Turkish 101

1. Some Basic Phrases Merhabā / İyi günler Hello / Good day

İyi akşamlar Good evening

İyi geceler Good night

Selâm / Merhabā Hi (merhabā is more common)

Güle güle / İyi günler Bye / Goodbye (Good day)

Lütfen Please

Teşekkür ederim / Sağol Thank you / Thanks

Bir şey değil / Ricā ederim You're welcome / My pleasure

Hoş geldiniz / Hoş geldin Welcome (formal / informal)

Sonra görüşürüz See you later

Görüşürüz! See you!

Yarın görüşürüz See you tomorrow

Özür dilerim! Sorry!

Affedersiniz / Pardon! Excuse me!

Hadi gidelim! Let's go!

Nasılsınız? How are you? (formal)

Nasılsın / Nāber? How are you? / What’s up? (inf.)

İyi değilim / Fenā değil Not fine / not bad

İyiyim. I'm fine.

İyilik. I'm fine. (informal)

Evet / Hayır / Yok Yes / no / no (common inf. use)

İsminiz? What's your name? (formal)

İsmin/Adın ne? What's your name? (informal)

Adım / İsmim… My name is...

Memnun oldum Nice to meet you.

___ Bey, ___ Hanım Mister, Misses

Hanımlar ve Beyler Ladies and gentlemen

Nerelisiniz? Where are you from? (formal)

Nerelisin? Where are you from? (informal)

…lıyım / …liyim.

Nerede oturuyorsunuz? Where do you live? (formal)

Nerede oturuyorsun? Where do you live? (informal)

…de/da/te/ta oturuyorum.

Kaç yaşındasınız? How old are you? (formal)

Kaç yaşındasın? How old are you? (informal)

____ yaşındayım. I am ____ years old.

Türkçe biliyor musunuz? Do you speak [know] Turkish? (formal)

İngilizce biliyor musun? Do you speak [know] English? (informal)

Biliyorum / Bilmiyorum. I speak [know]… / I don’t speak…

Anlıyor musunuz? / Anlıyor musun? Do you understand? (formal / informal)

Anlıyorum / Anlamıyorum. I understand / I don’t understand.

Biliyorum / Bilmiyorum. I know / I don’t know.

I am from...

I live in...

Yardım eder misiniz? / Yardım Tabii / Tabii ki eder misin? Of course. Can you help me? (formal / informal)

Efendim? What? Pardon me?

…nerede?

…var / ...vardı.

Where is... / Where are...?

İşte / Buyurun There it is / Here you are.

There is/are... / There was/were...

Türkçe’de ____ nasıl denir? How do you say ____ in Turkish?

Bu ne? / Bunun mānāsı ne? What is this? / What does this mean?

Neyin var? What's the matter?

Önemli bir şey değil. It doesn't matter.

Ne oluyor? What's happening?

Hiç bilmiyorum. I have no idea.

Yoruldum / Hastayım. I'm tired / sick.

Acıktım / Susadım. I'm hungry / thirsty.

Yandım / Üşüdüm. I'm hot / cold.

Sıkıldım. I'm bored.

Beni ilgilendirmez I don't care.

Merāk etmeyin / Merāk etme. Don't worry (formal / informal)

Sorun değil / Önemli değil It's no problem. / It's alright.

Unuttum. I forgot.

Gitmem lāzım. I must go.

Çok yaşayın / Çok yaşa! Bless you! (formal / informal)

Tebrikler / Tebrik ederim. Congratulations!

Kolay gelsin! / İyi şanslar! (wish of success) / Good luck! (less common)

Sıra sizde / Sıra sende It's your turn! (formal / informal)

Sessiz olun / Sessiz ol! Be quiet! (formal / informal)

Seni seviyorum. I love you (singular)

Notice that Turkish has informal and formal ways of saying things. This is because there is more than one meaning to "you" in Turkish (as well as in many other languages). The informal you is used when talking to close friends, relatives, animals or children. The formal you is used when talking to someone who is older than you or someone for whom you would like to show respect (a professor, for example). As in many Romance languages, personal pronouns can be omitted, and they are only added for emphasis. Turkish has Vowel Harmony. That’s why we have given a choice of suffixes in the example “I live in…”. This will be dealt with in later sections. In the examples used, we have used a vowel lengthener sign (as in ā, ī and ū) to differentiate between short and long vowels. Note that it does not show the stress; rather it shows that the vowel is pronounced longer. The “^” sign is used to soften the consonant that precedes it. The length and the softening of vowels is conveyed through this one sign “^” in standard writing. Even then it is only used in certain words or phrases nowadays. For that reason we have used two different signs and have put it at every point where needed, to help the new learner. 2. Pronunciation a

car

ı

cousin

r

role (rolled)

b

big

i

tea

s

sun

c

jam

j

Jean d’Arc

ş

shine

ç

charm

k

kid

t

time

d

do

l

lake

u

wood

e

ever

m

mine

ü

fruit

f

fight

n

nine

v

van

g

gate

o

grow

y

yard

ğ

see below.

