Basics of Turkish Grammar

Word order, Turkish characters, vowel harmony and variable

vowels :

Word Order
Sentences are generally: Subject object(s) verb, so something like:
suyu
iiyor.
Turkish: Kpek
English: (The) dog (the) water is drinking.
G
bunda
kuvvetli.
Turkish:
English: (The) Force in this one strong (is).
The word immediately before the verb is (usually) the most important word in the sentence and conveys the
main point. The subject is often left out if it is a personal pronoun, since it can be derived from the verb
conjugation.
That's the general form of things, but by no means does it tell the whole story. And Underhill mentions that
the form described in the standard grammars is not what his native-speaking Turks tell him is the usual
form.
According to Underhill, the most neutral or "unmarked" order of a Turkish sentence is:
subject, direct object, indirect object, verb.
Grammars like Lewis' and others reverse the direct and indirect objects. Changing the specific words of
Underhill's examples, let's say we wanted to render the sentence The boy threw the ball to the dog in
Turkish:
Olan topu kpee att.
The-boy the-ball to-the-dog threw.
subject direct-object indirect-object verb.
olan boy in nominative case
ball in accusative case:
topu
top - u > topu

kpee
att

dog in dative case:

kpek - e > kpee
to throw, atmak in past tense

Now, that's fine if you're being definite about everything: The boy threw the ball to the dog. But now let's
say that we're being vague about the direct object the boy didn't throw the specific ball we were
discussing earlier, he threw a ball, or even some balls. In that case the direct object moves to just before the
verb and loses its accusative (or objective) suffix:
Olan kpee top att.
The-boy to-the-dog a-ball threw.
subject indirect-object indefinite-direct-object verb.
Now let's say that it's the subject that's indefinite it wasn't the boy we were discussing, but a boy or some
boy. In this case it's the subject that moves to just before the verb, and it picks up bir or one to mean a:
Topu kpee bir olan att.
The-ball to-the-dog a-boy threw.
direct-object indirect-object indefinite-subject verb.
What if both the subject and the direct object are indefinite? Then both move, and the object is closer to the
verb. As before, the object loses its suffix and the subject gains a bir:
Kpee bir olan top att.
To-the-dog a-boy a-stone threw.
indirect-object indefinite-subject indefinite-direct-object verb.
Underhill leaves it there, he doesn't fully explore the combinatorics of definite and indefinite possibilities.
He has covered half:
The boy threw the ball to the dog
The boy threw a ball to the dog
A boy threw the ball to the dog
A boy threw a ball to the dog
There would still be the four combinations where it was a dog instead of the dog, but that's just as well. I'm
already overwhelmed....

Characters
Turkish uses some characters that aren't supported in basic HTML. Hopefully your browser can understand
the following, some of which are rendered with Unicode!
Turkish Characters Used on This Page
Char Example
Explanation
HTML
LATEX
ç Ç \c{c} \c{C}
ar c with cedilla
da g with a "u-shaped hat" ğ Ğ \u{g} \u{G}
İ
\.{I}
stanbul Dotted capital I
ı
{\i}

ar undotted i
ö
Ö \"{o} \"{O}
grmek o with an umlaut
ş Ş \c{s} \c{S}
dolmu s with cedilla
ü
Ü \"{u} \"{U}
glmek u with an umlaut

Some other characters will sometimes appear with diacritical marks, especially in words Turkish borrowed
from Arabic or Persian:
Other Characters Found in Turkish
Char Example
Explanation
HTML LATEX
a with circumflex

lle (tulip) Pronounced like ya in g, k, l â \^{a}

Lengthened otherwise
i with circumflex
î \^{\i}
mill (national) Lengthened, appears in many
adjectives borrowed from Arabic
u with circumflex
û \^{u}
skt (silence)
Lengthened
Note that your choice of browser may limit the accuracy of what is displayed on the screen or printed.
Mozilla Firefox and KDE Konqueror display and print these characters fine.

Vowel harmony

Turkish vowels are said to be of two classes, front and back. But there is also the distinction of open versus
close(d), and round versus unround. They can be arranged into a cube, as see here.
Front: e, i, ,
Back: a, , o, u
Open: a, e, o,
Close: i, , u,
Round: o, ;, u,
Unround: a, e, , i

Variable Vowels and Vowel Harmony

Turkish has vowel harmony, meaning that a word usually has all its vowels in a single class, front vs back,
including those in suffixes added to reflect the part of speech.
Elementary Turkish uses the notation V2 to indicate "the variable vowel e/a" which takes one value
depending on vowel harmony, and the notation V4 to indicate "the four-variable vowel shown in the
following table". More reasonably, Teach Yourself Turkish calls the first "e-type" and the second "i-type".
Note the locations of V2/e-type and V4/i-type in the vowel cube. V2/e-type on the upper-left edge, V4/i-type
on the bottom face.
There are three rules of vowel harmony:
1. Back vowels are followed by back vowels, front vowels are followed by front vowels. Do not cross
the back/front boundary.
2. Unrounded vowels are followed by unrounded vowels.
3. A rounded vowel may be followed by a mix of rounded closed and unrounded open vowels.
So:

a or may be followed by a or
o or u may be followed by u or a
e or i may be followed by e or i
or may be followed by or e

Applying Variable Vowels

A word may not necessarily be internally consistent regarding vowel harmony it may mix front and back
vowels. For example, that word you learn early while riding Turkish buses and wondering what is
advertised by so many signs along the highway: sigorta, or insurance. Or kitap, or book. However, much of
Turkish grammar is formed by adding suffixes, and these suffixes usually follow vowel harmony with the
preceding vowel (there are a few exceptions, suffixes of fixed form not following vowel harmony).

For example, the sign found in sleeper compartments of overnight trains announcing the bed linen charge:
Sayn yolcularmz: Ekspreslerimizde her gece iin alnacak ...
Dear passengers: in our express trains every night there will be purchased ...
yol
yolcu
yolcular

road
road-dealer, or really passenger
passengers

yolcularmz

our passengers

ekspres

express train

ekspresler
express trains
ekspreslerimiz our express trains
ekspreslerimizde in our express trains

Variable Consonants
Some consonants vary depending on whether a voiced or unvoiced consonant is needed. Voiced consonants
follow other voiced consonants or vowels, unvoiced consonants follow unvoiced consonants (, f, h, k, p, s,
, t). The pairs are t/d, p/b, and /c.
Also, a final k "softens" to when a vowel is suffixed kpek (dog) becomes kpei when it is the direct
object.
However, see the next section for some exceptions and irregularities.

Optional Letters
Some letters are optional, vowel or consonant buffers between the existing stem so far and the next suffix.

Pronouns & Nouns, Possession, Postpositions, Adjectives, Adverbs,

Conjunctions
Pronouns

Absolute /
Nominative

ben
sen
o

biz
siz
onlar

I
You
he / she / it

we
you
they

Accusative /
Direct object

beni
seni
onu

bizi
sizi
onlar

Me
You
he / she / it

us
you
them

Genitive /
Possessive /
Owner-of, of-X

benim bizim
senin sizin
onun onlar

my ...
your ...
his / her / its ...

our ...
your ...
their ...

Dative /
Indirect object /
motion toward

bana
sana
ona

to me
to you
to him / her / it

to us
to you
to them

Locative

bende bizde
sende sizde
onda onlarda

in me
in you
in him / her / it

in us
in you
in them

bize
size
onlara

benden bizden
from/than me
from/than us
Ablative /
senden sizden
from/than you
from/than you
comparison /
motion from/through ondan onlardan from/than him / her / it from/than them
Note the irregularities:

In the dative case ben and sen become bana and sana instead of the anticipated *bena and *sena.
The plurals of ben and sen are biz and siz instead of the anticipated *benler and *senler.
The plural of o is onlar instead of the anticipated *olar.

Question words
ka?
ne?
kim?

how much?
how many?
what?
who?

kimin?
whose?
hangi?
which?
niin?
why?
neden?
ne zaman? when?
nasl?
how?

Nouns
Noun declension
Case
Application
Singular Plural
Absolute
nominative

-ler
Accusative
direct object
-(y)i
-leri
Genitive
owner-of, of-X
-(n)in -lerin
Dative indirect object, motion toward -(y)e
-lere
Locative
in a place
-de
-lerde
Ablative
motion from
-den -lerden
Lewis' book distinguishes between the indefinite accusative case which uses the absolute form, and the
accusative case. His examples are as follows, but his explanation is not at all clear to me...

Gazete karmak zor bir i.

To publish newspapers is a hard job. (absolute form)
Bu gazeteyi karmak zor bir i.
To publish this newspaper is a hard job. (accusative form)

In the first example, Gazete is indefinite, as in a general example Generally speaking, the publishing of
newspapers is a hard job.
In the second example, Bu gazeteyi is definite, as in a very specific example Publishing this specific
newspaper is a hard job.
While the above are Lewis' examples, they might get the point across better with the following English
explanations:

Gazete karmak zor bir i.

To publish a newspaper any newspaper in general is a hard job.
(indefinite or general accusative, absolute form)
Bu gazeteyi karmak zor bir i.
To publish this newspaper is a hard job.
(definite or specific accusative, accusative form)

Noun declensions by example

Front vowels
ev
Absolute
Accusative evi

un-round
house
evler
evleri

kahve
kahveyi

round
coffee
kahveler
kahveleri

n
n

front
nler
nleri

rt
rty

roof
rtler
rtleri

Genitive
Dative
Locative
Ablative

Back vowels
Absolute
Accusative
Genitive
Dative
Locative
Ablative
Variable
consonants
Absolute
Accusative
Genitive
Dative
Locative
Ablative

evin
eve
evde
evden

evlerin
evlere
evlerde
evlerden

kahvenin
kahveye
kahvede
kahveden

kahvelerin
kahvelere
kahvelerde
kahvelerden

nn
ne
nde
nden

nlerin
nlere
nlerde
nlerden

un-round
handle
kabza
kabzalar
kabzay kabzalar
kabzann kabzalarn
kabzaya kabzalara
kabzada kabzalarda
kabzadan kabzalardan

Dog

Book

kpekler
kpekleri
kpeklerin
kpeklere
kpeklerde
kpeklerden

rtlerin
rtlere
rtlerde
rtlerden

round

ceiling
tavan
tavanlar
tavan
tavanlar
tavann tavanlarn
tavana tavanlara
tavanda tavanlarda
tavandan tavanlardan

kpek
kpei
kpein
kpee
kpekte
kpekten

rtnn
rtye
rtde
rtden

kitap
kitab
kitabn
kitaba
kitapta
kitaptan

ball
top
toplar
topu toplar
topun toplarn
topa toplara
topta toplarda
toptan toplardan

neighbor
komu
komular
komuyu komular
komunun komularn
komuya komulara
komuda komularda
komudan komulardan

kitaplar
kitaplar
kitaplarn
kitaplara
kitaplarda
kitaplardan

Adjectival forms and modified nouns :

