Turkish Grammar
Turkish Grammar
Turkish Grammar
Vocal Harmony
The front vowels (e, i, ö, ü) have to be followed by the front vowels and the back vowels (a, ı , o, u) must
be followed by the back vowels. This rule is called "palatal harmony" (Büyük ünlü uyumu), ex: çiçek
(flower), gömlek (shirt), küçük (small).
The plain vowels (a, e, ı, i) have to be followed by the plain vowels; but rounded vowels (o, u, ö, ü) must
be followed by low and flat vowels (a/e) or high and rounded vowels (u/ü). This rule is called "lip
harmony", e.g. oduncu (woodcutter), kömürcü (charcoal digger), köylülerle (with the peasants). All
suffixes also observe the same rules.
According to these rules, each vowel can be followed by only two vowels, which are:
and Yo
Yo Yo
and
either or
or or
to Yo
Yo Yo
to
either or
or or
In Turkish, words that do not agree with the "vowel harmony" rule are generally words of foreign origin
(most are of Arabic and Persian origin, but there are also some of European origin). However, the
suffixes added to such words also agree with the vowel of the last syllable. Ex: memur (official), memuru
domates (tomato) hakim (judge) otobüs (bus)
However, there are a small number of "Turkish" words that do not agree with the rule, these are the
words that have changed over time:
anne (mother), kardeş (brother), elma (apple), haydi (anda), hadi (anda), hangi (which), dahi (also), hani
(where), şişman (thick), inanmak (believe)
Some compound words do not comply with vowel harmony (e.g. bilgisayar, formed by bilgi (information)
and sayar (calculator) ilkbahar (spring), formed by ilk (first) and bahar (spring)
The tonic accent normally falls on the last syllable, except in some combinations with suffixes and words
such as masa /'masa/ (table). Also, in proper names the stress is transferred to the penultimate syllable,
as in İstanbul, although there are exceptions to this rule such as Ánkara.
EITH
or as 'cone'.
ER
EITH
ö German equivalent sound 'ur' and 'fur'.
ER
OR u as in 'light' or 'blouse'.
- Adjectives precede the noun. Ex.: büyük ev - big house (big house)
Masada bir kalem var - there is a pencil on the table (there is a pencil on
the table).
3. Declension
In Turkish there are six cases (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive, locative and ablative).
The nominative is simply used to name a noun and its main functions are the subject of the sentence
and the indeterminate direct object of the verb. It is formed with the root of the noun without adding any
ending.
The accusative defines what object the action of the verb falls on. In Spanish it is equivalent to the direct
object of the verb (e.g.: sing a song, read a book, watch a movie). But unlike other languages, such as
Latin, the direct object of the verb is not always in the accusative case, since it sometimes appears in the
nominative case. The accusative ending is -i. Ex: kavuni yeyer (she eats a melon).
The dative has two different values. On the one hand it indicates the direction (I'm going to the park),
and on the other the beneficiary of the action of the verb or indirect object (I give a gift to my brother).
The ending is –(y)a/-(y)e. Ex: Bankaya gitti (he went towards the bank), Otele gitti (he went towards the
hotel).
The indirect object can also be expressed through the nominative + postposition construction "için" (for).
The locative expresses the place where the action of the verb takes place. It is constructed by adding
one of the following endings to the noun, following the rules of vowel harmony: -da/-ta; -of/-te. Ex:
lokantada /in the restaurant; parkta /in the park; üniversitede /at the university; markette /in the market.
The ablative expresses the origin of an action. Its endings are –dan/-tan, -den/-ten (following the same
rules as for the locative). Ex: lokantadan /from the restaurant; parktan /from the park; üniversiteden /from
the university; marketten /from the market.
For the genitive, –ın, -in, -un, -ün is used for the possessor and –ı/-sı, -i/-si, -u/-su, -ü/-sü for the
possessed object. Ex: Mehmet'in evi/ Mehmet's house.
There is no masculine or feminine in Turkish, words like erkek (masculine), kız (female), kadın (woman)
can be used for human nouns and (female) for animals. Ex: dişi köpek/ bitch, kız çocuk/ daughter.
In Turkish there is singular and plural. The plural form is obtained with the help of the suffix -ler/-lar. Ex.:
kitaplar/ books, mumlar/ candles, perdeler/ curtains, öğrenciler/ students, bankalar/ banks, oteller/ hotels.
The plural suffix is not used when the noun is accompanied by a numeral. Ex.: iki (tane) portakal / two
oranges (two pieces of orange).
