I. ORTHOGRAPHY AND PHONOLOGY
1. The alphabet
Form Name Value
A a a French a in avoir
B b be b
C c ce j in jam
C+ C Ce ch in church
D d de d
E e e French e= in e=tre
F f fe f
G g ge g in gate or in angular
G G yumuSak ge lengthens preceding vowel
H h he h in have
I i i a in serial
I+ : : French i in si
J j je French j
K k ke c in cat or in cure
L l le l in list or in wool
M m me m
N n ne n
O o o English caught
O+ 0 0 German 0
P p pe p
S s se s in sit
S+ S Se sh in shape
T t te t
U u u English book
U+ U U German u
V v ve v
Y y ye y in yet
YumuSak ge (`soft g') cannot begin a word. Note that the
capital form of the dotted : is also dotted. The letter k is often
called ka instead of ke; less often, h is called ha.
2. The apostrophe. In addition to these twenty-nine letters, two
orthographic signs are used in the writing of Turkish. The
apostrophe ('), known as kesme :Saret:, is used:
(a) To mark the glottal stop in Arabic borrowings.
(b) To separate proper nouns, or words specially emphasized,
from grammatical endings: AtatUrk'ten `from AtatUrk'; An-
kara'da `in Ankara'; vec:zem:z, halka h:zmet't:r "our slogan
is ``service to the people'' ". It is thus regularly used before the case-
suffixes of the third-person pronoun o when this is written with
a capital letter as a mark of respect, the normal practice when
writing of AtatUrk and other great men (though not usually of
Allah): O'nun `His'; O'na `to Him'.
(c) To distinguish between homonyms: karin `stomach', kar'in
`of snow', kari'n `your wife'; halk oyunu `folk-dance', halk
oyu'nu `referendum' (acc.). It occurs in some surnames com-
pounded of two words: O'kan `that blood', which might other-
wise be read as ok-an `arrow-intellect'; I+S'er `work-man',
which without the apostrophe could be mistaken for the aorist
participle of :Semek `to urinate'.
(d) To mark the omission of a letter, as in n'olacak for ne
olacak `what will happen?'
3. The circumflex accent (^), known as dUzeltme :Saret:, is used
primarily to indicate the palatalizing of a preceding g, k, or l and
secondarily to mark a long vowel in Arabic borrowings, especially
where ambiguity might otherwise arise: nar ~ Persian na**r
`pomegranate' but na=r ~ Arabic na**r `hell-fire'; ad:l `justice'
but a=d:l `just'; tar:h: `history' (acc.) but tar:hi= `historical'.
This rule
is neglected in masculine names ending in the Arabic adjectival
suffix -i**, because the final vowel is nowadays pronounced short:
Bedr:, Rahm:, Ruh:. The original vowel length and conse-
quently the spelling with the circumflex are retained in pen-names
of classical authors: Nef'i=, Fuzuli=.
4. Consonants: general observations. Native words do not, as
a rule, begin with c, f, j, l, m, n, r, or z. The only notable excep-
tions, apart from onomatopoeic words, are the verbs caymak `to
swerve' and coSmak `to overflow'; the interrogative particle m:;
and ne `what?' See also XIV, 46. j occurs only in foreign words
and is often replaced by c in popular speech. A vowel is often
inserted before l, r, and n when they occur initially in foreign
words: :l:mon for l:mon `lemon', :rahmet or irahmet for
rahmet `divine mercy, rain', :nefes for nefes `breath' (especially
used of breathing on someone for magical purposes). Some such
pronunciations have become part of the written language: orospu
`harlot' ~ Persian ru**spi**, oruC `fasting' ~ Persian roza.
The consonants b, c, and g do not occur finally in native words.
5. b, p. The voiced labial is pronounced as in English, but p is less
heavily aspirated than English p.
6. C. In rapid speech the first of two adjacent C's is often heard
as t: kaC Cocuk `how many children?' pronounced as if written
kat Cocuk.
7. d, t, n. In English these letters are pronounced with the tip of
the tongue touching the gums above the top teeth. In Turkish
they are true dentals, the tongue touching the top teeth.
Modern n may represent an older n[M==ngma?], e.g. in yen: `new' and
sonra `after'. The n of the latter word is frequently dropped in
speech and sometimes in writing.
8. f, v. The pronunciation is lighter than that of the corresponding
English consonants, particularly in the case of intervocalic v,
which is heard as a weak w: tavuk `hen' is pronounced tawuk and
popularly misspelt tauk. The personal and local name Mustafa
Bey is generally pronounced Musta**bey or Mista**bey.
9. g, k. In conjunction with any of the back vowels a,i, o, and u,
these are pronounced as in gate and kale respectively: kizgin
`excited', karga `crow'. With the front vowels e, :, 0, and U they
are palatalized like English g in angular and c in cure respectively:
gerCek `true' pronounced gyercheky; kes:k `cut' pronounced
kyesiky; k0Sk `palace' pronounced ky0shky. The palatalization of
the initial k is responsible for the i in the English form of this last
example, kiosk.
In some Arabic and Persian borrowings, however, g and k are
also palatalized in conjunction with a and u. It is in such cases
that the circumflex is used: ga=vur `infidel' pronounced gyawur
(hence the i in the old-established English spelling giaour; cf.
Kiazim, the usual English transcription of the name Ka=zim);
mahku=m `condemned', ka=bus `nightmare', pronounced mah-
kyum, kya**bu**s. The circumflex in these words is solely to indicate
palatalization and has nothing to do with vowel length.
Some inconsistency arises from the fact that k may stand for
both the Arabo-Persian ? and ? (respectively k and q in English
transliteration). The second of these letters represents a k articu-
lated at the uvula, the nearest English counterpart being the sound
of c in cough. Further, initial g may represent Persian g or Arabic
gh. In the combinations ga < gha** and ka < qa**, the circumflex
cannot be used to show that the vowel is long because it would be
taken rather as showing--falsely--that the g or k is palatalized.
To avoid ambiguity in such cases, the length of the a is shown by
writing it twice: kat:l `murder' but kaat:l `murderer'. This
device is regularly employed only in kaat:l but may be met with
also in gaamiz `obscure', gaasip `usurper', kaabiz `astringent',
kaab:le `midwife', kaad:r `mighty', and kaan: `convinced', all
of which are more usually spelt with a single a.
Another complication arises from the fact that it is no more
natural for Turks than for English-speakers to pronounce a back
consonant with a front vowel; e.g. if one tries to pronounce king
with the initial consonant of cough the resulting sound is as much
un-Turkish as it is un-English. Consequently Arabic qi is tran-
scribed as ki, while qi** (written qiy in Arabic letters) ought to be
transcribed as kiy. In fact, however, although Arabic qi**mat-
`value' appears as kiymet, in other Arabic borrowings in which
q is followed by long i, such as @aqi**qat- `truth' and ta@qi**r `con-
tempt', the convention is to use dotted :: hak:kat, tahk:r. The
phonetic spelling hakiykat, occasionally seen in the early years
of the new alphabet, is no longer in general use.
In most Anatolian dialects initial k is pronounced as g, medial
and final k as the velar fricative kh, the sound heard in German
ach. So korkma `do not fear' may be heard as gorkhma, Cok
`much' as chokh. In standard Turkish the g of gal:ba `pre-
sumably' is often pronounced as k.
10. G. YumuSak ge is a concession to the traditional spelling of
Turkish in the Arabo-Persian alphabet. It represents two separate
letters of that alphabet, g and gh. The latter represents the
voiced velar fricative, the gargling sound of the Parisian or
Tynesider's r, the `Northumbrian burr'. Arabic initial gh becomes
g: gha**zi** `warrior for the Faith' > gaz: ; gha**fil `heedless'
> gaf:l. Medial or final gh becomes G: maghfu**r `forgiven' > maGfur;
tabli**gh `communication' > tebl:G. This G, whether in borrowings
or in native words, though audible as a `Northumbrian burr' of
varying intensity in dialect, serves in standard Turkish to lengthen
the preceding vowel, a following vowel being swallowed up. Thus
g:deceG:m `I shall go' is pronounced as gideje**m; alacaGiz `we
shall take' as alaja**z; aGir `heavy' as a**r; aGiz `mouth' as a**z;
aGa `master, landowner' as a**. Note particularly aGabey `elder brother',
pronounced a**bi** ; BoGaz:C: `Bosphorus' pronounced Boazichi or
Ba**zichi. Between o and a or o and u,it may be heard as a weak
v or w: soGan `onion', soGuk `cold'. The verbs koGmak `to
chase away', oGmak `to rub', oGalamak `to crumble', are pro-
nounced and sometimes spelled kovmak, ovmak, ovalamak
(also uvalamak). The same phenomenon occurs after 0 in:
0Gmek `to praise', d0Gmek `to beat', s0Gmek `to curse',
g0Germek 'to become blue', 0GUn 'portion, 0GUr 'accustomed'
also spelled 0vmek, d0vmek, s0vmek, g0vermek, 0vUn,
0vUr. Otherwise, G in conjunction with front vowels is heard as
a weak y: 0Gle `noon', deGer `worth'. In two common Persian
borrowings, d:Ger `other' and eGer `if', the original hard g is
sometimes heard instead of y, but never in meGer `apparently'.
deG:l `not' is pronounced deyil, deil, or, rather preciously, di**l.
Intervocalic k regularly becomes G: ayak `foot' +im `my' >
ayaGim `my foot'.
11. h. In conjunction with any of the narrow vowels i, :, u, U,
particularly when it ends a syllable, h is sometimes pronounced
more heavily than otherwise, like the Arabic pharyngal unvoiced
fricative @ : mih `nail', ihlamur `lime-tree', hiyar `cucumber',
:ht:yar `aged', ruh `soul'. This is not due, as some Arabists
suppose, to a memory of the spelling of such words in the
Arabo-Persian alphabet; it is a popular and not a learned pro-
nunciation.
The h in the common masculine name Mehmet is silent in
standard Turkish, there being a compensatory lengthening of the
first vowel. The spelling and pronunciation Muhammed are
reserved for the name of the Prophet, while the intermediate
stage Mehemmed is used in scholarly works for sultans of the
name. In some regional dialects the h is pronounced in Mehmet
but is silent in Ahmet, with a compensatory lengthening of the
first vowel. The h of the name Ethem is also liable to be lost in
pronunciation. The final h of sah:h `correct' is dropped in writing
as well as speech when it is used as an adverb meaning `really'; in
speech the first h is sometimes dropped too. In slipshod speech
intervocalic h is sometimes dropped together with its preceding
vowel, so muhafaza `protection' may be heard as ma**faza. Allah
aSkina `for the love of God !' is pronounced as one word without
the ah. The expletive Allahini seversen `if you love your God,
for Heaven's sake' is even further contracted, to alla**sen. The h of
hanim `lady' regularly disappears, together with the preceding
vowel, when following a name ending in e or a : Ulv:ye hanim.
Fatma hanim are pronounced ulviya**nim, fatma**nim. So too in
Persian borrowings compounded with kha**ne `house': postahane
`post office', hastahane `hospital', eczahane `chemist's shop'
are nowadays spelt and pronounced postane, hastane, eczane,
all with long a in the middle syllable.
English-speaking students must take care not to mispronounce
the letter-combinations ph, sh, and th: e.g. ph in kUtUphane
`library' is pronounced as in uphill; sh in I+shak `Isaac' as in
mishap; th in methetmek `to praise' as in nuthatch.
12. l. As in English, this letter represents two totally different
sounds, the `clear l' of list and the `dark l' of wool. Clear l is
formed towards the front of the mouth and is naturally produced
in conjunction with the front vowels, while dark l, formed in the
hollow of the palate, comes naturally with back vowels. Thus we
find clear l in yel `wind' and k0le `slave', dark l in yil `year'
and yol `way'. In foreign borrowings, however, a complication arises,
such as we have met in considering g and k. In Arabic, l is clear
except in the name of God, Alla**h. In French it is always clear.
In borrowings from these languages, l should be pronounced clear
even when in conjunction with back vowels and, as with g and k,
the circumflex is used as a reminder of this. Thus the l of la=zim
`necessary' and pla=n `plan' is pronounced as in list not as in lad,
a faint y after it. The y-sound is not so marked as in the English
pronunciation of lurid, but is quite audible; in Turkish spelling,
the English and American pronunciations of this word would be
shown as lu=rid and lurid respectively. It cannot be overemphasized
that the primary function of the circumflex is to indicate palataliza-
tion and not vowel length; e.g. in mUtala=a `observation' the first
and not the second a is long.
The latest impression of YI+K recommends that the circumflex
should be written over an a following an l in Arabic and Persian
borrowings but not in western borrowings, and then only when
the vowel was long in Arabic or Persian; thus mUtalaa and
plan, but la=zim `necessary', ala=y:S `showiness'.
13. r. Turkish r is an alveolar, produced by the vibration of the
tip of the tongue against the gums just above the top teeth. In the
Rumelian dialects it is trilled, a practice to avoid. Finally it may
be heard as a fricative, accompanied by a heavy aspiration, not
unlike the sound of Welsh rh; this pronunciation is most com-
monly observable in var `there is'.
14. y. Following a front vowel and preceding a consonant, y is
barely audible but lengthens the preceding vowel: teyze `maternal
aunt', 0yle `thus'.
15. The glottal stop. This is not native to Turkish but occurs in
Arabic borrowings. It is the sound which replaces the t in the
Cockney and Glasgow pronunciations of, for example, Saturday
and which occurs in standard English between a final and an
initial vowel; the glottal stop is what makes the difference in
pronunciation between siesta and see Esther. In Turkish it may be
primary, standing for an original Arabic glottal stop (hamza),
or secondary, standing for "ayn. The latter is a voiced pharyngal
gulp; to produce it, students of Arabic are sometimes told to
sing as far down the scale as they can and then one note lower. It
is as difficult for Turks as for other non-Arabs. The glottal stop,
both primary and secondary, is preserved in spelling:
(a) To avoid ambiguity: tel:n `of the wire' (gen. of tel) but
tel':n `denunciation' (Arabic tal"i**n); kura `villages' (Arabic
qura**) but kur'a `conscription by lot' (Arabic qur'a).
(b) In high style, out of respect for the traditional Arabic
spelling particularly of religious terms: Ser'i= `pertaining to the
sacred law' (shar"i**), Kur'an `the Koran' (Qur'a**n).
It is preserved in pronunciation but not in writing when
intervocalic, as in mUdafaa `defence' (muda**fa"a), teessUf `regret'
(ta'assuf). Otherwise, the modern practice is to omit the apostrophe
in writing and to neglect the glottal stop in speaking: sanat `art'
($an"at-), memur `official' (ma'mu**r), mesele `problem' (mas'alat-).
If the glottal stop is heard it is because the speaker is elderly,
pedantic, or speaking slowly and deliberately.
16. Doubled consonants. These are not pronounced separately,
but their enunciation is spread over a longer time than that of
a single consonant: bati `west' but batti `it sank'; el: `his hand'
but ell: `fifty'; g:tt: m: `did he go?' but g:tt:m m: `did I go?'
The final consonant of the accented syllable of interjections is
sometimes doubled: yazik or yazzik `a pity !', bravo or bravvo
`well done!' Similarly o saat `straight away', the o being ac-
cented, is regularly pronounced with a doubled s, though not so
spelt.
Doubled final consonants in Arabic borrowings are simplified
into a single consonant, except when the addition of a suffix
consisting of or beginning with a vowel makes the doubled con-
sonant pronounceable: @aqq `right' > hak, acc. hakki; @add
`limit' > had, acc. hadd:; kull `totality' > kUl, acc. kUllU.
`afw `pardon' > af, acc. affi, with the original w assimilated to
the f. The doubled s is lost in tama**ss `contact' > temas, acc.
usually temasi, pedantically temas:.
17. Consonant-clusters and epenthetic vowels. Two consonants
never occur together at the beginning of native words, if we
except the colloquial brakmak for birakmak `to leave'. Within
a word, it is rare to find more than two consonants adjoining.
When consonant-clusters occur in foreign borrowings they are
simplified by the addition of a vowel (a) before, or (b) within an
initial cluster, or (c) within a final cluster:
(a) French station > istasyon; statistique > :stat:st:k;
splendide > :sp:la=nd:t (name of an apartment-building in
Istanbul). Italian scala > :skele `quay'; sgombro > uskumru
`mackerel'; spirito > :sp:rto `alcohol'. English screw > uskur;
steam > :st:m or :sl:m.
(b) German Schlepp > S:lep `cargo-boat'; Groschen > kuruS
`piastre'. English train > t:ren. French sport > sipor; club >
kulUp; classeur > kila=s0r `file'. The tendency among the
educated is towards dispensing with such epenthetic vowels in
initial clusters. The time-honoured kuruS and S:lep have no
alternative forms, but tren is used side by side with t:ren, klUp
with kulUp, kla=s0r with kila=s0r.
(c) Numerous borrowed nouns end in two consonants, which
Turks have difficulty in pronouncing unless the first is l or r or
unless a vowel is suffixed: Arabic ism `name' > :s:m acc :sm:.
"adl `justice' > ad:l, acc. adl:; qism `part' > kisim, acc. kismi;
"aql `intelligence' > akil, acc. akli; matn `text' > met:n, acc.
metn:; "umr `life' > 0mUr, acc. 0mrU; fikr `thought' > f:k:r,
acc. f:kr:. Persian shahr `city' > Seh:r, acc. Sehr:.
Some borrowings of this shape, however, retain the epenthetic
vowel even when a vowel is suffixed: Arabic $inf `class' > sinif,
acc. sinifi; sa&r `line' > satir, acc. satiri; shi"r `poetry' > S::r,
acc. S::r:. Persian zahr `poison' > zeh:r, acc. zeh:r:; tukhm
`seed' > tohum, acc. tohumu. Presumably the retention of the
vowel was originally a vulgarism. There are signs that the number
of such words is on the increase; particularly frequent in news-
papers is Seh:re instead of Sehre for the dative of Seh:r.
Conversely, some native words ending in consonant-vowel-
consonant drop the original vowel when a vowel is suffixed: oGul
`son', acc. oGlu ; bey:n `brain', acc. beyn:.
18. Foreign diphthongs. The Arabic ai diphthong, written ay, is
treated in Turkish as consisting of vowel-consonant. It may
appear as ay or ey; in either event an epenthetic vowel appears
before a following consonant unless that consonant is followed by
a vowel: khayr `good' > hayir, acc. hayri; iusayn (masculine
name) > HUsey:n, acc. HUseyn:; meyl `tendency' > mey:l,
acc. meyl:. Exception: the Arabic dual ending -ayn > -eyn, with
no epenthetic vowel.
The Arabic au diphthong, written aw, similarly appears as av
or ev, the former generally taking an epenthetic vowel: qawm
`people' > kav:m; qawl `word' > kav:l `agreement'; qaws
`bow' > kav:s; @aw| `pool' > havuz; the accusatives being
kavm:, kavl:, kavs:, but havuzu. Two English sporting terms,
foul and round, appear as favl and ravnt, with no epenthetic
vowel, the v being pronounced as a semivowel. The combination
ev-consonant generally has no epenthetic vowel: mawt `death' >
mevt; sawq `driving' > sevk; shawq `desire' > Sevk; dhawq
`taste' > zevk. Exceptions: jawr `tyranny' > cev:r, acc. cevr:;
jawz `walnut' > cev:z, acc. cev:z:; naw" `sort' > nev: (for
nev:'), acc. nev':.
19. Alternation of consonants. k/G. Final postvocalic k in poly-
syllabic substantives becomes G when a vowel is added: ayak
`foot', acc. ayaGi; ekmek `bread', acc. ekmeG: ; sokak `street'
(< Arabic zuqa**q), acc. sokaGi; elektr:k `electricity', acc.
elektr:G:; traf:k `traffic, traffic-police', acc. traf:G:.
A few monosyllables exhibit the same phenomenon: Cok `much', acc.
CoGu; g0k `sky', acc. g0GU as well as g0kU. Most, however,
follow the pattern of k0k `root', acc. k0kU, and dok `dock, ware-
house' (English through French), acc. doku.
g/k. Final postconsonantal g in foreign borrowings (cf. #4,
end) becomes k but reappears if a vowel is added: Persian rang
`colour' > renk, acc. reng:; a**hang `harmony' > ahenk, acc.
aheng:. In borrowings from western languages the g is usually
retained in writing but pronounced as k except by the learned:
kl:r:ng `clearing' (a financial term), m:t:ng `political meeting'.
g/G. Final postvocalic g, vulgarly pronounced k, changes to G
before an added vowel: katalog `catalogue', acc. kataloGu;
jeolog `geologist', acc. jeoloGu or jeolog'u, depending on the
extent to which the user of the word regards it as a naturalized
part of his vocabulary. In the latter example, as in the next, the
apostrophe does not mark a glottal stop but preserves the original
g from the usual intervocalic change to G. l:g `football league', acc.
l:g: or l:g':; the colloquial form, however, is l:k, acc. l:k:.
b/p, c/C, d/t. An original b, c (i.e. Arabic or Persian j), or d
becomes p, C, or t at the end of most polysyllabic borrowings and
some monosyllabic, but reappears before a vowel: Arabic kita**b
`book' > k:tap, acc. k:tabi; i@tiya**j `need' > :ht:yaC, acc.
:ht:yaci; Persian ta**j `crown' > taC, acc. taci; da**ma**d
`son-in- law' > damat, acc. damadi; French serenade > serenat, acc.
serenadi.
Final p, C, and t are voiced before vowels into b, c, and d,
regularly in polysyllables, occasionally in monosyllables: d:p
`bottom', acc. d:b: ; aGaC `tree', acc. aGaci; Arabic shari**& `tape' >
Ser:t, acc. Ser:d: ; French groupe > grup, acc. grubu ; principe
`principle' > prens:p, acc. prens:b: (the accusatives grupu,
prens:p: are pedantic). Care must be taken not to confuse at
`horse', acc. ati, with ad `name', acc. adi, or ot `grass', acc. otu,
with the archaic od `fire', acc. odu.
A few verb-stems change final t to d when a vowel is added,
e.g. et- `to do', aorist eder; g:t- `to go', aorist g:der; gUt- `
to pasture', aorist gUder.
Final p and t may arise from a doubled final b and d in Arabic
borrowings. When a vowel is added, the original voiced double
consonant reappears: mu@ibb `friend' > muh:p, acc. muh:bb:;
radd `rejection' > ret, acc. redd:. There is no current example
of the change from jj to C; @ajj `pilgrimage' becomes hac, acc.
hacci, thus avoiding confusion with haC `crucifix', acc. haCi
(< Armenian khach). The original voiced consonant is similarly
preserved in had `limit' (#16, last paragraph), which is thus
distinguished from hat `line', acc. hatti (< Arabic kha&&). The
normal unvoicing occurs, however, in serhat `frontier' (< Persian
sar `head, chief'-Arabic @add `limit'), acc, serhadd:.
In foreign words which have become part of popular speech
the original voiced consonant does not reappear before a vowel:
Arabic @abb `pill' > hap, acc. hapi; French tube > tUp, acc.
tUpU. set `parapet' (< Arabic sadd) has alternative learned and
popular forms: acc. sedd: and set: respectively.
There was a short-lived fashion in the nineteen-fifties for con-
sistently spelling (though not pronouncing) with b, c, and d the
absolute forms of all nouns subject to the alternations b/p, c/C,
d/t : k:tab, muh:b, :ht:yac, tac, Ser:d, red, etc. This fashion
is refiected in the second edition of OTD (1957) and the third
edition of TS (1959), but not in the fifth edition of I+mla= Kilavuzu
(1959) or YI+K (1965), which print k:tap, muh:p, :ht:yaC, taC,
Ser:t, ret, etc. Survivals of the practice may be regarded as
idiosyncratic.
20. Consonant assimilation in suffixes. When a suffix beginning
with c, d, or g is added to a word ending in one of the unvoiced
consonants C, f, h, k, p, s, S, t, the initial consonant of the suffix
is unvoiced to C, t, or k. The suffix -c: denotes occupation: esk:
`old', esk:-c: `old-clothes dealer', but elektr:k-C: `electrician',
The suffix of the locative case is -de: I+zm:r'de `in Izmir' but
Par:s'te `in Paris'. The locative case of :S `work' is sometimes
spelled :Sde to avoid confusion with :Ste `behold'; similarly the
locative of Us `base' (naval, etc.) is spelt Usde to avoid confusion
with the dative case Uste of Ust `top'. The adjectival suffix -gan:
atil-gan `reckless' but unut-kan `forgetful'.
Those writers who follow the fashion mentioned at the end
of #19, i.e. who do not, in writing, recognize the unvoicing of
final b, c, and d, do not unvoice the initial voiced consonant of
suffixes either; e.g. k:tapCi `bookseller' they write as k:tabci and
sev:nCte `in joy' as sev:ncde.
21 . Vowels: general observations. Turkish vowels are normally
short but may be long in three situations; see #30. The difference
between short and long vowels is of quantity not quality: the
positions of the speech organs is the same; the change is in the
length of time during which the breath flows. That is why long
a may be written aa; see #9, third paragraph and, #30 (c).
Vowels are classified according to three criteria:
(a) `Front' or `back', according to whether it is the front or
back of the tongue which interrupts the flow of breath.
(b) `Open' or `close', according to the amount of space left
between tongue and palate; alternative terms are `high' and `low'.
(c) `Rounded' or `unrounded', according to the position of the
lips.
The eight vowels of standard Turkish are tabulated thus:
Unrounded Rounded
Open Close Open Close
Back a i o u
Front e : 0 U
22. a. A back, open, unrounded vowel, like the a of French avoir
or northern English man. Short, baba `father'; long, daGa `to
the mountain'.
There is also a front sound of a, verging on that of e, which
can be heard in careful speakers' pronunciation of some Arabic
borrowings and in the Istanbul word anne `mother' (elsewhere
ana). Short, d:kkat `attention'; long, cah:l `ignorant'.
23. i. A back, close, unrounded vowel. It is not unlike the sound
of a in serial, but a closer approximation can be achieved by
spreading the lips as if to say easy but saying cushion instead; the
result will be the Turkish kiSin `in winter'. Short, diS `exterior';
long, yaptiGim `which I did'. Americans will recognize in it the
sound of the first vowel of Missouri as pronounced by a native of
that state.