-siz
-i, -ci
-[y]ici

with or
with the quality of or
belonging to
without
The professional
The habitual

-e

-ish or as for

-(i)msi,
-(i)mtrak,
-si

-ish or -like

-da

fellow-

-lik

abstract noun formation

-igde, -ligi
-sel

of the, similar to -lik

abstract adjective formation

-li

-ki
-ki

sulu = "with water"

atl = "horseman"
kyl = "villager"
susuz = "without water"
gazeteci = "journalist", ayc = "tea seller", dii = "dentist"
yazmak = "to write", so yazc = "writer"
ocuka = "childish[ly]"
trke = "Turkish"
bence = "as for me"
duvarms = "wall-like"
beyazmtrak = "whitish"
ocuksu = "child-like"
okulda = "schoolmate"
-da does not follow vowel harmony
byklk = "largeness" or "size"
susuzluk = "waterlessness" or "thirst"
Granted, susuzluk is rather stilted, a Turk would more
likely ask "Susadn m?" for "Are you thirsty?"

tarih = "history", tarihsel = "historic"

sabahki hava = "morning weather"
abstract adjective formation
Amerikadaki ocuklar = the children in America
Ahmet'inki = "Ahmet's" (with possessive)
added to genitive case to form a Bu kalem benim deil. = "This is not my pencil." (simple
possessive pronoun
denial)

-ik, -cik, ceiz, -ce

-[y]i
-leyin
-ken
-olu

Bu kalem benimki deil. = "This pencil is not mine (I do

have a pencil, but this one is not it)."
Bu kpek benimki. = "This dog is mine."
Ahmetik = "my pal Ahmet"
Diminutive
Kyceiz = "the dear little village" and a lakeside town in
southwestern Turkey.
Add to a verb stem for the noun girmek = "to enter", so giri = "entrance"
form
kmak = "to exit", so k = "exit"
geceleyin = "by night"
by or at
akamleyin = "at evening"
while
yazarken = "while writing"
son of
Kseolu Bey = "Mr Son-Of-The-Beardless-Man"

Comparison and superlatives

For adjectives or adverbs, daha byk = "bigger" (more big)
use daha for "more":
daha iyi = "better" (more good)
Comparison
For nouns, use:
benden byk = "bigger than me"
ablative measure
benden iyi = "better than me"
en byk = "biggest" (most big)
Superlatives Use en for "most":
en iyi = "best" (most good)

Demonstratives
This,
Bu kpek benimki.
close to the speaker This dog is mine.
this or that,
u da Ar Da.
u
further away
That mountain is Mount Ararat.
O Ar Da.
o that
That is Mount Ararat.

bu

Locations
Stems
nere- where?
burahere

ora-

there

Add from/in/to endings to demonstrative pronouns to yield:

burada here
orada there
nerede? where?
buradan from this place oradan from there nereden? from where?
buraya to this place
oraya to there
nereye? to where?

Possession
There is what G.L. Lewis terms "indefinite" ownership, in which -i is added to the noun which is owned in a
way that is not very possessive. Compare this to the more possessive "definite" version:
Sultan Ahmet Mosque Atatrk Bulvar Atatrk Boulevard
Indefinite Sultan Ahmet Camii
Definite Sultan Ahmed'in trbesi Sultan Ahmet's tomb Atatrk'n evi Atatrk's house
The definite possessive is complicated, and I'm skipping details here, but the form is:
owner(n)in ownedX
where X is replaced by:
-(i)m -(i)miz owned by me owned by us
-(i)n -(i)niz owned by you owned by you
-(s)i -leri owned by it owned by them
So, since fil is "elephant" and ev is "house," filin evi means "the elephant's house", and fillerin evleri means
"the elephants' houses". Note that you often leave off the possessor, especially when it's a pronoun or can be
derived from context. Thus:
Filim byk. = My elephant is big.
Bu benim byk filim. = Hey, this is my big elephant, get your own!
filim would mean "my elephant", while benim filim would very adamantly make the case that the elephant
was, in fact, mine, and not anyone else's.
Sahip means "owner" or "master", and hal means "rug". Note the logic of "the owner of the rug", where the
rug has an owner, and thus "rug" is the possessor (of an owner) and the owner is the thing possessed (by the
rug). Thus halnn sahibi for "the rug's owner".
Finally, note that ocuklarn baheleri is ambiguous, it could mean either "the garden of the children" or
"the gardens of the children". It must be derived from context (about the number of gardens), or by
intentionally malforming the possessed item as ocuklarn bahesi to explicitly mean the one garden of the
multiple children.

Postpositions :
They work somewhat as prepositions do in English, and fall into three classes depending on the declension
of the modified word.

Class 0
absolute

zere,
zre
baka

beri
bu yana
dolay
Class I
ablative: -den

nce
evvel

ieri
itibaren

sonra
dair
doru

Class II
dative: -(y)e

gre
kar
nazaran
ramen

gibi
Class III
genitive for these pronouns:
ben, sen, o, biz, siz, bu, u, kim iin
absolute for all other words
ile / (y)le

on
yol zere = on the road
other than, except for
bizden baka = except for us
kpeklerimden baka = except for my dogs
since, subsequent to
on saatten beri = for the past 10 hours
saat ondan beri = since 10:00
since
Cumadan bu yana = since Friday
because of
Atatrk'ten dolay, imdi Turkiye iyi millet.
Because of Atatrk, Turkey is a good country now.
before, earlier than
bizden nce = earlier than us
saat ondan nce = before 10:00
Evvel is not originally Turkish. It used to be used more
commonly during the first years of the Republic, but today nce
is used more.
inside, into
Kebapcdan ieri girdik = We went into a kebap shop.
with effect from, starting from
Cumadan itibaren her gn, kebapdan iiri gireceiz.
Every day starting from Friday, we will go into a kebap shop.
after, later than
bizden sonra = later than us
saat ondan sonra = after 10:00
about, concerning
Osmanl tarihine dair bir kitap = A book about Ottoman history
straight toward
Bu yol stanbul'a doru gitiyor.
This road goes straight toward Istanbul
according to
Gazeteye gre, hava gzel olacak.
According to the newspaper, the weather is going to be nice.
against, opposite
bana kar = against me
compared to, in regard to
Kediye nazaran filim daha byk. = Compared to a cat, my
elephant is larger.
despite
ona ramen = despite that
like, similar to
kedi gibi = like a cat
sizin gibi = like you
because of, for, for the purpose of
bunun iin = because of this
with, by the
kedi ile -or- kediyle = with a cat

kadar

Hahii kilo ile satyorum. = I sell hashish by the kilogram.

up to, until, as far as, as much as
(from Arabic word for amount)
saat ona kadar = until 10:00
evime kadar = as far as my house
Bir saat kadar otobse bindim. = I rode the bus for one hour.
ndiana'da halk filler kadar iman. = People in Indiana are as
fat as elephants.
Senin kadar zeki deilim. = I'm not as smart as you.
Melek kadar gzeldi. = She was as beautiful as an angel.
Cehenneme kadar yolun var! = Go to Hell! (literally You go until
arriving at Hell.)
Yumuayana kadar kaynat. = Boil it until it gets soft.
Hastalk Amerika'ya kadar yaylm. = It seems the disease has
spread to America.

Other qualifiers or pronouns

Baz,
kimi

some

her

every

biraz

a little,
from az, little

kimse

whoever,
or no one in the
negative

baz adam, kimi adam = some man

baz adamlar, kimi adamlar = some men
Bu tren her gn Istanbul'a gidiyor. = This train goes to Istanbul every
day.
Az arap ierim. = I drink little wine.
Bojangels Bey dedi, "Biraz ierim". = Mr Bojangles said, "I drinks a
bit".
Bir kimse size aryordu. = Someone was looking for you.
Kimse aldr etmiyor. = No one is paying attention.

Conjunctions
ve
and
veya
or
ya da
ki
that
de
too, also

Evimde scak ve souk su var.

In my house there is hot and cold water

stanbul'e veya Ankara'ya gideceim. I will go to Istanbul or Ankara.

Diroylar ki olmayacak.
Biz de mi gidelim?

They are saying that it will not happen

Shall we too go?

Morphology, Character Shifts and Some Irregularities and

Complications
Many thanks to Fatih Aygn for explaining these to me! These are his examples:
1. In most nouns ending in -, -k, -nk and -p, the last consonant lenites (softens or weakens) before a
vowel to become -c, -, -ng and -b, respectively. However, this does not always happen. The word
for "tail", "queue", "follower" etc changes as expected to form the accusative -i///u:
kuyruk > kuyruu
but the word for "law" does not:
hukuk > hukuku

2. In some nouns the final consonant geminates (lengthens) before an added vowel. However, this
does not always happen. The word for "forgiveness" changes as expected to form the dative -e/a:
af > affa
but the word for "shelf" does not:
raf > rafa
3. Some nouns lose the vowel before a final consonant when a vowel is suffixed. The word for "breast"
does when forming the accusative:
koyun > koynu
but the identically spelled word for "sheep" does not:
koyun > koyunu
4. Sometimes that vowel loss is followed by an internal assimilation where the consonant ending of the
previous consonant becomes hard or voiceless; for example, the word for "transcript" or "records":
zabt > zapt
5. Some nouns end with a back vowel (a/o/u) but take a front vowel (e/i//) in suffixes. The word for
"left" changes as expected forming the dative:
sol > sola
but the identically spelled word for the musical note does not:
sol > sole
I wonder if this may have something to do with the second of those being a rather arbitrary and
borrowed "word" or really just a name.
6. Some pronouns and some compound nouns formed from noun phrases take n rather than y before a
suffixed vowel, and sometimes even before a suffixed consonant. The word for "army" behaves as
expected forming the accusative and nominative plural:
ordu > orduyu
ordu > ordular
but the word for the plant purslane formed the accusative differently than expected:
semizotu > semizotunu
and the demonstative pronoun "this" forms both differently:
bu > bunu
bu > bunlar
Similarly, see the pronoun o with its plural onlar. As for the compound nouns, see the following!
7. The interrogative pronoun ne or "what" is irregular in forming the possessive:
ne > neyim, but nem is also somewhat acceptable
and the genitive:
ne > neyin (and not the expected *nenin)
The word for "water", su, is similarly irregular.
8. There is a morphologic process of partial reduplication to make Turkish adjectives and adverbs
stronger in meaning. Take the beginning of the word through the first vowel, add m, p, r or s, then
repeat the entire adjective. However, there is no pattern for predicting which letter will be used
(other than it's always p if the adjective starts with a vowel), and sometimes extra letters appear:
yeni "new" > yepyeni
"all new", "very new"
yeil "green" > yemyeil "all green", "very green"
mavi "blue" > masmavi "all blue", "very blue"
temiz "clean" > tertemiz "all clean", "very clean"
and worse yet, plus a vowel or even a vowel-consonant pair:
yalnz "alone" > yapayalnz "all alone", "very alone" Not the expected yapyalnz
plak "naked" > rlplak "all naked", "very naked" Not the expected rplak
Now, as for those compound nouns, John Guise pointed out that the word for purslane is a compound noun
made of two words that does not follow vowel harmony rules internally. Semiz (fat or meat) + ot-u (itsplant-or-grass). The second of those is already suffixed, so adding a further suffix requires a buffer letter -n-

so we have semizotunu (as if it were semiz otunu) and not the expected semizotuyu. As for other examples
John pointed out:
Hava + gaz became the compound havagaz (town its-gas):

Evet, aa yukar bir sene evvel havagazn ak brakarak byle bir i yapmak istemiti.
Yes, about a year ago she had wanted to do such a thing by leaving the town gas open.
(Cumhuriyet Gazete, possibly reporting a suicide attempt)

Hann + el became the compound hanmel (lady her-hand, or honeysuckle)

nce bir tutam hanmeln bir bardak su ile ksk atete.