The third person plural suffix –ler/-lar is omitted followed by non-human subjects. Ex: These pencils are
red = Bu tükenmez kalemler kırmızıdır (instead of kırmızıdırlar). Note that the words BU, ŞU and O
(these, those and those) do not take plural particles.
5. The Word
In Turkish, the infinitive suffix is -mak/ -mek. The negative infinitive is formed by adding -me-, -ma- to the
verbal root. Ex.: almak/ take, almamak/ Do not take.
SIMPLE TENSES
In Spanish, the existence of an element is expressed by the verb haber in its "hay" form. In Turkish, it is
expressed through the use of the following nouns:
var: expresses the existence of an object. Ex.: Masada kalem var (there is a pen on the table)
yok: expresses the nonexistence of something. Ex.: Ofiste su yok (there is no water in the office)
These nouns are also used to express possession in the same way that the verb "tener" does in
Spanish. In Turkish, the construction is genitive construction + var/yok:
Both constructions can be expressed in the past tense by adding the endings -mış or -dı: varmış, vardı
(there was); yokmuş, yoktu (there was not)
In the present, the word “değil” is used, which is placed after the word that denies and the conjugation is
added to this word.
Mutlu değilim. Öğretmen değilim.
The accent falls on “değil”: Öğretmen değilim. “Değil” without a person suffix negates the preceding
word.
Yasemin evde değil, okulda. Yasemin is not at home. She is in the school.
This particle does not always come at the end of a sentence. When you want to emphasize it, it loses the
suffix and is placed after the word of emphasis on which the accent falls.
Did you araba mavi mi, lacivert mi? - Is that car blue or dark blue? (accent falls on
mavi mi, lacivert mi)
The particle –e is not used in sentences containing interrogative words, such as “ne” (What?), “kim”
(Who?), “nasıl” (How?), “niçin”, “neden”, “niye” (Why?) and “ne zaman” (When?). Examples:
Hasan nerede/nerde? Where is Hasan?
The verb SER/ESTAR is assisted in compound, future and subjunctive tenses by OLMAK.
3. Present:
The suffixes -ar, -er, -ır, -ir, -ur, -ür are used. Verbs with monosyllabic stems use -ar, -er while
monosyllabic stems ending in –l, -r and -n, use -ır, -ir, -ur, -ür. In the case of a vowel, just add -r. This is
accompanied by suffixes of people. Examples: almak- Alır/ She buys/takes; gitmek- Gider/ She goes.
1.A. SINGULAR
SECOND PERSON
1 B. PLURAL
SECOND PERSON: -sınız, -siniz, -sunuz, -sünüz. Ex.: Alırsınız/ You buy/take; you buy/take
THIRD PERSON: -lar, -ler. Ex.: Alırlar/ They buy/take.
The suffixes -ιyor, -iyor, -uyor, -üyor + present person suffix are used. Example: Alıyor/ He is
buying/taking; Gidiyor/ He is going.
4. Past tense
The suffixes -dı, -di, -du, -dü + past person suffix are used. Example: Aldı/She bought/took; Gitti/She
went. It also translates as Past Perfect Compound.
1.A. SINGULAR
SECOND PERSON
(formal): -nız, -niz, -nuz,-nüz. Ex.: Gittiniz/ You were-you have gone.
THIRD PERSON: does not add suffix. Ex.: Gitti/ She was- has gone.
1 B. PLURAL
SECOND PERSON: -nız, -niz, -nuz, -nüz. Ex.: Gittiniz/ you were-you have gone.
The suffix –miş, -mış, -muş, -müş + present person suffix is used. Example: Almışım/ I say I drink.
Gitmiş/ They say that he is going/ that he has gone.
The suffixes -acak, -ecek + present person suffix are used. Example: Alacak/ will take or buy;
Gideceğim/ I will go.
6. Conditional
This uses the particle -se, -sa + person suffix in the past tense, and indicates desire and hope in the past
tense. Example: alsek/ If we were about to buy. Gitseler/ If they were about to go.
7. Subjunctive
This tense uses the following suffixes: -e/-a + person in the subjunctive.
1.A. SINGULAR
FIRST PERSON: -eyim, -ayım. Ex: Giteyim/ that I go.
SECOND PERSON
1 B. PLURAL
7. Interrogative Phrase:
Use the particle mı, mi, mu, mü at the end of the sentence. Examples: Alıyor mu?/ Is she shopping?
Gidecek mi?/ Will she go?
