He / She / It O
We Biz
You (Plural) Siz
They Onlar
POSITIVE
We attach one of "malı/meli" depending on the verb root's last vowel. Thereafter we attach the personal suffix.
Last Vowel of
a/ı/o/u e/i/ö/ü
verb root▶
For negative, we attach the negative suffix "ma/me" to the verb root. The suffix we attach depends on the verb
root's last vowel. Thereafter we attach one of "malı/meli" and finally we attach the personal suffix.
Last Vowel of
a/ı/o/u e/i/ö/ü
verb root▶
Examples:
yazmak - to write gelmek - to come
Ben yazmamalıyım I must not write Ben gelmemeliyim I must not come
Sen yazmamalısın You must not write Sen gelmemelisin You must not come
O yazmamalı He/she/it must not write O gelmemeli He/she/it must not come
Biz yazmamalıyız We must not write Biz gelmemeliyiz We must not come
Siz yazmamalısınız You must not write Siz gelmemelisiniz You must not come
Onlar yazmamalılar They must not write Onlar gelmemeliler They must not come
"If"