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Sunset on the Bosphorus at Istanbul, with the Ayasofya (Haghia Sophia) and Blue Mosque in the Sultanahmet district.

Sunset on the Bosphorus in İstanbul, looking from the Asian shore across to the Sultanahmet district with the Ayasofya (Haghia Sofia) and Sultanahmet Cami (Blue Mosque). See my travel pages for many pictures of Turkey.

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Basics of Turkish Grammar

Verbs

If you ignore verbs, the preceding pages contain about all there is to learning Turkish word morphology! However, there are many verb forms to learn. At least they're fairly well ordered....

Click here for verb information summarized on one page!
Click here for original LATEX

Infinitive

Verb Modification

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:
    görmek —> gör-
  2. Add any modifications to the meaning of the verb, as listed above.
  3. Select the tense:
    TenseAppendMeaning
    Present -(i)yor- 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.
    General (Aorist) -(i)r- 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.
    miş-past -miş- A present state caused by past action,
    or things the speaker is reporting without having seen.
    di-past -di- Both the simple past (did) and the perfect past (have done).
    Necessity -meli- Actions that must, or should, be taken.
    Conditional -se- If ...
    With non-simple moods, expresses unfulfilled conditions, hopeless wishes of the past, etc.
    Subjunctive -e- 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.
  4. Select the mood, noting that not all tense/mood combinations exist:
    Mood Append Conjugation
    pattern
    Simple - I (mostly)
    Past -idi- II
    Conditional -ise- II
    Past conditional -idi- + -isi- II
    Inferential -imiş- I
    Inferential conditional -imiş- + -ise- II
  5. Apply the appropriate conjugation ending for person and number:
    Type I
    -im -iz
    -sin -siniz
    (-dir) -(dir)ler
    Type II
    -m -k
    -n -niz
    - -ler
    Type III
    -eyim -elim
    -esin -esiniz
    -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
    Past
    -idi + II
    Conditional
    ise + II
    Past conditional
    -idi- + -ise- + II
    Inferential
    -imiş- + I
    Inferential
    conditional

    -imiş- + -ise- + II
    Present
    -(i)yor-
    -(i)yor + I -(i)yordu + II -(i)yorsa + II -(i)yorduysa + II -(i)yormuş + I -(i)yormuşsa + II
    General (aorist)
    -(i)r-
    -(i)r + I -(i)rdi + II -(i)rse + II -(i)rdise + II -(i)rmiş + I -(i)rmişse + II
    Future
    -ecek-
    -ecek + I -ecekti + II -ecekse + II -ecektiyse + II -ecekmiş + I -ecekmişse + II
    miş-past
    -miş-
    -miş + I -mişti + II -mişse + II -miş idiyse + II -miş imiş + I -miş imişse + II
    di-past
    -di-
    -di + II -diydi + II -diyse + II -di idiyse + II
    Necessity
    -meli-
    -meli + I -meliydi + II -meliy miş + I
    Conditional
    -se-
    -se + II -seydi + II -sey miş + I
    Subjunctive
    -e-
    -e + III -edi + II -ey miş + I

So, to discuss looking at dervişler

Simple
I
Past
-idi + II
Conditional
ise + II
Past conditional
-idi- + -ise- + II
Inferential
-imiş- + I
Inferential
conditional

-imiş- + -ise- + II
Present
-(i)yor-
Dervişleri görüyorum.
I am seeing Dervishes.
Dervişleri görüyordum.
I was seeing Dervishes.
Dervişleri görüyorsam, ...
If I am seeing Dervishes, ...
Dervişleri görüyorduysam, ...
If I was seeing Dervishes, ...
Dervişleri görüyormuşum.
I am said to be seeing Dervishes.
Dervişleri görüyormuşsam, ...
If, as they say, I am seeing Dervishes, ...
— or —
If I am said to be seeing Dervishes, ...
General (aorist)
-(i)r-
Dervişleri görürüm.
I see Dervishes.
Dervişleri görürdüm.
I used to see Dervishes.
Dervişleri görürsem, ...
If I see Dervishes, ...
Dervişleri görürdüysem, ...
If I used to see Dervishes, ...
Dervişleri görürmüşüm.
I am said to see Dervishes.
Dervişleri görürmüşsem, ...
If, as they say, I see Dervishes, ...
— or —
If I am said to see Dervishes, ...
Future
-ecek-
Dervişleri göreceğim.
I will see Dervishes.
Dervişleri görecektim.
I was going to see Dervishes.
Dervişleri göreceksem, ...
If I am going to see Dervishes, ...
Dervişleri görecektiysem, ...
If I was going to see Dervishes, ...
Dervişleri görecekmişim.
I am said to see Dervishes.
Dervişleri görecekmişsem, ...
If, as they say, I was going to see Dervishes, ...
— or —
If I am said to be about to see Dervishes, ...
miş-past
-miş-
Dervişleri görmüşüm.
I saw Dervishes. (so they say)
Dervişleri görmüştüm.
I had seen Dervishes. (so they say)
Dervişleri görmüşsem, ...
If I have seen Dervishes, ...
Dervişleri görmüş idiysem, ...
If I had seen Dervishes, ...
Dervişleri görmüş ümüşüm.
I am said to have seen Dervishes.
Dervişleri görmüş ümüşsem, ...
If, as they say, I have seen Dervishes, ...
— or —
If I am said to have seen Dervishes, ...
di-past
-di-
Dervişleri gördüm.
I saw Dervishes.
— or —
I have seen Dervishes.
(II)
Dervişleri gördüydüm.
I had seen Dervishes.
Dervişleri gördüysem.
If I saw Dervishes, ...
— or —
If I have seen Dervishes, ...
Dervişleri gördü üdüysem, ...
If I had seen Dervishes, ...
Necessity
-meli-
Dervişleri görmeliyim.
I must see Dervishes.
Dervişleri görmeliydim.
I needed to see Dervishes.
Dervişleri görmeliymişim.
They say I ought to see Dervishes.
Conditional
-se-
Dervişleri görsem, ...
If I were to see Dervishes, ...
Dervişleri görseydim, ...
If only I had seen Dervishes, ...
Dervişleri görseymişim.
They say that if I were to see Dervishes, ...
— or —
They say, "If only I would see Dervishes"!
Subjunctive
-e-
Dervişleri göreyim.
I might see Dervishes, maybe later.