ö

first

z

zoo

h

harp

p

push

Turkish is a very phonetic language, so pronunciation is very easy. Most words are pronounced exactly as they are spelled. ü is exactly pronounced like “u” in French, like “tu”. ğ is in most cases a silent letter. It has a unique sound to it when pronounced separately (The closest would be the “r” sound in French, but ğ is not a guttural letter). Today, ğ is used:

•

as a vowel lengthener, that is, it lengthens the vowel that precedes it.

Dağ (“da:”) “mountain” Ağlamak (“a:lamak”) “to cry” Ağaç (“a:ch”) “tree”

•

in the middle of two vowels to connect them.

Eğilmek “to stoop”, eğitim “education”. ı is pronounced like the “e” sound of “kommen” in German. It is an undotted i in appearance. kâ is pronounced like the “qua” sound in “quatre” in French. gâ is pronounced in a similar way, similar to “gare” in French. lâ is pronounced like the “la” sound in French.

3. Subject Pronouns

ben I

biz

we

siz

you (formal&plural)

sen

you (singular)

o

he / she / it onlar they

The plural you, siz, is also used for formal address. The subject pronouns for the third person singular and plural (o and onlar) are generally replaced by the noun they specify (i.e. the person, the object) in the spoken language. 4. General Vocabulary and

ve

friend

arkadaş

but

ama

man

adam

only

sādece

woman

kadın

now

şimdi

boy

çocuk; oğul

at the moment şu anda

baby

bebek

always

her zaman

girl

kız

never

hiç

child

çocuk

something

bir şey

book

kitap

nothing

hiçbir şey

pencil

kalem

also / too

de/da

paper

kâğıt

again

yine; gene; tekrar

dog

köpek

of course

tabii; tabii ki

cat

kedi

5. Question Words what

ne

why

niye

when

ne zaman

where

nerede

how

nasıl

how much / many

ne kadar / kaç

which / which one

hangi / hangisi

who

kim

whom

kimi

to whom

kime

whose

kimin

from where

nereden

to where

nereye

Nereden biliyorsun? How do you know? Kimi tanıyorsun? Whom do you know? Kaç dil öğreniyorsun? How many languages are you learning? Hangi üniversitede okuyorsun? In which university are you studying? Niye gülüyorsun? Why are you laughing?

6. The suffix “to be” and Vowel Harmony ben

-im I am

biz

sen

-sin you are (sing.)

siz -siniz

you are (plural)

onlar -dırlar

they are

o -dur

he / she / it is

-iz

we are

The suffixes –dur and –dırlar are mostly omitted in speech, and they can sometimes be left out in the written language. The vowels used in the suffix “to be” shifts with Vowel Harmony. Vowel Harmony is easy to learn. The vowels are divided into two groups for this: The A-undotted group and the E-dotted group. Note: Instead of memorizing the subtleties of each rule, it is more helpful to study the examples below by writing them down and repeating them with a loud voice, thus gaining a sense of the language. The A-undotted group includes the vowels a,ı,o,u. The vowel used in the last syllable of a word defines the way vowel harmony is constructed.

•

If the last vowel is a or ı, then the vowel(s) of the suffix is ı.

arkadaş >> arkadaş + ız >> Biz arkadaşız. “We are friends.” hasta >> hasta + sınız >> Hastasınız. “You are ill.”

•

If the last vowel is o or u, then the vowel(s) of the suffix is u.

tok >> tok + um >> Tokum. “I am full.” The E-dotted group consists of the vowels e,i,ö,ü.

•

If the last vowel is e or i, then the vowel(s) of the suffix is i.

ben >> ben + im >> Benim. “It’s me.” (lit. “I am.”)

•

If the last vowel is ö or ü, then the vowel(s) of the suffix is ü.