COMPOUND TIMES
These beats are called modes and there are 6 modes, which reuse time suffixes to create compound
beats. That is, the modes are SIMPLE (previous basic conjugation), PRETERITE, CONDITIONAL,
PRETERITE CONDITIONAL, INFERENTIAL, CONDITIONAL INFERENTIAL.
1. Past Imperfect:
The suffix –iyor-+ di- +past person suffix or –acak is used, -ecek + -di + past person suffix. Except in the
3rd person plural, in which the order is -iyor + person + di and –acak, -ecek + person + -di.
Bilmek/ Saber
Use the double suffix -di-+-di + past person suffix or -di-+ past person suffix + -di. You can also use -miş-
+ -di + past person suffix. Example: Gittiydim or Gittimdi / I had gone.
3. Present Past:
This tense uses the general present but to explain past events. Then use -ar, -er, -ır, -ir, -ur, -ür + -di+
person suffix in the past tense. It translates as… used to, used to + verb. Ex: portokalı anlırdik/ we used
to buy oranges.
4. Past Continuous:
Use the present continuous plus the past tense. That is, -iyor- + -di + past person suffix. Ex.: Istanbul´a
gibiyordun/ He is going to Istanbul- He was going to Istanbul.
IMPERATIVE
7. Postponements
The value of some Spanish prepositions are expressed in Turkish through postpositions. They are
independent words that, unlike in Spanish, are placed after the words they accompany. The different
postpositional constructions also require that the noun be declined in some cases.
GREETINGS
Hello Merhaba
But Evet/hayır
COMPLIMENTS
Please Lütfen.
Friend Arkadaş
INFORMATION
Okay. Tamam
It is important! Onemli
Help! İmdat
Hurry up! Acele et
I understand Anlıyorum.
HE Biliyorum.
Wanna İstiyorum.
That? Ne?
As? Nasil?
Who? Kim?
When? Ne zaman?
Which? Hangisi?
this bu(nu)
that su(nu)
that o(nu)
Hotel hotel
sanitary Tuvalet
Restaurant Lokanta
Hospital untilne
Room Ode
Shower Duş
Bathroom Banjo
Turkish bath Hamam
laundry Çamasır
Light(s) Işık(lar)
Luggage Bagaj
museum muze
market peace
home ev
airport havaalani
soap Sabun
come on gidelim
Arkada Behind
İlerde In front
ADJECTIVES
hot-cold sıcak-soğuk
fast-slow hızlı-yavaş
correct-incorrect doğru-yanlış
free-busy serbest-meşgul
straight doğru
pointed-rounded sivri-yuvarlak
crazy-healthy deli-akıllı
coarse-fine iri-ince
TRANSPORT
silver for
map Harita
ticket bilet
plane uçak
train train
ship I groaned.
bus otobus
tire lastik
car arab
vehicle araç
truck kamyon
bicycle bisiklet
motorcycle mopet
gasoline benzin
diesel Mazot/Motorin
TIME
diary hergün
second seniye
minute dakika
hour saat
day gün
week hafta
month Oh
yesterday Dün.
today Bugün
tomorrow Yarın.
tomorrow Sabah.
late Öğle.
late Akşam.
evening Gece.
Weekdays
Sunday Pazar
Monday Pazartesi
Tuesday I left
Wednesday Carsamba
Thursday Persembe
Friday Cuma
Saturday Cumartesi
January Ocak
Fecrero Subat
March Martin
April Nissan
May Mayıs
June Haziran
July Temmuz
August Agustos
Septemberhttp:// Eylül
www.turkeytravelplanner.
com/WhenToGo/
almanac/09_sep.html
October Ekim
November Kasım
December Aralik
Sayılar (Numbers)
0 sıfır 30 otuz
1 bir 60 altmış
2 iki 70 yetmiş
3 üç 80 seksen
4 dört 90 doksan
10 on 1x10 6 milyon
13 on üç 1x10 15 katrilyon
20 yirmi
Renkler (Colors)
white beyaz-ak grey gray
purple mor
Sebzeler (Vegetables)
Içecekler (Beverages)
Yemekler (Meals)
bread ekmek
Adverbs, conjunctions
Maybe belki
Hayvanlar (Animals)
lamb kuzu
Karakterler (Temperaments)
behavior davranış curious meraklı
bridge köprü
Esyalar (Furniture)
Diseases
Nationalities
Countries
Aile (Family)
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
Fiiller (Verbs)
Esvaplar (Clothes)