24. o. A back, open, rounded vowel, like French o in note: Cok
`much', yok `non-existent'. Long, as in doGdu `he was born', it
is much like the vowel of English daw without the final u-glide.
A word of warning is necessary here. Some English-speakers,
aware that Turkish o is not the same as English o in hot, go to the
other extreme and pronounce Cok and yok exactly like choke and
yoke, thus providing their Turkish friends with a good deal of
amusement. Turkish o is in fact closer to the vowel of hot than
to that of choke.
25. u. A back, close, rounded vowel between the vowels of
English put and pool. Short, burun `nose'; long, uGur `luck'.
26. e. A front, open, unrounded vowel, like French e in e=tre.
Short, sever `he loves'; long, tes:r `effect'. It also has a closer
pronunciation, verging on the sound of :, which is sometimes
heard especially in the first syllables of vermek `to give' and gece
`night'. These two sounds of e are not separate phonemes in
standard Turkish. In dialect, however, el `hand' and el `people',
homophones in the standard language, are pronounced differently,
with open and close e respectively.
27. :. A front, close, unrounded vowel, as in French si, closer than
in English pin. Short, d:S `tooth'; long, :Gne `needle'.
28. 0. A front, open, rounded vowel, as in German; the French
eu in peur. Short, g0rmek `to see'; long, 0Grenmek `to learn'.
29. U. A front, close, rounded vowel, as in German; the French
u in mur. Short, UzUm `grapes'; long, dUGme `button'.
30. Vowel length. The three situations in which long vowels
occur are:
(a) In foreign borrowings: gha**zi** (A) `warrior for the Faith' >
gaz: (pronounced ga**zi); bara**bar (P) `together' > beraber (long
a). Many originally long vowels, however, are shortened: kaba**b (A)
`roast' > kebap ; baqqa**l `greengrocer' > bakkal `grocer'. This
tendency is still in progress, as may be seen in so recent a borrowing
as jeep > c:p, with short :.
A long vowel in Arabic borrowings may represent an original
short vowel-hamza or short vowel-"ayn: ta'thi**r `effect' > tes:r
(e long); ma"lu**m `known' > malu=m (both vowels long).
A large number of Arabic borrowings retain an original long
vowel in the last syllable when a vowel is added, but shorten it
otherwise; tes:r is one such, acc. tes:r: pronounced te**si**ri. Others
in common use include hayat 'life', acc. hayati; zaman `time',
acc. zamani; mal `property', acc. mali ; cevap `answer', acc.
cevabi, all the accusatives with a long. All such words are
indicated in the OTD.
Rarely one sees an idiosyncratic use of :y to denote long :, par-
ticularly in the pietistic spelling :yman for :man `faith'. Yakup
Kadri KaraosmanoGlu, one of Turkey's greatest writers, habitually
spells, for example, :la=n `notice' and :t:bar `regard' as :yla=n and
:yt:bar; he also uses the spelling kiy for the Arabic qi** (see #9,
penultimate paragraph). The spelling l:ynet for Arabic li**nat-
`looseness of the bowels', however, is conventional.
(b) Any vowel followed by G-consonant (except when G is
interchangeable with v; see #10), any front vowel followed by
y-consonant, or any back vowel followed by G is pronounced
long: deGd: `he touched'; yaGmur `rain'; meyva `fruit'; daG
`mountain'; CiG `avalanche'.
(c) When it is desired to emphasize a word, one vowel may be
dwelled on, i.e. lengthened. This lengthening may be shown in
writing by repeating the vowel-letter, often to an extent that would
surprise an English printer: asla `never', aslaaa `never !'; Cok
`much', Coook `much too much'; Coktan `for a long time'
Coktaaan `for ages and ages'; fakat `but', fakaaaaaat `but'.
vay anam, literally `oh, my mother', an expression of distress,
may be spelled vay anaam.
Doubled vowels originally separated in Arabic by hamza or "ayn,
as well as doubled vowels arising from compounding words, are
pronounced separately: Sa=Saa `glitter' < sha"sha'a (A); karaaGaC
`elm' < kara `black' + aGaC `tree'.
31. Vowel harmony. The principle of vowel harmony, which
permeates Turkish word-formation and suffixation, is due to the
natural human tendency towards economy of muscular effort. It is
expressed in three rules:
(a) If the first vowel of a word is a back vowel, any subsequent
vowel is also a back vowel; if the first is a front vowel, any subse-
quent vowel is also a front vowel.
(b) If the first vowel is unrounded, so too are subsequent
vowels.
(c) If the first vowel is rounded, subsequent vowels are either
rounded and close or unrounded and open.
The first rule is based on the phenomenon of palatal assimila-
tion: that part of the tongue which interrupts the breath-flow over
the palate in the production of the first vowel of a word remains
in use for the production of the subsequent vowels of the word.
The second and third rules are based on labial assimilation: if
the lips are rounded for the first vowel they may stay rounded for
subsequent vowels, whereas if they are uurounded for the first
vowel the speaker does not make the effort to round them subse-
quently. There is a partial exception to the second rule: the
special case of words whose first vowel is a followed by b, m, p,
or v, as the lip-position for the production of these labial con-
sonants is not far removed from the rounded position necessary
for the production of u.
The practical effect of these rules may be set out thus:
a may be followed by a or i.
It may also be followed by u, if b, m, p, or v intervenes.
i may be followed by a or i
o " " " " u " a
u " " " " u " a
e " " " " e " :
: " " " " e " :
0 " " " " U " e
U " " " " U " e
If the vowel of the first syllable is, say, e, that of the s
be e or :, so, for example, gelen and gel:n are possible words
but gelan and gel0n are not. To find the possible third vowels of
a word beginning gel:n, we look at : in the first column and see
that it can be followed by e or :; thus gel:ne and gelini are
possible but gelin0 and gelini are not. It will be observed that,
as a rule, o and 0 occur only in first syllables.
Vowel harmony is a process of progressive assimilation,
[LINE MISSING]
vowel affecting the second, and so on. There are some instances of
regressive assimilation; for example, in o b:r `the other' the o is
fronted to 0 by regressive assimilation to the :, which it in turn
rounds to U giving the form 0bUr. See also bu gUn > bUgUn
in #32 (b) and :mparator, menecer, madalya, apolet, and
UtUv in #33.
32. Exceptions to the rules of vowel harmony. These are of four
classes:
(a) Native words, simple. The following words contain both
back and front vowels: dah: `also', ela= `light brown', elma
`apple', hang: `which?', han: `where?', hayd: `come on !',
:nanmak `to believe', kardeS `brother' (see IV, 9), katmer `the
state of being folded', S:Sman `fat'. Note also anne (#22).
(b) Compound words, e.g. bu `this'-gUn `day' > bugUn
`today', sometimes heard as bUgUn and even bUGUn ; baS `head'-
mUfett:S (A) `inspector' > baSmUfett:S `chief inspector'.
(c) Invariable suffixes: -daS, -yor, -ken, -ley:n, -:mtrak, -k:,
and -g:l. -k: and the rare suffixed form of :C:n `for' sometimes
exhibit an exceptional variation :/U, appearing as -k: and -Cln
after unrounded vowels, -kU and -CUn after rounded vowels.
(d) Foreign words, e.g. beyan (A) `declaration', ferman (P)
`command', m:krop (French) `microbe', fer:bot (English) `car-
or train-ferry', p:skopos (Greek) `bishop'
33. Vowel harmony in foreign borrowings. The effect of vowel
harmony extends to non-Turkish words too, bringing as many
vowels as possible of a foreign borrowing into one class, or pressing
a foreign borrowing whose vowels happen to be all of one class
still further into Turkish form. Thus Serbo-Croat imperator
`emperor' > :mparator. English manager, in the special sense
of manager of a football team, appears as menecer, while a
`penalty' in football is penalti. Italian medaglia `medal' >
madalya. French epaulette > apolet ; etuve `sterilizer' > etUv >
UtUv. Arabic mumkin `possible' > mUmk:n > mUmkUn ; mudi**r
`administrator' > mUd:r > mUdUr; mufti** `jurisconsult' >
mUft: > mUftU; qib&i** `Copt' > kipt: > kipti `gipsy'.
34. Vowel harmony of suffixes. Apart from the exceptions noted
in #32 (c), all suffixes are subject to the rules of vowel harmony, .
the quality of the last syllable of the word determining the quality
of the vowel of the suffix. Some suffixes are twofold, their vowel
appearing as e after front-vowel words, as a after back-vowel
words. Others are fourfold, their vowel being: or U after un-
rounded and rounded front vowels respectively, i or u after
unrounded and rounded back vowels respectively. The suffix of
the dative case, for example, is twofold: -e with front-vowel
words, -a with back-vowel words. 'The suffix of the genitive is
fourfold: -in after e or i, -Un after 0 or U, -in after a or i,
-un after o or u. As for words with more than one suffix, the two
tables below show the possible vowels (a) of a twofold suffix after
a fourfold suffix, and (b) vice versa. It will be seen that these
tables contain no new information but are based entirely on #31-
(a) Last vowel Vowel of first Vowel of second
of word suffix: fourfold suffix: twofold
e or : : e
0 or U U
a or i i a
o or u u
If the vowel of the second suffix is also fourfold it will be as shown
for the first suffix.
(b) Last vowel Vowel of first Vowel of second
of word suffix: twofold suffix: fourfold
e,:,0,U e :
a,i,o,u a i
If the vowel of the second suffix is also twofold it will be as shown
for the first suffix.
The tables also hold good for suffixes of two syllables; e.g.
reference to table (a) shows that the suffix -:nce will appear as
-unca after a word whose last vowel is u, while reference to (b)
shows that -es: will appear as -asi after a word whose last vowel is :.
The convention followed in this book is to refer to suffixes in
their e or : forms; thus we shall speak of the plural suffix, which
is -ler after front vowels and -lar after back vowels, as -ler.
Similarly the genitive suffix will be referred to as -:n, which must
be read as short for `the appropriate close vowel-n, i.e.-in,-Un,
-in, or -un, according to the nature of the preceding vowel'.
Some grammars indicate whether a suffix undergoes the twofold
or the fourfold mutation by the use of indices; e.g. the plural
suffix may be shown as -ler the genitive suffix as -:n, but there
is no need for this once the principle has been grasped.
The consonant-alternations described in #20 add to the protean
nature of the Turkish suffix. The suffix conventionally referred
to as -c:, for example, has eight possible forms, illustrated in
these eight words: kahvec: `coffee-maker', tUtUncU `tobacconist',
kapici `janitor', sporcu `sportsman', bekC: `watchman', sUtCU
`milkman', telgrafCi `telegraphist', topCu `artilleryman'.
35. Vowel harmony of suffixes with foreign borrowings. Some
foreign words with a back vowel in the last syllable nevertheless
take front-vowel suffixes. These may be grouped as follows:
(a) Arabic or French words ending in l (#12): mahsul `pro-
duce', acc. mahsulU; rol `role', acc. rolU. The fact that gol
`goal' is similarly treated--acc. golU--shows that it is borrowed
from French and not directly from English.
(b) Arabic words ending in k: :drak `perception', acc. :drak:;
:St:rak `participation', acc. :St:rak:. But Arabic words ending
in q take back-vowel suffixes: sharq `east' > Sark, acc. Sarki;
see the penultimate paragraph of this section.
(c) Arabic words ending in t or -at- (p. 8, footnote): d:kkat
`attention', acc. d:kkat: ; saat `hour, clock', acc. saat:. But
Arabic feminine plurals in -a**t take back-vowel suffixes: r:yaz:yat
`mathematics', acc. r:yaz:yati ; ruh:yat `psychology', acc.
ruh:yati. So too do words ending in t derived from the unvoicing
of Arabic final d: iqtii**a**d `economy' > :kt:sat, acc. :kt:sadi;
maq$ad `purpose' > maksat, acc. maksadi.
(d) Arabic monosyllables with an a followed by two consonants,
the second of which is a front consonant: @arb `war' > harp,
acc. harb:; @arf `letter of the alphabet' > harf, acc. harf:;
gharb `west' > garp, acc. garb:. When the two consonants in
such words represent a sound-combination unpronounceable by
Turks, the epenthetic vowel is a front vowel, because of the final
front consonant; cf. kav:l, kav:m, and kav:s in #18, and note
also: waqt `time' > vakit, qabr `tomb' > kab:r, ba@th `dis-
cussion, topic' > bah:s ; accusatives vakt:, kabr:, bahs:.
(e) The Persian ya=r `friend, beloved' (confined to poetry) has
front-vowel suffixes: acc. ya=r:, gen. ya=r:n, dat. ya=re, and
ya=r:m `my friend'. The explanation that this is to avoid con-
fusion with the native words yara `wound', yari, yarim `half',
and yarin `tomorrow' is too facile; it could never have happened
if ya=r had not ended in a front consonant.
Some such foreign words, however, have become completely
naturalized, because they conform to Turkish phonetic patterns,
and they therefore take back-vowel suffixes: sanat `art' (#15)
could perfectly well be a native word, like kanat `wing', whereas
saat, with its double a, could not. Similarly kanal (French
canale) looks as Turkish as kartal `eagle' and its accusative is
kanali. So too asil `origin' (Arabic a$l), acc. asli. Partly by
analogy with this word, partly through its frequent use as a
musical term, fa$l (A) `division' > fasil, acc. fasli, although its
initial f marks it as non-Turkish. Likewise rahat `ease, comfort',
though marked as non-Turkish by its initial r, belongs to the
back-vowel class because of its everyday use.
Arabic words ending in q , even if they have a front vowel in the
last syllable, take back-vowel suffixes: shawq `desire' > Sevk,
acc. Sevki; sawq `drive' > sevk, acc. sevki; fawq `top' > fevk,
acc. fevki.
There is a tendency to eliminate more and more of these
exceptional vowel harmonies. Some elderly people still give sanat,
or rather san'at, front-vowel suffixes; for a young person to do
so would be regarded as affectation, and it is a fairly safe pre-
diction that rolU, :drak:, harb:, and so on will one day yield to
rolu, :draki, harbi, first in vulgar speech, then -in educated
speech, and finally in writing.
36. Alternation of vowels. If a suffix beginning with y is added to
a verb-stem ending in e or a, the y narrows the e or a into : or i
respectively, unless (a) the vowel after the y is : or i, when the
e or a remains unchanged, e.g. in konuSma-yiverd:, or (b)
both the vowel before the e or a and the vowel after the y are
rounded, when the e or a becomes U or u. Thus bekle-yecek >
bekl:yecek ; anla-yacak > anliyacak ; tUre-yor > tUrUyor;
kolla-yor > kolluyor. Some writers disregard these changes,
writing bekleyecek, anlayacak, tUreyor, kollayor. Yeni
I+mla= Kilavuzu recommends disregarding them except before -yor.
37. Accentuation: general observations. There is little unanimity
about accentuation among writers on Turkish grammar. As one
listens to Turkish being spoken one notices that some syllables
are more marked than others. The problem is to identify the way
they are marked; is it by stress or a change in musical pitch?
In the present work `accent' means a rise in the pitch of the voice.
But apart from the nature of the accent, there is some disagree-
ment, even among native authorities, about which syllable in
a given word is accented. The reason why such disageement is
possible is, firstly, that word-accent in Turkish is not so powerful
as in English, where the accented syllable often swamps the
unaccented (`Extr'ord'n'ry!') or as in Russian, grammers of
which have to give rules for the pronunciation of unaccented
syllables. Secondly, group-accent and sentence-accent (i.e. intona-
tion) both override word-accent so completely that some authori-
ties have denied the existence of word-accent altogether. An
English parallel will make this clearer. If one were asked to mark
where the word-accent comes in machine, one would naturally put
it on the second syllable: machine. But if the word is used as the
second element of a compound noun its accent is lost and the
group-accent prevails: sewing-machine. If a manufacturer of
sewing-machines tells his wife that he has bought one for her,
her reply may well be an incredulous `You've bought a sewing-
machine?' with both word- and group-accent lost and the
sentence-accent on `bought' prevailing.
38. Word-accent. With the exceptions stated below, Turkish
words are oxytone, i.e. accented on the last syllable; when an
oxytone word is extended by suffixes the accent is on the last
syllable of the word thus formed: CocUk `child', Cocukla*r
`children', Cocuklarim:z `our children' uklarimizi*n of our
children'; oda=* `room', odada=* `in the room', odadak:=* `that which
is in the room', odadak:le=*r `those who are in the room', odada-
kilerde=*n `from those who are in the room'. Non-oxytones keep
the accent on the original syllable: te=*yze `aunt', te=*yzen:z,
`your aunt', te=*yzen:ze `to your aunt'; A=*nkara'da `in Ankara'.
39. Exceptions:
(a) Place-names are not oxytone: Ana=*dolu `Anatolia', I+sta=*nbul.
Most are accented on their first syllable: Pa=*r:s, Zo=*nguldak.
This rule is particularly to be noted with regard to place-names
which are spelt the same as common nouns: misir `maize',
Mi=*sir `Egypt'; s:rkec:=* `vinegar-seller', S:=*rkec:, a district of
Istanbul; bebe=*k `doll, baby', Be=*bek, a village on the Bosphorus;
karama=*n `fat-tailed sheep', Ka=*raman, a city of southern
Anatolia; ordu=* `army', O=*rdu, a city on the Black Sea.
Polysyllabic place-names of non-Turkish origin generally retain
their original accentuation: Ing:lte=*re `England', Ispa=*nya `Spain',
Anta=*lya, Mala=*tya. There is, however, a tendency for the accent
to go back to the beginning of the place-name; residents of
Malatya, for example, generally accent the name of their city on
the first syllable.
(b) Foreign nouns usually retain their original accentuation:
loka=*nta `restaurant' (Italian locanda); o=*lta `fishing-line'
ra=*dyo `radio, wireless'; ta=*ks: `taxi'; ko=*kteyl `cocktail,
cocktail-party'; gaze=*te `newspaper' (Italian gazzetta).
(c) A number of nouns denoting relatives and living creatures:
a=*nne `mother', a=*bla `elder sister', g0rU=*mce `husband's sister',
ye=*nge `brother's wife', ha=*la `paternal aunt', te=*yze `maternal
aunt', a=*mca `paternal uncle', Cek:=*rge `grass-hopper', kar:nca
`ant', koka=*rca `pole-cat'.
(d) Adverbs are usually accented on the first syllable: S:=*md:
`now', so=*nra `after', e=*vvela= `firstly', a=*nsiz or a=*nsizin
`suddenly',
a=*ncak `only'. This applies also to adverbs formed from nouns
with the addition of a case-suffix: gerCekte=*n `from the truth' but
ge=*rCekten `truly'. In several adverbs the suffix of the old instru-
mental case appears: k:Sin `in winter', ya=*zin `in summer' (the
genitives, `of winter, of summer', are spelt identically but are
accented on the last syllable). The nouns of place (XII, 12) are
accented on the first syllable: bu=*ra `this place', o=*ra `that place',
bu=*rada `here', o=*raya `thither'. So are nouns used adverbially
without suffixes: n:haye=*t `end' but n:=*hayet `finally'; Coklu=*k
`multitude' but Co=*kluk `often'; arti=*k `residue' but a=*rtik
`henceforth'. So too are some, but not all, adjectives used as adverbs:
yalni=*z `alone' but ya=*lniz `only'; sah:=*h `correct' but sa=*h:
`really' (#11). On the other hand, :y: `good', fena `bad', and Cabuk
`quick' remain oxytone even when used to mean `well, badly,
quickly'. The third-person singular of the aorist of olmak `to
become', olur, means not only `becomes' but also `all right, O.K.'.
In this sense it may be accented on the first syllable as an adverb.
(e) In compound words the accent usually falls on the end of
the first element: Cipla=*k `naked' Ciri=*lCiplak `stark naked'; baS
`head' - baka=*n `minister' > ba=*Sbakan `prime minister'; b:r
`a' - taki=*m `set' > b:=*rtakim `several'
(f) Diminutives in -c:k are accented on the first syllable:
u=*facik `tiny', e=*vc:k `little house'.
(g) Polysyllabic suffixes, except -ley:n and -ces:ne (#40) are
accented on the first syllable: g:d-:=*nce `having gone'; yap-a=*rak
`by doing'
So too are interjections and vocatives: ha=*yd: `come on!'
a=*fer:n `bravo!' garso=*n `waiter' but ga=*rson `waiter !'
40. Enclitic suffixes. The following suffixes are enclitic; i.e. they
themselves are never accented but throw the accent on to the
preceding syllable:
(a) -le `with': memnun:ye=*tle `with pleasure'; onu=*nla `with him'.
(b) -ken `while': yaza=*rken `while writing'.
(c) The adverbial suffix -ce and its extension -ces:ne : :y:=*ce
`well', hayva=*ncasina `bestially'.
(d) The adverbial suffix -ley:n (compounded with the instru-
mental -:n) : gece=*ley:n `by night', akSa=*mley:n `at evening'.
(e) The negative suffix -me : gel `come', ge=*lme `do not come';
anlad:=* `he understood', anla=*madi `he did not understand'.
(f) The suffix -yor of the present tense: gel:=*yor `he is coming'.
(g) The suffixed forms of the verb `to be'; see #41 (a).
(h) The vowel of the Persian izafet; see II, 26.
Part of the controversy about Turkish accentuation is over the
question whether these suffixes are properly described as enclitic
or atonal, i.e. without accent. The former seems correct, as we
see if we take a non-oxytone such as baSbakan (#39 (e)) and add
-le: ba=*Sbaka=*nla, with the accent before -la at least as noticeable
as that on baS. Those who take the opposing view adduce, e.g.,
sa=*dece `simply' from sade=* `simple' and a=*yrica `separately' from
ayri=* `separate', in which the syllables immediately before the
suffix are not accented; these words, however, simply have the
accentuation normal in adverbs.
41. Enclitic words. The following words are enclitic:
(a) Those parts of the verb `to be' which are not formed from
the stem ol- ; they are enclitic both when independent words and
when suffixed: arkadaSi=*m :d: or arkadaSi=*mdi `he was my
friend'; evl:=* :se or evl:=*yse `if she is married'; k:=*mse
`person' (V, 24); memnu=*num `I am glad'.
(b) The interrogative particle m:. The rise in pitch before this
particle is most noticeable, predominating over the word-accent:
anla=*madi `he did not understand' but anlamad: m:? `did he
not understand?' When the present tense, however, is followed
by this particle it retains the accent on the penultimate: gel:=*yor
`he is coming'; gel:=*yor mu? `is he coming?'
(c) The postpositions: s:z:=*n g:b: `like you'; ben:=*m :C:n
`for me'.
(d) The conjunction k: : d:yorla=*r k: o=*lmiyacak `they are
saying that it will not happen' (note also the accent before the
negative suffix in the last word).
(e) The adverb de : b:=*z de `we too'
If more than one of these words come together, the accent is on
the word preceding them: b:=*z de m: g:del:m? `shall we go too?'
42. Group-accent. The two most obvious features of this are:
(a) That in izafet-groups (II, 17) the accent is normally on the
first element, on the syllable which carries the accent when the
word is spoken in isolation: TU=*rkiye Cumhur:yet: `Republic
of Turkey'; yeme=*k odasi `dining-room'.
(b) Demonstratives are accented when they qualify nouns: bu=*
Cocuk `this child' but Cocu=*k bu `it's only a child' (V, 5).
43. Intonation. Sentence-accent or intonation is partly emotional,
depending on the feelings and emphasis which the speaker wishes
to convey, and partly syntactical and automatic. The general rule
is that a rise in pitch denotes that the thought is not yet complete,
whereas a fall in pitch marks its end. Thus the subject is uttered
with a rising intonation, the predicate with a falling. The protasi
of a conditional sentence likewise has a rising intonation, the
apodosis a falling. Questions and exclamations have a rising in-
tonation.
II. THE NOUN
1. Gender. Turkish is devoid of grammatical gender, nor does the
sex of persons affect the forms of words. The third-person pronoun
o does duty for `he', `she', and `it'; gel:r means `he/she/it comes'.
There are totally distinct names for the male and female of most
by the use of d:S: `female' or erkek `male': d:S: kedi `female
cat'; erkek ayi `male bear'.
With nouns which may denote persons of either sex, femininity
may be shown by using kiz `girl' or kadin `woman' in apposition:
kiz talebe `girl student'; kadin garson `waitress', kadin
kahraman `heroine'; kardeS `brother' or `sister', kizkardeS
(written as one word) `sister'.
Advantage is also taken of the facilities possessed by French and
Arabic for showing gender: `actress' is aktr:s; `female dancer' is
rakkase (A) or dans0z; `female clerk' is ka=t:be (A).
The Serbo-Croat feminine suffix -ica appears in three old
borrowings: kiral:Ce `queen', :mparator:Ce `empress', CariCe
`tsarina' (< kraljica, imperatorica, carica). Modelled on these is
the neologism tanriCa `goddess', from the name of the old
Turkish sky-god Tanri.
The word hanim `lady', originally `wife of a Kha**n (han)', is
held by some to contain an ancient Turkish feminine ending; cf.
the Eastern Turkish begUm `begum', originally `wife of a Beg
or Bey', though the evidence is slight. The ending is more prob-
ably the possessive suffix of the first-person singular.
2. Number: the Turkish plural. The plural is formed by adding
-ler to the singular: talebeler `students', kizlar `girls'. The
`singular' form of the noun, however, is numerically neutral
(hence its use after numbers), denoting a category or an individual
member of that category: pol:s `the police' or `the policeman',
b:r pol:s `a policeman', pol:sler `the policemen'; S::r yazar `he
writes poetry', b:r S::r yazar `he writes a poem', S::rler yazar
`he writes poems'; casusluk `espionage', b:r casusluk `a case of
espionage'; kahramanlik `heroism', kahramanliklar `deeds
of heroism'; :y:l:k `goodness', :y:l:kler `benefactions'. Thus
pad:Sahin b:r:, lit. `one of sultan', means `one of the category
``sultan'', a certain sultan' and may well begin a fairy-tale. But
pad:Sahlarin b:r: means one out of all the historical individuals
who have held the title, `one of the Sultans'.