üzgün >> üzgün + sün >> Üzgünsün. “You are upset.” mutlu - happy ( ending in a vowel ) mutlu + y + um

I am happy

mutlu + y + uz

we are happy

mutlu + sun

you are happy

mutlu + sunuz

you are happy (plural)

mutlu

he/she/it is happy

mutlu

they are happy

•

If the word ends in a vowel, y is added before suffixes for “I” and “we”.

hasta >> hasta + y + ım >> Hastayım. “I’m ill.” evde >> evde + y + iz >> Evdeyiz. "We are at home." It should be noted that there are words that end with a soft L. In this case, the endings take E –dotted vowels instead. meşgūl >> meşgūl+üz >> Meşgūlüz. “We are busy.”

7. To Read, Study and to Learn okumak - to read/to study

öğrenmek - to learn

okuyorum

okuyoruz

öğreniyorum

öğreniyoruz

okuyorsun

okuyorsunuz

öğreniyorsun

öğreniyorsunuz

okuyor

okuyorlar

öğreniyor

öğreniyorlar

Türkçe öğreniyorum. I’m learning Turkish. Ne okuyorsun? What are you reading / Which subject are you studying? Edebiyat okuyorum. I’m studying Literature. Harry Potter okuyorum. I’m reading Harry Potter.

8. Respect Words There are respect words that are used in daily life. Instead of addressing a teacher or a professor with siz, students would prefer the word Hocam(which means app. ‘my master’ or ‘my teacher’). Amca, is used to address a male who is older than the speaker. It can also be added to the name of people who are known to the person. In formal situations, the words Bey and Hanım are used after the name. They are also used to address people who are totally unknown to the speaker. In less formal situations, the endings for informal you, sen, can be used, as in the first example. Ahmet Bey, meşgul müsün? Mr. Ahmet, are you busy? İpek Hanım, misāfiriniz var. Ms. İpek, you have a visitor/guest. Merhabā Ömer amca, nasılsın? Hello Ömer amca, how are you? Merhabā Hocam, nasılsınız? Hello Professor, how are you?

9. To Know People and Facts tanımak - to know people

bilmek - to know facts

tanıyorum

tanıyoruz

biliyorum

biliyoruz

tanıyorsun

tanıyorsunuz

biliyorsun

biliyorsunuz

tanıyor

tanıyorlar

biliyor

biliyorlar

10. Numbers / Ordinals 0

sıfır

zero

1

bir

first

birinci / ilk

2

iki

second

ikinci

3

üç

third

üçüncü

4

dört

fourth

dördüncü

5

beş

fifth

beşinci

6

altı

sixth

altıncı

7

yedi

seventh

yedinci

8

sekiz

eighth

sekizinci

9

dokuz

ninth

dokuzuncu

10

on

tenth

onuncu

11

on bir

eleventh

on birinci

12

on iki

twelfth

on ikinci

13

on üç

thirteenth

on üçüncü

14

on dört

fourteenth

on dördüncü

15

on beş

fifteenth

on beşinci

16

on altı

sixteenth

on altıncı

17

on yedi

seventeenth

on yedinci

18

on sekiz eighteenth

on sekizinci

19

on dokuz nineteenth

on dokuzuncu

20

yirmi

yirminci

21

yirmi bir twenty-first

22

yirmi iki twenty-second yirmi ikinci

30

otuz

thirtieth

otuzuncu

40

kırk

fortieth

kırkıncı

50

elli

fiftieth

ellinci

60

altmış

sixtieth

altmışıncı

70

yetmiş

seventieth

yetmişinci

80

seksen

eightieth

sekseninci

90

doksan

ninetieth

doksanıncı

100 yüz

hundredth

yüzüncü

1000 bin

thousandth

bininci

twentieth

yirmi birinci

11. The Present Tense Şimdiki Zaman -yorum

I am ___ing

-yoruz

-yorsun

you are ___ing (sing.) -yorsunuz

you are ___ing (plural)

-yor

he / she / it is ___ing

they are ___ing

-yorlar

we are ___ing

The Present Tense covers the uses of the Present Continuous Tense in English. Furthermore, it also covers some uses of the Simple Present Tense, especially in the oral language. It is constructed by adding the suffixes above to the verb stem. Yet, a vowel that connects the verb stem to the suffix is added in between, following the rules of Vowel Harmony. The construction is the same with the suffix “to be”.