Siz hi ocukluunuzda hanmeln ieklerinin balln emdiniz mi?
ieklerden en ok hanmeln seviyorum.
Firstly boil a handful of honeysuckle with a tumbler of water.
Didn't you ever suck the honeysuckle flower's nectar when you were a child?
Of (all) flowers I like the honeysuckle best.
(WWW)

Ayak + kap became the compound ayakkab (foot its-cover, or shoe(s)):

Ayakkabn nasl balarsn?

Kendi ayakkabn tasarlayabilmek ne kadarda sper bir ey.
How do you tie your shoes?
How great to be able to design your own shoes.
(WWW)

Semiz + ot became the compound semizotu (meat its-grass, or purslane).

Semizotunu ayklayarak bol su ile iyice ykayp e bln, dvlm sarmsaklar, szme yourdu,
semizotunu, tuz ve zeytinyan bir kapta kartrn.
Supyal semizotu'nu seviyorum.
Wash the purslane thoroughly with plenty of water and divide into three, crushed garlic, strained
yogurt, purslane, and mix in a bowl with salt and olive oil.
I like cuttlefish with purslane.
(WWW, Ayvalk Recipe)

All these are compound nouns and the suffix and vowel harmony rules depend on the last word in the
compound. Looked at that way, they are not irregular once you realize that the rules depend on the last word
component. If that second word is already suffixed, then further accusative suffixes must take the buffer
letter -n-. As John says, most Turks cannot explain when the buffer letter -y- is used versus -n-. For
example:

Kediyi tekmeledim.
I kicked the cat.
Buffer letter -y- applies to a plain noun when adding the accusative -i marker.
Kedisini tekmeledim.
I kicked his cat.
Buffer letter -n- applies to an extended (already suffixed) noun when adding the accusative -i
marker.

Verbs

Infinitive

This uses -mek, and is the form found in the dictionary:

anlamak = to understand
grmek = to see
gitmek = to go
okumak = to read

Verb Formation
Verbs can be formed from "substantives" or other non-verb words. A few, not many, are formed simply by
adding the infinitive -mek to an adjective or noun.

boya = "paint", while boyamak = "to paint".

eski = "old", while eskimek = "to wear out".
gerek = "necessary", while gerekmek = "to be necessary".

There aren't many examples of this type of verb formation. Many more verbs are formed by starting with a
substantive word and then adding a suffix and the infinitive -mek. See G.L. Lewis' Turkish Grammar,
chapter 14, sections 20-29.

-eo
o

oyun = "game", while oynamak = "to play".

ya = "age", while yaamak = "to live".

o
o
o
o

su = "water", while sulamak = "to irrigate".

kilit = "lock", while kilitlemek = "to lock".
kir = "dirt", while kirlemek = "to make dirty".
temiz = "clean", while temizlemek = "to make clean".

-le-

As Lewis notes, you cannot always guess the meaning of the verb from that of the starting noun or
adjective. Kpek and kuzu mean "dog" and "lamb", respectively, while kpeklemek and kuzulamak
mean "to cringe" to "to lamb", respectively. If kuzalamak means "to give birth to lambs", then why
doesn't kpeklemek mean "to give birth to puppies"? And why does kpeklemek mean "to cringe"
when few mammals of its size are as easily frightened as a lamb?
Notice that -le- is used for the category of words describing the sounds animals make:
o
o

hav hav = the sound a dog makes, while havlamak = "to 'woof woof' like a dog"
miyav = the sound a cat makes, while miyavlamak = "to 'meow' like a cat"

-lenThe reflexive and passive of -le-, also some verbs synonymous with the -le- form, and some verbs
for which there is no -le- form.
o kir = "dirt", kirlemek = "to make dirty", kirlenmek = "to be made dirty".
o temiz = "clean", temizlemek = "to make clean", temizlenmek = "to be made clean".
o serin = "cool", serinlemek = "to become cool", serinlenmek = "to become cool".
Note that there are causative forms of these, appending a following -dir or -t- as discussed in the
following section on verb modification. Some make the verb causitive, some just make another
synonym for the -le- form:
o

can = "life", canlanmak = "to come to life", canlandrmak = "to bring to life",

o
o

kirlemek = "to make dirty", kirletmek = "to make dirty"

temiz = "clean", temizlemek = "to make clean", temizletmek = "to be made clean".

-leReciprocal of -le- or to form "to become ..."

o karlamak = "to meet", karlamak = "to meet one another"
o mektup = "letter", mektuplamak = "to correspond"
o bir = "one", birlemek = "to become united"
-el- / -lAdded usually to adjectives, infrequently to nouns, to form "to become ..."
o az = "little", while azalmak = "to diminish"
o ok = "much", while oalmak = "to increase"
-erUsed with color adjectives to form "to become ...", with other words to form an active verb. Note, as
described in some detail in Lewis' book, that two-syllable color words actually have their final
syllable replaced by -er-.
o az = "white", aarmak = "to become white"
o gk = "blue" or "green", ger or gver = "to become blue green"
o kzl = "red", kzarmak = "to become red" or "to be roasted"
o ya = "moisture", yaarmak = "to become moist"
-seThe only surviving example of the once common "to want" is susamak for "to thirst". Otherwise, a
few verbs use this to form "to regard as ..."
o benim = "mine" (or "of me"), benimsemek = "to regard as one's own"
o mhim = "important", mhimsemek = "to regard as important"
-imse
Used similarly to -se- to form "to regard as ..." or "to consider to be ..."
o az = "little", azmsamak = "to consider inadequate"
o ok = "much", oumsamak = "to consider excessive"
-deUsed in onomatopoeic words which end in r or l and which can be repeated to form an adverb. For
example, czr is "sizzling", the sound made by frying food; czr czr is then "sizzlingly", and
czrdamak is "to make a sizzling sound", and just czrt is the noun "sizzling". There are similar sets
of words for "creaking", "growling", "snoring", "crunching", "pattering" (as in footsteps),
"glittering" (seldom a noisy activity), and "tapping" (as in ravens at doors).

Verb Modification
There are several ways of modifying verbs to produce related words. Some of these begin to show how
complex verbs, expressed as phrases in English, are made by combining suffixes. Presumably a large
dictionary would cover these other forms, but you often have to (de)construct your own...

Negative -me- or infrequently -mezo For most tenses, add -megrmek = "to see"
grmemek = "not to see"
o For the general (or aorist) tense only, add -mez- in place of the characteristic aorist -(i)rsuffix, except for the 1st person, where it is just -me-.
Ahmet yazar = Ahmet is a writer.
Ahmet yazmaz = Ahmet is not a writer.

Barinikov dans etir. Siz, Senatr Kuayl, siz dans etmezsiniz.

Baryshnikov is a dancer. But you, Senator Quayle, you are not a dancer.

See the aorist section below for an explanation of "aorist" and why these examples were
used.

Passive -n- or -il- or -ino For verb stems ending in vowels, add -nokumak = "to read",
okunmak = "to be read"
o For verb stems ending in consonants other than l, add -ilvermek = "to give",
verilmek = "to be given"
o For verb stems ending in l, add -inbilmek = "to know",
bilinmek = "to be known"

Causative -dir- or -t- or -ito Most verbs add -dirbilmek = "to know",
bildirmek = "to inform" or "to announce"
o Verbs ending in a vowel, or l, or r, add only -tanlamak = "to understand",
anlatmak = "to explain"
o Verbs ending in or add -irimek = "to drink",
iirmek = "to cause or make to drink"
o A few monosyllable verb stems ending in k add -it-.
o Doubly causative verbs are possible:
pimek = "to cook" (intransitive, the meat cooks)
piirmek = "to cook" (transitive, the chef cooks the meat)
piirtmek = "to have something cooked"
lmek = "to die"
ldrmek = "to kill"
ldrtmek = "to have someone killed"
Higher-order causation is grammatically possible, but stilted:
ldrttrmek = "to get someone to have someone killed", or to get someone else to hire a
hitman.
ldrttrtmek = the same thing but one more step removed, "to get someone to get someone
to have someone killed", or to get someone else to contact an agency to have them hire the
hitman.

Reflexive -ino giymek = "to wear clothes"

o giyinmek = "to dress oneself"
o giyindirmek = "to dress someone else"
o giyindirilmek = "to be dressed by someone else"
o giyindirildirmek = "to be forced to be dressed by someone else"

Verbs of mutual action -io grmek = "to see"

o grmek = "to see one another" or "to converse"
o grlmek = "to be conversed about"

o
o

grtrmek = "to make to converse with one another"

grtrlmek = "to be made to converse with one another"

Order for applying modification:

1. Reflexive
2. Reciprocal
3. Causative
4. Passive
For example:
acmak = "to feel pain" (simple)
acnmak = "to feel pain in oneself, to grieve" (reflexive)
acndrmak = "to cause to grieve" (causative)
acndrlmak = "to be made to grieve" (passive)
tanmak = "to know" (simple)
tanmak = "to know one another" (reciprocal)
tantrmak = "to introduce" (causative)
tantrlmak = "to be introduced" (passive)
Negation, -me, plus ability, -ebil, and inability, -eme (see below) are added after these.

Table of all tenses and moods

From G.L. Lewis' Turkish Grammar, especially page 136 (section VIII,38).
1. Drop the -mek from the infinitive to get the stem:
grmek > gr2. Add any modifications to the meaning of the verb, as listed above.
3. Select the tense:
Tense

Append Meaning

Present

-(i)yor-

General (Aorist) -(i)r-

Actions happening now, or started in the recent past and continuing.

I am writing. The point is that I am writing even as I speak.
Note that the o does not undergo vowel harmony.
Things generally true, hence timeless.
I am a writer. Although I am not necessarily writing anything at this very moment.
See the aorist section below for an explanation of "aorist".