A singular verb is commonly used with an inanimate plural
subject, the plural verb being used for individuals. The use of
a plural verb with a singular subject, second or third person, is
a mark of respect. See further XVI, 1 and 3 (b).
Personal names may be used in the plural like our `the Joneses'
to refer to a family; in Turkish the plural may be of a given name
as well as of a surname: Mehmetler `Mehmet and his family';
cf. #15, end, and IV, 10.
The plural erenler of the present participle of ermek `to
attain', i.e. those who attain spiritual enlightenment, was used as
a form of address among dervishes, even when speaking to a single
person.
Numerals are usually followed by a singular noun: kirk haram:
`forty thieves', UC s:la=hSor `three musketeers', on :k: ada `twelve
islands'. The use of a plural noun after a numeral shows that the
persons or things in question form a particularly well-known and
distinct entity: kirk haram:ler `The Forty Thieves', UC s:la=h-
Sorlar `The Three Musketeers', on :k: adalar `the Dodecanese'.
The plural suffix may be added directly to the numeral: `fourteen'
is on d0rt and the fourteen officers dropped from the Committee
of National Unity in November 1960 were referred to in the press
and in conversation as ond0rtler `The Fourteen'. So kirklar
`The Forty <Saints>'.
3. Arabic plurals. Arabic has two types of plural.
(a) The external or sound plural masculine is made by adding
-u**n for the nominative, -i**n for the accusative and genitive. Turkish
borrowed only the latter form, using it as a nominative (as in
colloquial Arabic): memur `official', pl. memur:n; this ending
is obsolete in Turkish, except that this particular example is
occasionally used.
The external or sound plural feminine is formed by adding -a**t.
Arabic uses it as Greek and Latin use the neuter plural; the
modern Turkish vocabulary still retains a number of words such
as var:dat `revenues', mUla=hazat `observations', :kt:sad:yat
`economics', haSarat `vermin'. There are two jocular formations
with this suffix added to Turkish words: g:d:Sat `goings-on' <
g:d:S `manner of going'; saCmav:yat `stuff and nonsense' <
saCma `nonsense'. As saCma ends with a vowel, the latter forma-
tion is analogous to that of, e.g., kUrev:yat `spherical trigonometry'
< kUre `sphere'. Both g:d:Sat and saCmav:yat have something
of the quasi-learned flavour of English shambolical < shambles.
(b) The internal or broken plural is made not by suffixation but
by wresting the singular out of shape: waqf, pl- awqa**f `pious
foundation'; sul&a**n pl. sala**&i**n, `sultan' - `a**lim, pl.
`ulama**' `scholar'
Many broken plurals survive in Turkish, most being treated as
Turkish singulars: &alaba `students', pl. of &a**lib, appears as
talebe `student'; "amala `workmen', pl. of "a**mil, as amele `work-
man'; khadama `servants', pl. of kha**dim, as hademe `man-
servant'; tujja**r `merchants', pl. of ta**jir, as tUccar `merchant'.
The reason is that the Arabic broken plural, unlike the sound
plural but just like the Turkish singular, can denote a class (in
Arabic it can be construed with a singular verb) and therefore it
fitted naturally into place in Turkish as a singular. The Arabic
sound plural, on the other hand, denotes a number of individuals
and was therefore felt by the Turks to be a true plural, not
requiring the Turkish plural suffix.
Some Arabic broken plurals are used in Turkish with a sense
different from that of their singulars: juz' `part' and its plural
ajza appear respectively as cUz `fascicle' and ecza `The unbound
fascicles of a book' or `chemicals, drugs'; shay' `thing' and its
plural ashya**' appear as Sey `thing' and eSya `luggage, belongings',
the latter usually with the plural suffix, eSyalar.
4. Other plurals. In Ottoman, the Persian plural suffix -a**n was
frequently attached to Arabic singulars: mebusan `Deputies to
the Ottoman Parliament' < Arabic mab"u**th-Persian -a**n. Still
in occasional use is zab:tan `officers' < Arabic |a**bi&-Persian
-a**n.
domates `tomatoes' and patates `potatoes' are both direct
borrowings from modern Greek and both are treated as Turkish
singulars.
One quasi-Mongoloid plural, erat, a product of the language-
reform movement, has replaced, in official parlance, the Ottoman
efrat `private soldiers and N.C.O.s' < Arabic afra**d. It is ap-
parently a cross between efrat and the Turkish er `man'.
5. The Arabic dual. Arabic has a dual number, indicated by -a**n
in the nominative, -ayn in the accusative and genitive: &araf
`side'; &arafa**n, &arafayn `two sides'. As with the sound plural
masculine, only the accusative-genitive form was taken into Otto-
man; it survives in three obsolescent words: tarafeyn `the two
parties', and val:deyn and ebeveyn, both meaning `the two
parents'.
6. The cases. There are six. The simplest form of a noun, with no
suffixes, is termed the absolute case; it is used not only for the
nominative and vocative but also for the indefinite accusative. The
term accusative will be applied to what should strictly be called
the defined accusative. The other cases are: the genitive denoting
possession; the dative denoting the indirect object and the end
of motion; the locative denoting place where; the ablative denoting
point of departure. Their commonest functions are illustrated
below; for a more detailed examination see ##9-14 and XVI, 5, 6,
absolute ev satildi the house has been sold
b:r ev ariyoruz we are seeking a house
accusative ev: aldik we have bought the-house
genitive ev:n bahCes: the garden of-the-house
dative eve geld:m I came to-the-house
locative evde kaldi he has stayed in-the-house
ablative evden uzak far from-the-house
As will be seen from these examples, the suffix of the accusative
is -:, genitive -:n, dative -e, locative -de, and ablative -den. The
first two are subject to the fourfold, the others to the twofold
harmony. The case-suffixes follow the -ler of the plural.
To prevent those suffixes which consist in or begin with a vowel
from being lost when added to a word ending with a vowel,
a separator or `buffer-letter'is used n for the genitive, y for the
accusative and dative. The sole exception is su `water', which in
the ancient language was suw and now has y before the suffix of
the genitive as well as of the accusative and dative. Another relic
of the original final w is the v in the verb suvarmak `to water an
animal'.
Examples will now be given to illustrate the changes wrought
by vowel harmony and the other alternations described in
Chapter I.
(a) Front-vowel class, consonant-stems; el `hand', k0y `village':
Singular
abs. el k0y
acc. el: k0yU
gen. el:n k0yUn
dat. ele k0ye
loc. elde k0yde
abl. elden k0yden
Plural
abs. eller k0yler
acc. eller: k0yler:
gen. eller:n k0yler:n
dat. ellere k0ylere
loc. ellerde k0ylerde
abl. ellerden k0ylerden
Reference to the tables in I, 31 or 34 will show that suffixes
after : have the same forms as after e, so that the declension of el
serves as a model for consonant-stems whose last or only vowel
is :, such as den:z `sea', d:S `tooth'. Similarly, the declension
of k0y serves as a model for consonant-stems whose last or only
vowel is U, such as tUtUn `tobacco', gUn `day'.
(b) Front-vowel class, vowel-stems; gece `night' 0lCU `measure':
Singular
abs. gece 0lCU
acc. gecey: 0lCUyU
gen. gecen:n 0lCUnUn
dat. geceye 0lCUye
loc. gecede 0lCUde
abl. geceden 0lCUden
Plural
abs. geceler 0lCUler
acc. geceler: 0lCUler:
gen. geceler:n 0lCUnUn
dat. gecelere 0lCUlere
loc. gecelerde 0lCUlerde
abl. gecelerden 0lCUlerden
Like gece are declined vowel-stems in :, such as gem: `ship',
serg: `exhibition'. Like 0lCU are declined vowel-stems in 0, of
which the only examples in common use are two French borrow-
ings: m0sy0 `Monsieur' and banl:y0 `suburbs'.
(c) Back-vowel class, consonant-stems; akSam `evening', son `end':
Singular
abs. akSam son
acc. akSami sonu
gen. akSamin sonun
dat. akSama sona
loc. akSamda sonda
abl. akSamdan sondan
Plural
abs. akSamlar sonlar
acc. akSamlari sonlari
gen. akSamlarin sonlarin
dat. akSamlara sonlara
loc. akSamlarda sonlarda
abl. akSamlardan sonlardan
Like akSam are declined consonant-stems whose last or only
vowel is i: kadin `woman', CiG `avalanche'. Like son are declined
consonant-stems whose last or only vowel is u: sabun `soap',
kuS `bird'.
(d) Back-vowel class, vowel-stems; tarla `field' korku `fear'
Singular
abs. tarla korku
acc. tarlayi korkuyu
gen. tarlanin korkunun
dat. tarlaya korkuya
loc. tarlada korkuda
abl. tarladan korkudan
Plural
abs. tarlalar korkular
acc. tarlalari korkulari
etc., as type (c).
Like tarla are declined vowel-stems in i : kapi `door', dari
`millet'. Like korku are declined vowel-stems in o : palto `over-
coat', kadro `staff, cadre'.
(e) Nouns exhibiting alternation of consonants; kitap `book',
aGaC `tree', damat `son-in-law', renk `colour', ekmek `bread'
(I,19):
b/p c/C d/t g/k k/G
Singular
abs. k:tap aGaC damat renk ekmek
acc. k:tabi aGaci damadi reng: ekmeG:
gen. k:tabin aGacin damadin reng:n ekmeG:n
dat. k:taba aGaca damada renge ekmeGe
loc. kitapta aGaCta damatta renkte ekmekte
abl. kitaptan aGaCtan damattan renkten ekmekten
plural
abs. kitaplar aGaClar damatlar renkler ekmekler
acc. kitaplari aGaClari damatlari renkleri ekmekleri
etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.
(f) Foreign borrowings with exceptional vowel-harmony; hal
`case', rol `role', saat `hour', harp `war' (I, 35):
Singular
abs. hal rol saat harp
acc. hal: rolU saat: harb:
gen. hal:n rolUn saat:n harb:n
dat. hale role saate harbe
loc. halde rolde saatte harpte
abl. halden rolden saatten harpten
Plural
abs. haller roller saatler harpler
acc. haller: roller: saatler: harpler:
etc. etc. etc. etc.
(g) Nouns which add or drop a vowel in the last syllable; :s:m
`name' (I, 17 (c)), aGiz `mouth', koyun `bosom', oGul `son',
alin
`forehead' (I, 17, end):
Singular
abs. :s:m aGiz koyun oGul alin
acc. :sm: aGzi koynu oGlu alni
gen. :sm:n aGzin koynun oGulun alnin
dat. :sme aGza koyna oGula alina
loc. :s:mde aGizda koyunda oGulda alinda
abl. :s:mden aGizdan koyundan oGuldan alindan
Plural
abs. :s:mler aGizlar koyunlar oGullar alinlar
acc. :s:mler: aGizlari koyunlari oGullari alinlari
etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.
Most native nouns of this sort are names of parts of the body.
Of the examples, aGiz and koyun are typical, whereas oGul and
alin retain the vowel of the second syllable in the dative, as does
burun `nose'; oGul retains it in the genitive too. As well as `son',
oGul can mean `swarm of bees'; as well as `bosom', koyun can
also mean `sheep'. In these latter senses, both retain the u in all
cases. There is yet another word koyun, the genitive of koy `bay'.
(h) Nouns originally ending in "ayn (I, 15) are increasingly
treated as vowel-stems except by the learned. Examples: mevzu
`topic, subject' < Arabic maw|u**"; cam: `mosque' < Arabic
ia**mi".
Learned Popular Learned popular
Singular
abs. mevzu cam:
acc. mevzuu mevzuyu cam:: cam:y:
gen. mevzuun mevzunun cam::n cam:n:n
dat. mevzua mezvuya cam:e cam:ye
loc. mevzuda cam:de
abl. mevzudan cam:den
Plural
abs. mevzular cam:ler
acc. mevzulari cam:ler:
etc. etc.
(i) Nouns originally ending in a doubled final consonant (I, 16,
19); hak `right', muh:p `friend', hat `line', serhat `frontier'.
Note that the dative and locative of hat are identical in shape;
hatta can represent hatt-a or hat-ta.
Singular
abs. hak muh:p hat serhat
acc. hakki muhibb: hatti serhadd:
gen. hakkin muh:bb:n hattin serhadd:n
dat. hakka muh:bbe hatta serhadde
loc. hakta muh:pte hatta serhatte
abl. haktan muh:pten hattan serhatten
Plural
abs. haklar muh:pler hatlar serhatler
acc. haklari muh:pler: hatlari serhatler:
etc. etc. etc. etc.
(k) Nouns combining the characteristics of types (f) and (g);
in this type are included nouns which in Arabic have medial or final "ayn
or medial hamza. Examples: vak:t `time' < Arabic
waqt, nev: `sort' < Arabic naw", ye:s `despair' < Arabic ya's,
kair `profundity' < Arabic qa'r (I, 17 (c), 18).
Singular
abs. vak:t nev: ye:s kair
acc. vakt: nev': ye's: ka'ri
gen. vakt:n nev':n ye'sin ka'rin
dat. vakte nev'e ye'se ka'ra
loc. vak:tte nev:de ye:ste kairda
abl. vak:tten nev:den ye:sten kairdan
Plural
abs. vak:tler nev:ler ye:sler kairlar
acc. vak:tler: nev:ler: ye:sler: kairlari
etc. etc. etc. etc.
To this type belong Ser: `Muslim religious law', acc. Ser':; def:
`repulsion', acc. def':; ref: `elevation', acc. ref':; be:s `harm',
acc. be's:.
There are two nouns in use which in the original Arabic have
hamza as their final consonant: Sey `thing' < shay'; cUz `part' <
juz'. These are declined as type (a), except that cUz is usually
spelled with an apostrophe before vowel endings: acc. cUz'U
gen. cUz'Un, dat. cUz'e.
7. Summary of case-endings. The letters in brackets appear after
vowel-stems. The table is valid except for nouns of type (f) and
for su `water', which declines: sing. su, suyu, suyun, suya,
suda, sudan ; pl. sular, etc.
Last vowel of
abs.sing. e or : 0 or U a or i o or u
Singular
acc. -(y): -(y)U -(y)i -(y)u
gen. -(n):n -(n)Un -(n)in -(n)un
dat. -(y)e -(y)a
loc. -de/te -da/ta
abl. -den/ten -dan/tan
Plural
acc. -ler: -lari
gen. -ler:n -larin
dat. -lere -lara
loc. -lerde -larda
abl. -lerden -lardan
8. Uses of the cases. A case-ending is attached only to the final
element in a nominal group; in this respect the Turkish case-
endings behave like English prepositions and not like the case-
endings of inflected languages such as Latin: `good citizens', :y:
[MISSING LINE]
bon-orum civ-ium. d0rt kere dokuz `four times nine'; d0rt kere
dokuz-un kare k0kU `the square root of four times nine'.
9. The absolute form. This has five functions:
(a) Nominative, as subject of a sentence or as complement of
a verb meaning `to be, to become' or the like: kapi aCildi `the
door was opened'; ben BaSbakan olmiyacaGim `I shall not
become Prime Minister'. See also #10, end.
(b) Vocative : Ahmet! Taks:!
(c) Indefinite accusative, i.e. as the undefined object of a verb:
gazete Cikarmak zor b:r :S `to publish newspapers is a hard
job'; b:let satiyorlar `they are selling tickets'; s:gara :Cmez
`he does not smoke cigarettes'; 0kUz aldi `he bought oxen'; b:r
0kUz aldi `he bought an ox'.
[MISSING LINE(S)] [SUSPENDED AFFIXATION!]
one grammatical ending serves two or more parallel words : sihhat
ve af:yet-te `in health and well-being'. One can put the case-
ending on both words--s:hhat-te ve af:yet-te--just as one can
repeat the preposition in English--`in health and in well-being'--
but this is less usual.
(e) Many adverbs of time are originally, nouns in the absolute
form, e.g. bugUn `today'.
10. The accusative case. It marks the definite object of a verb,
i.e. an object defined:
[MISSING LINE][S?]
b:r :S `to publish this newspaper is a hard job'.
(b) By a personal pronoun, suffixed or independent: ev-:m:z-:
or b:z:m ev: k:raladi `he has rented our house'.
(c) By its nature, e.g. as a place-name, a personal name or title,
a personal or demonstrative pronoun: Adana'yi gezd:k `we
toured Adana'; Hasan'i hemen tanidim `I recognized Hasan
immediately'; Profes0r-U sela=mladi `he greeted the Professor';
s:z-: :lg:lend:rmez `it does not concern you'; bu-nu n:C:n
yaptin `why have you done this?'
(d) By having been mentioned previously,i.e.in situations where
English uses the definite article: 0kUz-U aldi `he bought the ox';
k:tab-i okumadim `I have not read the book'.
(e) By being otherwise adequately defined, e.g. by a participle,
The use of b:r, the `indefinite article', in such circumstances does
not necessarily make the object indefinite; see XVI, 4.
A descriptive adjective is not in itself sufficient to make an
object definite; compare b:r mav: kumaS :st:yor `she wants
a blue material' with mav: kumaS-i seCt: `she chose the blue
material'.
The second object of a factitive verb, i.e. a complementary
object, remains in the absolute form: onu Val: tay:n ett:ler
`they appointed him Governor'; I+stanbul'u I+stanbul yapan
budur `what makes Istanbul Istanbul is this'; sen: arkadaS
sanirdim `I used to think you a friend'.
11. The genitive case. The genitive suffix shows that the sub-
stantive to which it is attached stands in a possessive or qualifying
relationship to another substantive; see #17.
The substantive in the genitive case can also stand predicatively:
ha=k:m:yet millet-:n-d:r `sovereignty belongs to (``is of'') the
nation'; bUtUn suC s:z-:n `all the guilt is yours' (`is of-you').
Certain postpositions, originally nouns, are construed with the
genitive of personal pronouns; see VII, 3.
12. The dative case. This expresses:
(a) The indirect object of a verb: mektubu Al:'ye g0sterd:m
`I showed the letter to Ali'; h:zmetC:-ye b:r palto vereceG:z
`we are going to give the servant a coat'. It may translate the
English `for' as in h:zmetC:-ye b:r palto alacaGiz `we are going
to buy a coat for the servant'.
(b) Place whither: TUrk:ye'ye d0ndUler `they returned to
Turkey'; yer-e dUStU `it fell to the ground'; S:Sey: masa-ya
koydu `he put the bottle on the table'; borc-a batmiyalim `let
us not plunge into debt'; sandalye-ye oturdum `I seated myself
on the chair' (but the locative is used in sandalye-de oturu-
yordum `I was sitting on the chair'); b:r orman-a g:zlend:ler
`they hid in a forest'.
(c) Purpose: kiz, C:Cek dermeG-e Cikiyor `the girl is going
out to pick flowers'; talebe, :mt:han-a hazirlaniyor `the
student is preparing for the examination'.
(d) Price: bunu kaC-a aldin? `for how much did you buy this?';
g0z-e g0z, d:S-e d:S `eye for eye, tooth for tooth'.
Turkish idiom requires a dative with a number of verbs whose
English equivalents take a direct object, among the commonest
being: baSlamak `to begin', deGmek and dokunmak `to
touch', benzemek `to resemble', devam etmek `to continue'
ermek and varmak `to reach', g:rmek `to enter', yardim
etmek `to help'.
For postpositions with the dative, i.e. postpositions modifying
or narrowing down the meaning of the dative see VII,4.
13. The locative case. This expresses location, which may be:
(a) In place: t:yatro-da `at the theatre'; su-da `in the water';
yer-de `on the ground'; ben-de para yok `I have no money on
me'; radyo-da b:r vazo var `there is a vase on the wireless'.
(b) In time: Ramazan-da `in Ramadan' (the month of fasting);
beS eylu=l-de `on 5 September'.
(c) In an abstract: radyo-da b:r konuSma var `there is a talk
on the wireless'; :ht:yarlik-ta `in old age'; sihhat-te `in health';
g:tmek-te `in <the act of> going'. The locative is used with ex-
pressions denoting shape, size, colour, and age, where English
idiom varies between `of' and `in': yumurta Sekl:n-de b:r taS
`a stone in the shape of an egg'; on metre uzunluGun-da b:r
:p `a cord of (lit.``in'') ten metres' length'; kahve reng:n-de b:r
Sapka `a hat of coffee-colour'; y:rm: yaSinda `twenty years old'
(`in the age of twenty'); bu f:k:r-de deG:l:m `I am not of this
opinion'.
14. The ablative case. This case expresses point of departure:
(a) Place from which: Seh:r-den ayrildi `he departed from
the city'; raGbet-ten dUStU `it fell from esteem, ceased to be in
vogue'; bu g:d:S onu yer:n-den edecek `this behaviour will
cost him his job' (`will make him <away> from his position').
(b) place through which: pencere-den g:rd: `he entered by
the window'; hang: yol-dan g:d:l:r? `by which road does
one go?'; s:z: telefon-dan ariyorlar `you are wanted on the
telephone' (`they are seeking you through the telephone'); haber
radyo-dan yayildi 'the news was broadcast' (`was spread through
the radio'); hirsizi kolun-dan tuttum `I caught the thief by
his arm'; k:tabi b:r yer:n-den daha aCtim `I opened the book
at another page' (`through one place more'). In such uses as
o kiz kafa-dan sakattir `that girl is weak in the head' and
:ht:yar b0brekler:n-den rahatsizdir `the old man has kidney-
trouble' (`is ill through his kidneys'), the ablative is to be explained
as like that in the two previous examples, i.e. as indicating the
point through which someone or something is affected, rather
than as causal.
(c) The causal use is very frequent : muvaffakiyet-ten sarhoS
`drunk from success'; aClik-tan b:tk:n `exhausted from hunger';
ne-den? `why?' (`from what?'); on-dan `for that reason' (`from
that'). Hence the use of the ablative with verbs such as korkmak
`to fear', SUphelenmek `to suspect', nefret etmek `to loathe'.
hoSlanmak `to like'; what in English would be the object of the
emotion is in Turkish its source.
(d) The second member of a comparison is put in the ablative:
TUrk:ye LUbnan'dan bUyUktUr `Turkey is bigger than
Lebanon', i.e. Turkey is big if we take Lebanon as our point of
reference.
(e) The ablative denotes the material from which something is
made: naylon-dan yapilmiS b:r balik aGi `a fishing-net made
of nylon'; s0z gUmUS-ten, sUku=t altin-dan `speech is silver,
silence is gold'; ateS-ten g0mlek `shirt of fire' (a proverbial
expression; cf. `shirt of Nessus')
(f) The partitive use: komSular-dan b:r: `one of the neigh-
bours'; Uyeler-den b:rkaCi `several of the members'. Under
this heading belongs haf:f-ten almak `to take lightly', lit. `to
take from the light', i.e. to take as belonging to the light.
(g) The ablative expresses price, but not synonymously with
the dative: bu elmalari kaC-tan aldin? `at what price did you
buy these apples?' i.e. at what price each or per kilo. With the
substitution of the dative kaC-a the meaning would be `what was
the total amount you paid for these apples?'
For postpositions with the ablative see VII, 5.
15. Personal suffixes. The suffixed personal pronouns, indicating
possession, are:
After After
consonants vowels
Singular
1 -:m -m
2 -:n -n
3 -: -s:
Plural
1 -:m:z -m:z
2 -in:z -n:z
3 -ler:
Thus a singular noun with the third-person plural suffix, e.g.
el-ler:, Cocuk-lari, is identical in form with the plural of the
noun with the third-person singular suffix (eller-:, Cocuklar-i)
and with the accusative plural. Consonant stems with the third-
singular suffix have the same form as the accusative singular
while with the second-singular suffix they have the same form as
the genitive.
Consonant-stems:
el akSam k0y Cocuck
hand evening village child
my el:m akSamim k0yUm CocuGum
your(sing.) el:n akSamin k0yUn CocuGun
his, her,its el: akSami k0yU CocuGu
our el:m:z akSamimiz k0yUmUz CocuGumuz
your (pl.) el:n:z akSaminiz k0yUnUz CocuGunuz
their eller: akSamlari k0yler: Cocuklari
Vowel-stems:
anne kapi 0lCU korku
mother door measure fear
my annem kapim 0lCUm korkum
your(sing.) annen kapin 0lCUn korkun
his, her,its annes: kapisi 0lCUsU korkusu
our annem:z kapimiz 0lCUmUz korkumuz
your (pl.) annen:z kapiniz 0lCUnUz korkunuz
their anneler: kapilari 0lCUler: korkulari
Two anomalies: su `water' is treated as a consonant-stem
(cf. #7), while aGabey `elder brother' (pronounced a**bi**, with the
accent on the a**) behaves like a vowel-stem, though in the spelling
this is acknowledged only with the suffix of the third-person
singular:
Pronounced
my suyum aGabey:m a**bim
your (sing.) suyun aGabey:n a**bin
his, her, its suyu aGabeys: a**bi**si
our suyumuz aGabey:m:z a**bi**miz
your (pl.) suyunuz aGabey:n:z a**bi**niz
their sulari aGabeyler: a**bi**leri
The personal suffixes follow the suffix of the plural, except that
two -lers never occur together, so that -: and not -ler: is used for
the third-person plural suffix after plural nouns:
eller Cocuklar
hands children
my eller:m Cocuklarim
your (sing.) eller:n Cocuklarin
his, her, its eller: Cocuklari
our eller:m:z Cocuklarimiz
your (pl.) eller:n:z Cocuklariniz
their eller: Cocuklari
Thus Cocuklari can mean `his/her children', `their children', or
`their child', as well as `the children' (acc.), while Cocuklarin can
mean `your children' or `of the children'.
In the colloquial, kardeS:mler means `my brother and his
family', teyzemler `my aunt and her family' (cf. #2, third para-
graph), whereas kardeSler:m is `my brothers' and teyzeler:m
`my aunts'.