•

If the last vowel (or the only vowel) of the verb stem is a or ı, then the vowel is ı, making ıyor.

açmak “to open”

•

aç- >> aç + ı + yor >> açıyor “he/she/it is opening”

If the last vowel of the verb stem is o or u, then the vowel is u, making –uyor.

olmak “to become, to happen”

•

iç- >> iç + i + yor >> içiyor “he/she/it is drinking” If the last vowel of the verb stem is ö or ü, then the vowel is ü, making –üyor.

gülmek “to laugh”

•

gül- >> gül + ü + yor >> gülüyor “he/she/it is laughing”

Verb stems ending in a vowel either drop this vowel to avoid vowel clusters,

anlamak “to understand”

•

ol- >> ol + u + yor >> oluyor “it is happening”

If the last vowel of the verb stem is e or i, then the vowel is i, making –iyor.

içmek “to drink”

•

–

anla- >> anl + ı + yor >> anlıyor “he/she/it understands”

or the final vowel mingles with the vowel and they become one. This happens if the final vowel is u, ü, ı or i.

okumak “to read / to study”

oku- >> ok + u + yor >> okuyor “he/she/it is reading”

In all cases the ending –yor and the personal suffixes always remain the same in all verbs in the Present Tense. Ne yapıyorsun? What are you doing? Şimdi uyuyor. He/she/it is sleeping now. Yunus Emre’yi tanıyorum. I know Yunus Emre. Hemen geliyorum. I’m coming right now. The verbs gitmek (to go) and etmek (to do) go through a consonant mutation when conjugated. The final consonant of the verb stem t softens to d. git- >> gid + i + yor >> gidiyor “he/she/it is going”

et- >> ed + i + yor >> ediyor “he/she/it is doing”

12. Days of the Week Monday

pazartesi

Tuesday

salı

Wednesday

çarşamba

Thursday

perşembe

Friday

cumā

Saturday

cumartesi

Sunday

pazar

the day

gün

the week

hafta

this week

bu hafta

the weekend haftasonu today

bugün

tomorrow

yarın

yesterday

dün

To say “on Monday”, the expression pazartesi günü is used. It means literally “on the day of Monday”. This is true for other days of the week (salı günü, cuma günü etc.). Days of the week are not capitalized; unless they are used in an exact date, as in 19 Ocak Salı (January 19th, Tuesday).

13. Possessive Suffixes To say “my school”, “his car” in Turkish, we add certain suffixes to the word. anne - mother; mom ( ending in a vowel ) annem

my mother

annemiz

our mother

annen

your mother (singular)

anneniz

your mother (plural)

annesi

his/her/its mother

anneleri

their mother

Possessive suffixes follow the rules of Vowel Harmony. The construction is quite similar to the suffix “to be”.

•

For the suffixes “my” and “your”, words ending in a vowel get –m and –n respectively, without the need of an additional vowel.

āile >> āile+m >> āilem “my family”

araba >> araba+m >> arabam “my car”

•

If the last vowel (or the only vowel) of the word is a or ı, then the vowel of the suffix is ı.

araba >> araba+mız >> arabamız “our car”

•

If the last vowel (or the only vowel) of the word is o or u, then the vowel of the suffix is u.

uyku >> uyku+su>> uykusu “his/her/its sleep”

•

If the last vowel (or the only vowel) of the word is e or i, then the vowel of the suffix is i.

kedi >> kedi+niz >> kediniz “your cat” (plural)

•

If the last vowel (or the only vowel) of the word is ö or ü, then the vowel of the suffix is ü.

türkü >> türkü+müz >> türkümüz “our folk song”

•

The suffix for “their” is either –ları or –leri, depending on the last vowel of the word being an A-undotted vowel or an E-dotted vowel.

arabaları “their car(s)” ev - house (ending in a consonant)

•

evim

my house

evimiz

our house

evin

your house (singular)

eviniz

your house (plural)

evi

his/her/its house

evleri

their house

When the word ends in a consonant, a vowel is added before the suffix. This is the same vowel with the one in the suffix, as can be seen in the examples below.

ev >> ev + i + miz >> evimiz “our house” köy >> köy + ü + nüz >> köyünüz “your village” (plural)

•

If the word ends in a consonant, the letter s is omitted from the suffix for “his/her/its”.

at >> at + ı >> atı “his/her/its horse”

•

The suffix for “their” –leri/–ları remains unchanged even if the word ends in a consonant.

14. Months of the Year

January

ocak

February

şubat

March

mart

April

nīsan

May

mayıs

June

hazīran

July

temmuz

August

ağustos

September eylül October

ekim

November kasım December aralık the month

ay

this month bu ay next month gelecek ay last month geçen ay the year

yıl /sene

this year

bu sene

To say “In May” for instance, the expression mayıs ayında is used. It translates as “in the month of May”. The same expression is used for all months, thus; ekim ayında etc. Months are not capitalized; unless they are included in an exact date, as in 20 Mart 2002 (March 20, 2002).