Future

-(y)ecek- Actions that will happen.

mi-past

-mi-

A present state caused by past action,

or things the speaker is reporting without having seen.

di-past
Necessity

-di-meli-

Both the simple past (did) and the perfect past (have done).

Conditional

-se-

Subjunctive

-e-

If ...
With non-simple moods, expresses unfulfilled conditions, hopeless wishes of the past, etc.
No statement of fact, things that might happen or have happened.
With non-simple moods, this expresses unfulfillable past wishes, or quotes of those expressions.

Actions that must, or should, be taken.

4. Select the mood, noting that not all tense/mood combinations exist:
Mood

Append

Simple
Past
Conditional

-idi-ise-

Conjugation
pattern
I (mostly)
II
II

Past conditional
-idi- + -isiInferential
-imiInferential conditional -imi- + -ise-

II
I
II

5. Apply the appropriate conjugation ending for person and number:

-im -iz
-m -k
-eyim -elim
Type I -sin -siniz
Type II -n -niz Type III -esin -esiniz
(-dir) -(dir)ler
- -ler
-e
-eler
6. Note that there are exceptions in the mapping from simple mood to conjugation pattern, and some
combinations of tense and mood do not exist. Really apply this pattern:

Simple
I
Present
-(i)yorGeneral
(aorist)
-(i)rFuture
-ecekmi-past
-midi-past
-diNecessity
-meliConditional
-seSubjunctive
-e-

Past
-idi + II

Conditional
ise + II

Past
Inferential
conditional
-imi- + I
-idi- + -ise- + II

Inferential
conditional
-imi- + -ise+ II

(i)yor + I (i)yordu + II (i)yorsa + II (i)yorduysa + II (i)yormu + I (i)yormusa + II

-(i)r + I
-ecek + I

-(i)rdi + II

-(i)rse + II

-ecekti + II -ecekse + II

-(i)rdise + II

-(i)rmi + I

-(i)rmise + II

-ecektiyse + II -ecekmi + I -ecekmise + II

-mi + I

-miti + II

-mise + II -mi idiyse + II -mi imi + I -mi imise + II

-di + II

-diydi + II

-diyse + II

-meli + I -meliydi + II

-di idiyse + II

-meliy
mi + I

-se + II

-seydi + II

-sey mi + I

-e + III

-edi + II

-ey mi + I

So, to discuss looking at derviler

Simple
I

Past
-idi + II

Present
-(i)yor-

Dervileri
gryorum.
I am seeing
Dervishes.

Dervileri
gryordum.
I was seeing
Dervishes.

General
(aorist)
-(i)r-

Dervileri
Dervileri grrm. grrdm.
I see Dervishes.
I used to see
Dervishes.

Conditional
ise + II
Dervileri
gryorsam, ...
If I am seeing
Dervishes, ...

Past conditional
-idi- + -ise- + II
Dervileri
gryorduysam, ...
If I was seeing
Dervishes, ...

Dervileri
Dervileri grrsem,
grrdysem, ...
...
If I used to see
If I see Dervishes, ...
Dervishes, ...

Inferential
-imi- + I

Inferential
conditional
-imi- + -ise- + II

Dervileri gryormusam,
...
Dervileri gryormuum. If, as they say, I am seeing
I am said to be seeing
Dervishes, ...
Dervishes.
or
If I am said to be seeing
Dervishes, ...
Dervileri grrmsem, ...
If, as they say, I see
Dervileri grrmm. Dervishes, ...
I am said to see Dervishes. or
If I am said to see
Dervishes, ...

Future
-ecek-

Dervileri
Dervileri
grecektim.
greceim.
I was going to see
I will see Dervishes.
Dervishes.

mi-past
-mi-

Dervileri
Dervileri
grmtm.
grmm.
I had seen
I saw Dervishes. (so
Dervishes. (so they
they say)
say)

Dervileri
grmsem, ...
If I have seen
Dervishes, ...

Dervileri grm
idiysem, ...
If I had seen
Dervishes, ...

di-past
-di-

Dervileri grdm.
I saw Dervishes.
or
I have seen
Dervishes.
(II)

Dervileri
grdydm.
I had seen
Dervishes.

Dervileri
grdysem.
If I saw Dervishes,
...
or
If I have seen
Dervishes, ...

Dervileri grd
dysem, ...
If I had seen
Dervishes, ...

Necessity
-meli-

Dervileri
grmeliyim.
I must see
Dervishes.

Dervileri
grmeliydim.
I needed to see
Dervishes.

Conditional
-se-

Dervileri grsem,
...
If I were to see
Dervishes, ...

Dervileri
grseydim, ...
If only I had seen
Dervishes, ...

Subjunctive
-e-

Dervileri greyim.
I might see
Dervileri greydim!
Dervishes, maybe
Would that I had
later.
seen Dervishes!

Dervileri
greceksem, ...
If I am going to see
Dervishes, ...

Dervileri
grecektiysem, ...
If I was going to see
Dervishes, ...

Dervileri grecekmisem,
...
If, as they say, I was going
Dervileri grecekmiim.
to see Dervishes, ...
I am said to see Dervishes.
or
If I am said to be about to
see Dervishes, ...
Dervileri grm
mm.
I am said to have seen
Dervishes.

Dervileri grm
msem, ...
If, as they say, I have seen
Dervishes, ...
or
If I am said to have seen
Dervishes, ...

Dervileri grmeliymiim.
They say I ought to see
Dervishes.

Dervileri grseymiim.
They say that if I were to
see Dervishes, ...
or
They say, "If only I would
see Dervishes"!

Dervileri greymiim!
They say, "Would that I
had seen Dervishes"!

(III)

Or going to Konya notice the d/t variation in gitmek! In a few verbs (etmek, tatmak, gitmek, etc) the final
t lenites (becomes voiced) before a vowel, but in others it doesn't:
Simple
I

Past
-idi + II

Conditional
ise + II

Past conditional
-idi- + -ise- + II

Inferential
-imi- + I

Inferential
conditional
-imi- + -ise- + II

Konya'ya gidiyormuum.
I am said to be going to
Konya.

Konya'ya gidiyormusam,
...
If, as they say, I am going
to Konya, ...
or
If I am said to be going to
Konya, ...

Konya'ya gidermiim
I am said to go to Konya.

Konya'ya gidermisem, ...

If, as they say, I go to
Konya, ...
or
If I am said to go to Konya,
...

Konya'ya
gidiyorum.
I am going to
Konya.

Konya'ya
gidiyordum.
I was going to
Konya.

Konya'ya
gidiyorsam, ...
If I am going to
Konya, ...

Konya'ya
gidiyorduysam, ...
If I was going to
Konya, ...

General
(aorist)
-(i)r-

Konya'ya giderim.
I go to Konya.

Konya'ya giderdim.
I used to go to
Konya.

Konya'ya gidersem,
...
If I go to Konya, ...

Konya'ya
giderdiysem, ...
If I used to go to
Konya, ...

Future
-ecek-

Konya'ya gidecekmisem,
...
Konya'ya
Konya'ya
Konya'ya
Konya'ya gidecektim.
Konya'ya gidecekmiim.
If, as they say, I am going
gideceksem, ...
gidecektiysem, ...
gideceim.
I was going to go to
I am said to be going to go to go to Konya, ...
If I am going to go to If I was going to go to
I will go to Konya. Konya.
to Konya.
or
Konya, ...
Konya, ...
If I am said to be going to
go to Konya, ...

Present
-(i)yor-

mi-past
-mi-

Konya'ya gitmisem,
Konya'ya gitmiim. Konya'ya gitmitim.
...
I went to Konya.
I had gone to Konya.
If I have gone to
(so they say)
(so they say)
Konya, ...

Konya'ya gitmi
idiysem, ...
If I had gone to
Konya, ...

di-past
-di-

Konya'ya gittim.
I went to Konya.
or

Konya'ya gitti
idiysem, ...
If I had gone to

Konya'ya gittiysem.
Konya'ya gittiytim.
If I went to Konya,
I had gone to Konya.
...

Konya'ya gitmi imiim.

I am said to have gone to
Konya.

Konya'ya gitmi imisem,

...
If, as they say, I have gone
to Konya, ...
or
If I am said to have gone to
Konya, ...

 or
If I have gone to
Konya, ...

I have gone to
Konya.
(II)

Necessity
-meli-

Konya'ya
Konya'ya
gitmeliydim.
gitmeliyim.
I needed to go to
I must go to Konya.
Konya.

Conditional
-se-

Konya'ya gitseytim,
Konya'ya gitsem, ...
...
If I were to go to
If only I had gone to
Konya, ...
Konya, ...

Subjunctive
-e-

Konya'ya gideyim.
I might go to
Konya'ya gideydim!
Konya, maybe later Would that I had
gone to Konya!
(III)

Konya, ...

Konya'ya gitmeliymiim.
They say I ought to go to
Konya.

Konya'ya gitseymiim.
They say that if I were to
go to Konya, ...
or
They say, "If only I would
go to Konya"!

Konya'ya gideymiim!
They say, "Would that I
had gone to Konya"!

The above tables may be adequate for your needs. Below here are tables of examples, including negative,
interrogative, and negative interrogative forms. Also the the forms of the verb to be, participles, ability-to
..., and imperatives.

-di-Past

-di-Past Simple -di + I

I did and I have done
Things that have been finished.
-dim -dik
-din -diniz
-di -diler
Konya'da dervileri grdm.
Konya'ya gittim.

I saw dervishes in Konya.

I have seen dervishes in Konya.
I went to Konya.
I have gone to Konya.

-di-Past Pluperfect -di -idi + II

I had done
Action that really was completed well back in the past. So far back that you could have used the past
tense in the past. Also called pluperfect.
-diydim -diydik
-diydin -diydiniz
-diydi -diydiler

-or-

Konya'da dervileri grdydm.

Konya'da dervileri grdmd.
Konya'ya gittiytim.
Konya'ya gittimdi.

-dimdi -dikti
-dindi -dinizdi
-diydi -dilerdi
I had seen dervishes in Konya.
I had gone to Konya.

-di-Past Conditional -di -ise + II

If I did or If I have done

-diysem -diysek
-diysen -diyseniz
-diyse -diyseler

-dimse -dikse
-dinse -dinizse
-diyse -dilerse

-or-

Konya'da dervileri grdysem ...

Konya'da dervileri grdmse ...
Konya'ya gittiysem ...
Konya'ya gittimse ...

If I saw dervishes in Konya ...

If I went to Konya ...

-di-Past Pluperfect Conditional -di -idi -ise + II

If I had done
-di idiysem -di idiysek
-di idiysen -di idiyseniz
-di idiyse -di idiyseler

-or-

Konya'da dervileri grd idiysem ...

Konya'da dervileri grdm idiyse ...
Konya'ya gitti idiysem ...
Konya'ya gittim idiyse ...

-dim idiyse -dik idiyse

-din idiyse -din idiyizse
-diy idiyse -diler idiyse

If I had seen dervishes in Konya ...