16. Personal suffixes followed by case-suffixes. An n appears
between the suffix of the third person and any case-suffix, the
result, with the singular of consonant-stems and all plurals, being
identical in shape with the second-singular suffix plus the case-
suffix. Thus the locative of el-: `his hand' is el-:-n-de and of
el-:n `your hand' el-:n-de, while the dative of eller-: `his hands'
is eller-:-n-e and of eller-:n `your hands' eller-:n-e. This
ambiguity does not arise with the singular of vowel-stems: `from
his mother' is anne-si-n-den but `from your mother' is anne-n-
den ; `at his door' is kapi-si-n-da but `at your door' is kapi-n-da.
As late as the eighteenth century, the third-person suffix with
the suffix of the accusative could be -in as well as -:n:.
Some examples are given of the declension of nouns with the
third-person suffix. There is no need to set out the declensions
with the other personal suffixes, since, for example, eller:m:z
`our hands', k0yUnUz `your village', Cocuklarim `my children'
decline exactly like unsuffixed consonant-stems. Cf. the declen-
sions of el, k0y, and akSam respectively in #6 (a) and (c).
el-: anne-s: k0y-U
his hand his mother his village
acc. el:n: annes:n: k0yUnU
gen. el:n:n annes:n:n k0yUnUn
dat. el:ne annes:ne k0yUne
loc. el:nde annes:nde k0yUnde
abl. el:nden annes:nden k0yUnden
ad-i kari-si CocuG-u
his name his wife his child
acc. adini karisini CocuGunu
gen. adinin karisinin CocuGunun
dat. adina karisina CocuGuna
loc. adinda karisinda CocuGunda
abl. adindan karisindan CocuGundan
The principle of suspended affixation (#9 (d)) must be borne in
mind: tebr:k ve teSekkUrler:m: sunarim `I offer my con-
gratulations and thanks', the -ler-:m-: applying to both nouns.
The suffix of the first-person singular added to gUzel `beautiful'
and can `soul' makes gUzel:m and canim, used as adjectives of
endearment even with nouns with suffixes of other persons:
gUzel:m p:yano-su `her lovely piano'; canim TUrkCem:z `our
beloved Turkish'.
17. The izafet group. The commonest function of the suffix of
the third person is to link one noun to another in a relationship
most conveniently described by the Turkish term :zafet `annexa-
tion'. In English one noun may qualify another in two ways. In
the first, the qualifying noun is put into the genitive: Land's
End, St. Antony's College, soldiers of the Queen. In the second,
no grammatical mechanism but simple juxtaposition is involved:
Lane End, Oxford University, Palace guard. The two types of
izafet correspond fairly closely to these two English patterns, with
the difference that in both Turkish types the qualified noun takes
the third-person suffix.
The classical Turkish grammarians recognize a third type of
izafet in which neither noun has a suffix, namely, when the first
is a noun of material: altin b:lez:k `gold bracelet', dem:r perde
`iron curtain'. If we are concerned only with the facts of modern
Turkish, however, it is more practical to regard names of materials
as being indifferently used as nouns or adjectives, as in English.
Leaving the `izafet of material' aside, therefore, the two types of
izafet are the definite or possessive and the indefinite.
The definite izafet is employed when the first element is
a definite person or thing to which or within which the second
belongs. The first noun has the genitive suffix, the second has
the suffix of the third person: uzman-in rapor-u `the expert's
report' (`of-the-expert his-report'), hafta-nin gUnler-: `the days
of the week', uzman-in kend:-s: `the expert himself' (`of-the-
expert his-self'), I+stanbul'un kend:-s: `Istanbul itself'.
The indefinite izafet is used when the relationship between
the two elements is merely qualificatory and not so intimate or
possessive as that indicated by the definite izafet. The second
noun has the suffix of the third person, but the first noun remains
in the absolute form. As a working rule, an indefinite izafet group
can be turned into intelligible (though not necessarily normal)
English by the use of a hyphen: Ankara Sehr-: `Ankara-city';
seC:m kurul-u `election-committee'; TUrk:ye Cumhur:yet-:
`the Turkey-Republic'.
The distinction between the two types is seen in the following
pairs of examples: U+n:vers:te-n:n profes0rler-: `the professors
of the University'; Un:versite profes0rler-: `university pro-
fessors'. Orhan'in :sm-: `Orhan's name'; Orhan :sm-: `the
name ``Orhan'''. k:mse-n:n cevab-i `nobody's answer'; k:mse
cevab-i `the answer ``nobody'''. Sultan Ahmed':n tUrbe-s:
`Sultan Ahmet's tomb'; Sultan Ahmet cam:-: `the Sultan
Ahmet Mosque'. AtatUrk'Un ev-: `AtatUrk's house'; AtatUrk
Bulvar-i `the AtatUrk Boulevard'. Coban-in kiz-i `the shepherd's
daughter'; Coban kiz-i `the shepherd-girl'.
Suspended affixation operates in izafet too: halk-in aci ve
sev:nCler: `the sorrows and joys of the people', i.e. aci-lar-i ve
sev:nC-ler-:.
A special use of the indefinite izafet with proper names is seen
in Bek:r Capkin-i `that rascal of a Bekir'; Nur: serser:-s: `that
vagabond of a Nuri'; Ethem hirsiz-i `that thief of an Ethem'.
The qualifier may be indefinite in expressions denoting family
relationships such as Bedr: eS-: Fatma `Bedri's wife Fatima';
Hasan kiz-i Sev:m `Hasan's daughter oevim'; Isma:l oGlu
Mehmet `Ismail's son Mehmet'. Hence a common type of sur-
name ending in -oGlu; cf. our Johnson rather than John's son.
Conversely, villagers use personal names without the third-person
suffix after the father's name or family name in the genitive:
Ahmed':n Mustafa `Ahmet's son Mustafa'; Ar:fler-:n Abbas
the Arifs' son Abbas'; Kara Ahmetler-:n Leyla= `the Black
Ahmets' daughter Leyla'. In the last two examples, the `family
name' is the father's name with the plural suffix.
When an adjective, a demonstrative, or an adverb comes
between the two elements of an izafet group, the first element
must be in the genitive; cf. the English `committee meeting' but
`the committee's next meeting'. I+stanbul cam:ler-: `the Istanbul
mosques' but I+stanbul'un tar:hi= cam:ler-: `the historic
mosques of Istanbul'; mahkeme karar-i `court decision' but
mahkeme-n:n bu karar-i `this decision of the court'; su
donma-si `freezing of water' but suy-un b:rdenb:re donma-si
`the water's suddenly freezing'. This rule does not apply when
the intervening adjective is part of a compound noun such as
bUyUkelC: `ambassador' (lit. `great envoy') : TUrk:ye BUyUkel-
C:s: `the Ambassador of Turkey'. Compare, however, TUrk:ye'-
n:n bUyUk Seh:rler-: `the great cities of Turkey'.
[SOMETHING MISSING HERE?]
ordu subaylari army-officers
bu ordu subaylari these army-officers
bu ordu-nun subaylari the officers of this army
bu ordu-nun bu subaylari these officers of this army
18. Words indicating nationality. Those formed by suffixing -l:
(IV, 5) to the name of a country, e.g. Kibris-li `Cypriot', Dani-
marka-li `Danish', may be nouns or adjectives. All other words
indicating nationality, e.g. TUrk, Ing:l:z, Fransiz, Alman, are
nouns and are therefore joined to a following noun by an indefinite
izafet : I+ng:l:z edeb:yat-i `English literature'; Fransiz askerler-:
`French soldiers'. As the singular denotes a class, as well as one
member of that class, such expressions must be regarded as
meaning not `the-Englishman his-literature', `the-Frenchman
his-soldiers', but `the-English their-literature', `the-French their-
soldiers'. A definite izafet may be used instead if it is desired to
show a more intimate relationship: TUrk ruh-u `the Turkish
soul' but TUrk-Un ruh-u `the soul of the Turk'.
The colloquialism TUrk :S, used in self-disparagement when
something goes wrong, as we might say `a typical piece of British
muddle', is rather puzzling, since one would expect TUrk :S-:
`Turkish work'. One explanation is that this expression is not
Turkish at all, but German; a relic of the days when German
officers were training the Ottoman Army. That is to say, it is an
expostulatory TUrkisch! originally accompanied by a heaven-
ward rolling of the eyes. Alternatively, it might be an imitation,
deriving from the same period, of an attempt to say `Turkish
work' on the part of a foreigner unacquainted with the finer points
of the language. The former explanation seems more likely.
For `American' two words exist, Amer:kan and Amer:kali.
The former is a noun, used only in izafet, and means `the body
politic of all the Americans'; it bears the same relationship to
Amer:kalilar as `the English' does to `the Englishmen' and is
used to qualify things, whereas Amer:kali is an adjective or noun
denoting persons of American nationality: Amer:kan hUkU-
met-: `the American government', b:r Amer:kan uCaG-i `an
American aircraft'; but b:r Amer:kali `an American', Amer:kali
subaylar `American officers'. `American Ambassador', however,
is Amer:kan BUyUkelC:-s:, for Amer:kali BUyUkelC: would
mean `Ambassador of American nationality'. The use of b:r
Amer:kan for `an American' is a vulgarism.
A similar pair of words exists for `Italian': I+talyan and I+talyali.
The latter, however, is virtually obsolete.
Nouns of nationality may be used in apposition with other
nouns, instead of in izafet, when denoting membership of a people
rather than of a nation: TUrk l:derler-: and TUrk l:derler both
mean `Turkish leaders', but the first denotes leaders of the
Turkish nation whereas the second denotes leaders of the Turkish
community in Cyprus. Similarly, b:r Yahud: asker-: is a soldier
of the Jewish nation, an Israeli soldier, while b:r Yahud: asker
is a soldier of any nation who happens to be a Jew. An apposition
is also possible if the nationality of the person is not stressed, or
if the second element is personified; e.g. b:r Rus jeolog is
a geologist who happens to be a Russian, while b:r Rus s0zcU-sU
is `a Russian spokesman'; TUrk I+stanbul `Turkish Istanbul'.
There is some fluctuation of usage with the words Sovyet and
komUn:st; some refer to the Soviet government and the Com-
munist bloc as Sovyet hUkUmet-: and KomUn:st blok-u;
others prefer Sovyet hUkUmet and KomUn:st blok.
Names of continents are used as qualifiers of things: Avrupa
baSkentler-: `European capitals' (`Europe its-capitals'), Afr:ka
neh:rler-: `African rivers', Asya memleketler-: `Asian coun-
tries'. The forms in -l: are used only of persons: Afr:kalilar
`Africans', Asyali gazetec:ler `Asian journalists', Avrupali
tur:stler `European tourists'.
19. The izafet chain. An izafet group may itself be qualified by
a preceding noun: :l seC:m kurul-u `province election-com-
mittee'; Ankara Kiz L:se-s: `Ankara Girls' Lyce=*e'. Only the
last noun in the chain has the third-person suffix, which does
double duty: not only does it link kurul and l:se to their im-
mediate qualifiers seC:m and kiz; it also links the groups seC:m
kurulu and kiz l:ses: to their qualifiers :l and Ankara.
A definite izafet is also possible in such situations: hakem-:n
favl karar-i `the referee's decision of ``foul'' '; gUn-Un ded:kodu
konu-su `the gossip-topic of the day'. In Bulgar:stan'in
I+stanbul BaSkonsolosluG-u `the Istanbul Consulate-General
of Bulgaria' the first qualifier is in the genitive because its re-
lationship with the qualified word is closer than is that of the
second qualifier.
An izafet group may qualify a following noun: D:yanet
I+Sler-: BakanliG-i `Religion-Affairs Ministry'. Here it will be
seen that both qualified nouns have the third-person suffix; that
of I+Sler links it to its qualifier D:yanet, while that of Bakanlik
links it to its qualifier, the group D:yanet I+Sler-:. Another
example: sene son-u :mt:hanlar-i `year-end examinations'.
The distinction between this pattern and that of Ankara Kiz
L:ses: may be seen by comparing Ford a:le araba-si `the Ford
family-car' with Ford a:le-s: araba-si `the Ford-family car'.
Other possibilities are: Ford a:le-s:-n:n araba-si `the car of
the Ford-family', Ford'un a:le-s:-n:n araba-si `the car of
Ford's family', and Ford'un a:le araba-si `Ford's family-
car'.
As a rule (but see ##20, 21, 24), any noun in an izafet chain which
does not have the third-person suffix is not qualified by a preceding
noun. In Cumhur:yet Halk Part:-s: `Republican People's
Party',' as Halk has no suffix we know it is not in izafet with
Cumhur:yet, so the literal meaning is not `Republic-People
Party' but `Republic People-Party'. In TUrk D:l Kurum-u, the
fact that D:l has no suffix shows that it is not qualified by TUrk,
so the phrase means not `Turkish-Language Society' but `Turkish
Language-Society'. TUrk D:l-: Derg:-s:, however, means
`Turkish-Language Journal'. So too in mak:ne Ser:d-: mUrek-
keb-:; the second word is qualified by the first and both together
qualify the third: `typewriter-ribbon ink'.
The izafet chain can be extended as required: I+stanbul
U+n:vers:te-s: Edeb:yat FakUlte-s: TUrk Edeb:yat-i Pro-
fes0r-U `Istanbul-University Literature-Faculty Turk-Literature
Professor', i.e. `Professor of Turkish Literature of the Faculty of
Letters of the University of Istanbul'. I+zm:r O+rme Sanay:-:
I+SC:ler-: Send:ka-si `Izmir Knitting-Industry Workers' Union'.
The rules and examples given should enable the student to
unravel any izafet chain, but he may sometimes encounter a
definite izafet where he might have expected an indefinite or vice
versa; individual authors' ideas of style may vary. It is entirely
a matter of taste whether one writes CHP aday-i `the RPP
candidate' or CHP'n:n aday-i `the RPP's candidate'. Most
writers keep the number of genitives in an izafet chain down to
the minimum that is consistent with intelligibility. For example,
in Bohemya Kirallar-i saray-i-nin yen: sa=k:n-: `the new
inhabitant of the palace of the Kings of Bohemia' Kirallar-i-n:n
might have been expected as denoting the owners of the palace.
But saray-i had to be in the genitive because the adjective yen:
separates it from sa=kin-:, and the juxtaposition of two genitives
is avoided as far as possible. The partitive use of the ablative
makes it possible to dispense with one genitive, e.g. in kom:te
Uyeler-:-n-den b:r-:-n:n oy-u `the vote of one of the members
of the committee'.
20. Place-names consisting in an izafet group. These tend to drop
the third-person suffix. Kadik0y on the Asiatic shore of the
Bosphorus was Kadi-k0y-U (`judge-village') barely a generation
ago, the k0yU declining as shown in #16. Now the k0y declines
as shown in #6 (a). This tendency is doubtless helped by the
existence of some other place-names similarly compounded of
a noun and k0y which, if they ever had the third-person suffix,
lost it long ago, e.g. Arnavutk0y and Bakirk0y, and of some
compounded of an adjective and k0y, e.g. YeS:lk0y. Another
contributory factor may be that the accent in izafet groups is
always on the first element, and in place-names is towards the
beginning of the word, so that the third-person suffix in the
absolute case would tend to be swallowed up. Indeed, the growing
practice, frowned on by purists, is for sokak `street' to stand in
izafet without the third-person suffix. `Grocer Street' is 'properly
Bakkal SokaG-i, but one often hears--and reads--Bakkal
Sokak. The suffix is secure for the moment in names of roads,
squares, hills, and impasses: Babia=l: Cadde-s:, HUrr:yet
Meydan-i, F:ncancilar YokuS-u, Korsan C+ikmaz-i.
European influence has for some years been helping this
tendency (which is, however, native in origin), e.g. in names of
new office-buildings (han), banks, restaurants, and hotels:
Boyacilar Han, Pamuk Bank (with the western Bank instead
of the Turkish Banka), Yildiz Lokanta, Paris Otel, in place
of Hani, Bankasi, Lokantasi, Otel:. Even such gallicisms as
R:storan Yildiz and Otel Par:s have begun to appear in
Istanbul.
21. Culinary terms without izafet. The third-person suffix is
lacking in some time-honoured names of dishes, such as S:S kebap
`skewer roast', izgara k0fte `grill mincemeat', kuzu p:rzola
`lamb chop', all originally cooks' and waiters' jargon and therefore
as untypical of ordinary speech as `eggs and chips twice'. Analogy
with these may help to explain why a recently marketed tomato
ketchup is labelled Domates KetCap and not KetCapi (though
`tomato-juice' is domates suyu not su). The main reason is
probably that the manufacturer wishes to familiarize the public
with the name ketCap and therefore presents it in the absolute
form without bothering about grammar.
22. Third-person suffix with substantivizing and defining force,
The third-person suffix is used as a syntactic device for creating
and defining nouns. The stages in the development of this use
are exemplified thus:
(a) :S-:n fena-si Su `the bad <part> of the business is this';
edeb:yat-in :y:-s: `the good <part> of literature, good literature';
geceler-:n gUzel-:, yildizli-si `the beautiful night is the starry
one' (`of-the-nights, their-beautiful is their-starry')-
(b) doGru-su `honestly, to tell you the truth' (`the true-of-it').
Here the antecedent is vaguely the matter under discussion.
(c) zeng:n-: ayni Sey: s0ylUyor, fak:r-: ayni Sey: s0ylUyor
`the rich man says the same thing, the poor man says the same
thing', lit. `the-rich-of-it, the poor-of-it'; i.e. of people at large.
In s:zden akillisi yok `there is none cleverer than you' s:zden
akilli `cleverer than you' is an adjectival phrase, substantivized by
the third-person suffix. Cf. b:r-: `one of them, someone' (V, 7).
(d) bundan sonra `after this'; bundan sonrasi `that which is
after this, what happens next', lit. `the after this of it', where the
`it' is the scheme of things entire. Probably under this head is to
be sought the explanation for burasi, Surasi, etc. (XII, 12).
23. The Janus construction. By this term is meant the curious
facing-both-ways construction wherein, when two people who are
related or otherwise closely connected are mentioned in one
sentence, each is defined by a third-person suffix linking him to
the other:
oGl-u baba-si-na b:r mektup yazdi `the son wrote a letter
to the father', lit. `his--the father's--son wrote a letter to his--the
son's--father'.
kiz-i-ni vermed:G: :C:n anne ve baba-si-ni 0ldUrdU
(newspaper headline) `he killed the mother and father because they
did not give their daughter <to him in marriage>'
babalar-i-nin cezasini oGullar-i Cekecek `the sons will
suffer the fathers' punishment' (`their sons ... their fathers'').
hasta-si doktor-u-nu ariyor `the patient is seeking his
doctor' (`his patient ... his doctor').
hoca-si talebe-s:-ne bakar `the teacher looks after the student'
24. Suffixes with izafet groups. We saw in #19 that in izafet
chains the third-person suffix does double duty and is not repeated.
There are two small classes of words which can have two personal
suffixes: pronouns such as b:r-:-s: (V,7; and cf. Seys: < Sey-:-s:
V, 20) and frozen izafet groups such as yUzbaSi `captain'. Origin-
ally this was yUz baS-i `hundred its-head' but through frequent
use has come to be treated as a simple noun, declining like tarla
(#6(d)) and not ad-i (#16), e.g. the plural is yUzbaSilar not
yUzbaSlari. It can therefore take personal suffixes: yUzbaSim
`my captain', yUzbaSisi `his captain', etc. See also XIV, 33.
Otherwise no word can have more than one personal suffix.
When a third-person possessor of an izafet group is to be indicated
the third-person suffix is not repeated: yaz `summer', tat:l
-holiday'; yaz tat:l-: `summer holiday' or `his summer holiday'.
When a first or second person is the possessor, the third-person
suffix of the izafet gives way to the suffix of the first or second
person:
summer holiday summer holidays
my yaz tat:l:m yaz tat:ller:m
your yaz tat:l:n yaz tat:ller:n
his yaz tat:l: yaz tat:ller:
our yaz tat:l:m:z yaz tat:ller:m:z
your yaz tat:l:n:z yaz tat:ller:n:z
their yaz tat:ller: yaz tat:ller:
All the possible ambiguities can be resolved by the use of
a noun or personal pronoun in the genitive:
Ahmed':n yaz tat:l: Ahmet's summer holiday
onun yaz tat:l: his summer holiday
onun yaz tat:ller: his summer holidays
onlarin yaz tat:l: their summer holiday
onlarin yaz tat:ller: their summer holidays
Similarly, I+zm:r bUro-su may mean `the Izmir office' or `his
Izmir office':
onun I+zm:r bUrosu his Izmir office
S:rket-:n I+zm:r bUrosu the company's Izmir office
When the suffixes -l: and -c: (IV, 4, 5) are added to an izafet
group, the third-person suffix is dropped: Gece ad-i `the name
``Night'''; Gece ad-li S::r `the poem named ``Night'''. Avrupa
fermuar-i `European fastener' (French fermoir); Avrupa
fermuar-li Cantalar `bags fitted with European fasteners'; su
yol-u `water-conduit'; su yol-cu `man responsible for the upkeep
of water-conduits'.
25. The vocative use of the third-person suffix. In English a
woman may, in the presence of her child, address her brother as
`Uncle',just as the child would do. In Turkish she would address
him as dayi-si `his uncle'. Similarly, if an English-speaking child
is being teased by another and runs off calling `Mother!' the
other child may mockingly echo his cry. In Turkish, however,
the mocker calls not Anne! but Annes:!
26. Persian izafet. It was because of the extensive use of this alien
grammatical feature, coupled with the borrowing of an immense
Arabic and Persian vocabulary, that the literary and administrative
language of the Ottoman Empire was largely unintelligible to
most of its Turkish subjects. In Persian the qualifier follows the
qualified, the opposite of Turkish usage, and the qualified is
joined to its qualifier, noun or adjective, by an i, as in koh-i-nur
`mountain of light' and koh-i-bozorg `great mountain'. This
device was used in Ottoman as in Persian, to link Arabic as well as
Persian words: nokta-: nazar `point of view'; AbdUlham:d-:
san: `Abdulhamid the Second'. The linking : was usually sub-
jected to the Turkish vowel harmony and was separated from
a preceding long vowel by a y : S+ura-yi Devlet `Council of State';
these words, in Turkish izafet, would be Devlet S+ura-si. Ana-
logous violations of normal word-order are found in English:
court martial, blood royal, law merchant.
As if this was not enough, Ottoman followed Persian in borrow-
ing from Arabic the curse of grammatical gender, from which
Turkish and Persian were born free. In Arabic, dawlat- `state,
dynasty, empire', whence Turkish devlet, is feminine. In
Ottoman, therefore, the Arabic adjectives meaning `high' and
`Ottoman' ("ali** > al:, "Uthma**ni** > Osman:) took their Arabic
feminine forms in the official name of the Empire: Devlet-:
al:ye-: Osman:ye `The High Ottoman State'.
The Turkish words for `some' and `same', bazi and ayni, are
respectively the Arabic ba'd `part' and 'ayn `counterpart' with the
Persian izafet, and mean literally `part of' and `the counterpart of'.
Purists condemned the use of native Turkish words in Persian
izafet, but many Turkish words were in fact so used in Ottoman
phraseology, e.g. ordu `army' and sancak `banner' in ordu-yu
hUmayun and sancaGi Ser:f, `Imperial Army' and `Noble
Banner', i.e. the standard of the Prophet. Such phrases were
classed as galat-i meShur `widely disseminated mistake', i.e.
solecism legitimized by usage. The plural of this term, incidentally,
was galatat-i meShure, the adjective being made feminine to
agree with the feminine plural noun. An oft-quoted saying runs:
galat-i meShur I+gat-: fas:hten yeGd:r `the generally used
solecism is better than the chaste locution'.
Nowadays, Persian izafet compounds which have become part
of the standard vocabulary are usually spelled as one word: aksi-
seda `echo' (`reflection of voice'); h:kmet:vucUt `raison d'e=tre';
aklisel:m `common sense'. These present no difficulty because
they will be found in the dictionary. In less well-acclimatized
compounds the rule is to separate the elements, with a hyphen
between the first and the vowel of the Persian izafet: cer:de-i
Camur `organ of the gutter-press' (`newspaper of mud'); vuzuh-u
beyan `clarity of exposition'; muhtac-i h:mmet `needful of
help'; Uful-U nabehenga=m `untimely demise'; mefhum-u
muhal:f `contrary concept, converse'.
Some writers, however, make compounds of either type into
two separate words, the first incorporating the vowel of the izafet;
h:kmet: vUcut, vuzuhu beyan, etc. Further, some may limit
the vowel harmony, rejecting u and U and writing, e.g. vuzuh-i
beyan, Uful-: nabehenga=m, as being closer to the original
Persian pronunciation.
III. THE ADJECTIVE
1. General observations. The dividing line between noun and
adjective is a thin one, but is still worth drawing. If we take as the
criterion of a noun the permissibility of using the plural, case, and
personal suffixes after it, or the indefinite article b:r before it,
very few of the words classed as adjectives in the dictionary will
be excluded. bUyUk `big, old', bUyUkler:m `my elders'; hasta
`ill', b:r hasta `a sick man'; genC `young', genCler:n `of the
young'; Avrupali `European', Avrupaliya `to the European'.
The only large class of exceptions, i.e. of adjectives which are not
used as nouns, are those formed with the Turkish suffixes -s:,
-(:)ms:, -(:)mtrak, and -(s)el, the Arabic -i=, and the Persian
-ane and -vari=, to which may be added recent borrowings like
demokrat:k and kUltUrel.
On the other hand, if we take as the criterion of an adjective the
permissibility of putting it in the comparative and superlative
degrees, vast numbers of nouns will be excluded. In other words,
although most adjectives can be nouns, the converse does not
hold good.
2. Attributive adjectives. These precede their nouns: cesur
adamlar `brave men'; uzun yol `the long road'. Two exceptions:
(a) kare and kUp, `square' and `cubic', follow names of units
of length, as in French from which they are borrowed: Kibris'in
yUz 0lCUmU 3.572 m:l kare (9.251 k:lometre kare) d:r `the
area of Cyprus is 3,572 square miles (9,251 square kilometres)'.
(b) merhum `the late' is sometimes used after the name of the
deceased instead of before, in imitation of Arabic usage.