15. Seasons spring

bahar

summer yaz

autumn sonbahar winter

kış

To say “in the summer” or “in the winter”, the words yazın and kışın are used. For “in the spring” and “in the autumn”, the locative suffix is used. Thus baharda and ilkbaharda.

16. Directions north

kuzey

east

doğu

south

güney

west

batı

northeast kuzeydoğu

northwest kuzeybatı

southeast güneydoğu

southwest güneybatı

17. Colors and the Indefinite Article red

kırmızı

turquoise turkuaz

pink

pembe

brown

kahverengi

orange

turuncu

azure

gök māvisi

yellow

sarı

black

siyah

green

yeşil

gray

grī

blue

māvi

white

beyaz

light blue açık māvi

gold

altın rengi

purple

silver

gümüş rengi

mor

kırmızı elma

red apple

yeşil yapraklar green leaves beyaz kapı

white door

There is no definite article in Turkish. The indefinite article bir comes after the adjective. In poetry and creative writing, it can sometimes precede the adjective as well, but this is rare in the spoken language. Bahçemizde yeşil bir ağaç var. Gümüş rengi bir saatim var.

There’s a green tree in our garden. I have a silver-colored watch.

Also note that it might be left out in some places where it is used in English. Öğrenciyim.

I’m a student.

Most of the time, the last consonant of bir is not pronounced in daily life.

Bi hafta sonra geliyorum. I’m coming in a week. Bi saat önce buradaydı. He was here an hour ago.

18. Formation of Plural Nouns Formation of plural nouns is fairly easy in Turkish. To make words plural, add –ler or –lar to the word, according the vowel in the last syllable. If the vowel in the last syllable is an E-dotted vowel it gets –ler, if it is an A-undotted vowel it gets –lar. evler houses arabalar cars okullar schools hastalar patients insanlar

people

There are some exceptions as well that can be memorized without much difficulty: saatler festivaller

hours festivals

Galler Wales (i.e. the country)

19. Time Saat kaç?

What time is it?

Bir.

It's one.

İki/üç/dört…

It's two/three/four...

Öğle vakti.

It's noon.

Gece yarısı.

It's midnight.

Beşi beş geçiyor.

It's 5:05

Sekizi çeyrek geçiyor.

It's 8:15

Dokuz kırk beş.

It's 9:45 (common use)

Dokuza on var.

It's 8:50

Beş otuz beş.

It's 5:35 (common use)

Üç buçuk.

It's 3:30

It is also common to give the hour and the minute simply, an easier way to tell the time (the two examples signed with parentheses show this).

20. Weather Bugün hava nasıl?

How's the weather today?

Hava güzel.

The weather's nice.

Hava kötü / bozuk.

The weather's bad.

Soğuk.

It's cold.

Sıcak.

It's hot.

Güneşli.

It's sunny.

Rüzgârlı.

It's windy.

Yağmurlu.

It's raining.

Kar yağıyor.

It's snowing.

Bulutlu.

It's cloudy.

21. Family and Animals family

āile

sibling

kardeş

dog

köpek

parents

ebeveyn

grandfather

dede

cat

kedi

husband koca

grandmother

nine

bird

kuş

wife

karı; eş

grandson

torun

fish

balık

father

baba

granddaughter torun

horse at

mother

anne

uncle

amca/dayı

goat

keçi

son

oğul

aunt

hala/teyze

pig

domuz

daughter kız

nephew

yeğen

cow

inek

child(ren) çocuk(lar)

niece

yeğen

rabbit tavşan

sister

cousin

kuzen

turtle

kız kardeş

kaplumbağa

brother

erkek kardeş

relatives

akrabā

mouse fāre

22. To Have and There is / are The meaning of “There is, there are” is conveyed through the word var. It means “there is / it exists”. Otoparkta beş araba var. Bahçemizde üç ağaç var.

There are five cars in the parking lot. There are three trees in our garden.

To say “There aren’t, there isn’t”, the word yok is used, which means “there isn’t / it doesn’t exist”. Apartmanımızda hiç Amerikalı yok.

There are no Americans in our apartment.

Saying you have something is fairly easy in Turkish. For this purpose, the possessive suffixes and the word var are used together. Küçük bir kaplumbağam var. I have a (lit. “my”) small tortoise. Sāhilde evi var. He/she has a (lit. “his/her”) house by the seaside.

For negation, yok is used in the same way. Kedimiz yok.

We don’t have a (lit. “our”) cat.

To ask questions like “do you have, don’t you have”, var and yok are used with the question particle, making var mı and yok mu. Arabanız var mı? Do you have a (lit. “your [pl. or formal] car”) car? Bilgisayarları yok mu? Don’t they have a computer of their own?