If I had gone to Konya ...

mi-Past

mi-Past Simple, or Past Indefinite -mi- + I

I have done
Events that supposedly happened in the past, but the speaker does not have adequate information to
definitively report it without question. As opposed to "He definitely went", this can render "He
(apparently, allegedly, reportedly, presumably, or ostensibly) went (but I am not sure enough of this
assertion to honestly use the past definite form)." And since the first-person singular exists, you can
make unfounded allegations about yourself!
Put another (less entertaining) way, the point is that something has happened, not the activity itself.
Lewis' example is kar yami, or snow has fallen, where the point is that there is snow on the
ground, never mind the details of how it got there.
Positive
-miim
-miiz
-misin -misiniz
-mi
-miler

Positive Interrogative
-mi miyim? -mi miyiz?
-mi misin?
-mi misiniz?
-mi mi?
-miler mi?

Negative
-memiim -memiiz
-memisin -memisiniz
-memi -memiler

Negative Interrogative
-memi miyim? -memi miyiz?
-memi misin? -memi misiniz?
-memi mi?
-memiler mi?

Konya'da masalarda dans etmiim.

Konya'da masalarda dans etmemiim.
Konya'da masalarda dans etmi miyim?
Konya'da masalarda dans etmemi miyim?
Konya'ya gitmiim.

Supposedly I danced on the tables in Konya.

(But I can't really say definitely, I don't remember a thing!
Next time, less rak!)
Supposedly I did not dance on the tables in Konya.
Did I supposedly dance on the tables in Konya?
Did I supposedly not dance on the tables in Konya?
I went to Konya, so they say.

Konya'ya gitmemiim.
Konya'ya gitmi miyim?
Konya'ya gitmemi miyim?

I did not go to Konya, so they say.

Did I go to Konya?
Did I not go to Konya?

mi-Past Past, or Pluperfect -mi- -iti- + II

I had done
Action that really was completed well back in the past. So far back that you could have used the past
tense in the past. Also called pluperfect.
Positive
-mitim -mitik
-mitin
-mitiniz
-miti
-milerdi

Positive Interrogative
-mi miydim? -mi miydik?
-mi miydin?
-mi miydiniz?
-mi miydi?
-mi miydiler?

Negative
-memitim -memitik
-memitin -memitiniz
-memiti -memilerdi

Negative Interrogative
-memi miydim? -memi miydik?
-memi miydin? -memi miydiniz?
-memi miydi? -memi miydiler?

Konya'da dervileri grmtm.

Konya'da dervileri grmemtm.
Konya'da dervileri grm mydm.
Konya'da dervileri grmem mydm.
Konya'ya gitmitim.
Konya'ya gitmemitim.
Konya'ya gitmi miydim?
Konya'ya gitmemi miydim?

I had seen dervishes in Konya.

I had not seen dervishes in Konya.
Had I seen dervishes in Konya?
Had I not seen dervishes in Konya?
I had gone to Konya, so they say.
I had not gone to Konya, so they say.
Had I gone to Konya?
Had I not gone to Konya?

mi-Past Narrative -mi- + I + suffixed with -dir

Used by the media to report He has ..., in situations where normal spoken Turkish would simply use
di-past
Positive
Negative
-miimdir -miizdir
-memiimdir -memiizdir
-misindir -misenizdir -memisindir -memisenizdir
-midir -milerdir -memidir -memilerdir
Derviler Konya'ya gitmilerdir
Derviler Konya'ya gitmemilerdir

In tonight's news, dervishes went to Konya.

In tonight's news, dervishes did not go to Konya.

mi-Past Conditional -mi- -ise- + II

If I have done
Positive
Negative
-misem -misek -memisem -memisek
-misen -miseniz -memisen -memiseniz
-mise -miseler -memise -memiseler
Konya'da dervileri grmsam, ....

If I had seen dervishes in Konya, ...

Konya'ya gitmisem ...

Konya'ya gitmemisem ...

If I had gone to Konya ...

If I had not gone to Konya ...

mi-Past Inferential -mi- -mi- + I

I am said to have done...
-mimiim -mimiiz -mi imiim -mi imiiz
-mimiin -mimiiniz -mi imiin -mi imiiniz
-mimi -mimiler -mi imi -mi imiler
Konya'da dervileri grmmm.
Konya'da dervileri grm imiim.
Konya'ya gitmimiim.
Konya'ya gitmi imiim.

I am said to have seen dervishes in Konya.

I am said to have gone to Konya.

mi-Past Inferential conditional -mi- -mi- + I

If I am said to have done...
-mi imisem -mi imisek
-mi imisen -mi imisiniz
-mi imise -mi imiseler
Konya'da dervileri grm msem, ...
Konya'ya gitmi imisem, ...

If I am said to have seen dervishes in Konya, ...

If I am said to have gone to Konya, ...

Present
Used for actions in progress, or generally done, or anticipated.
Note that the o in the suffix -yor does not vary under vowel agreement, and so the vowels in the suffixes
added onto that are always back vowels.
Also note that the suffixed -yor is added to a verb stem ending in e or a, then that e or a "narrows" to i or ,
respectively. So, I understand would be:
anlamak > anla - yor - um > anlyorum.
The negative is indicated by -me, also subject to this rule, so I do not understand would be:
anlamak > anla -me - yor - um > anlamiyorum.
In the verbs demek ("to say" or "to name") and yemek ("to eat") just the stem e narrows before y:
denemek -> deneyecek
yenemek -> yeneyecek
but:
demek -> diyecek
yemek -> yiyecek

Present Simple -(i)yor- + I

I am doing
Positive
-(i)yorum -(i)yoruz

Negative
-miyorum -miyoruz

-(i)yorsun -(i)yorsunuz -miroysun -miyorsunuz

-(i)yor
-(i)yorlar
-miyor
-miyorlar
Konya'da dervileri her gn gryorum.
Konya'ya gidiyorum.
Konya'ya gitmiyorum.

I see dervishes in Konya every day.

I am going to Konya. (note t->d change)
I am not going to Konya.

Present Past -(i)yor- -idi- + II

I was doing
Positive
Negative
-(i)yordum -(i)yorduk -miyordum -miyorduk
-(i)yordun -(i)yordunuz -miroydun -miyordunuz
-(i)yorlard
-miyorlard
-(i)yordu
-miyordu
-(i)yordular
-miyordular
Konya'da dervileri her gn gryordum.
Derviler Konya'ya gidiyorlard.
Derviler Konya'ya gidiyordular.

I saw dervishes in Konya every day.

Dervishes were going to Konya.

Present Conditional -(i)yor- -ise- + II

If I am doing ...
Positive
Negative
-(i)yorsam -(i)yorsak -miyorsam -miyorsak
-(i)yorsan -(i)yorsanz -miyorsan -miyorsanz
-(i)yorlarsa
-miyorlarsa
-(i)yorsa
-miyorsa
-(i)yorsalar
-miyorsalar
Konya'da dervileri her gn gryorsam ...
Konya'ya derviler gidiyorlarsa ...
Konya'ya derviler gidiyorsalar ...

If I see dervishes in Konya every day ...

If Dervishes are going to Konya ...

Present Past Conditional -(i)yor- -idi- -ise- + II

If I was doing ...
Positive
-(i)yorduysam -(i)yorduysak
-(i)yor idiysem -(i)yor idiysek
-(i)yorduysan -(i)yorduysanz
-(i)yor idiysen -(i)yor idiyseniz
-(i)yorduylarsa
-(i)yorduysa -(i)yorduysalar
-(i)yor idiyse -(i)yor idiylerse
-(i)yor idiyseler

Negative
-miyorduysam -miyorduysak
-miyor idiysem -miyor idiysek
-miyorduysan -miyorduysanz
-miyor idiysen -miyor idiyseniz
-miyorduylarsa
-miyorduysa -miyorduysalar
-miyor idiyse -miyor idiylerse
-miyor idiyseler

Konya'da dervileri her gn gryorduysam ...

Konya'da dervileri her gn gryor idiysem ...
Konya'ya derviler gidiyorduylarsa ...
Konya'ya derviler gidiyorduysalar ...
Konya'ya derviler gidiyor idiylerse ...
Konya'ya derviler gidiyor idiyseler ...

If I saw dervishes in Konya every day ...

If Dervishes were going to Konya ...

Present Inferential -(i)yor- -imi- + I

I am said to be doing ...

Positive
Negative
-(i)yormuum -(i)yormuuz
-miyormuum -miyormuuz
-(i)yormusun -(i)yormussunuz -miyormusun -miyormussunuz
-(i)yormu
-(i)yormular
-miyormu
-miyormular
Konya'da dervileri her gn gryormuum.
Konya'ya derviler gidiyormular.

I am said to see dervishes in Konya every day.

Dervishes are said to go to Konya.

Present Inferential Conditional -(i)yor- -imi- -ise- + II

If I am, as they say, doing ... or
I gather that if I was doing ...
Positive
-(i)yormusam -(i)yormusak
-(i)yor imisem -(i)yor imisek
-(i)yormusan -(i)yormusunaz
-(i)yor imisen -(i)yor imiseniz
-(i)yormusa -(i)yormusalar
-(i)yor mise -(i)yor imiseler

Negative
-miyormusam -miyormusak
-(i)yor imisem -(i)yor imisek
-miyormusan -miyormusunaz
-miyor imisen -miyor imisen
-miyormusa -miyormusalar
-miyor mise -miyor imiseler

Konya'da dervileri her gn gryormusam, ...

Konya'da dervileri her gn gryor imisem, ...
Konya'ya derviler gidiyormusalar, ...
Konya'ya derviler gidiyor imiseler, ...

If I am, as they say, seeing dervishes in Konya every day, ...

If dervishes, as they say, are going to Konya, ...

General / Aorist
About things always true and hence timeless, denoting continuing activity:
I am painting would use the Present Simple.
I am a painter or I paint would be Aorist.
It is discussed in Turkish Grammar by G.L. Lewis as follows, in chapter 8, section 24:
This term, borrowed from Greek grammar, means 'unbounded' and well
describes what the Turks call geni zaman 'the broad sense', which denotes
continuing activity.
And then in chapter 8, section 25:
The aorist denotes continuing activity, but to equate, for example, yapar-m with
'I do' and yapyor-um with 'I am doing' is a misleading oversimplification.
Fundamentally, yaparm means 'I am a doer' and according to context it may
represent
'I habitually do';
'by and large I am the sort of person who does';
'I am ready, willing, and able to do';
'I shall do'.
yapyorum means
'I have undertaken, and am now engaged in, the job of doing';
'I am doing now';
'I am doing in the future';
i.e., 'I have the job in hand'. yazarm and yazyorum may both be translated 'I
write'. But more specifically: yazarm 'I am a writer; in principle I write

(although I may not yet have put pen to paper)'. yazyorum 'I am writing now';
'as a matter of fact I do write'; 'I write, for example, for four hours every
morning' her sabah drt saat yazyorum where the broad yazarm would
be incongruous with the precise expression of time. For 'I love you' the Turk says
seni seviyorum; if he said seni severim that would sound far too vague and
without immediacy, corresponding rather to 'I like you'. '
So, my silly examples were:
Ahmet yazar = Ahmet is a writer.
Ahmet yazmaz = Ahmet is not a writer.
Ahmet is or is not the sort of person who habitually writes.
Barinikov dans etir. = Baryshnikov is a dancer.
He isn't necessarily dancing right now, but generally speaking, he dances.
Senatr Kuayl dans etmezsiniz. = Senator Quayle is not a dancer.
He is not ready, willing, or able to dance.
The aorist is used for:
Requests:
Promises:
With olmak,
(to become or happen),
to ask permission:
In proverbs:

Oturur musunuz?
Yarn gelirim.