3. The indefinite article. b:r `one' may be so termed although the
name is not entirely appropriate. One reason is that the noun
introduced by b:r may be in the defined accusative; see XVI,4.
Another difference from what we understand in English by the
indefinite article is that b:r may introduce a noun in the plural,
the effect being vaguer than with a singular noun: b:r Sey
mirildandi `he mumbled something', but b:r Seyler mirildandi
`he mumbled something or other'; b:r zamanlar ben de
Cocuktum `once I too was a child', where b:r zaman would be
too precise: `at one time'. In this latter example it should also
be noted that b:r is not used before Cocuk, although the English
has `a child'; its omission is customary with the complement of
such verbs as `to be' and `to become'.
When it serves as an indefinite article, b:r usually comes be-
tween adjective and noun: bUyUk b:r tarla `a large field', gUzel
b:r bahCe `a beautiful garden'. When it means `one', it must
precede the adjective, just like any other numeral: :k: kUCUk
tarla satti, b:r bUyUk tarla aldi `he sold two small fields, he
bought one large field'. This must not be taken to imply that b:r
when it precedes an adjective and noun is always to be translated
by `one'; English idiom may sometimes call for `a' or `any' (cf.
XVI, 4). The key to understanding this point lies in the basic
principle of Turkish syntax: whatever precedes, qualifies. The
essential difference between gUzel b:r bahCe and b:r gUzel
bahCe, both of which may translate `a beautiful garden', is that
the first means a beautiful member of the class `garden', the
second a member of the class `beautiful garden'. gUzel b:r bahCe
is a beautiful garden as distinct from a less beautiful or even
a frankly ugly garden; b:r gUzel bahCe is a beautiful garden as
distinct from a beautiful meadow or an ugly forest.
4. Comparison of adjectives. The comparative degree is expressed
by putting the second member of the comparison (introduced in
English by `than') in the ablative case: aGir `heavy', kurSun-dan
aGir `heavier than lead'. `Less ... than' is translated by putting
az `little' between the second member in the ablative case and the
adjective: kurSundan az aGir `less heavy than lead'. daha `more'
may be inserted for emphasis: kurSundan daha aGir, kurSun-
dan daha az aGir. It is not essential, however, except in the
absence of a second member, e.g. in `this hammer is cheaper, that
one is stronger' bu Cek:C daha ucuz, 0tek: daha saGlam, or in
such `floating comparatives' as `For Whiter Washing' daha
beyaz CamaSir :C:n.
The ancient comparative suffix -rek, which appears in a few
diminutives (IV, 1 (a)), retains its original force in yeGrek `better,
best', from yeG `good'. yeG and yeGrek, also spelled yey, yeyrek,
survive only in proverbs.
The superlative degree is expressed by en `most'. I+stanbul en
bUyUk Sehr:m:zd:r `Istanbul is our greatest city'; bu toprak
en az ver:ml:d:r `this soil is least fertile'.
5. Arabic and Persian comparatives. The Persian beter `worse'
occurs mostly in proverbs. The Arabic elative, which serves as
both comparative and superlative, is familiar to us from the slogan
Alla**h akbar `God is most great'. In Turkish it is currently repre-
sented by elzem `essential', the Arabic alzam, elative of la**zim
`necessary'; enfes `most delightful' (anfas < nefi**s); akdem
`prior' (aqdam < qadi**m `ancient'); ender `most rare' (andar <
na**dir); ehven `easiest, very cheaply' (ahwan < hayn). Often these
words are reinforced in Turkish, as daha beter `worse', en enfes
`most delightful'.
6. Intensive adjectives. The only regular' use of prefixation is to
intensify the meaning of adjectives and, less commonly, of
adverbs. The prefix, which is accented, is modelled on the first
syllable of the simple adjective or adverb but with the substitution
of m, p, r, or s for the last consonant of that syllable. It is hard
to discern any principle governing the choice of consonant,
except that p is commoner with back vowels than with front
vowels. The following list includes the commonest of such forma-
tions; the meaning of the intensive is not given when it is obvious
from the meaning of the simple word, as apaCik `wide open,
manifest' from aCik `open', or yepyen: `brand new' from yen:
`new'.
aCik open apaCik
baSka other bambaSka totally different
bell: evident besbell:
beyaz white bembeyaz
bok ordure bombok utterly useless
boS empty bomboS
bUtUn whole bUsbUtUn altogether, entirely
Cabuk quick CarCabuk
cavlak naked, bald cascavlak
dizlak ,, ,, dimdizlak
doGru straight dosdoGru
dolu full dopdolu
g0k blue g0mg0k
kara black kapkara
kati hard kaskati
kirmizi red kipkirmizi
kizil ,, kipkizil
kuru dry kupkuru
kUtUk drunk kUskUtUk
mav: blue masmav:
mor violet mosmor
sari yellow sapsari
siki tight simsiki
s:yah black s:ms:yah
takir (imitates tapping) tamtakir quite empty
tamam complete tastamam
taze fresh taptaze
tem:z clean tertem:z
toparlak round tostoparlak
uzun long upuzun
yassi flat yamyassi
yen: new yepyen:
yeS:l green yemyeS:l
Irregular are: Ciplak `naked', CirilCiplak as well as CirCiplak;
saGlam `healthy', sapasaGlam; yalniz `alone', yapayalniz as
well as yapyalniz; Cevre `circumference', CepeCevre as well as
CepCevre `all around'; gUndUz `(in) daylight', gUpegUndUz `in
broad daylight'; dUz `flat', dUmdUz `absolutely flat' and dUpe-
dUz `downright, openly'; parCa `piece', paramparCa `broken
to bits'. The intensive sirsiklam or sirilsiklam `sopping wet'
is current, although the simple siklam `wet' is no longer in use.
From eyU, an earlier form of :y: `good', comes epey `rather
a lot (of)'.
Other such formations are sometimes created in speech without
attaining general currency, e.g. gepegenC from genC `young'.
IV. NOUN AND ADJECTIVE SUFFlXES
This chapter deals with the suffixes whereby nouns and adjectives
are derived from other nouns and adjectives.
1. Diminutives. The diminutive suffixes are -rek, -cek, -ceG:z,
-c:k, and -ce, of which the first two are no longer productive.
Before these suffixes, adjectives invariably and nouns usually
drop final k.
(a) -rek, the ancient comparative suffix (III, 4), survives with
diminutive force in acirak `rather bitter' (aci `bitter'), bozrak
`light grey' (boz `grey'), kUCUrek `rather small' (kUCUk `small'),
ufarak `rather tiny' (ufak `tiny'), alCarak `lowish' (alCak `low').
(b) -cek survives in oyuncak `toy' (oyun `game'); in yavrucak
(also yavrucuk), the diminutive of yavru `the young of an
animal'; in bUyUcek `biggish' (bUyUk `big') and kUCUcek `very
small'. orayacak `all that way' (oraya `thither') is provincial.
(c) -ceG:z, an extended form of -cek, is particularly common
with nouns denoting living beings and conveys a sense of affection,
sometimes mixed with pity: adamcaGiz `the poor wee man',
kizcaGiz `the dear little girl', hayvancaGiz `the poor little
creature' (hayvan `animal'), k0yceG:z `the dear little village'.
(d) -c:k, the most widely used diminutive suffix, throws the
accent on to the first syllable: AySec:k `little Ayesha'; Mehmet-
C:k `little Mehmet', the affectionate term for the private soldier;
evc:k `little house'; alCacik `very low, humble' (alCak). From
bebek `baby' and k0pek `dog' come bebec:k and k0pec:k less
commonly bebekC:k, k0pekC:k.
A few monosyllables vary slightly from the regular pattern: az
`little, few' makes azacik and azicik as well as azcik; dar
`narrow' makes daracik; b:r `one' makes b:r:c:k `unique'.
(e) -ce has a modifying effect on adjectives: gUzelce `quite good'
(but not so good as the simple gUzel), seyrekCe `rather infre-
quent', uzunca `rather long', genCCe `quite young'. It makes a few
nouns from verbal nouns in -me (X,7): from b:lme `guessing',
b:lmece `riddle'; from bulma `finding', bulmaca `puzzle',
especially `crossword-puzzle'; from kapma `catching', kapmaca
`the game of puss-in-the-corner'; from Cekme `drawing', Cek-
mece `drawer'. This suffix, which is accented, must not be con-
fused with the enclitic -ce which makes adverbs; see XII, 2. It
may be followed by -c:k as in gen:SCec:k `pretty wide', yakin-
cacik `quite near'.
2. Diminutives of personal names. Apart from those formed with
-c:k, these do not seem reducible to a rule; there is no obvious
reason why people named Mustafa should be addressed as
Mistik. Commonly the first syllable only of the name is retained
and to it is added :, o, or a syllable ending in S: ErcUment >
Erc:; Ner:man > Ner:; Mehmet > Mem:S or Memo; Met:n
> Met:S; Fatma > FatoS (also, affectedly, FatiS or Fati);
Hasan > Hasso; Al: and Al:ye > Al:S; Cema=l > Cemo;
I+brah:m > I+bo. The forms in -o are accented on the first
syllable. They are more familiar and socially less acceptable than
those in -S; cf. the difference in English between Bert and Berti
e
as diminutives of Albert.
3.-(:)ms:, -(:)mtrak, -s:. These three suffixes in some contexts
have diminutive effect but basically they mean `resembling', like
English -ish in womanish. The initial : of the first two is lost after
vowels.
(a) -(:)mtrak, the a of which is invariable in the best authors,
is used with adjectives of colour and taste; beyazimtrak `whitish';
yeS:l:mtrak `greenish'; ekS:mtrak `sourish' (ekS: `sour');
acimtrak `rather bitter'. This suffix is sometimes spelt with
what seems to be an epenthetic vowel--e.g. beyazimtirak--but
may be a survival of an older form.
(b) -(:)ms: is added to nouns and adjectives: maGara `cave',
maGaramsi `cavernous'; duvar `wall', duvarimsi `wall-like';
rapor `report', raporumsu b:r yazi `a report-like writing',
`a feeble attempt at a report'.
(c) -s: is attached only to nouns and adjectives ending in a con-
sonant, so cannot be confused with the post-vocalic form of the
third-person possessive suffix: erkek `male', erkeks: `mannish';
Cocuk `child', Cocuksu `childish'. But `foolish', from budala
`fool', is budalamsi, while budalasi means `his fool'.
4. -c:. This suffix is added to the singular of nouns and occasionally
to adjectives and adverbs to denote persons who are professionally
or habitually concerned with, or devoted to, the object, person, or
quality denoted by the basic word:
:S work :SC: workman
sUt milk sUtCU milkman
d:S tooth d:SC: dentist
orman forest ormanci forester
AtatUrk AtatUrkCU Ataturkist
halk people halkCi populist or
adherent of
the People's
Party
gUrUltU noise gUrUltUcU noisy (of people)
m:ll:yet nationality m:ll:yetC: nationalist
yol road yolcu traveller
:nat obstinacy :natCi obstinate
yalan falsehood yalanci liar, deceiver
kaCak contraband kaCakCi smuggler
Sika=yet complaint S:ka=yetC: complainant
Roentgen (discoverer of X-rays) r0ntgenc: radiographer or
Peeping Tom,
voyeur
statUko status quo statUkocu conservative
sifir zero sifirci schoolteacher
who is lavish
with zeros
Saka joke Sakaci joker
merhum `the late' merhumcu devotee of the
late Prime Minister Menderes
esk: old esk:c: old-clothes man
toptan wholesale toptanci wholesaler
beleS (slang) free, gratis beleSC: scrounger, parasite
ne what? nec: of what profession?
It may be attached to a phrase: hazir `ready', elb:se `clothing',
hazir elb:sec: `dealer in ready-made clothing'; evet efend:m
`yes, sir', evet efend:mc: `yes-man'.
In popular speech it is used redundantly with nouns denoting
occupation such as Sof0r `driver', kasap (A) `butcher', garson
`waiter': Sof0rcU, kasapCi, garsoncu.
Cf. -:c:, XIV, 2
5. -l:. This is added to the singular of nouns to make nouns or
adjectives which denote:
(a) Possessing the object or quality indicated by the basic word:
Seker sugar Sekerl: sweet
d:kkat attention, care d:kkatl: attentive, careful
at horse atli horseman
res:m picture res:ml: illustrated
Um:t hope Um:tl: hopeful
akil intelligence akilli intelligent
bulut cloud bulutlu cloudy
gUrUltU noise gUrUltUlU noisy (of things)
rahmet divine mercy rahmetl: deceased
(b) Possessing the object or quality in a high degree:
Cene jaw Cenel: talkative
paha price pahali expensive
hiz speed hizli rapid
sevg: affection sevg:l: beloved
yaS age yaSli aged
(c) Belonging to a place or institution:
k0y village k0ylU villager, peasant
Seh:r city Seh:rl: city-dweller
I+stanbul I+stanbullu citizen of Istanbul
C+:n China C+:nl: Chinese
N:cerya Nigeria N:ceryali Nigerian
l:se lyce=*e l:sel: lyce=*e student
osman (founder of the Osmanli Ottoman (member
Ottoman or subject of the
dynasty) dynasty)
Added to the name of a colour, it makes an adjective or noun
meaning dressed in that colour:
s:yah black s:yahli dressed in black
kirmizi red kirmizili dressed in red
It may be added to a phrase:
uzun boy long stature uzun boylu tall
gen:S omuz broad shoulder gen:S omuzlu broad-shouldered
orta yaS middle age orta yaSli middle-aged
kirmizi yanak red cheek kirmizi yanakli red-cheeked
b:r mart tar:h-: the date b:r mart tar:hl: dated 1 March
1 March
Camur mud Camurlu muddy
Camurlu yUz muddy face Camurlu yUzlU muddy-faced
kullaniS use (X, 11) kullaniSli serviceable
yaygin kullaniS wide use yaygin kullaniSli widely used
The suffix appears to be used redundantly in bombel: `convex'
< French bombe `convex'. In Sanjanli `shot' (of silk; other forms
being janjanli and cancanli) it is not redundant, as the French
changeant is used as a noun in Turkish in the sense of the quality
possessed by shot silk: Sanjan kumaSlar-i `shot fabrics',
6. ... -l: ... -l:. Pairs of words of opposite meanings, each with
a suffixed -l:, are used adverbially and adjectivally: gece-l:
gUndUz-lU CaliSmak `to work night and day'; kiz-li erkek-l:
0Grenc: gruplari `groups of pupils including both girls and
boys'. The basic words may be adjectives: uzak-li yakin-li
kahkahalar `bursts of laughter both far and near'. The -l: in
this use is historically distinct from that discussed in the preceding
section.
7. -s:z. This suffix means `without': Um:ts:z `hopeless', sonsuz
`endless', Sapkasiz `hatless', gUrUltUsUz `noiseless', d:kkats:z
`careless', tar:hs:z `undated'. It may be added to pronouns as
well as nouns: onsuz `without him', sens:z `without you'. See
also XI, 12.
8. -l:k.
(a) Added to nouns or adjectives, it makes abstract nouns:
gUzel beautiful gUzell:k beauty
kolay easy kolaylik ease, facility
:y: good :y:l:k goodness, good action
asker soldier askerl:k military service
Cocuk child Cocukluk childhood,
childish action,
childishness
:k: two :k:l:k duality
:S-C: workman :SC:l:k workmanship
kaCak-Ci smuggler kaCakCilik smuggling
AtatUrk-CU Ataturkist AtatUrkCUlUk Ataturkism
d:kkat-l: careful d:kkatl:l:k carefulness
d:kkat-s:z careless d:kkats:zl:k carelessness
Vulgarly it is added to Arabic abstract nouns: :nsan:yet
`humanity' > :nsan:yetl:k ; cf. Sof0rcU, etc., #4, end.
When -l:k is added to nouns of rank the resulting word is not
invariably abstract but exhibits the same ambiguity as `the Presi-
dent's office' (the office he holds or the office in which he works):
kaymakamlik may be the rank of lieutenant-governor or his
official residence or the district he administers; kirallik may be
kingship or kingdom or reign.
(b) Added to nouns it makes nouns and adjectives meaning
`intended for or suitable for ...':
0n front 0nlUk pinafore
tuz sal tuzluk salt-cellar
k:ra hire k:ralik for hire, to let
g0z eye g0zlUk eye-glasses, spectacles
CamaSir linen CamaSirlik laundry
baba father babalik adoptive father, paternity
Seh:t martyr Seh:tl:k military cemetery, martyrdom
hastane hospital hastanel:k hospital-case
mahkeme law-court mahkemel:k (person) brought
gel:n bride gel:nl:k marriageable girl, nubile, bridal,
wedding-dress, the state of being a
bride
(c) Added to numerical expressions it makes nouns and adjectives:
seksen eighty seksenl:k octogenarian
on ten onluk tenner; coin or note of ten piastres
or pounds
yUz hundred yUz l:ralik hundred-lira note
yil year yillik yearling
b:r saat one hour-
b:r saatl:k b:r yer a place one hour's journey away
on :k: twelve cars on:k: a twelve-
araba arabalik b:r car convoy
konvoy
The numerical expression may be a noun in the locative case:
yUz-de in a hundred yUzdel:k percentage
on-da in ten ondalik tithe, ten per
cent. com-
mission
Cf. gUnde in the day gUndel:k daily wage
(d) Added to adverbs of time:
S:md: now S:md:l:k for the present
bugUn today bugUnlUk for today
Although these may be translated as adverbs, as in bugUnlUk bu
kadar yeter `that's enough for today', they really belong in (c)
above; bugUnlUk means `the today-amount'.
9. -daS. This suffix is not affected by vowel harmony but it does
appear as -taS after unvoiced consonants. Added only to nouns,
it denotes common attachment to the concept expressed by the
basic noun, like English prefixed or sufxed `fellow'.
vatan home-land vatandaS compatriot, fellow citizen
okul school okuldaS schoolmate
meslek profession meslektaS colleague
d:n religion d:ndaS co-religionist
CaG time, epoch CaGdaS contemporary (adj.or noun)
Two exceptions: kardeS not -daS is the standard Turkish for
`brother' or `sister' (< karin-daS `womb-fellow'), and `name-
sake' is adaS with a single d although `name' is ad. The possible
explanation for the latter anomaly is that its second element is not
-daS but eS `mate' and this word adaS is the most likely etymon
of the suffix -daS.
The language reformers have chosen to make this suffix con-
form to vowel harmony in the neologism :S-teS-l:k `co-operation'
(:S `work') and in the resurrected g0nUl-deS `sympathizer'
(originally g0nUldaS from g0nUl `soul'), apparently through
a misunderstanding of the phonetic spelling used by Redhouse.
10. -g:l. This invariable suffix is a provincialism. Added to titles
or personal names it denotes `the house or family of ...': Kay-
makamg:l, Mehmetg:l, also in the plural Kaymakamg:ller,
Mehmetg:ller. It may be suffixed, after a personal suffix, to
nouns denoting relatives: teyzemg:l `my aunt's family', the
standard Turkish for this being teyzemler (II, 15, end).
It has been used by the reformers to coin names of plant and
animal families: gUl `rose', gUlg:ller `Rosaceae'; ked: `cat',
ked:g:ller `Felidae'.
11. -(s)el. Arabic words ending in the adjectival suffix -i** have
greatly enriched the Turkish vocabulary; witness such words as
tar:hi= `historical', d:ni= `religious'. Arabic nouns ending in -at-
drop it before adding the -i**, hence s:yas: `political' (s:yaset
`politics'), :rad: `voluntary' (:rade `will'), m:ll: `national'
(m:llet
`nation'). The language reformers, in their desire to purge Turkish
of foreign elements, advocated the replacement of this useful
suffix by -sel or, when added to words ending in s or z, -el. This
they employed with foreign borrowings and with Turkish words,
both existing and manufactured:
tar:h (A) history tar:hsel historic
s:yaset (A) politics s:yasal political
ceb:r (A) algebra ceb:rsel algebraic
k:mya (A) chemistry k:myasal chemical
f:z:k physics f:z:ksel physical
0z self 0zel private
b:l:m science b:l:msel scientific
anayasa constitution anayasal constitutional
In this last example the suffix has been reduced to -l to avoid the
cacophonous -sasal.
To justify this innovation the reformers cited such time-
honoured words as uysal `compliant' (uymak `to conform'),
kumsal `sandy' or `a sandy tract' (kum `sand') and yoksul
`destitute' (yok `non-existent'). The real inspiration of it, how-
ever, was in such French words as culturel and social.
12. -vari=. This Persian suffix, meaning `-like', is still productive
in Turkish to a limited extent: S+eksp:rvari= `Shakespearian';
C+0rc:lvari= `Churchillian'; James Bondvari= b:r casusluk
`a James Bond-ish case of espionage'.
13. -c:l. This occurs in a few words and has the sense of `tending
towards, accustomed to, addicted to':
ak white akCil faded
kir grey kircil grizzled
adam man adamcil tame or ready to attack man
baIik fish balikCil heron
tavSan hare tavSancil eagle
0lUm death 0lUmcUl moribund
Some neologisms have been made with this suffix:
ben I benc:l selfish
ana mother anacil mother-bound
ev house evc:l domesticated
k:tap book k:tapCil bookish
14. -hane. The Persian kha**ne `house' is not quite dead as a suffix
in Turkish; pastahane `cake-shop' is of more recent origin than
hastahane, eczahane, and postahane and unlike them it keeps
its h more often than not (I, 11). It is added to a few Turkish
words, e.g.: sUthane `dairy', buzhane `ice-house', d:k:mhane
`tailoring workshop', aShane `cook-house'. A modern slang
formation is kazikhane `clip joint' from kazik `swindle'.
15. -ane. This Persian suffix, in which the a is long, serves (a)
to make adjectives or nouns into adverbs: mest `drunk', mestane
`drunkenly'; (b) to turn nouns and adjectives indicating persons
into adjectives describing things: Sah `king', Sahane `regal';
Sa:r `poet', Sa:rane `poetic'; dost `friend', dostane `friendly'
(as in `a friendly word'); mUdebb:r b:r paSa `a prudent Pasha',
paSanin mUdebb:rane hareket: `the Pasha's prudent action',
It is mentioned here because it has recently shown itself productive
of at least one word: from b:lg:C `know-all', bilg:Cane `in a
know-all fashion'.
V. PRONOUNS
1 . Personal pronouns:
Singular First Second Third
abs. ben sen o
acc. ben: sen: onu
gen. ben:m sen:n onun
dat. bana sana ona
loc. bende sende onda
abl. benden senden ondan
Plural
abs. b:z s:z onlar
acc. b:z: s:z: onlari
gen. b:z:m s:z:n onlarin
dat. b:ze s:ze onlara
loc. b:zde s:zde onlarda
abl. b:zden s:zden onlardan
In pre-nineteenth-centuy texts the usual forms of the third
person are: (sing.) ol, ani, anin, ana, anda, andan ; (pl-) anlar,
anlari, etc.
It will be noticed that the table exhibits some anomalies: the m
in the genitive of the first-person singular and plural; the change
from e to a in the dative of the first- and second-person singular;
in the third person the n before the case-suffixes of the singular
and before the -lar of the plural. The most plausible explanations
of these anomalies are: the original ben:M and b:z:M became
ben:m and b:z:m under the influence of the pronominal suffixes
-:m and -:m:z, helped perhaps by the labial b. The original
suffix of the dative was not -e but -ge; benge, senge became
beMe, seMe and the influence of this nasal brought about the
change to bana, sana, a change possibly helped by analogy with
the old third-person dative aMa > ana; this very form aMa may
have been due to the influence of the M in an earlier *oMa. The n
appears in the third person also when o takes the suffixes -s:z
(IV, 7) and -ce (XII, 2): onsuz `without him', onca `according
to him'. The usual explanation of this n is that it is the `pro-
nominal n' which appears after the third-person suffix and in the
declension of -k: and kend: (##3, 4).
o is a demonstrative as well as a personal pronoun; see #5.
s:z is the regular polite form for `you', singular or plural, and
b:z is used colloquially for `I' (XVI, 3 (c)); they may therefore
take the plural suffix in the colloquial--b:zler,s:zler--when
referring to more than one person.
In courtly speech, which is steadily becoming rarer, ben may
be replaced by benden:z `your slave' (< Persian banda; the
resemblance to ben is coincidental), the full meaning of which has
become somewhat abraded, so that a following verb nowadays is
usually in the first and not the third person, and, for example,
`my humble opinion' is benden:z:n f:kr:m `your slave's my
opinion'. Similarly, s:z may be replaced by zat-i al:n:z or zat-
al:ler: (Persian izafet), literally `your high person, their high
person', which are followed by a verb in the second-person plural.
2. Uses of the personal pronouns. As they are definite by nature,
we may call ben, sen, o, etc., the nominative instead of the
absolute case; there is no question of their being used as an
indefinite accusative.
The persons of verbs are shown by suffixes but a pronoun in
the nominative may be used for emphasis: o g:tt:, ben g:tmed:m
`he went; I did not go'.
The pronoun object of a verb is generally omitted if it can be
understood from the context: k:tabi dUn aldim, daha okuma-
dim `I bought the book yesterday; I have not read <it> yet'.
The use of sen: `thee' with terms of abuse is conventionally
explained by the ellipsis of a verb such as `I dislike/deplore/warn':
sen: g:d: ! `you scoundrel!'; sen: afacan sen: ! `you cheeky
little urchin you !' More precisely, the reason there is no verb is
that the speaker does not have in mind any specific verb but only
an inarticulate emotion of displeasure of which sen: is the object.
In the genitive the pronouns can be used predicatively; cf.
II, 11: bu memleket n:C:n b:z:m? `why is this land ours?';
bu para ben:m `this money is mine'; sen:n olsun `keep it' (lit.
let-it-be of-you'); mesul:yet s:z:n deG:l `the responsibility is
not yours'.
They may reinforce the personal suffixes: ev-:m:z or b:z:m
ev-:m:z `our house'; sokaG-iniz or s:z:n sokaG-iniz `your
street'; ad-i or onun ad-i `his name'.