23. Work and School doctor dentist lawyer professor teacher engineer architect writer journalist musician artist pharmacist banker

doktor diş hekimi / dişçi avukat profesör öğretmen mühendis mīmar yazar gazeteci müzisyen ressam eczācı bankacı

history math algebra geometry science physics chemistry zoology botany geography music art drawing (noun)

tārih matematik cebir geometri fen fizik kimyā zooloji botanik coğrafya müzik sanat çizim

carpenter barber mechanic salesman electrician postman policeman soldier pilot secretary poet nurse

marangoz berber makine ustası satıcı elektrikçi postacı polis asker pilot sekreter şāir hasta bakıcı

painting (noun) linguistics languages drawing (verb) painting (verb)

resim dilbilim diller çizim yapmak resim yapmak

24. Also and To Be at a Place The meaning of being at/in one place is conveyed through the particle –de or –da in Turkish. Either of these endings is added to the word, according to the vowel in the last syllable. An E-dotted vowel will get –de, and an A-undotted vowel will get –da, similar to the plurals. arabada in the car evde

at home

okulda at school Note that there is also –te and –ta, used if the last letter of the word is a hard consonant (one of these letters: f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p). işte at work Note: Proper nouns are separated from suffixes by an apostrophe in Turkish. New York’ta in New York The particle de/da also means “too, also”. It is then written separate from the word and is not bound with hard consonant rules. Arkadaşım da İngilizce biliyor. My friend knows English too. Gökay da gelmek istiyor. Gökay also wants to come. Biz de bilmiyoruz. We don’t know either.

25. Fruits, Vegetables and Meat apple

elma

lettuce

marul

ham

jambon

orange

portakal

cabbage

lahana

meatball

köfte

banana

muz

cauliflower

karnabahar

chicken

tavuk

grapefruit

greyfurt

asparagus

kuşkonmaz

turkey

hindi

lemon

limon

spinach

ıspanak

lobster

yengeç

peach

şeftāli

tomato

domates

water

su

fig

incir

bean

fasulye

soda

soda

grape

üzüm

rice

pirinç

wine

şarap

pear

armut

carrot

havuç

pork

domuz eti

plum

erik

turnip

şalgam

pancake

gözleme

cherry

kiraz

onion

soğan

corn

mısır

pineapple

ananas

cucumber

salatalık

sauce

sos

melon

kavun

artichoke

enginar

pasta

makarna

watermelon

karpuz

eggplant

patlıcan

beet

pancar

strawberry

çilek

radish

turp

egg

yumurta

raspberry

ahududu

broccoli

brokoli

cake

kek

blackberry

böğürtlen

pepper

biber

pie

turta; börek

beef

sığır eti; biftek

garlic

sarımsak

ice cream

dondurma

sausage

sosis

potato

patates

pancake with meat filling

lahmācun

26. Negative Sentences Negation in verbs is conveyed through the suffix –me or –ma. This suffix is added to the verb stem, forming the negative infinitive. vermek almak

“to give” “to take”

ver- >> ver + me >> vermemek al- >> al + ma >> almamak

“not to give” “not to take”

To form the negative verb in the Present Tense, the vowels a and e in –ma and –me change into the vowels ı,u or i,ü through Vowel Harmony.

•

If the last vowel (or the only vowel) of the verb stem is a or ı, then the vowel is ı, making mıyor.

ağla- >> ağla + mı + yor >> ağlamıyor “he/she/it is not crying”

–

•

If the last vowel of the verb stem is o or u, then the vowel is u, making –muyor.

ol- >> ol + mu + yor >> olmuyor “it is not happening, not working”

•

If the last vowel of the verb stem is e or i, then the vowel is i, making –miyor.

iç- >> iç + mi + yor >> içmiyor “he/she/it is not drinking”

•

If the last vowel of the verb stem is ö or ü, then the vowel is ü, making –müyor.

gül- >> gül + mü + yor >> gülmüyor “he/she/it is not laughing”

•

Verb stems ending in a vowel do not drop this vowel, unlike the positive conjugation.

anla- >> anla + mı + yor >> anlamıyor “he/she/it does not understand” Bugün okula gitmiyoruz. We’re not going to school today. Sigara içmiyorum. I don’t smoke. Çocuklar bir şey yemiyorlar. The children aren’t eating anything. Consonant mutation does not occur in the verbs gitmek (to go) and etmek (to do), unlike the positive conjugation. git- >> git + mi + yor >> gitmiyor “he/she/it is not going” et- >> et + mi + yor >> etmiyor “he/she/it is not doing”

27. Double Negation Double negation is observed in Turkish. Hiçbir şey bilmiyorum. I don’t know anything (lit. “I don’t know nothing.”) New York’a hiç gitmedim. I’ve never been to New York (lit. “I haven’t never went to New York.”) Bana hiç kimse yardım etmiyor. No one is helping me. (lit. “No one is not helping me.”)