Will you sit down?

Tomorrow I shall come.
Is it all right?.
Olur mu?.
Literally, Does it happen?
Answer: olur (all right) or olmaz (no)
It rr, kervan geer. The dogs howl, the caravan moves on.

What to add? It depends on the verb stem:

-r + I

Verb stem ends with a vowel.

anlamak = to understand

-ar + I

Verb stem ends with a consonant, single syllable.

etmek = to do
eder = he does

anlar = he understands

14 exceptions to the above rule add i///u:

almek = to take
alr = he takes
bilmek = to do
bilir = he does
bulmak = to find
bulur = he finds
durmak = to stand
durur = he stands
gelmek = to come
gelir = he comes
grmek = to see
grr = he sees
kalr = he remains
-ir + I kalmak = to remain
olmak = to become / be / happen olur = it becomes / is / happens
lmek = to die
lr = he dies
sanmak = to think
sanr = he thinks
varmak = to reach
varr = he reaches
vermek = to give
verir = he gives
vurmak = to strike
vurur = he strikes
yenmek = to be eaten
yenir = it is eaten

However, yenmek "to win" forms "he wins" as the expected yener
Polysyllabic verb stems, and extensions of monosyllabic verb stems
konumak = to speak
konuur = he speaks
-ir + I
demek = to say
der = he says
de-n-mek = to be said
denir = it is said
Some compound verbs with etmek take -er, in which case there is also lenition, as in "to transport":
nakletmek -> nakleder
The negative is formed unusually: -mez is used where the -(i)r is used in the positive (and just -em is used in
the first person. See the below tables for examples.

Aorist Simple -(i)r- + I or -(a)r- + I

Positive
Negative
-(i)rim -(i)riz
-mem -meyiz
-(i)rsin -(i)rsiniz -mezsin -mezsiniz
-(i)r -(i)rler -mez -mezler
Konya'da dervileri grrm.
Indiyana'da dervileri grmem.
Konya'ya derviler dans etirler.
Indiyana'da derviler dans etmezler.

I see dervishes in Konya.

I do not see dervishes in Indiana.
Dervishes dance in Konya.
Dervishes do not dance in Indiana.

Aorist Past -(i)r- -idi- + II

I used to do or I used to be a doer
Positive
Negative
-(i)rdim -(i)rdik -medim -medik
-(i)rdin -(i)rdiniz -mezdin -mezdiniz
-(i)rdi -(i)rdiler -mezdi -mezdiler
Konya'da dervileri grrdm.
Indiyana'da dervileri grmedim.
Konya'ya derviler dans etirdiler.
Indiyana'da derviler dans etmezdiler.

I used to see dervishes in Konya.

I was not a seer of dervishes in Indiana.
Dervishes were dancing in Konya.
Dervishes were not dancing in Indiana.

Aorist Conditional -(i)r- -ise- + II

If I do ...
Positive
Negative
-(i)rsem -(i)rsek -mesem -mesek
-(i)rsen -(i)rseniz -mezsen -mezseniz
-(i)rseler
-(i)rse
-mezse -mezseler
-(i)rlerse
Konya'da dervileri grrsem ...
Indiyana'da dervileri grmesem ...
Konya'ya derviler dans etirseler.
Konya'ya derviler dans etirlerse.
Indiyana'da derviler dans etmezseler ...

If I see dervishes in Konya ...

If I do not see dervishes in Indiana ...
If dervishes dance in Konya ...
If dervishes do not dance in Indiana ...

Aorist Past Conditional -(i)r- -idi- -ise- + II

If I do ...
Positive
Negative
-(i)rdiysem -(i)rdiysek
-mediysem -mediysek
-(i)r idiysem -(i)r idiysek
-(i)rdiysen -(i)rdiyseniz
-mezdiysen -mezdiyseniz
-(i)r idiysen -(i)r idiyseniz
-(i)rdiyse
-(i)rdiyseler
-mezdiyse -mezdiyseler
-(i)r idiyse -(i)r idiyseler
Konya'da dervileri grrdysem ...
Konya'da dervileri grr idiysem ...
Indiyana'da dervileri grmediysem ...
Konya'ya derviler dans etirdiyseler.
Konya'ya derviler dans etiri idiyseler.
Indiyana'da derviler dans etmezdiyseler ...

If I saw dervishes in Konya ...

If I did not see dervishes in Indiana ...
If dervishes danced in Konya ...
If dervishes did not dance in Indiana ...

Aorist Inferential -(i)r- -imi- + I

I am said to do or I am said to be a doer
Positive
Negative
-(i)rmiim -(i)rmiiz
-memiim -memiiz
-(i)rmisin -(i)rmisiniz -mezmisin -mezmisiniz
-(i)rmi -(i)rmiler -mezmi -mezmiler
Konya'da dervileri grrmiim.
Indiyana'da dervileri grmemiim.
Konya'ya derviler dans etirmiler.
Indiyana'da derviler dans etmezmiler.

I am said to see dervishes in Konya.

I am said not to see dervishes in Indiana.
Dervishes are said to dance in Konya.
Dervishes are said not to dance in Indiana.

Aorist Inferential Conditional -(i)r- -imi- -ise- + II

If I am said to do ... or If, as they say, I do ...
Positive
Negative
-(i)rmisem -(i)rmisek
-memisem -memisek
-(i)ir imisem -(i)ir imisek
-(i)rmisen -(i)rmiseniz
-mezmisen -mezmiseniz
-(i)r imisen -(i)r imiseniz
-(i)rmise
-(i)rmiseler
-mezmise -mezmiseler
-(i)r imise -(i)r imiseler
Konya'da dervileri grrmisem ...
Konya'da dervileri grr imisem ...
Indiyana'da dervileri grmemisem ...
Konya'ya derviler dans etirmiseler ...
Konya'ya derviler dans etir imiseler ...
Indiyana'da derviler dans etmezmiseler ...

If, as they say, I see dervishes in Konya ...

If, as they say, I do not see dervishes in Indiana ...
If, as they say, dervishes dance in Konya ...
If, as they say, dervishes do not dance in Indiana ...

Future

Future Simple, or Future General

Future Positive General

-(y)eceim -(y)eceiz
-(y)eceksin -(y)eceksiniz
-(y)ecektir -(y)ecekler(dir)

Future Positive General Interrogative

-ecek miyim?
-ecek miyiz?
-ecek misin?
-ecek misiniz?
-ecek mi?
-ecekler mi?

Future Negative General

-meyeceim -meyeceiz
-meyeceksin -meyeceksiniz
-meyecektir -meyecekler(dir)

Future Negative General Interrogative

-meyecek miyim? -meyecek miyiz?
-meyecek misin?
-meyecek misiniz?
-meyecek mi?
-meyecekler mi?

Konya'da dervileri greceim.

Konya'da dervileri grmeyeceim.
Konya'da dervileri grecek miyim?
Konya'da dervileri grmeyecek miyim?

I will see dervishes in Konya.

I will not see dervishes in Konya.
Will I see dervishes in Konya?
Will I not see dervishes in Konya?

Future Past (G.L. Lewis pg 113 sec 22b) Things that were in the future in the past.
I was going to ... (but since I do not say that it happened, then probably it did not work out)
-(y)ecektim -(y)ecektik
-(y)ecektin -(y)ecektiniz
-(y)ecekti -(y)eceklerdi
Konya'da Dervileri grecektim.
Filimi dervileri grecektim,
ama saati yetmidi.

I was going to see dervishes in Konya.

A film having-dervishes I-was-going-to-see,
but time I did-not-have.

Future Conditional
If I am about to ...
-(y)eceksem -(y)eceksek
-(y)eceksen -(y)ecekseniz
-(y)eceklerse
-(y)ecekse
-(y)ecekseler
Konya'da dervileri greceksem, ...

If I will see dervishes in Konya, ...

Future Past Conditional

If I was about to ...
-(y)ecek idiysem -(y)ecek idiysek
-(y)ecektiysem -(y)ecektiysek
-(y)ecektimse -(y)ecektikse
-(y)ecek idiysen -(y)ecek idiyniz
-(y)ecektiysen -(y)ecektiyseniz
-(y)ecektinse
-(y)ecektinizse
-(y)ecek idiyse -(y)ecek idiyseler
-(y)ecektiyse
-(y)ecektiyseler
-(y)ecektise
-(y)eceklerdiyse
Konya'da dervileri grecek idiysem, ...
Konya'da dervileri grecektiysem ...
Konya'da dervileri grecektimse ...

If I was going to have seen dervishes in Konya, ...

Future Inferential
I am/was said to be about to ...
-(y)ecek imiim -(y)ecek imisiz
-(y)ecekmiim -(y)ecekmisiz
-(y)ecek imisin -(y)ecek imisiniz
-(y)ecekmisin -(y)ecekmisiniz
-(y)ecek imi -(y)ecek imiler
-(y)ecekmi
-(y)ecekmiler
Konya'da dervileri grecek imiim.
Konya'da dervileri grecekmiim.

It is said that I will see dervishes in Konya.

Future Inferential Conditional

If, as they say/said, I am/was about to ...
-(y)ecek imisem -(y)ecek imisek
-(y)ecekmisem -(y)ecekmisek
-(y)ecek imisen -(y)ecek imiseniz
-(y)ecekmisen -(y)ecekmiseniz
-(y)ecek imise -(y)ecek imiseler
-(y)ecekmise
-(y)ecekmiseler
Konya'da dervileri grecek imisem, ...
Konya'da dervileri grecekmisem, ...

If, as they say, I will see dervishes in Konya, ...

Future II or Ancient Future (G.L. Lewis pg 115 sec 23)

According to G.L. Lewis, this verb appears appears only in the third-person singular form, suffixed
with -as, and is used only for cursing.
Evin yklas!
Dervilarin bakaldras!

May your house be demolished!

May your dervishes stage a revolution!

To Be
Some forms are suffixes added to nouns or adjectives only, some forms are independent words following
the noun or adjective, sometimes (as in the past tense) you have a choice.