The genitive of the third-person pronouns can resolve ambi-
guities which might arise from the various possible senses of,
for example, Cocuklari (cf. II, 15):
onun Cocuklari his children
onlarin CocuGu their child
onlarin Cocuklari their children
Pronouns of the first and second persons in the genitive are also
used informally as attributive adjectives, i.e. replacing the personal
suffixes: `our house' can be b:z:m ev; `your street' s:z:n sokak.
The genitive of the third-person pronouns cannot, however,
replace the personal suffixes in standard Turkish: onun ad
instead of adi or onun adi is a provincialism (cf. Ahmed':n
Mustafa, p. 43, penultimate paragraph).
3. -k:. The pronominal or `mixed' suffix -k: is exceptional in the
matter of vowel harmony, not changing except after gUn `day'
and dUn `yesterday', when it becomes -kU. Added to the genitive
case of a noun or pronoun, it makes a possessive pronoun: h:z-
metC:-n:n-k: `the one belonging to the servant'- CocuG-un-k:
-the one belonging to the child'; ben:mk: `mine'; sen:nk: `thine';
onunk: `his, hers, the one belonging to it'; b:z:mk: `ours'.
s:z:nk: `yours'; onlarink: `theirs'. bu kalem ben:m deG:l and
bu kalem ben:mk: deG:l may both be translated `this pen is
not mine'. The former is a simple denial of ownership, the latter
implies `I have a pen but this is not it'.
The noun in the genitive to which -k: is suffixed may be in the
plural and may have a personal suffix.
arkadaS-iniz-in-k: the one belonging to your friend
arkadaS-lar-iniz-in-k: the one belonging to your friends
Added to an expression of time or place, which may be an
adverb or a noun in the locative case, -k: makes a pronoun or
adjective: yazin `in summer', k0ylUnUn yazink: kazanci `the
peasant's summer earnings'; bugUn `today', bugUnkU gazete
`today's newspaper', bugUnkUler `those who are today, people
nowadays'; yarin `tomorrow', yarink: toplanti `tomorrow's
meeting'; S:md: `now', S:md:k: durum `the present situation';
okul CaG-i `school-age', okul CaGindak: Cocuklar `children of
school-age' (`who are in school-age'). I+zm:r'dek: bUromuz
kUCUk, Adana'dak: daha bUyUktUr `our office which-is-in-
Izmir is small, the-one-in-Adana is bigger'.
Pronouns in -k: may be declined. In the singular the case-
endings are preceded by the pronominal n, but this does not ap-
pear in the plural. Thus the declension of ben:mk: is as follows:
Singular Plural
abs. ben:mk: ben:mk:ler mine
acc. ben:mkin: ben:mk:ler: mine
gen. ben:mk:n:n ben:mk:ler:n of mine
dat. ben:mk:ne ben:mk:lere to mine
loc. ben:mk:nde ben:mk:lerde in mine
abl. ben:mk:nden ben:mk:lerden from mine
CocuGun boyu babasinink:n: geCt: `the child's stature has
passed his father's'; res:mler:m:z kardeSler:n:z:nk:lerden
kiymetl:d:r `our pictures are more valuable than your brothers' '.
4. kend:. As an adjective it means `own': kend: oda-m `my own
room', kend: kiz-i `her own daughter', kend: memleket-:n:z
`your own country'.
With the personal suffixes it makes the emphatic or reflexive
pronouns `myself', etc.: kend:-m , kend:-n, kend: or kend:-s:,
kend:-m:z, kend:-n:z, kend:-ler:. For `himself' with reflexive
meaning, kend: is far more usual than kend:s:; indeed, purists
maintain that kend:s: should never be used reflexively. Both
forms take the pronominal n before all case-endings:
abs. kend: kend:s:
acc. kend:n: kend:s:n:
gen. kend:n:n kend:s:n:n
dat. kend:ne kend:s:ne
loc. kend:nde kend:s:nde
abl. kend:nden kend:s:nden
As a reflexive pronoun kend: is usually repeated, the first
time in the absolute with no suffix, the second time with the
appropriate personal and case suffix: kend: kend:-m-: mUdafaa
ett:m `I defended myself'; :S: kend: kend:-m-e yapamadim
`I could not do the job for (or ``by'') myself'; kend: kend:-n-:
tenk:t ed:yor `he is criticizing himself'; kend: kend:-m:z-den
korkmiyalim `let us not be afraid of ourselves'.
kend:s: and its plural kend:ler: are commonly employed as
simple third-person pronouns with no reflexive or emphatic
sense: kend:s: evde `he is at home'; kend:ler:n: g0rdUnUz mU
`have you seen them?'
As kend:-s: literally means `his self', it may stand in izafet with
a preceding noun in the genitive: AtatUrk'Un kend:s: `AtatUrk
himself'; Mecl:s':n kend:s: `the Assembly itself'.
5. Demonstratives:
bu this (close to the speaker)
Su this or that (a little further away)
o that (also `he, she, it')
When used as adjectives these words are invariable. For their
declension when used as pronouns see o in #1: sing. bu, bunu,
etc., Su, Sunu, etc.; pl. bunlar, etc., Sunlar, etc.
Su means `the following': Su tekl:f `the following proposal,
this proposal which I am about to mention'; bu tekl:f `the pro-
posal which has just been mentioned'.
Where we say `this or that', Turkish prefers `that or this'.. Sunu
yap, bunu yap `do that, do this'.
In archaizing legal language, :Sbu may be found for the
adjectival bu. Until the last century Sol was sometimes used
for Su.
The personal suffixes are not used with the demonstratives
except in such stereotyped expressions as Su-nun bu-nun Su-su
bu-su :le ala=kadar olmiyan `not interested in other people's
business' (`the that and this of that one and this one'); o-nun
Su-su bu-su `his private concerns' (`his that and this')-
Demonstratives precede attributive adjectives: bu uzun yol
`this long road'; Su gen:S omuzlu gUreSC: `that broad-shouldered
wrestler'; o meShur akt0r `that famous actor'. They may come
within a definite izafet; cf. II, 17, end.
An idiomatic use of bu is to place it after a noun: sanatka=r bu,
literally `artist this', meaning `the fellow's an artist; what do you
expect?' So: hayat bu `that's life for you'; Cocuk bu `he's only
a child; don't ask too much of him-.
From bu, Su, and o are formed b0yle, S0yle, and 0yle, used
both as adverbs, `thus', and adjectives, `such, this/that kind of':
b0yle adamlar such men (as this)
S0yle evler such houses (as those over there)
oyle f:k:rler such ideas (as those)
The addition of the third-person suffix to these words makes
them into pronouns (cf. II, 22): b0yles: `this sort of person',
S0yles: or 0yles: `that sort of person'; plural: b0yleler:, S0y-
leler:, 0yleler:. The singular forms are also used adjectivally--
b0yles: adamlar `such men'--but this use has not achieved
general currency.
ber:k:, 0tek: mean respectively the nearer and the further of
two. They may be adjectives or pronouns; being compounded
with -k:, when used as pronouns they take the pronominal n
before all cases of the singular: bu gazetey: :stem:yorum,
0tek:-n-: ver `I don't want this newspaper, give me the other
one over there'. 0tek: ber:k: means `this one and that one, any-
body and everybody'.
6. Interrogatives:
k:m who? hang: which?
ne what? kaC how many?
k:m declines like a noun, in singular and plural: bu Canta
k:m-:n? `whose is this bag?'; k:m-: g0rdUn? `whom did you
see?'; k:mler-e? `to what people?'
ne exhibits certain irregularities:
Singular Plural
abs. ne neler
acc. ne or ney: neler or neler:
gen. ney:n or nen:n neler:n
dat. neye or n:ye nelere
loc. nede nelerde
abl. neden nelerden
There are also alternative forms with the personal suffixes,
meaning `what of mine?', `what of yours?', etc.:
Singular Plural
1 nem or ney:m nem:z or ney:m:z
2 nen ney:n nen:z ney:n:z
3 nes: ney: neler:
The usual accusative singular is ne : ne yaptin? `what have you
done?'
ney: is used:
(a) For `what specific thing?'; e.g. if you hear that someone is
going to the opera and ask ne g0receks:n? `what are you going
to see?', you may elicit the facetious reply `an opera, of course !'
There is no danger of this if you ask ney: g0receks:n? `what
<specific item of the repertoire> are you going to see?' The defined
accusative plural neler: is similarly used for `what specific things?'
(b) When another interrogative follows, especially one com-
pounded with ne: ney: ve ne zaman yaptin? `what have you
done, and when?'; k:m ney: k:me satiyor `who is selling what,
to whom?'
The regular spelling of the dative singular is neye: neye
yarar? `for-what is it suitable?', while n:ye is generally used in
the sense of `what for, why?', as is the ablative neden.
The plural is used in exclamations: neler g0rdUm! `what
things I saw!'
One of the commonest uses of ne with personal suffixes is
exemplified in nen var? `what's the matter with you?',lit. `what-
of-yours exists, what do you have?', cf. qu'as-tu? Note also neme
la=zim? `what has it to do with me?', lit. `to-what-of-mine is it
necessary?' bu okul-un ne-s:-s:n? `you are this school's what?',
i.e. `what is your position in this school?'--kapici-si-yim `I am
its janitor'.
ne may be the qualifying element of an indefinite izafet e.g.
ne ders-: var? `what lesson is there?' (on the time-table)--
logically, because the answer will also consist in an indefinite
izafet: geometr: ders-:. There is a story of a man who tries to
tell a friend that he has seen a ghost, hortlak, but in his terror
he can only stammer ho-ho-ho. His friend asks ne ho'su? `what
ho?, the ho belonging to what?'
ne may be an adjective as well as a pronoun: ne hacet? `what
need?', ne :nat! `what obstinacy!', ne gUzel C:Cekler! `what
lovely flowers!' It may also render `how' as in ne gUzel! `how
beautiful!' .???, al*m? `how do you know?' (lit. `how is it
known?'); or `why' as in ne kariSiyorsun? `what are you inter-
fering <for>?'
It forms part of many compound interrogatives: ne zaman, ne
vak:t `when?'; ne kadar `how much?'; n:C:n (< ne :C:n ` what
for?') `why?'; nasil (< ne asil `what basis?') `how?', `what
sort of ...?'; nec: `of what profession?' With the adverbial
suffix -ce (XII, 2), it makes (a) nece `in what language?' and
(b) n:ce, meaning originally `how many?', then `how many!' and
nowadays mostly `many'.
The elision of the e of ne, as seen in n:C:n and nasil, is frequent
in rapid conversation: ne olacak? `what will happen?' > nolacak?
or n'olacak?; ne yapalim? `what are we to do?' > napalim?
hang: and kaC are adjectives, the latter always construed with
a singular noun: hang: v:la=yet? `which province?'; hang:
v:la=yetler? `which provinces?'; kaC v:la=yet? `how many pro-
vinces?' With the addition of personal suffixes they become
pronouns: hang:-m:z? `which of us?'; kaC-iniz? `how many of
you?'; hang:-s:? `which one of them?'; hang:-ler-:? `which (pl.)
of them?'
7. Indefinite, determinative, and negative. Most of the pronouns
in this category are formed from adjectives by the addition of the
third-person suffix, on the pattern of b0yle-s: (#5). Thus b:r
`a, one' is an adjective: b:r adam g:tt: `one man went'; b:r-:
is a pronoun: adamlardan b:r: g:tt:, b:r: kaldi `one of the
men went, one remained'. The suffix may be doubled: b:r-:-s:.
b:r: and b:r:s: may also mean `someone'; in this use the ante-
cedent of the third-person suffix is people at large, a `they' as
vague as in `they say': b:r: or b:r:s: bana seslend: `someone
called out to me'.
In those words below in which b:r is the first element it carries
the word-accent.
8. bazi, k:m: `some' (adjective). The final vowel of bazi is the
mark of the Persian izafet, so is unaccented. k:m: in this adjectival
sense is a neologism. Both qualify singular or plural nouns: bazi
or k:m: adam `some man'; bazi or k:m: adamlar `some men'.
Pronouns: bazisi, bazilari, k:m:, k:m:s: `some people';
bazimiz, k:m:m:z `some of us'; baziniz, k:m:n:z `some of you'.
9. b:rtakim `a number of' (lit. `a set') always qualifies plural
nouns: b:rtakim k0ylUler `a number of villagers'. Like the
indefinite article, it may come between adjective and noun:
kUCUk b:rtakim devletler `a number of small states'. Note the
distinction between b:rtakim k:taplar `a number of books' and
b:r takim k:tap `a set of books' (for the construction of the latter
see XVI, 7).
Pronoun: b:rtakimi `a number of them'.
10. her (P) `each, every', with noun in singular: her gUn `every
day'; her :k:-s: `both of them'; her UC-UmUz `all three of us';
her b:r:, herkes (P) `everyone'; her b:r-:m:z `each one of us';
her k:m `whoever'; her ne `whatever'; her ne kadar `however
much'; her hang: `whichever'; her hang: b:r `any'. Compounds
of her are sometimes written as one word: herb:r:m:z, herne-
kadar, etc.
11. hep is an adverb meaning `altogether, entirely, always'. With
the personal suffixes it becomes a pronoun: hep-:m:z `all of us',
hep-:n:z `all of you'. The third person is heps: (< hep-:-s:,
with the suffix doubled) `all of it, all of them, everyone'.
12. Cok as an adverb means `much, very': Cok konuStuk `we
talked a lot'; Cok faydali `very useful'. With a noun, singular or
plural, it means `much, many': Cok :S `much work'; Cok k:S:
`many persons', Cok yerler `many places'.
With possessive suffixes it is a pronoun, meaning `most' rather
than `more': CoG-umuz `most of us'; CoG-unuz `most of you';
CoG-u `most of it, most of them'. The last is used as an adjective
as well as a pronoun, like b0yles: and k:m: : CoGu :nsanlar `most
people'; CoGu zaman `most times, most often'.
b:rCok `a good deal of' is followed by a noun in singular or
plural; pedants say singular only.
Pronouns: b:rCoGu `a good deal of it, a good many of them';
b:rCoklari `a good many people or things'.
13. az as an adverb means `little: az :Cer `he drinks little'. As an
adjective, with a singular noun, `few, little': az k:S: `few persons';
az Sarap :Cer `he drinks little wine'. See also III, 4.
b:raz `a little': b:raz yUrUdUk `we walked a little'; b:raz
ekmek yed:m `I ate a little bread'; b:raz-i `a little of it'.
14. b:rkaC `a few, several', with singular noun: b:rkaC gUn
kaldi `he stayed several days'.
Pronoun: b:rkaCi `several of them', etc.
15. bUtUn as a noun or as an adjective qualifying a singular noun
means `whole': m:llet-:n bUtUn-U `the whole of the nation';
bUtUn m:llet `the whole nation'. As an adjective with a plural
noun it means `all': bUtUn m:lletler `all the nations'.
16. baSka, d:Ger (P) `other'.
Pronouns: baSkasi, b:r baSkasi, baSka b:r:, d:Ger b:r:
`another of them, someone or something else': kaldir bunu,
baSkasini get:r `take this away, bring another'. benden baSka
`other than me'; benden baSkasi `someone other than me'.
17. 0bUr (< o b:r; I, 31, end) `the other, the next': 0bUr gUn
`the day after tomorrow'; 0bUr dUnya `the next world'.
Pronoun: 0bUrU `the other one'.
18. b:rb:r or b:r:b:r, with the appropriate possessive suffix,
means `each other':
1 b:rb:r:m:z or b:r:b:r:m:z
2 b:rb:r:n:z or b:r:b:r:n:z
3 b:rb:r:, b:r:b:r:, or b:r:b:rler:
b:rb:r:m:z-e yardim ed:yoruz `we are helping each other';
b:r:b:r:n:z-: sev:n:z `love one another'; b:r:b:r:nden gUzel
kizlar `girls each more beautiful than the other'. The Persian
yekd:Ger is an increasingly rarer alternative.
19. ayni `same'. In view of its origin (II, 26, third paragraph)
this ought to be immediately followed by a noun, as in ayni zaman
`the same time'. It is, however, regularly used nowadays with an
intervening adjective and even predicatively: ayni uzun yol `the
same long road'; hedefler:m:z ayni `our aims are the same'.
This ayni, which is frequently misspelt ayn:, is accented on
the first syllable.
There is another word ayni, accented on the last syllable, in
which the i is the Turkish third-person suffix: ad-i ben:m-k:-
n:n ayn-i-dir `his name is the same as mine', lit. `his-name
of-mine is-its-counterpart'. The suffix is sometimes doubled.
bunun ayn-i-si-ni alalim `let's buy one just like this' (`of-this
its-counterpart'). This, however, is a vulgarism, against which
schoolchildren are warned. Oddly, what they are told to put in
its place is tipkisi `its replica', which also contains a doubled
third-person suffix. The bare form *tipik (Arabic &ibq) is never
used, though tipki (the final i being that of the Persian izafet) is
commonly put before a noun or pronoun to reinforce the post-
position g:b: `like': tipki babasi g:b: `just like his father';
tipki onlar g:b: `just like them'.
20. Sey, as well as meaning `thing', is an all-purpose pronoun,
used like French chose to take the place of a word or name the
speaker cannot for the moment recall. For its syntactic function
see XV, 3. When it takes the third-person suffix this is usually
doubled, Sey-:-s: (sometimes spelled Seys:; cf. heps:, #11),
probably because in ordinary speech Sey-: is barely distinguishable
from Sey : Sey-:n Sey-:-s: ne oldu--mektub-un zarf-i? `what
has become of the what-d'ye-call-it of the what-d'ye-call-it--the
envelope of the letter?'
21. falan, falanca, f:la=n, f:la=nca `so and so, such and such'
are adjectives and pronouns. falan tar:hte, falanca geld: `on
such and such a date, so and so came'.
falan and f:la=n also mean `and so on' after nouns, `or there-
abouts' after expressions of time or quantity: cam:ler-: falan
gezd: `he toured the mosques and so on'; temmuzda f:la=n
[MISSING LINE?]
:st:yor `he wants ten liras or so'. They may be used together:
Bedr:, Orhan, Ha=m:t falan f:la=n gel:yorlar `Bedri, Orhan,
Hamit and so on and so forth are coming'. falan festek:z and
falan feSmeka=n are similarly used and convey even less en-
thusiasm at the prospect.
22. :nsan `human being' is used for the indefinite `one': bu
sicaklikta :nsan Cabuk yorulur `in this heat one gets tired
quickly'. See also the use of the impersonal passive in VIII, 54.
23. h:C, in origin the Persian for `nothing', has the same sense in
Turkish: ne yaptin?--h:C `what have you done?'--`nothing'. It
also functions as an adverb reinforcing negatives: h:C konuSmaz
`he doesn't talk at all'. With b:r it is written as one word: h:Cb:r
haber yok `there is no news at all'.
In positive questions it translates `ever', in negative questions
`never'; h:C 0yle Sey olur mu? `does such a thing ever happen?';
h:C Antalya'da bulunmadiniz mi? `have you never been in
Antalya?'
24. k:mse, originally `whoever it is' (k:m-:se, XX, 7), now
means `person, somebody not clearly specified': b:r k:mse s:z:
ariyordu `someone was looking for you'. In conjunction with
a negative it means `no one', like French personne: k:mse aldiriS
etm:yor `no one is paying attention'; k:mse-s:z Cocuklar
`children who are alone in the world' (IV, 7). Its diminutive is
used in the negative sense only: k:msec:k yok `there's no one
at all'; k:msec:kler kalmamiS `there are no people left at all'.
VI. NUMERALS
1. Cardinals:
b:r 1 on:k: 12 kirk 40
:k: 2 onUC 13 ell: 50
UC 3 on d0rt 14 altmiS 60
d0rt 4 on beS 15 yetm:S 70
beS 5 on alti 16 seksen 80
alti 6 on yed: 17 doksan 90
yed: 7 on sek:z 18 yUz 100
sek:z 8 on dokuz 19 b:n 1,000
dokuz 9 y:rm: 20 b:r m:lyon 1,000,000
on 10 y:rm: b:r 21 b:r m:lyar 1,000,000,000
on b:r 11 otuz 30 sifir zero
Numbers are compounded by simple juxtaposition: yUz b:r
`a hundred and one'; UC m:lyon d0rt yUz y:rm: b:n sek:z yUz
doksan alti `three million four hundred and twenty thousand
eight hundred and ninety-six'.
In the numbers from 11 to 19 inclusive (which may be found
written as one word), the accent is on the on. In higher numbers
the last syllable of the unit is accented.
Whereas `one hundred' and `one thousand' are yUz and b:n
respectively, `one million' and `one milliard' (i.e. an American
billion) require b:r.
In writing figures, a full stop (nokta) is used to separate the
thousands; thus beS b:n alti yUz otuz :k: is written 5.632.
On the other hand, a comma (v:rgUl) is used where English uses
a decimal point, so 7.5 (`seven point five') appears as 7,5 (yed:
v:rgUl beS). Less commonly, the thousands are separated by
a comma, and a full stop may be used for the decimal point:
5,632; 7.5.
In vague assessments of number such as `two or three', `five
or six', the `or' is not expressed: :k: UC, beS alti. For `three or
four', idiom mysteriously prefers UC beS to UC d0rt. Cf. the
expressions UC aSaGi beS yukari `a little more or less', literally
`three down five up', and UCe beSe bakmamak `not to haggle
about the price', literally `not to look at three <or> five'.` Care must
be taken not to confuse on beS `fifteen' with beS on `five or ten'.
Care is also necessary with yUz, which besides `hundred' may
mean `cause' or `face': :k: yUz `two hundred'; :k: yUzlU `two-
faced'; :k:yUzlUlUk `hypocrisy'; yUz 0lCUmU `surface-area'; bu
yUzden `for this reason'.
kirk is used for an indefinitely high number: kirkayak `centi-
pede' (`forty-feet'); kirk yilda b:r `once in a blue moon' ('in
forty years').
When case-endings or other suffixes are written after figures,
the rules of consonant-assimilation and vowel-harmony must be
observed: `from 2 to 9', :k:den dokuza, 2 den 9 a; `from 3 to 7',
UCten yed:ye, 3 ten 7 ye; `from 6 to 11', altidan on b:re, 6 dan
11 e. An apostrophe may precede the suffix: 2'den 9'a, etc.
For the use of the singular form of the noun after numerals,
see 11,2.
2. Classifiers. A numeral is rarely used alone, e.g. in answer to
a question; either the noun is repeated or, if the things enumerated
are separate entities and not units of measurement, the word tane
(`seed, grain') is added after the numeral. kaC saat bekl:yor-
sunuz?--:k: saat `how many hours have you been waiting?'--
`two hours'. kaC k:tap aldiniz?--d0rt tane `how many books
have you bought?'--`four'. tane is often inserted between
numeral and noun (unless the latter is a unit of measurement):
beS tane anahtar `five keys'; sek:z tane mend:l `eight handker-
chiefs'. It is also added after kaC, especially without a following
noun: kaC tane :st:yorsunuz? `how many do you want?' If
people are being enumerated, k:S: `person' is similarly used: kaC
k:S: gel:yor kokteyl:n:ze?--kirk alti k:S: `how many are
coming to your cocktail-party?'--`forty-six'.
When enumerating cattle, or vegetables such as onions and
cabbage, baS `head' is interposed after the numeral: ell: baS
siGir `fifty oxen'; yUz baS koyun `a hundred sheep'; :k: baS
la=hana `two cabbages'. Cf. the English `fifty head of cattle', but
note that Turkish uses simple apposition, with no `of'.
el `hand' is similarly used when enumerating shots of a firearm
or deals of cards: b:r el tabanca atti `he fired one pistol-shot';
b:r el poker oyniyalim `let's play a hand of poker'. Other such
classifiers were used in Ottoman: aded `number' as alternative to
tane; kita `piece', of books, documents, ships, and fields; pare
`piece', of artillery, ships, and villages.
3. Fractions. The denominator, in the locative case, precedes the
numerator: UCte b:r (lit. `in-three one') `one-third'; yed:de d0rt
`four-sevenths'- yUzde yi:rm: beS `twenty-five per cent.'; yUzde
yUz `one hundred per cent.' The percentage sign consequently
precedes the number-- %25; %100. The numerator is put in
definite izafet with the whole, of which the fraction is part:
Cocuklarin beSte UCU `three-fifths of the children' (`of-the-
children, in-five their-three'); gel:r-:m-:n yUzde y:rm: beS:
`twenty-five per cent. of my income'. This last example would ap-
pear in figures as gel:r:m:n %25 :. yeku=n yUz 0lCUm-U-nUn
% 18,7 s: (yUzde on sek:z v:rgUl yed:s:) ormanlarla kapli-
dir `of its total surface-area, 18.7 % is covered with forests'.
buCuk means `and a half' and is used only after whole numbers
and, jocularly, after az `little' and yari `half': :k: buCuk l:ra
`two and a half liras'; on yed: buCuk k:lometre `seventeen and
a half kilometres'; az buCuk k:S: `a handful of people'; yari
buCuk ustalik `inadequate craftsmanship'.
yarim is an adjective meaning `a half-': yarim saat `a half-hour';
yarim k:lo domates `half a kilo of tomatoes' (note the apposition).
yari is used:
(a) As a noun: talebeler-:n yari-si kiz `half of the pupils are
girls'; gece-n:n yari-si-ni konuSarak geC:rd:k `we spent half
of the night in talking'; gece yari-si `midnight'; gece-n:n
yari-si-n-da `in the middle of the night'.
(b) As an adjective meaning `mid-, at the half-way mark': yari
gece `midnight'; yari yol-da birakmak `to leave in the lurch'
(lit. `at mid-way').
(c) As an adverb: yari anlamak `to half-understand'; yari
TUrkCe, yari Fransizca konuStuk `we spoke half Turkish,
half French'.
Ceyrek (P) `quarter' is now little used except when telling the
time; see XII, 14.