There is one exception to this rule: Sentences in which the particles "ne.....ne (de)" are used. "ne....ne (de)" has the meaning of "neither....nor" in English.

Ne o ne de kardeşi Almanca biliyorlar.

Neither he, nor his brother know German.

Ne kalmak istiyorlar, ne bir şey yemek istiyorlar. something.

They neither want to stay, nor want to eat

Yet, it should also be noted that some speakers still observe double negation with "ne....ne (de)". In either case, the meaning (neither...nor) does not change (that is, the sentence pertains the negative meaning).

Ne ben ne de oğlum hiçbir şey hatırlamıyoruz. Neither me, nor my son remember anything.

28. To and From Places The meaning of the particles “to, into” in English is conveyed through the suffix –e or –a in Turkish. An Edotted vowel (one of e,i,ö,ü) in a word’s last (or the only) syllable gets –e, an A-undotted vowel (one of a,ı,o,u) gets –a. eve

to the house

okula

to school

İstanbul’a arkadaşıma

to Istanbul to my friend

If the word ends in a vowel, y is included between the word and the suffix. arabaya hastāneye

to the car to the hospital

Fransa’ya

to France

The meaning of the particle “from” in English is conveyed through the suffix –den or –dan, while the construction remains the same. evden

from the house

üniversiteden kütüphāneden

from the university from the library

Note that there are also –ten and –tan, used if the last letter of the word is a hard consonant (one of these letters: f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p). Teksas’tan

from Texas

Mehmet’ten

from Mehmet

kitaptan

from the book

29. Noun Compounds When two nouns come together (like “school bag”), they form a noun compound. Noun compounds are used very often in Turkish. In a noun compound, the first element is the possessor, and the second one is the

possessed. In Turkish, the possessed noun in an indefinite noun compound takes a suffix. This is the same with the possessive suffix for the third person singular (“his/her/its”).

öğrenci >> öğrenci + si >> üniversite öğrencisi “university student” If the word ends in a consonant, the letter s is omitted from the suffix, as explained in possessive suffixes. otobüs >> otobüs + ü >> okul otobüsü adam >> adam + ı >> iş adamı

“the school bus”

“businessman”

If the possessed noun is in plural, it takes the possessive suffix for “their”. yemek >> yemek + leri >> Türk yemekleri

“Turkish dishes”

There are certain cases where no suffix is needed. Some of them are:

•

If the first word is an adjective.

beyaz at “white horse”, yüksek dağlar “high mountains”

•

If the first word is a name of a material.

altın yüzük “golden ring”, tahta masa “wooden table” Üniversite öğrencisiyim. I am a university student. İş adamları bu akşam İstanbul’da toplanıyorlar. Businessmen are meeting in Istanbul this evening. Türk yemekleri çok lezzetli. Turkish dishes are very delicious.