Past
Past Positive
Independent
Enclitic form
form
-(y)dim -(y)dik
idim
idik
-(y)din -(y)diniz idin
idiniz
-(y)di -(y)diler idi
idiler

Past Negative
Enclitic form
deildim
deildin
deildi

deildik
deildiniz
deildiler

Independent form
deil idim
deil idin
deil idi

deil idik
deil idiniz
deil idiler

Past Positive Interrogative

Independent
Enclitic form
form
miydim
mi idim
miydik?
mi idik?
?
?
miydiniz
mi idiniz
miydin?
mi idin?
?
?
miydiler
mi idiler
miydi?
mi idi?
?
?
Atatrk Trk idi.
Atatrk Trkdu.
Dervitim.
Dervi idim.
Dervi miydim?
Dervi miyim?
Dervi deildim.
Dervi deil idim.
Dervi deil miydim?
Dervi deil mi idin?

Past Negative Interrogative

Enclitic form

Independent form

deil miydim
deil miydik?
?
deil miydiniz
deil miydin?
?
deil miydiler
deil miydi?
?

deil mi idim
deil mi idik?
?
deil mi idiniz
deil mi idin?
?
deil mi idiler
deil mi idi?
?

Atatrk was a Turk.

I was a dervish
Was I a dervish?
I was not a dervish
Was I not a dervish?

Past Conditional

Suffixed
-(y)diysem -(y)diysek
-(y)diysen -(y)diyseniz
-(y)diyse
-(y)diyseler

Positive
Suffixed
Independent
-(y)dimse -(y)dikse
idiysem
idiysek
-(y)dinse -(y)dinizse idiysen
idiysek
-(y)diyse -(y)diyseler idiyse
idiyseler

Negative
Suffixed
Suffixed
Independent
deildiysem deildiysek deildimse deildikse deil idiysem deil idiysek
deildiysen deildiyseniz deildinse deildinizse deil idiysen deil idiyseniz
deildiyse deildiyseler deildiyse deildilerse deil idiyse deil idiyseler
Dervi idiysem, ...
If I had been a dervish, ...
Dervi deil idiysem, ... If I had not been a dervish, ...
Evde idiysem ...
Evdeydiysem ...
If I had been at home ...
Evdeydimse ...

Past Inferential is said to be or was said to be

Positive
Suffixed
-(y)miim -(y)miiz
-(y)miin -(y)misiniz
-(y)mi
-(y)miler

Independent
imiim
imiiz
imiin
imisiniz
imi
imiler

Negative

Enclitic
Independent
deilmiim deilmiiz
deil imiim deil imiiz
deilmisin deilmisiniz deil imisin deil imisiniz
deilmi deilmiler deil imi deil imiler
Dervi imi.

He was said to be a dervish.

He was said not to be a dervish.
Dervi deil imi. (He was said to be a non-dervish, it was not that he
was a dervish and people failed to comment upon it)

Past Inferential Conditional

Positive
Suffixed
-(y)misem -(y)misek
-(y)misen -(y)miseniz
-(y)mise
-(y)miseler

Independent
imisem
imisek
imisen
imiseniz
imise
imiseler

Negative
Enclitic
Independent
deilmisem deilmisek deil imisem deil imisek
deilmisen deilmiseniz deil imisen deil imiseniz
deilmise deilmiseler deil imise deil imiseler
Dervi imise ...
I gather that if he was a dervish ...
Dervi deil imise ... I gather that if he was not a dervish ...

Present
Note that -dir is not generally used in informal speech or writing. For a copula, or "A = B" sentence,
The girl's name is Fatma:
Formal: Kzn ad, Fatma'dr.
Informal: Kzn ad, Fatma.

It is also used informally to indicate emphasis or a supposition. To answer the question Derviler
nerede?, or Where are the dervishes?
Camide.
Camideler.
Camidedirler.
Camidedirler!
Camidelerdir.

In the mosque.
They are in the mosque.
They are surely in the mosque...
They are in the mosque!
They are surely in the mosque...

(supposition)
(emphasis)
(supposition)

Also, -dir may be suffixed to verbs, where it weakens rather than emphasizes the verb.
Biliyorsunuz.
Biliyorsunuzdur.
Arkadama mektup yazdim.

You know.
You surely know. or I presume you know.
I wrote a letter to my friend.

Arkadama mektup yazmm.

Arkadama mektup yazmmdr.

Finally, the particle mi turns the preceding word into a question. It is a separate word but follows
vowel harmony.
Present positive
-(y)im -(y)iz
-sin
-siniz
-(dir) -(dir)ler

Present interrogative
miyim?
Miyiz?
misin?
misiniz?
mi(dir)?
midirler?

Present negative
deilim deiliz
deilsin deilsiniz
deildir deildirler

Present negative interrogative

deil miyim? deil miyiz?
deil misin? deil misiniz?
deil midir? deil midirler?

Evdeyim.
Evde miyim?
Derviim.
Dervi miyim?
Kzn ad, Fatma'dr.
Kzn ad, Fatma m?
Kzn ad, Fatma mdr?
Dervi deilim.
Dervi deil miyim?

Literally, To-my-friend letter I-wrote.

A simple statement of fact.
It seems that I wrote a letter to my friend.
An inference I do not remember writing the letter, but I
found a copy on my computer and so I must have written it...
I must have written a letter to my friend...
I do not remember writing the letter, nor do I have any evidence
that I did so, but it has been some time since I received his letter
and I'm usually quite punctual with my correspondance...

I am at home.
Am I at home?
I am a dervish.
Am I a dervish?
The girl's name is Fatma.
The girl's name, is it Fatma?
I am not a dervish.
Am I not a dervish?

Present II
I am in the act of ...
The infinitive, plus the locative, thus -mekte, followed by some ending of "to be":
Konya'ya gitmekteyim.
I am in the act of going to Konya.
Dervileri grmekteymiim. I am said to be in the act of seeing dervishes.

Var / Yok
There take the place of there are and there are not, respectively:
Mercimek orbas var m?
orba var.
orba yok.
Bu evde ok kedi var!
Hoverkraftmda ok yalnbal var!
Yeni Meksiko'da uan daire var m?

Is there any lentil soup?

There is soup.
There is no soup.
There are many cats in this house!
My hovercraft is full of eels!
Literally: Hovercraft-of-me-inside many eel(s) exist!
Are there flying saucers in New Mexico?

Yeni Meksiko'da yok.

Ama, "Alan Elli Bir'de" ok var.

There aren't any in New Mexico.

However, there are many at Area 51.

Necessity

Simple necessity
I must, I ought to
Positive
Negative
-meliyim -meliyiz
-memeliyim -memeliyiz
-melisin -melisiniz
-memelisin -memelisiniz
-meli(dir) -meli(dir)ler -memeli(dir) -memeli(dir)ler
Konya'ya gitmeliyim.
Derviler frl frl dnmeliler.
Derviler frl frl dnmelidirler.

Dervishes must whirl.

Past necessity
I had to do, I should have done
Positive
-meli idim -meli idik
-meliydim -meliydik
-meli idin -meli idiniz
-meliydin -meliydiniz
-meli idiler
-meli idi
-meliydiler
-meliydi
-melilerdi

Negative
-memeli idim -memeli idik
-memeliydim -memeliydik
-memeli idin -memeli idiniz
-memeliydin -memeliydiniz
-memeli idiler
-memeli idi
-memeliydiler
-meliydi
-memelilerdi

Konya'ya gitmeli idim.

Konya'ya gitmeliydim.
Derviler frl frl dnmeli idiler.
Derviler frl frl dnmeliydiler.
Derviler frl frl dnmelilerdi.

I must go to Konya.

I had to go to Konya.
Dervishes needed to whirl.

Inferential necessity
They say I must, they say I ought to
Positive
Negative
-meliymiim -meliymiiz
-memeliymiim -memeliymiiz
-meliymisin -meliymisiniz -memeliymisin -memeliymisiniz
-meliymiler
-memeliymiler
-meliymi
-memeliymi
-melilermi
-memelilermi
Konya'ya gitmeliymiim, ...
Derviler frl frl dnmemelimiler.
Derviler frl frl dnmemelilermi.

Conditional

They say that I should have gone to Konya

They say that dervishes should not whirl.

Conditional simple
This expresses remote conditions: If I were to ...
and wishes: If only I were to ...
Positive
Negative
-sem -sek -mesem -mesek
-sen -seniz -mesen -meseniz
-se -seler -mese -meseler
Konya'ya gitsem, dervileri gryorum.
Derviler Indiana'ya gitseler, beni gryorler.

If I were to go to Konya, I would see dervishes.

If dervishes were to go to Indiana, they would see me.

Conditional past
This expresses unfulfilled conditions: If I had ...
and hopeless wishes relating to the past: If only I had ...
Positive
Negative
-seydim -seydik -meseydim -meseydik
-seydin -seydiniz -meseydin -meseydiniz
-seydiler
-meseydiler
-seydi
-meseydi
-selerdi
-meselerdi
Konya'ya gitseydim!
Derviler Indiana'ya gitmeseydiler!
Derviler Indiana'ya gitmeselerdi!

If only I had gone to Konya!

If only the dervishes had not gone to Indiana!

Conditional inferential
This quotes remote conditions and wishes:
They say that if I were to ...
They say "If only I were to ..."
Positive
Negative
-seymiim -seymiiz
-meseymiim -meseymiiz
-seymisin -seymisiniz -meseymisin -meseymisiniz
-seymiler
-meseymiler
-seymi
-meseymi
-selermi
-meselermi
Konya'ya gitseymiim, ...
Derviler Indiana'ya gitmeseymiler, ...
Derviler Indiana'ya gitmeselermi, ...

They say that if I were to go to Konya, ...

They say that if the dervishes had not gone to Indiana, ...

Subjunctive

Subjunctive simple
As per Lewis, this "expresses concepts envisaged by the subject or the speaker; it makes no
statement about facts, except that the first singular is used colloquially with future meaning:
Yarn geleyim. Let me come tomorrow -> I may come tomorrow -> I'll come tomorrow"
The second persons are used in formal speech to relay requests and commands:
Babam dedi ki, yarn bize gelesiniz.
My father said that you-should-come to us tomorrow.

The third singular is used colloquially to ask cautious questions:

Evde mi ola? Might he be at home?
The endings do not follow a consistent pattern used by other verbs, history indicates that this ending
is a hybrid.
Positive
Negative
-eyim -elim -meyeyim -meyelim
-esin -esiniz -meyesin -meyesiniz
-e
-eler -meye
-meyeler

Subjunctive past
Used to express unfulfillable past wishes. Lewis' example is:
Bileydim buraya kadar gelmezdim. Had I known, I would not have come this far.
Positive
Negative
-eydim -eydik -meyeydim -meyeydik
-eydin -eydiniz -meyeydin -meyeydiniz
-eydiler
-meyeydiler
-eydi
-meyeydi
-elerdi
-meyelerdi

Subjunctive inferential Infrequently used, this quotes the simple and and past subjunctive:
People say "would that I had ...
Positive
Negative
-eymiim -eymiiz
-meyeymiim -meyeymiiz
-eymisin -eymisiniz -meyeymisin -meyeymisiniz
-eymiler
-meyeymiler
-eymi
-meyeymi
-elermi
-meyelermi

Ability, to be able to ...