4. Ordinals. The suffix is -:nc: after consonants, -nc: after
vowels:
b:r:nc: or :lk 1st y:rm:nc: 20th
:k:nc: 2nd y:rm: b:r:nc: 21st
UCUncU 3rd otuzuncu 30th
d0rdUncU 4th kirkinci 40th
beS:nc: 5th ell:nc: 50th
altinci 6th altmiSinci 60th
yed:nc: 7th yetm:S:nc: 70th
sek:z:nc: 8th seksen:nc: 80th
dokuzuncu 9th doksaninci 90th
onuncu 10th yUzUncU 100th
on b:r:nc: 11th b:n:nc: 1,000th
m:lyonuncu millionth
m:lyarinci thousand-millionth
As will be seen from `11th' and `21st', the ordinal suffix is
attached only to the last member in a compound number.
The suffix should be written in full after figures: 1 :nc:, 2 nc:,
3 UncU, etc. Some abbreviate it to c:, cU, etc.
The suffix also appears in: kaCinci `how manyeth?'; sonuncu
`last' (son `end, last'); f:la=ninci `so-manyeth'.
Roman numerals are used to indicate centuries and with names
of sovereigns and formal events such as congresses and exhibitions;
as a rule the ordinal suffix is not then written but a full stop may
follow the numeral: XX or XX. asir `the twentieth (y:rm:nc:)
century'; XXVIII or XXVIII. I+zm:r Enternasyonal Fuari
`Twenty-eighth (y:rm: sek:z:nc:) International Fair of Izmir'.
The Roman numeral may precede or follow a sovereign's name;
`Selim the Third' may be written Sel:m III, III Sel:m, or
III. Sel:m, all three being read as UCUncU Sel:m.
The first six Arabic ordinals are sometimes used with names of
sovereigns in Persian izafet. They are:
evvel 1st rab: 4th
san: 2nd ham:s 5th
sal:s 3rd sad:s 6th
All the as are long. Mehemmed-: san: == :k:nc: Mehmet,
Muhammad II; Sel:m-: sal:s == UCUncU Sel:m, Selim III.
5. Distributives. These answer the question kaCar? `how many
each?' and are formed by adding to the cardinal the suffix -er
after a consonant, -Ser after a vowel:
b:rer one each sek:zer eight each
:k:Ser two each dokuzar nine each
UCer three each onar ten each
d0rder four each on b:rer eleven each
beSer five each y:rm:Ser twenty each
altiSar six each otuzar thirty each
yed:Ser seven each kirkar forty each
etc.
As with the ordinals, the suffix is attached only to the last
element of compounds: y:rm: UCer `23 each'; :k: yUz ell:
dokuzar `259 each'. With whole hundreds and thousands, how-
ever, it is more usual nowadays to attach the distributive suffix
to the number preceding the yUz or b:n: :k:Ser yUz rather than
:k: yUzer for `200 each'; beSer b:n rather than beS b:ner for
`5,000 each'. The two foreign borrowings m:lyon and m:lyar
never take the distributive suffix: b:rer m:lyon l:ra `a million
lira each'; altiSar m:lyar `six thousand million each'.
The distributive of yarim is irregular, taking the post-vocalic
-Sar despite its final consonant: yarimSar `half each'. The
suffix is not attached to buCuk but to the preceding whole number:
y:rm: yed:Ser buCuk `twenty-seven and a half each'. :k: k:S:
b:rer yil altiSar ay hap:s cezasina mahku=m ed:lm:Slerd:r
`two people have each been sentenced to one year and six months'
imprisonment' (`one-each year, six-each months'); in figures,
1 er yil 6 Sar ay.
A frequent idiomatic use of b:rer is seen in: askerler:m:z,
b:rer aslan g:b: dUSmana saldirdi `our soldiers attacked the
enemy like so many lions' (lit. `like one-each lion, each one like
a lion'). Like b:r, b:rer may come between adjective and noun:
muharr:r:n mUSahedeler: bu hususta canli b:rer m:sal
teSk:l etmekted:r `the author's observations constitute so many
vivid examples in this connexion' (lit. `vivid one-each example,
each one a vivid example').
kaCar `how many each?' when repeated means `in lots of how
many?' Thus kaCar k:raz y:yorsunuz `how many cherries each
are you eating?' but k:razlari kaCar kaCar y:yorsunuz? `how
many at a time, at a mouthful, are you eating the cherries?'
Cf. XII, 1.
6. Collectives. The suffix -:z after consonants, -z after vowels,
makes numerals denoting twins, triplets, etc.: :k:-z, UC-Uz,
d0rd-Uz, beS-:z. altiz, yed:z, etc., are theoretically possible but
seem never to be used, for reasons biological rather than gram-
matical. The collectives are mostly used as nouns but they can
qualify a noun, usually in the plural: :k:zler or :k:z Cocuklar
(rarely :k:z Cocuk) `twins'; UCUzler `triplets'; UCUz kizlar
(rarely UCUz kiz) `girl triplets'; d0rdUzler `quadruplets'; d0rdUz
kardeSler `quadruplet brothers'; D:onne beS:zler: `the Dionne
quintuplets'.
The suffix -l: may be added, e.g. beS:zl: Samdan `five-branched
candlestick'.
7. Dice numbers. Two dice are employed in the game of tavla
`backgammon' and the various possible throws are named in
a curious mixture of Turkish and Persian:
1-1 hepyek 3-3 dUse
1-2 :k:b:r or yekdU 3-4 Carise or c:harise
1-3 seyek 3-5 pencUse
1-4 CarUyek or c:hariyek 3-6 SeSUse
1-5 pencUyek 4-4 d0rtCar or d0rtc:har
1-6 SeSyek 4-5 beSd0rt
2-2 dubara 4-6 SeS:Car or SeSc:har
2-3 sebaydU 5-5 dUbeS
2-4 CarUdU or c:haridU 5-6 SeSbeS
2-5 pencUdU 6-6 dUSeS
2-6 SeS:dU
Not all these terms are recorded in the dictionaries and some
other variant spellings may be found.
Playing-card numbers are formed with -l:; the ace is b:rl:, the
deuce :k:l: and so on up to the ten, onlu.
VII. POSTPOSITIONS
1. General observations. The functions of some English pre-
positions are performed in Turkish by the case-suffixes. Those of
the rest are performed by postpositions, which follow the word
they govern. A few of them can appear as suffixes, but the majority
are independent words. Those listed as primary are variously
construed with the absolute, genitive, dative, and ablative cases.
The only more-or-less current postposition governing the accusa-
tive is the obsolescent mUtaakip (A) `following, after': z:yafet-:
mUtaakip `after the banquet'. Those listed as secondary post-
positions (`postpositional expressions' is another possible term)
are nouns in the dative, locative, or ablative case, linked by izafet
to the word they govern. An English analogy would be to call
`in' and `before' primary and `on the inside of' and `in front of'
secondary prepositions.
2. Primary postpositions with absolute case:
Uzere, Uzre on :Cre in
Uzere is mostly used with the infinitive in -mek (X, 2 (d)) but
may occasionally be found with other substantives: yol Uzere
`on the road'; a=det: Uzere `in accordance with his custom'. :Cre
is obsolete except in archaizing poetry: c:han :Cre `in the world'.
3.Primary postpositions with absolute or genitive case:
g:b: like kadar (A) as much as
:le with :C:n for
These take the genitive of the personal pronouns ben, sen,
o, b:z, and s:z, the demonstrative pronouns bu, Su, and o and
the interrogative k:m. All other substantives, including pronouns
pluralized by -ler, appear before these postpositions in the
absolute case. Colloquially, however, even the pronouns listed
above are used in the absolute case before these postpositions.
This is particularly frequent with k:m; instead of k:m:nle,
k:m:n :C:n, and k:m:n g:b: `with whom?', `for whom?', `like
whom?', one hears k:mle, k:m :C:n, and k:m g:b:, the last
being a more respectable solecism than the first two.
(a) g:b: : ben:m g:b: b:r adam `a man like me'; sen:n g:b:
`like you'; b:z:m g:b: or b:zler g:b: `like us'; onlar g:b: `like
them'; bUlbUl g:b: `like a nightingale'. The word may also serve
as a noun: bu g:b:ler `people like these' (lit. `these likes'); it can
also stand in definite izafet with a pronoun--bu-nun g:b:-s: `the
like of this'--or in indefinite izafet with a noun--bu adam
g:b:s: `the like of this man'. A common locution is 0yle g:b:-m-e
gel:yor k: `it seems to me as if ...' (`it so comes to-my-like
that ...')- g:b:-ler-den, in apposition to a preceding word or
clause, means `on the lines of, of the order of': k0ylU, mem-
leket:n efend:s:d:r, g:b:lerden b:r nutuk `a speech on the
lines of ``the peasant is the master of the country'''.
(b) kadar is in origin an Arabic word for `amount', which helps
explain its Turkish use: b:r saat kadar CaliStim `I worked for
about an hour, as much as an hour' (`an hour amount'); y:rm:,
y:rm: beS kadar k:S: `some twenty or twenty-five people'; taS
kadar sert `hard as stone' (`stone amount hard'); o adam kadar
zeng:n `as rich as that man'; f:l kadar :r: `huge as an elephant'.
With the genitive of pronouns: onun kadar zeng:n `as rich as
he'; s:z:n kadar b:r Cocuk `a child as big (or ``old'') as you'.
When it follows the absolute case of bu, Su, or o, these function
not as pronouns but as demonstrative adjectives, and the resulting
bu, Su, or o kadar may be adverbial as well as adjectival: O
kadar gUldUk `we laughed so much'; bu kadar para `this much
money'.
(c) :le has not only the comitative sense of English `with' but
also denotes the instrument: k:m-:n :le g:tt:n:z? `with whom
did you go?', vapur :le g:tt:n:z `you went by boat'; bunu zamk
:le yapiStirdim `I stuck this with glue'. Note also: k:lo :le
satmak `to sell by the kilogramme'; para :le satmak `to sell
for money'. Sometimes it must be translated `because of'.
It may be suffixed; the : is dropped after a consonant and
becomes y after a vowel, the resulting -le or -yle being subject
to vowel harmony: k:m:nle `with whom?'; vapurla `by boat';
gUmrUkCUyle `with the customs-officer'; kariyla `with the
woman'.
After the third-person suffix it appears as an invariable -yle:
kari-si his wife karisiyle with his wife
Cek:C-: his hammer Cek:C:yle with his hammer
g0z-U his eye g0zUyle with his eye
omuz-u his shoulder omuzuyle with his shoulder
Although this rule reflects the normal educated pronunciation,
many people neglect it, writing karisiyla, omuzuyla. Less often,
the vowel of the third-person suffix is combined with the post-
position to make an invariable -(s):yle: karis:yle, g0z:yle,
omuz:yle.
Colloquial alternatives to :le are :len and :nen. Instead of
ben:mle, onunla `with me, with him', one hears benle or
bennen, onla or onnan, in the informal speech even of educated
people.
(d) :C:n (for which the older pronunciation :CUn is not un-
common) translates most senses of English `for': bunu yurd-un
:y:l:G-: :C:n yapti `he did this for the good of the country'; bunu
s:z:n :C:n aldim `I bought this for you'; yolculuk :C:n hazir-
liklar `preparations for the journey'; b0yle b:r ev :C:n bu kadar
para ver:l:r m:? `does one pay so much money for such a house?'
It also renders `about' as in `what do you think about this pro-
posal?' bu tekl:f :C:n ne dUSUnUyorsun? With the infinitive,
rarely with the third-person imperative, it expresses purpose; with
the personal participle, cause (XI, 24).
As an archaism it may be found suffixed, as -C:n or -CUn after
consonants, -yC:n or -yCUn after vowels, the forms in U appearing
when the vowel of the preceding syllable is rounded: sen:n-C:n
`for you'; onun-CUn `for him'; muhabbet:-yC:n `for love of
him'; komSu-yCUn `for the neighbour'.
4. [MISSING: Postpositions with Dative Case?]
g0re, nazaran (A) according to
doGru towards
karSi against
kadar (A),-dek, deG:n as far as
da:r (A) concerning
raGmen (A) in spite of
:nat (A) in despite of
n:speten (A) in proportion to
The equivalents of these words are italicized in the translations
of the examples which follow.
radyo'ya g0re, hava gUzel olacak `according to the radio,
the weather is going to be fine'; bu vaz:yet-e g0re `in view of
this situation'; yen: ev, tam onlar-a g0re `the new house is
just right for them'. In the first two examples, g0re could be
replaced by nazaran. See also the last paragraph on this page,
and note bulunduGuna g0re on p. 165.
k0y-e doGru yUrUdUk `we walked towards the village';
sabah-a doGru uyandim `towards morning I awoke'.
hang: takim-a karSi oyniyacaksiniz? `against which team
are you going to play?'; bu suClama-ya karSi ne s0yleyeb:ld:?
`what could he say in reply to this accusation?'; den:z-e karSi
oturduk `we sat facing the sea'; sabah-a karSi uyandim
`towards morning I awoke'.
k0y-e kadar yUrUdUk `we walked as far as the village';
akSam-a kadar konuStuk `we talked until evening'; 0Gle-ye
kadar gelecek `he will come by noon'; b:r saat-e kadar
gelecek `he will come in an hour'; b:r kaC gUn-e kadar gelecek
`he will come in a few days'. The provincialism -dek or deG:n
is favoured by modernists as a native equivalent of kadar as
a postposition with the dative (but not with the absolute or
genitive as in (3). -dek is usually suffixed but never changes its
vowel: k0yedek, akSamadek. The rarer deG:n is usually
written separately: k0ye deG:n, akSama deG:n.
atom bombasi-n-a da:r b:r konferans `a lecture about the
atom-bomb'. Modernists prefer Uzer:ne (#6) to da:r.
genCl:G-:-n-e raGmen bUyUk b:r sanatka**rdir `in spite of
her youth she is a great artist'. The neologism karSin has been
proposed as an alternative but has not won general acceptance.
baba-si-n-a :nat okula g:tm:yor just to spite his father he
doesn't go to school'.
ben:mk:-n-e n:speten s:z:nk: Cok pahali `in proportion to
mine, compared with mine, yours is very expensive'. The modernist
alternative is g0re. n:speten as an adverb means `relatively'.
A number of adjectives are construed with a dative, e.g. a:t (A)
`belonging (to)', mukab:l (A) `in return (for)', aykiri `contrary
(to)'. They are mentioned here because in some contexts they may
be parsed as postpositions.
5. Primary postpositions with ablative case:
evvel (A), 0nce before
bu yana since
yana on the side of
:Cer: inside
dolayi, 0tUrU because of
baSka besides, apart from
:t:baren (A) with effect from
See also #9, end, and XII, 10.
EXAMPLES: bugUn-den evvel or 0nce `before today'; toplanti-
dan sonra ` after the meeting'. Erzurum'dan sonra yol nasil?
`how is the road beyond Erzurum?'; aGustos-tan ber: or bu
yana `since August'; g0l-den ber: hava gUzel `this side of the
lake the weather is fine'; aydin-in :y:-s: her zaman halk-tan
yana-dir `the best type of intellectual (II, 22 (a)) is always on
the side of the people'; para-dan yana durum k0tU `as regards>
money the position is bad'; dakt:lo-dan yana Cok tal:hl:y:m
`I am very lucky as regards secretarial assistance' (`on-the-side-of
typist'); b:r ant:kaci-dan :Cer: g:rd:k `we went inside an
antique-dealer<'s shop>'; bu-n-dan dolayi g:tmed:k `because of
this we did not go' (the synonymous 0tUrU is far rarer); b:r
dayi-dan baSka h:Cb:r akrabasi yok `he has no relative apart
from an uncle' (two Arabic synonyms are maada and gayr:,
neither very frequent); perSembe-den :t:baren her gUn `every
day, starting from Thursday'.
6. Secondary postpositions: I. The words in the following list
are all nouns and may be used in any case and with any personal
suffix: ara-miz-da `in between us' (`in our interval'); arka-niz-
dan `from behind you' (`from your back'); masa-nin Ust-U-n-U
s:ld: `she wiped the top of the table'. It is only when they are used
in izafet with another noun and in the dative, locative, or ablative
case that they correspond in function to English prepositions and
are called postpositions.
alt underside karSi opposite side
ara interval, space between orta middle
arka, art back 0n front
baS immediate vicinity peS (P) space behind
diS, har:C (A) exterior Ust, Uzer-, fevk (A) top
etraf(A), Cevre surroundings yan side
:C, dah:l (A) interior
To these may be added the adverbs of place listed in XII, 10.
EXAMPLES: topu masa-nin alt-i-n-a atti `he threw the ball
under the table'; ceket-: kol-u-nun alt-i-n-da, parkta gez:-
yordu `his jacket under his arm, he was strolling in the park';
araba-nin alt-i-n-dan Cikti `he emerged from under the car'.
:k: ev-:n ara-si-n-a g:rd: `he entered between the two
houses'; :k: ev:n arasinda bekled: `he waited between the two
houses'; :k: ev:n arasindan Cikti `he emerged from between the
two houses'.
In such phrases as `between A and B', `and' is translated by the
postposition :le : DoGu :le (or DoGuyla) Bati arasinda `be-
tween East and West'; daG :le (daGla) irmaGin arasinda
`between the mountain and the river'. Note that in the first
example, where `East' and `West' are broad general terms, the
izafet is indefinite, while in the second, where a specific river
is intended, the izafet is definite, with irmak `river' in the
genitive.
kapi-nin arka-si-n-a (or ard-i-n-a) saklandi `he hid behind
the door' (dative of end of motion); kapinin arkasinda (ardinda)
durdu `he stood behind the door' (lit., as in American English,
`in back of the door'); kapinin arkasindan (ardindan) Cikti
`he emerged from behind the door'.
masa-si-nin baS-i-n-a oturduk `we sat down at (``to-the-
immediate-vicinity-of'') his table'; s:la=h baSina! `to arms !';
vaz:fe baSinda `on duty'; m:krofon baSinda Sarki s0ylemek
`to sing songs at the microphone'.
baS may be defined by alt as in dam-in altbaSinda `im-
mediately under (`'in-the-underside-vicinity-of'') the roof'. Note
also omuz baS-im-da duruyor `he is standing at my shoulder',
lit. `in-my-shoulder-vicinity', omuz baSim being an izafet group
with the first-person suffix replacing the third; see II, 24.
v:la=yet-:n sinirlar-i diS-i-n-a (or, less commonly, har:c-
:-n-e) Cikmadi `he did not go outside (``to-the-outside-of'') the
boundaries of the province'; surlar-in diSinda (har:c:nde'
oturuyorlar `they are living outside the city-walls'; b:na-nin
diSindan (har:c:nden) b:r ses geld: `a voice came from outside
the building'.
The next two examples well illustrate the difference between
the definite and indefinite izafets:
okul-un diSinda b:r taks: bulunmaktadir `there is a taxi
outside the school'; b:r m:lyon Cocuk okul diSinda bulunmak-
tadir `a million children are outside school' (i.e. not attending any
school).
etraf is far commoner than its modern replacement Cevre:
Sehr-:n etrafinda (Cevres:nde) Cok baG var `there are many
orchards round the city'.
dah:l, on the other hand, is fast going out of use. den:z-:n
:C-:-n-e (dah:l-:-n-e) `into the sea'; aca:p b:r kariSiklik :C:nde
(dah:l:nde) `in a strange confusion'; kUCUk kahve-n:n :C:nden
(dah:l:nden) `from inside the small cafe'.
We have already met karSi as a primary postposition. As a noun
it means `opposite side', so in izafet as a secondary postposition
it means `to/on/from the opposite side of', according to case. It
is particularly common in the locative in the sense of `vis-a-vis,
facing, confronted with': :nsan iztirab-i karSi-si-n-da aydin
ne d:yor? `confronted with human affliction, what does the
intellectual say?'
kalabaliG-in orta-si-n-a `to the middle of the crowd';
kalabaliGin ortasinda `in the middle of the crowd'; kalabali-
Gin ortasindan `from or through the middle of the crowd'.
sahne-n:n 0n-U-n-e `to the front of the stage'; sahnen:n
0nUnde `in front of or at the front of the stage'; sahnen:n
0nUnden `from or through the front of the stage'.
kilavuz-un peS-:-n-e dUStUk `we began to follow (``we-fell
to-the-rear-of'') the guide'.
`To run after' is peS:nde or peS:nden koSmak.
The hyphen after Uzer in the list above is to indicate that this
word, alone among nouns, is never found without a personal
suffix. dUSman-in Ust-U-n-e or Uzer-:-n-e yUrUdUler `they
marched onto the enemy'; yayla-nin UstUnden or Uzer:nden
:nd:ler `they came down from-on-top-of the plateau'.
uzer:ne and UstUne are commoner than Uzer:nde and
UstUnde for `on' meaning `on the subject of': tarih Uzer:ne or
UstUne araStirmalari `his researches on history'. They are also
used for `on top of' in the sense of `in addition to': b:ra Uzer:ne
or UstUne Sarap :Cme `don't drink wine on top of beer'. See also
akSamUstU, etc., XII, 13 (a).
fevk is little used nowadays: kale-n:n fevkinda (I, 35,
penultimate paragraph) b:r bayrak var `there is a flag over the
citadel'.
pencere-m-:n yan-i-n-a geld: `he came beside my window';
pencerem:n yaninda b:r aGaC var `there is a tree beside my
window'; pencerem:n yanindan ayrildi `he departed from-
beside my window'.
yan may be qualified by Ust: kutu-nun Ustyaninda `on the
top-side of the box'. It is also compounded with baS: :stasyon-
un yanibaSinda `just beside the station'. The first i in this word,
though originally the third-person suffix, is invariable: yani-
baSimda `just beside me'.
art, arka, 0n, peS, and yan with a personal suffix but no case-
ending are compounded with sira `row' to make postpositions,
the sira conveying the sense of close proximity: kardeS-:-n:n
ard-i sira yUrUdU `he walked just-behind his brother'; kla=s:k
dersler-:n yan-i sira, marangozluk dersler: ver:l:r `side by
side with the classical lessons, carpentry lessons are given'; 0n-Um
sira yUrUdU `he walked just-in-front-of-me'. With kiyi `shore'
is made the adverb kiyisira `along the shore'.
The nouns discussed above are also used as adjectives: alt
dudak `bottom lip'; ara kapi `communicating door'; arka
bahCe `back garden'; diS t:caret `external trade'; :C t:caret
`internal trade'. In the official terms for External and Internal
Affairs, however, diS and :C are nouns: diS :Sler-:, :C :Sler-:.
7. Secondary postpositions: II. The nouns in the first column
below (which, as nouns, mean respectively `truth', `side', `cause
(or face)', `regard', `name') are also used to make postpositions, but
differ from the previous group in that in the meanings shown they
are used only in the case shown, though they may change for
person. That is to say, whereas, for example, `under' may be
altina, altinda, or altindan according to context,`concerning'
can only be hakkinda in the locative, while `concerning me' is
hakkimda and `concerning you' hakkinizda, again in the
locative.
hak (A) hakkinda concerning
taraf (A) tarafindan by, through the agency of
yUz yUzUnden because of
bakim bakimindan from the point of view of
nam (P) namina in the way of
These are used in indefinite izafet only; i.e. the noun they
follow is never in the genitive. Any exceptions to this rule are
apparent only, as the examples will show.
:nkila=p hakkinda b:r nutuk s0yled: `he gave a speech about
the revolution'; kardeS-: tarafindan uzaklaStirildi `he was
sent away by his brother'; o adam yUzUnden kan akacak
`because of that man, blood will flow'; protokol bakimindan
haklidir `from the point of view of protocol, he is right'; para
namina b:r Sey:m yok `I have nothing in the way of money,
nothing you could call money'. If we now make the izafet definite
in each example, i.e. if we put the first noun of each into the
genitive--:nkila=bin, kardeS:n:n, o adamin, protokolun,
paranin--then hakkinda, tarafindan, yUzUnden, bakim-
indan, and namina will revert to their literal meanings: `in the
truth of the revolution'; `he was sent away from his brother's
side'; `blood will flow from that man's face'; `he is right from
protocol's regard'; `I have nothing for money's name', the first
and the last two being as meaningless in Turkish as in English.
bakimindan has almost entirely supplanted nokta-: nazarin-
dan (II, 26).
The rule that these postpositions are used only in indefinite
izafet is not broken by, for example, o-nun hakkinda `con-
cerning him' any more than it is by ben:m hakkimda `concern-
ing me'; the pronoun in the genitive is not in izafet with the
following hakk- but merely reinforces its personal suffix.
husus (A) `particular'--bu hususta :t:razim yok `I have no
objection in this particular, in this regard'--is used as a post-
positional expression especially with the infinitive of the verb:
oraya g:tmek hususunda :t:razim yok `I have no objection
in-the-matter-of going there'.
8.Secondary postpositions: III. The nouns in the next list are
also used only in the case shown (for the ending of boyunca see
XII, 2) but differ from those in the previous section in that they
can be used in definite izafet. In fact, however, they are mostly
found in indefinite izafet, even when they follow a defined noun.
boy length boyunca along
esna (A) duration esnasinda in the course of
zarf (A) container zarfinda during
saye (P) shadow sayes:nde thanks to
uGur luck uGruna, for the sake of
uGrunda
yer place yer:ne instead of
zarfinda and esnasinda seem hardly ever to be used in
definite izafet, but one hesitates to say they are never so used.
EXAMPLES: Kizil Irmak (IrmaGin) boyunca `along the Red
River'- TUrk tar:h-: (tar:h-:-n:n) boyunca `throughout
Turkish history'; muharebe esnasinda `in the course of the
battle'; muharebe zarfinda `during the battle'; Ahmet
(Ahmed'in) sayes:nde her Sey :y: oldu `thanks to Ahmet,
everything has become all right'; Cocuk, akl-i (akl-i-nin)
sayes:nde kurtuldu `the child was saved, thanks to his intelli-
gence'; vatan-i (vatan-i-nin) uGruna/uGrunda can verd: `he
gave his life for his country's sake'; as:stan, profes0r-U (pro-
fes0r-U-nUn) yer:ne derse g:tt: `the assistant went to the class
instead of his professor'; ben: eSek yer:ne alma `don't take me
for a donkey'.
esna is also used in the locative, defined by a demonstrative:
bu esnada `during this time'.
9. leh, aleyh. The Arabic la-h' `for him' and `alay-h' `against
him' make Turkish secondary postpositions in the locative: leh-
:-n-de `for, pro' and aleyh-:-n-de `against, contra'; tekl:f-:n
leh:nde/aleyh:nde konuStu `he spoke for/against the motion'.