30. Countries and Nationalities Country

Nationality

Germany

Almanya

Alman

Argentina

Arjantin

Arjantinli

Australia

Avustralya

Avustralyalı

Bolivia

Bolivya

Bolivyalı

Bosnia

Bosna

Boşnak

Turkey

Türkiye

Türk

Canada

Kanada

Kanadalı

Columbia

Kolombiya

Kolombiyalı

Costa Rica

Kostarīka

Kostarīkalı

Cuba

Küba

Kübalı

Croatia

Hırvatistan

Hırvat

Chile

Şili

Şilili

China

Çin

Çinli

Ecuador

Ekvador

Ekvadorlu

Egypt

Mısır

Mısırlı

Georgia

Gürcistan

Gürcü

Spain

İspanya

İspanyol

United States

Amerika

Amerikalı

Albania

Arnavutluk

Arnavut

France

Fransa

Fransız

India

Hindistan

Hintli

England

İngiltere

İngiliz

Hungary

Macaristan

Macar

Italy

İtalya

İtalyan

Japan

Japonya

Japon

Jordan

Ürdün

Ürdünlü

Kazakhstan

Kazakistan

Kazak; Kazak Türkü

Lithuania

Litvanya

Litvanyalı

Mexico

Meksika

Meksikalı

Norway

Norveç

Norveçli

Poland

Polonya

Polonyalı

Portugal

Portekiz

Portekizli

Russia

Rusya

Rus

Serbia

Sırbistan

Sırp

South Africa

Güney Afrika

Güney Afrikalı

Sweden

İsveç

İsveçli

Syria

Sūriye

Sūriyeli

31. To Do or Make yapmak

etmek

yapıyorum

yapıyoruz

ediyorum

ediyoruz

yapıyorsun

yapıyorsunuz

ediyorsun

ediyorsunuz

yapıyor

yapıyorlar

ediyor

ediyorlar

The verbs yapmak and etmek both mean “to do / to make” in English. While yapmak is used more as a stand-alone verb, etmek has many uses as an auxiliary verb. As noted earlier, the verb etmek goes through a consonant mutation: t turns into d when conjugated. Common verbs with etmek: reddetmek – to refuse hapsetmek – to imprison kabul etmek – to accept emretmek – to command fark etmek – to notice hak etmek – to deserve

32. Commands The imperative form is constructed simply by dropping the infinitive suffix from the verb root, and adding the necessary suffixes. There are no exceptions. The imperative for you (sen) does not get a suffix, as it is complied of the verb root. Vowel Harmony is observed. Studying the earlier mentioned rules of Vowel Harmony is sufficient to master the imperative construction. Person

Imperative Form gitmek–to go

sen

git!

siz (formal / plural)

gidin! / gidiniz! (more formal&less common)

o

gitsin!

onlar

gitsinler!

As in the Present Tense, t in the verbs etmek and gitmek softens to d, in the imperative form for siz.

Sabırlı ol! Be patient! Buraya gelin! Come here! (formal / plural) Acele edin, lütfen! Please hurry up! (formal / plural) Çocuklar uyusunlar. Let the kids sleep. Şuna bak! Look at that!

33. Food and Meals breakfast lunch supper meal food bread roll butter meat fish vegetables fruit cheese crackers candy sandwich ice cream

kahvaltı öğle yemeği akşam yemeği yemek yiyecek ekmek tost ekmeği yağ et balık sebze meyve peynir kraker şekerleme sandviç dondurma

tablecloth napkin fork knife spoon plate, dish glass cup salt saltshaker pepper pepper shaker sugar sugar bowl vinegar coffeepot teapot tray

masa örtüsü peçete çatal bıçak kaşık tabak bardak fincan tuz tuzluk biber biberlik şeker şekerlik sirke cezve çaydanlık tepsi

34. Holiday Phrases the new year

yeni yıl

birthday

doğum günü

Mother’s Day

anneler günü

Father’s Day

babalar günü

may it be blessed!

kutlu olsun!

Eid-al-Fitr

Ramazan bayramı

Christmas

Noel bayramı

Feast of Sacrifice

Kurban bayramı

Yeni yılınız kutlu olsun! / Yeni yılın kutlu olsun! (formal / informal) Happy New Year! Doğum gününüz / günün kutlu olsun! (formal / informal) Happy Birthday! Anneler gününüz / günün kutlu olsun! Happy Mothers’ Day! Ramazan bayramınız / bayramın kutlu olsun! Happy Ramadan Bayram (Eid-al-Fitr)! Noel bayramınız / bayramın kutlu olsun! Merry Christmas! Kurban bayramınız / bayramın kutlu olsun! Happy Feast of Sacrifice (Eid-al-Adha)!

Turkish National Anthem: İstiklâl Marşı (March of Independence) Written by Mehmet Akif Ersoy, 1921 Composed by Zeki Üngör, 1922. These are the first two stanzas sung in ceremonies. Korkma, sönmez bu şafaklarda yüzen al sancak Sönmeden yurdumun üstünde tüten en son ocak. O benim milletimin yıldızıdır, parlayacak! O benimdir, o benim milletimindir ancak! Çatma, kurban olayım, çehreni ey nazlı hilâl! Kahraman ırkıma bir gül... ne bu şiddet, bu celâl? Sana olmaz dökülen kanlarımız sonra helâl. Hakkıdır, Hakk'a tapan milletimin istiklâl. Fear not, the crimson flag waving in these dawns will never fade Before the last hearth that is burning in my nation vanishes. That is my nation's star, it will shine; That is mine, it belongs solely to my nation. Oh coy crescent do not frown, for I am ready to sacrifice myself for you! Please smile upon my heroic nation. Why that anger, why that rage? If you frown, our blood shed for you will not be worthy. Freedom is the right of my nation who worships God and seeks what is right. Translation by Burak Sansal (This is a semi-literal translation).