Positive ability
Append -(y)ebilmek, conjugated in some form, to the root of the verb:
Grmek
Dervileri grebiliyorum.
Dervileri grebiliyordum.
Dervileri grebileceim.

to see
I can see dervishes.
I was able to see dervishes.
I will be able to see dervishes.

Negative ability
Append -(y)eme to the verb root and conjugate:
Konya'ya gitmedim.
Konya'ya gidemedim.
Egilize anlyorum.
Trke anlmyorum.
Trke anlyamyorum.

I did not go to Konya.

I was unable to go to Konya.
I understand English.
I do not understand Turkish.
I am unable to understand Turkish.

Trkler Trke anlyabiliyorler.

Turks are able to understand Turkish.

Imperative
Second-person form is like a command. Third-person form is used when the command is about someone,
e.g., "Let them eat cake." Second-person singular form is informal or harsh, and an alternative form is the
verb stem with no suffix at all.

The second-person form is like a command. The third-person form is used when the command is
about someone, e.g., "Let them eat cake." The second-person singular form is informal or harsh, and
an alternative form is the verb stem with no suffix at all.

-(y)in -(y)iniz
-sin -sinler
Kebab yiyin!
Kebab yiyiniz!
Kebablari yesinler!
Dervi gibi frl frl dnnz!

Eat a kebab! (familiar, informal, harsh)

Eat a kebab! (plural, formal, polite)
Let them eat kebabs!
Whirl like a dervish!

Participles and Substantives

These words are verb forms that can function as adjectives or nouns, generally:
which-is-verbing
which-is-characterized-by-verbing
Or having-verbed or will-be-verbed or other tenses.
To be strict, it might be better to use participle to refer to the verbal adjective forms, e.g., "talking people",
and substantive to refer to the forms functioning as nouns, e.g., "those who talk". I have labeled the below
tables simply as "participles" when each table really includes both participles and substantives.

Present Participle -(y)en

Verbing, right now.
If the y is needed, it "narrows" the preceding vowel:
komak

to run

Kpekler
koyorlar.
koan kpekler

The dogs are

running.
running dogs
those who are
running

koanlar

Konumak
konumamak
Bu insanlar
konumyorlar.
konumyan insanlar

to talk
to not talk
These people are not
talking.
people who are not talking

Konumyanlar

those who are not talking

Aorist Participle -(y)ir

Verbing, in general.
Kpekler korler. Dogs run.

Bu insanlar konumyrlar. These people do not talk

kor kpekler
korlar

dogs who run

those who run

konumyr insanlar
konumyrlar

Future Participle -(y)ecek

Pertaining-to-future-verbing.
Kpekler
koacaklar.
koacak kpekler
koacaklar

Dogs will run.

dogs who will run
those who will
run

Yiyecek bir kebap istiyorum.

Bu insanlar
konumayacaklar.
konumayacak insanlar

These people will not

talk
people who will not talk

Konumayacaklar

those who will not talk

I want a kebab to eat.

Pertaining-to-future-eating one-kebab I-want.

mi-Past Participle -mi

Pertaining-to-having-verbed.
However, this does not have the inferential I gather that ... sense of the mi-past.
Kpekler
komular.
komu kpekler
komular

people who do not talk

those who do not talk

Dogs have run,

apparently.
dogs who ran
those who ran

Bu insanlar
konumamlar.
konumam insanlar
Konumamlar

These people have not talked,

it seems.
people who did not talk
those who did not talk

di-Past Participle -dik

Pertaining-to-past-verbing. Most of these are passive and negative:
grmek
to see
grlmek to be seen
grlmemek to be unseen
grlmedik extraordinary (that which has not been seen)
Kpekler
kodlar.
kodk kpekler
kodklar

Dogs ran.
dogs who were
running
those who were
running

Bu insanlar
konumadlar.

These people did not talk.

konumadk insanlar

people who were not

talking

konumadklar

those who were not talking

Personal Participles
Add a suffix of possession to mean:
Characterized-by-my/your/his/etc-verbing
bilmek
to know
bildik
an acquaintance (characterized by knowing)
bildiim my acquaintance (characterized by my knowing)
bildiklerim my acquaintances (those characterized by my knowing)
The kebab I am going to eat looks very good.
Characterized-by-my-future-eating kebab very good is-seen.
stanbul'a geldii otobs dolmudan The bus in which he came to Istanbul was bigger than a
Yiyeceim kebap ok iyi grnir.

dolmu.
To-Istanbul pertaining-to-his-having-come bus from-a-dolmu
bigger is.
I have nothing to say to you.
Size bir diyeceim yok.
To-you one-thing-of-my-future-saying does-not-exist.
Do you have anything to say to me?
Bana bir diyeceiniz var m?
To-me one-thing-of-your-future-saying exists does-it?
Combine -ecei gel- to form it feels like or the time is coming phrases:
I feel like seeing Istanbul
stanbul'u greceim geldi.
Istanbul my-future-seeing has-come.
byk.

Verbal Nouns

Infinitive -mek
This takes endings to form the various cases, except for genitives and possessives:
o Absolute
As subject:
Trke renmek ok zor. To learn Turkish is very difficult.
As object of istemek and bilmek (to want and to know):
Trke anlamak istiyorum. I want to understand Turkish.
Kebap almak istiyorum. I want to buy a kebab.
o Accusative as object of other verbs:
Kebap alma unuttum. I forgot to buy a kebap.
o Dative:
Kebap almaa baladm. I began to buy a kebab.
Kebap almaa gittim. I have gone to buy a kebab.
o Locative:
Kebap almakta tehlikeyi grmiyorum. I see no danger in buying a kebap.
o Ablative:
Kebap almaktan kendimi nleyememiim. Apparently I was unable to prevent myself from
buying a kebap.
Gerund verbal nouns -me the action or result of action
This forms words as verbing and can take every case ending and possessive suffix:
alma buying
gitme going
bekeleme salonu waiting room
-meklik the fact of action
Kebap almaklk ticarete iyi. My kebab-buying is good for business (to-business good-is).
-i the manner of action, but also the fact of action
Bu kebap all, ticaret baaracaktr. With this sort of kebab-buying, business will succeed.
giri entrance (entering, going in)
k exit (exiting, going out)

Gerund
These are adverbal words formed from nouns.

-e Repeated or continuing activity simultaneous with the main verb:

gee, from gemek, to pass, indicating the time at which something happens:
Saat drde on gee gellerdi.
They came at ten past four.
Literally: Hour from-four ten passing they-came.
o deye, from demek, to say, meaning saying:
TEHLKE diye bir levha
A sign saying DANGER
Literally: DANGER saying one sign.
o rasgele, from rasgelmek, to meet by chance, meaning haphazardly or randomly.
Rasgele bir dervi frl frl dnmedi.
At random, one dervish did not whirl.
o Repeated, it has an idiomatic use:
Gide gide kebapcya m gittin?
Going and going, was it to the kebab shop you went? meaning:
After all that travel, couldn't you find anywhere better to go than to the kebab shop?
Also see Gle gle, said to someone who is departing. Glmek means to smile.
-erek Single act or continued activity simultaneous with or slightly before the main verb. Often
corresponds to by doing or with doing:
o bilerek = knowingly
bilmiyerek = unknowingly
o Kapy aarak evden gitti. Opening the door, he left the house.
-ip Used when there are two verbs with identical suffixes joined by "and", to simplify the first
one. To say We got up and we left:
Kalkp gittik. (and not Kalktk gittik.)
Or, for They are sitting and talking:
Oturup konuuyorlar. (and not Oturuyorlar konuuyorlar.)
-ince Action just prior to the main verb:
Otobs gelince kalkarm. When the bus arrives, I will get up.
-inceye kadar, -inceyedek, -inceye dein until
Otobs gelinceye kadar, gidemedik. Until the bus arrives, we cannot go.
-ene kadar, -enedek, -ene dein until, less formal
Otobs gelene kadar, gidemedik. Until the bus arrives, we cannot go.
-esiye to the point of.
Derviler baylasya frl frl dnlerdi. The dervishes whirled to the point of fainting.
-eli, -eli beri, eliden beri, -diX -eli since, with the di-past ending conjugated as needed.
All these mean Since we came to Istanbul it has not rained:
Biz stanbul'a geleli hi yamur yamad.
Biz stanbul'a geleli beri hi yamur yamad.
Biz stanbul'a geleliden beri hi yamur yamad.
Biz stanbul'a geldik geleli hi yamur yamad.
-meden, -mezden before, without, followed by evvel or nce to mean before.
Siz gitmeden evvel beni uyandriniz. Wake me up before you go.
-dikten sonra after doing, the converse of -meden evvel / -meden nce
Beni uyandrdktan sonra gitiniz. Leave after waking me.
-r -mez used to mean as soon as, or literally, as I was between the states of doing and not-doing:
Ben oturur oturmaz telefon ald. As soon as I was sitting down, the telephone rang.
-dike so long as or the more
"Ben frl frl dnduka, frl frl dnacam gelir!", dervi dedi.
"The more I whirl, the more I feel like whirling!", the dervish said.
-dikten baka apart from doing or in addition to doing
O, kapy adktan baka, evden gittim. He, in addition to opening the door, left the house.
-dii mddete as long as, all the time
O alt mddete ark syler. He sings all the time he works.

-dii halde although or in a state of

Bardm halde kimse yardma gelmedi. Although I shouted, no one came.
Baca alda olduu halde eve dnd. He returned home with his leg plastered.
-dii iin or -diinden because of the verbing
Bir hal ald iin, vergi demeliyim. Because of my purchasing a carpet, taxes I must pay.
-dii kadar as much as
Istediiniz kadar kaliniz. Stay as long as you want.
-eceine or -ecek yerde instead of verbing
zmir'e yryeceine, otobsu bineceim. Instead of walking to Izmir, I will ride a bus.
-mekle with/by verbing
Gnm hep yaz yazrmakla geirdim. All of my day I spent by writing.
-mektense or -mekten ise rather than
Ankara'ya gitmektense, stanbul'a gittim. Rather than go to Ankara, I went to Istanbul.
-meksizin without verbing, -meden is more frequently used.
Otobsu binmeksizin, stanbul'a gittim. Without riding a bus, I went to Istanbul.
Otobsu binmeden, stanbul'a gittim. Without riding a bus, I went to Istanbul.
(Treni binden!) (I rode a train!)