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 / 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 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. I am from...
Nerede oturuyorsunuz? Where do you live? (formal)
Nerede oturuyorsun? Where do you live? (informal)
…de/da/te/ta oturuyorum. I live in...
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.
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
r ole ole (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
uit fr ui
f
f ight ight
n
nine
v
van
g
gate
o
gr ow
y
yard
ğ
see below.
ö
f irst
z
zoo
h
harp
p
push
Turkish is a very phonetic language, language, so pronunciation is very easy. 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
sen you (singular)
siz
you (formal&plural)
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
baby
bebek
at the moment şu anda 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? Why are you laughing? Niye gülüyorsun?
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.” 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.”) 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
-yor
he / she / it is ___ing
-yorlar
we are ___ing you are ___ing (plural) they 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”
If the last vowel of the verb stem is e or i, then the vowel is i, making –iyor .
•
içmek “to drink” •
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”
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 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 autumn sonbahar
summer yaz
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
gold
altın rengi
silver
gümüş rengi
light blue açık māvi
mor
purple
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 hours festivaller 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
bird
kuş
fish
balık
husband koca
grandmother nine
wife
karı; eş
grandson
father
baba
granddaughter torun
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
cousin
kuzen
turtle
sister
kız kardeş
torun
horse at
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 “to give”
ver- >> ver + me >> vermemek “not to give”
almak
al- >> al + ma >> almamak
“to take”
“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.”) No one is helping me. (lit. “No one is not helping me.”) Bana hiç kimse yardım etmiyor .
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, 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. suffixes.
otobüs >> otobüs + ü >> okul otobüsü “the school bus” adam >> adam + ı >> iş adamı
“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” I am a university student. Üniversite öğrencisiyim. İş adamları bu akşam İstanbul’da toplanıyorlar. 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
masa örtüsü tablecloth peçete napkin çatal fork bıçak knife kaşık spoon tabak plate, dish bardak glass fincan cup salt tuz tuzluk saltshaker biber pepper pepper shaker biberlik sugar şeker sugar bowl şekerlik sirke vinegar cezve coffeepot teapot çaydanlık tray 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).