(III)
Dervişleri göreydim!
Would that I had seen Dervishes!
Dervişleri göreymişim!
They say, "Would that I had seen Dervishes"!

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
-imiş- + I
Inferential
conditional

-imiş- + -ise- + II
Present
-(i)yor-
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, ...
Konya'ya gidiyormuşum.
I am said to be going to Konya.
Konya'ya gidiyormuşsam, ...
If, as they say, I am going to Konya, ...
— or —
If I am said to be 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, ...
Konya'ya gidermişim
I am said to go to Konya.
Konya'ya gidermişsem, ...
If, as they say, I go to Konya, ...
— or —
If I am said to go to Konya, ...
Future
-ecek-
Konya'ya gideceğim.
I will go to Konya.
Konya'ya gidecektim.
I was going to go to Konya.
Konya'ya gideceksem, ...
If I am going to go to Konya, ...
Konya'ya gidecektiysem, ...
If I was going to go to Konya, ...
Konya'ya gidecekmişim.
I am said to be going to go to Konya.
Konya'ya gidecekmişsem, ...
If, as they say, I am going to go to Konya, ...
— or —
If I am said to be going to go to Konya, ...
miş-past
-miş-
Konya'ya gitmişim.
I went to Konya. (so they say)
Konya'ya gitmiştim.
I had gone to Konya. (so they say)
Konya'ya gitmişsem, ...
If I have gone to Konya, ...
Konya'ya gitmiş idiysem, ...
If I had gone to Konya, ...
Konya'ya gitmiş imişim.
I am said to have gone to Konya.
Konya'ya gitmiş imişsem, ...
If, as they say, I have gone to Konya, ...
— or —
If I am said to have gone to Konya, ...
di-past
-di-
Konya'ya gittim.
I went to Konya.
— or —
I have gone to Konya.
(II)
Konya'ya gittiytim.
I had gone to Konya.
Konya'ya gittiysem.
If I went to Konya, ...
— or —
If I have gone to Konya, ...
Konya'ya gitti idiysem, ...
If I had gone to Konya, ...
Necessity
-meli-
Konya'ya gitmeliyim.
I must go to Konya.
Konya'ya gitmeliydim.
I needed to go to Konya.
Konya'ya gitmeliymişim.
They say I ought to go to Konya.
Conditional
-se-
Konya'ya gitsem, ...
If I were to go to Konya, ...
Konya'ya gitseytim, ...
If only I had gone to Konya, ...
Konya'ya gitseymişim.
They say that if I were to go to Konya, ...
— or —
They say, "If only I would go to Konya"!
Subjunctive
-e-
Konya'ya gideyim.
I might go to Konya, maybe later

(III)
Konya'ya gideydim!
Would that I had gone to Konya!
Konya'ya gideymişim!
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


miş-Past


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 ı, respectively. So, I understand would be:
anlamak —> anla - yor - um —> anlıyorum.
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


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 geniş 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-ım with 'I do' and yapıyor-um with 'I am doing' is a misleading oversimplification. Fundamentally, yaparım 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'.
yapıyorum 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'. yazarım and yazıyorum may both be translated 'I write'. But more specifically: yazarım 'I am a writer; in principle I write (although I may not yet have put pen to paper)'. yazıyorum 'I am writing now'; 'as a matter of fact I do write'; 'I write, for example, for four hours every morning' — her sabah dört saat yazıyorum — where the broad yazarım 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.
Barişnikov dans etir. = Baryshnikov is a dancer.
He isn't necessarily dancing right now, but generally speaking, he dances.
Senatör Kuğayl dans etmezsiniz. = Senator Quayle is not a dancer.
He is not ready, willing, or able to dance.

The aorist is used for:

Requests: Oturur musunuz? Will you sit down?
Promises: Yarın gelirim. Tomorrow I shall come.
With olmak,
(to become or happen),
to ask permission:
Olur mu?. Is it all right?.
Literally, Does it happen?
Answer: olur (all right) or olmaz (no)
In proverbs: It ürür, kervan geçer. 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 anlar = he understands
 -ar + I  Verb stem ends with a consonant, single syllable.
etmek = to do eder = he does
 -ir + I  14 exceptions to the above rule add i/ü/ı/u:
almek = to take alır = 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
görmek = to see görür = he sees
kalmak = to remain kalır = he remains
olmak = to become / be / happen olur = it becomes / is / happens
ölmek = to die ölür = he dies
sanmak = to think sanır = he thinks
varmak = to reach varır = 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
 -ir + I  Polysyllabic verb stems, and extensions of monosyllabic verb stems
konuşmak = to speak konuşur = he speaks
demek = to say
de-n-mek = to be said
der = he says
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.


Future


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.


Necessity


Conditional


Subjunctive


Ability, to be able to ...


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.


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.


Verbal Nouns


Gerund

These are adverbal words formed from nouns.


  1. Background and introduction, with a list of real reference texts
  2. Word order, characters unique to Turkish, vowel harmony and variable vowels, HTML rendering
  3. Pronouns, nouns, possession, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions
  4. Verbs — This is the big part!
  5. The Turkish Language Reform
  6. An alphabetical list of all suffixes

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