Although the final h is originally the Arabic third-singular mas-
culine pronoun, these words can be used with the suffixes of any
of the three persons: leh-:m:z-de konuStu `he spoke for us';
aleyh-:n:z-de konuStu `he spoke against you'.
They may also be used in the locative without personal suffixes
as primary postpositions following an ablative: tekl:f-ten lehte
m:s:n:z, aleyhte m:s:n:z? `are you for or against the motion?'
10. The preposition :la=. This, the Arabic ila** `to, towards', is the
only preposition used in Turkish as an independent word, as
distinct from, for example, the Arabic bi in b:lhassa `in par-
ticular' or the Italian a in alafranga `alla franca, in European
style'.
It is employed between numbers: on beS :la= y:rm: k:S:
`fifteen to twenty people', written in figures 15-20. Modernists
avoid the word and would read these figures as on beSten y:r-
m:ye kadar `from 15 to 20' or on beS :le y:rm: arasinda
`between 15 and 20'. Because of the resemblance between :la= and
:le, the semiliterate trying to show off produces a horrid synthesis:
on beS :la= y:rm: arasinda. Another example of the correct use:
taSlar, yarim :la= b:r metre kalinliGinda toprakla 0rtUlUr
`the stones are covered with earth to (lit. `in') a depth of a half
to one metre'.
VIII. THE VERB
1. The stem. The form of the verb which is cited in the dictionaries
is the infinitive in -mek, e.g. b:lmek `to know', bulmak `to
find', g0rmek `to see', anlamak `to understand'. When one is
describing the conjugation of the verb it is more convenient to omit
this ending and cite only the stem: b:l-, bul-, g0r-, anla-.
2. The verb `to be'. We shall first deal with those parts of the
anomalous and defective verb `to be' which are used as auxiliaries
in the conjugation of all verbs. In the oldest texts the infinitive
`to be' was ermek, but the stem er-, abraded in the course of
time, now appears as :-. Some grammarians consequently speak
of `the verb :mek', but no such form ever existed.
3. The present tense of `to be'. The forms of the present tense of
`to be' exist only as enclitic suffixes, subject to the fourfold
harmony. In origin they are suffixed personal pronouns, with
the exception of the third person -d:r, originally turur `he
stands'. -d:r is placed in parentheses in the following table as
a reminder that in Turkish (as in Arabic and Russian), simple
`A is B' equivalences are expressed without a copula. See #4.
When a suffix beginning with a vowel follows a vowel, a y is
inserted to preserve the identity of both.
Present: `I am', etc.
Singular
1 -:m -Um -im -um
2 -s:n -sUn -sin -sun
3 (-d:r/t:r) (-dUr/tUr) (-dir/tir) (-dur/tur)
Plural
1 -:z -Uz -iz -uz
2 -s:n:z -sUnUz -siniz -sunuz
3 -(d:r/t:r)ler -(dUr/tUr)ler -(dir/tir)lar -(dur/tur)lar
4. Uses of -d:r. In writing and in formal speech -d:r expresses
the copula: kizin adi, Fatma'dir `the girl's name is Fatima';
enerj: kaynaklarimiz bol-dur `our sources of power are
abundant'. It will be noticed that the verb in the latter example
is singular; this is customary with inanimate plural subjects and
possible with animate plural subjects. See further XVI, 1.
In ordinary speech -d:r is not used in such simple `A==B'
sentences; one says kizin adi Fatma; enerj: kaynaklarimiz
bol. -d:r is generally used as a copula in speech as well as in
writing:
(a) When the predicate is a noun in such a sentence as: en Cok
sevd:G:m Sa:r Ned:m'd:r `my favourite poet is Nedim', where
the omission of -d:r might lead to misunderstanding: `my
favourite poet, Nedim, ...'.
(b) When the subject is a pronoun understood from the con-
text: yaman b:r adam-dir `he is a remarkable man'. There is
an alternative, in the colloquial, of using the third-person pronoun
instead of -d:r : o, yaman b:r adam or yaman b:r adam, o.
(c) When the subject is a noun which follows the predicate:
yaman b:r adamdir, amcaniz `he is a remarkable man, your
uncle'.
(d) When the subject is a phrase containing a postposition and
the predicate is a noun-clause introduced by k: (XIII, l5): onun
sayes:nde-d:r k: muvaffak olduk `it is thanks to him that we
have succeeded'; bundan dolayi-dir k: g:tmed:m `it is because
of this that I did not go'. In terms of the equivalent English, one
could include these two examples under (b) above. This is the
only one of the four situations in which the -d:r is never omitted.
Otherwise, the use of -d:r in informal speech is either for
emphasis or, more often, to indicate a supposition. Whereas the
written words ves:ka kasa-da-dir mean `the document is in the
safe', the same words in informal speech mean `the document
is surely in the safe, must be in the safe', or, less commonly,
a confident `the document is in the safe'; only the tone of voice
shows which of the two is intended. If the speaker is stating a
simple fact, which he does not think it necessary to emphasize,
he will say ves:ka kasada.
The following are possible answers to the spoken question
Cocuklar nerede? `where are the children?'
bahCede in the garden
bahCedeler they are in the garden
bahCeded:rler they are in the garden (emphatic) or they are
surely in the garden (supposition)
bahCedelerd:r they are surely in the garden (supposition)
One manifestation of the rapid closing of the gap between the
written and spoken languages is that -d:r is more and more
omitted in writing when it merely expresses the copula.
For -d:r suffixed to finite verbs see #42.
5. Examples of the present tense of `to be'.
`I am, etc., at home'
Singular Plural
1 evde-y-:m evde-y-:z
2 evde-s:n evde-s:n:z
3 evde(-d:r) evde(-d:r)-ler
`I am, etc., Turkish'
Singular Plural
1 TUrk-Um TUrk-Uz
2 TUrk-sUn TUrk-sUnUz
3 TUrk(-tUr) TUrk(-tUr)-ler
`I am, etc., ready
Singular Plural
1 hazir-im hazir-iz
2 hazir-sin hazir-siniz
3 hazir(-dir) hazir(-dir)-lar
`I am, etc., responsible'
Singular Plural
1 sorumlu-y-um sorumlu-y-uz
2 sorumlu-sun sorumlu-sunuz
3 sorumlu(-dur) sorumlu(-dur)-lar
6. Forms based on :-. The finite forms of `to be' based on :-,
namely the past, the conditional, and the inferential, all exist
both as independent words and as suffixes. When suffixed, the
: of the stem is lost after consonants and changes to y after vowels,
while the remainder of the form is subject both to the fourfold
vowel harmony and the alternation d/t.
7. The past tense of `to be'. The base, i.e. the third singular, is
:d: and the other persons are formed by adding to it -m for the
first and -n for the second singular, and -k for the first, -n:z for
the second, and -ler for the third plural. `I was', etc.
Suffixed after vowels
Singular
1 :d:m -yd:m -ydUm -ydim -ydum
2 :d:n -yd:n -ydUn -ydin -ydun
3 :d: -yd: -ydU -ydi -ydu
Plural
1 :d:k -yd:k -ydUk -ydik -yduk
2 :d:n:z -yd:n:z -ydUnUz -ydiniz -ydunuz
3 :d:ler -yd:ler -ydUler -ydilar -ydular
Suffixed after consonants
Singular
1 -d:m/tim/dUm/tUm/dim/tim/dum/tum
2 -d:n/t:n/dUn/tUn/din/tin/dun/tun
3 -d:/t:/dU/tU/di/ti/du/tu
Plural
1 -d:k/t:k/dUk/tUk/dik/tik/duk/tuk
2 -d:n:z/t:n:z/dUnUz/tUnUz/diniz/tiniz/dunuz/tunuz
3 -d:ler/t:ler/dUler/tUler/dilar/tilar/dular/tular
EXAMPLES: evde :d:m or evdeyd:m `I was at home'; TUrk :d:
or TUrktU `he was Turkish'; hazir :d:k or hazirdik `we were
ready'; sorumlu :d:n:z or sorumluydunuz `you were responsible.
8. The present conditional of `to be': `if I am', etc. The base is :se
and the personal endings are the same as those of the past.
Suffixed
Singular After vowels After consonants
1 :sem -ysem -ysam -sem -sam
2 :sen -ysen -ysan -sen -san
3 :se -yse -ysa -se -sa
Plural
1 :sek -ysek -ysak -sek -sak
2 :sen:z -ysen:z -ysaniz -sen:z -saniz
3 :seler -yseler -ysalar -seler -salar
EXAMPLES: evde :sem or evdeysem `if I am at home'; TUrk
:se or TUrkse `if he is Turkish'; hazir :sek or hazirsak `if
we are ready'; sorumlu :sen:z or sorumluysaniz `if you are
responsible'.
9. The past conditional of `to be': `if I was', etc. This expresses
open past condition as in: `if I was right, why did you not agree
with me?' For the remote or unfulfilled condition, as in `if I had
been right,would you have agreed with me?', see #34. The various
persons of the present conditional are added to the past base:
id:-:sem > :d:ysem or, when suffixed, -yd:ysem. Alterna-
tively, the suffixed third singular of the present conditional is
added to the various persons of the past: :d:m-se. The latter
alternative is, however, provincial and colloquial, so much so that
in writing it occurs only in the suffixed forms -d:mse or -yd:mse,
etc.; the theoretically possible independent forms :d:mse, etc,,
seem never to be used.
Comparison with #7 will show that the following paradigm
has been simplified to the extent of three-quarters of its full size
by the omission of the suffixed forms (a) beginning with t, as
used after unvoiced consonants, and (b) with the rounded vowels
U and u.
Suffixed
Singular After vowels After consonants
1 :d:ysem -yd:ysem -ydiysam -d:ysem -diysam
2 :d:ysen -yd:ysen -ydiysan -d:ysen -diysan
3 :d:yse -yd:yse -ydiysa -d:yse -diysa
Plural After vowels After consonants
1 :d:ysek -yd:ysek -ydiysak -d:ysek -diysak
2 :d:ysen:z -yd:ysen:z -ydisaniz -d:ysen:z -diysaniz
3 :d:yseler -yd:yseler -ydiysalar -d:yseler -diysalar
Suffixed
Singular After vowels After consonants
1 -yd:mse -ydimsa -d:mse -dimsa
2 -yd:nse -ydinsa -d:nse -dinsa
Plural
1 -yd:kse -ydiksa -d:kse -diksa
2 -yd:n:zse -ydinizsa -d:n:zse -dinizsa
3 -yd:yseler -ydiysalar -d:yseler -diysalar
EXAMPLES: evde :d:ysem, evdeyd:ysem, or evdeyd:mse `if
I was at home'; TUrk :d:yse or TUrktUyse `if he was Turkish';
hazir :d:ysek, hazirdiysak or hazirdiksa `if we were ready';
sorumlu :d:ysen:z, sorumluyduysaniz or sorumluydunuzsa
`if you were responsible'.
10. The inferential. The inferential present/past :m:S means `he
is/was said to be' or `I infer that he is/was although I had not
realized it before'. Though some grammarians have termed it the
dubitative, in itself it does not imply doubt or uncertainty; e.g.
a sentence beginning Orhan hasta :m:S `Orhan is said to be
ill' may continue `and we ought to visit the poor man' or `but
I bet he's malingering'. Similarly, a speaker who says ben ger:c:
:m:S:m `I am said to be reactionary' may go on `and it's true and
I'm proud of it' or `but this is a wicked slander'.
It is formed by adding to the base :m:S, or the suffixed -ym:S
or -m:S, etc., the present suffixes of the verb `to be', with the
exception of -d:r.
Singular Suffixed after vowels
1 :m:S:m -ym:S:m -ymUSUm -ymiSim -ymuSum
2 :m:Ss:n -ym:Ss:n -ymUSsUn -ymiSsin -ymuSsun
3 :m:S -ym:S -ymUS -ymiS -ymuS
Plural Suffixed after vowels
1 :m:S:z -ym:S:z -ymUSUz -ymiSiz -ymuSuz
2 :m:Ss:n:z -ym:Ss:n:z -ymUSsUnUz -ymiSsiniz -ymuSsunuz
3 :m:Sler -ym:Sler -ymUSler -ymiSlar -ymuSlar
Suffixed after consonants
-m:S:m -mUSUm -miSim -muSum
etc.
The Ss of the second person is sometimes simplified in pro-
nunciation, rarely in writing, to S: :m:S:n, :m:S:n:z.
EXAMPLES: evde :m:S:m or evdeym:S:m `I am said to be at
home'; TUrk im:S or TUrkmUS `he is said to be Turkish';
hazir im:S:z or hazirmiSiz `we are said to be ready'; sorumlu
:m:Ss:n:z or sorumluymuSsunuz `you are said to be respon-
sible'; k:md:r? `who is he?'; k:mm:S? `who is he supposed
to be?'; gUnahimiz ne :m:S? `what is our sin said to be?' i.e.
`what are we reported to have done that has offended you?' If told
`the new Minister is a good man', yen: Bakan :y: b:r adam, one
may reply :m:S or -miS, meaning `so we are told, but I have no
first-hand knowledge of him'. ben m:Slere muSlara pek kulak
vermem `I don't pay much heed to gossip' (lit. `I do not much
give ear to m:Ses and muSes').
11. The inferential conditional: `I gather that if I am/was' or `if
I am/was, as they say', etc. The present conditional endings are
suffixed to :m:S or its suffixed forms.
Singular Suffixed after vowels
1 :m:Ssem -ym:Ssem -ymUSsem -ymiSsam -ymuSsam
2 :m:Ssen -ym:Ssen -ymUSsen -ymiSsan -ymuSsan
3 :m:Sse -ym:Sse -ymUSse -ymiSsa -ymuSsa
Plural
1 :m:Ssek -ym:Ssek -ymUSsek -ymiSsak -ymuSsak
2 :m:Ssen:z -ym:Ssen:z -ymUSsen:z -ymiSsaniz -ymuSsaniz
3 :m:Sseler -ym:Sseler -ymUSseler -ymiSsalar -ymuSsalar
Suffixed after comonants
-m:Ssem -mUSsem -miSsam -muSsam
etc.
These forms, which are used in reported speech, are not often
met with in writing. If someone says to you hazirsaniz yola
Cikmalisiniz (#30) `if you are ready you ought to start off', you
may report these words thus: ben hazir :m:Ssem (or hazir-
miSsam) yola CikmaliymiSim `they are saying that if I am
ready I ought to start off'.
12. The negative of `to be'. This is made by putting after deG:l
`not' the suffixed forms, less commonly the independent forms,
given above.
(a) Present: `I am not', etc.
Singular Plural
1 deG:l:m deG:l:z
2 deG:ls:n deG:ls:n:z
3 deG:l(d:r) deG:l(d:r)ler
(b) Past: `I was not', etc.
Singular
1 deG:ld:m or deG:l :d:m
2 deG:ld:n deG:l :d:n
3 deG:ld: deG:l :d:
Plural
1 deG:ld:k deG:l :d:k
2 deG:ld:n:z deG:l :d:n:z
3 deG:ld:ler deG:l :d:ler
(c) Present conditional: `if I am not', etc.
Singular
1 deG:lsem or deG:l :sem
2 deG:lsen deG:l :sen
3 deG:lse deG:l :se
Plural
1 deG:lsek deG:l :sek
2 deG:lsen:z deG:l :sen:z
3 deG:lseler deG:l :seler
(deG:llerse)
(d) Past conditional: `if I was not', etc.
Singular
1 deG:l :d:ysem or deG:ld:ysem or deG:ld:mse
2 deG:l :d:ysen deG:ld:ysen deG:ld:nse
3 deG:l :d:yse deG:ld:yse deG:ld:yse
Plural
1 deG:l :d:ysek deG:ld:ysek deG:ld:kse
2 deG:l :d:ysen:z deG:ld:ysen:z deG:ld:n:zse
3 deG:l :d:yseler deG:ld:yseler deG:ld:lerse
(e) Inferential: `I am/was said not to be', `I infer that I am/was
not', etc.
Singular
1 deG:l :m:S:m or deG:lm:S:m
2 deG:l :m:Ss:n deG:lm:Ss:n
3 deG:l :m:S deG:lm:S
Plural
1 deG:l :m:S:z deG:lm:S:z
2 deG:l :m:Ss:n:z deG:lm:Ss:n:z
3 deG:l :m:Sler deG:lm:Sler
(f) Inferential conditional: `I gather that if I am not', `if I am
not, as they say', etc.
Singular
1 deG:l :m:Ssem or deG:lm:Ssem
2 deG:l :m:Ssen deG:lm:Ssen
3 deG:l :m:Sse deG:lm:Sse
Plural
1 deG:l :m:Ssek deG:lm:Ssek
2 deG:l :m:Ssen:z deG:lm:Ssen:z
3 deG:l :m:Sseler deG:lm:Sseler
deG:l alone means `not' as well as `is not', usually following the
word it negates: bugUn deG:l, dUn geldi `he came yesterday, not
today' (`this-day not, yesterday he-came'). When it precedes one of
two parallel words, it indicates that that one is of less importance
than the other: deG:l sen, ben de b:lmed:m `never mind about
you, even I did not know'; deG:l parasini, hayatini kurtara-
madi `never mind about his money, he couldn't save his life'.
If the positions of deG:l and parasini were reversed, the meaning
would be `it wasn't his money, it was his life that he could not
save'. h:zmetC:y: deG:l, ben: koGdu `it wasn't the servant, it
was me he threw out'; deG:l h:zmetC:y:, ben: b:le koGdu
`never mind about the servant, he even threw me out'. The sense
of `never mind about' is occasionally expressed by a following
deG:l; see XXIV, 32.
13. Interrogative. The interrogative particle is m:, which turns
the immediately preceding word into a question. It is written
separately from the preceding word, but takes its vowel harmony
from it: doGru `true', doGru mu? `true?'; bugUn mU? `today?';
yarin mi? `tomorrow?' It may even follow and turn into a ques-
tion a word which is already interrogative; thus the reply to k:m
geld:? `who came?' may be k:m m:? `do you ask ``who?''?'
(literally ```who?''?'). The forms of the verb `to be' are appended
or suffixed to it, but when -ler alone and not -d:rler is used for
the third plural of the present tense the -ler precedes m:.
(a) Present: `am I, etc., at home/Turkish/ready/responsible?'
Singular
1 evde m:y:m TUrk mUyUm hazir miyim sorumlu muyum
2 ,, m:s:n ,, mUsUn ,, misin ,, musun
3 ,, m:(d:r) ,, mU(dUr) ,, mi(dir) ,, mu(dur)
Plural
1 ,, m:y:z ,, mUyUz ,, miyiz ,, muyuz
2 ,, m:s:n:z ,, mUsUnUz ,, misiniz ,, musunuz
evdeler m: TUrkler m: haziriar mi sorumlular mi
3 evde TUrk hazir sorumlu
m:d:rler mUdUrler midirlar mudurlar
(b) Past: `was I at home, etc.?'
evde m: :d:m or evde m:yd:m
TUrk mU :d:m TUrk mUydUm
hazir mi :d:m hazir miydim
sorumlu mu :d:m sorumlu muydum
For the remaining persons see the conjugation of :d:m and its
forms when suffixed after vowels, in #7.
(c) Inferential: `am I said to be at home, etc.?'
evde m: :m:S:m or evde m:ym:S:m
TUrk mU :m:S:m TUrk mUymUSUm
hazir mi :m:S:m hazir miymiSim
sorumlu mu :m:S:m sorumlu muymuSum
For the remaining persons see #10.
Some grammarians complete the paradigm by setting out the
interrogative of the conditional; present, past, and inferential:
:sem m:, :d:ysem m:, :m:Ssem m:. This is unnecessary if it
be borne in mind that m: functions simply as a question-mark.
The `interrogative of the conditional' of the verb `to be' occurs
only in such contexts as when someone is asked a question like
`what shall we do if he is not at home?' evde deG:lse ne yapa-
lim? and replies `if he is not at home?' evde deG:lse m:?
See also #34 (e).
14. Negative-interrogative. m: and the appropriate part of the
verb `to be' are placed after deG:l :
evde deG:l m:y:m `am I not at home?'
evde deG:l m: :d:m or evde deG:l m:yd:m `was I not at home?'
evde deG:l m: :m:S:m or evde deG:l m:ym:S:m `am I not
said to be/am I said not to be at home?'
15. The regular verb. This category includes all verbs other than
the verb `to be'. If we look back over the preceding pages we see
that the conjugation of the verb `to be' may be summarized as
follows: there are two distinct sets of personal endings, which we
may call Types I and II.
Type I Type II
Singular
1 -:m -m
2 -s:n -n
3 -(-d:r) --
Type I Type II
Plural
1 -:z -k
2 -s:n:z -n:z
3 -(d:r)ler -ler
Type I is the present tense, `I am', etc.; Type II is added to the
base of the past tense :d: and of the conditional :se. The Type I
endings are suffixed to :m:S to make the inferential: :m:S-:m,
:m:S-s:n, etc. The conditional, i.e. :se plus the Type II endings,
is added to the past base :d: to make the past conditional: :d:-
yse-m, :d:-yse-n, etc. Added to the inferential base it makes the
inferential conditional: :m:S-se-m, :m:S-se-n, etc. The same
principle applies to the conjugation of the regular verb, but two
other sets of personal endings are used in addition to Types I and
II. Type III is confined to the subjunctive and Type IV to the
imperative, which has no first person.
Type III Type IV
Singular
1 -ey:m
2 -es:n --
3 -e -s:n
Plural
1 -el:m
2 -esiniz -in, -iniz
3 -eler -s:nler
By the addition of `characteristics' to the verb-stem the follow-
ing tense- and mood-bases can be formed:
1. present 5. necessitative
2. future 6. d: -past
3. aorist 7 conditional
4. m:S-past 8. subjunctive
The imperative is not included in this list because it has no
characteristic. The term `tense- and mood-bases' is used in pre-
ference to `tenses and moods' because from each base a variety
of compound tenses and moods can be formed. Each base is also
the third-person singular of its tense or mood. Only the d:-past,
conditional, subjunctive, and imperative have endings of their
own; all the other bases are substantival in origin and are verbalized
by means of the verb `to be'. For this reason the device of sus-
pended affixation is regularly used in the verb: just as, in English,
there is no need to repeat the part of the verb `to be' in 'I was
sitting in my room <and I was> reading the paper', so in Turkish:
odamda oturuyor<-dum ve> gazetey: okuyor-dum.
The regularity of the verbal system will soon impress itself on
the student. Where it has been thought unnecessary to set out
a conjugation in full, the first and second persons of the singular
and the third person of the plural have been given, as, in this last,
alternative forms can occur, with the plural suffix preceding or
following the personal suffix. The less common forms of the plural
are shown in brackets. When alternative forms exist for a whole
conjugation, the most usual is given first. A synopsis of the finite
verb will be found on page 136.
The occasional change of t to d before vowels must be borne in
mind; thus the present base of et- `to do' is ed:yor, of g:t- `to
go' g:d:yor, of tat- `to taste' tadiyor. Most stems in t, however,
do not undergo this change: at- `to throw', atiyor ; tut- `to hold',
tutuyor ; yat- `to lie down', yatiyor.
16. Present I. The characteristic of the base is an invariable
-yor, originally an independent verb yorir, the aorist of the
ancient yorimak `to go, walk'. It is suffixed directly to vowel-
stems:
er:- to melt, er:yor bUyU- to grow, bUyUyor
tani- to recognize, taniyor koru- to protect, koruyor
Final e/a of the stem changes before this suffix in accordance
with the rule given in I, 36:
bekle- to wait, bekl:yor g0zle- to observe, g0zlUyor
anla- to understand, anliyor topla- to collect, topluyor
The original final vowel of the stems b:le- `to sharpen' and yika-
`to wash' is sometimes preserved in writing--b:leyor, yikayor--
in order to avoid confusion with the present of b:l- `to know'
and yik- `to demolish': b:l:yor, yikiyor.
With consonant-stems, the appropriate closed vowel is inserted
before -yor :
gel- to come, gel:yor g0r- to see, g0rUyor
al- to take, aliyor koS- to run, koSuyor
The accent is on the vowel preceding the -yor.
17. Uses of the present. This tense is used for actions either in
progress or envisaged: Antalya'da CaliSiyor `he is working in
Antalya'; kend:s:n: haftada :k: defa g0rUyorum `I see him
twice a week'; yarin g:d:yoruz `we are going tomorrow'. As it
can denote actions begun in the past and still going on, it is used
in such sentences as :k: sene-d:r bu evde oturuyor lit. `it is
two years he is living in this house' and burada haz:ran ayindan
ber: oturuyor lit. `he is living here since the month of June',
where English has the perfect `he has been living'. See also #25.
18. Paradigms of the present. To the base in -yor are added the
suffixes of the verb `to be' except -d:r; both in the written and in
the spoken language the addition of -d:r to the present tense
indicates a supposition; see #42.
(a) Present simple:
aliyorum I am taking aliyoruz we are taking
aliyorsun you are taking aliyorsunuz you are taking
aliyor he is taking aliyorlar they are taking
(b) Present past:
aliyordum I was taking aliyorduk we were taking
al:yordun you were taking aliyordunuz you were taking
aliyordu he was taking aliyorlardi they were taking
(aliyordular)
Theoretically the separate forms aliyor :d:m, etc., might be
expected but their use is in fact an Armenianism.
(c) Present conditional:
aliyorsam if I am taking aliyorsak if we are taking
aliyorsan if you are taking aliyorsaniz if you are taking
aliyorsa if he is taking aliyorlarsa if they are taking
(aliyorsalar)
(d) Past conditional: `if I was taking':
Singular
1 aliyor :d:ysem or aliyorduysam or aliyordumsa
2 aliyor :d:ysen aliyorduysan aliyordunsa
Plural
3 aliyor :d:yseler aliyorduysalar aliyorlardiysa
(aliyorlar :d:yse)
For the full conjugation cf. #9.
(e) Inferential: `I am/was said to be taking' or `I gather that
I am/was taking':
Singular
1 aliyormuSum
2 aliyormuSsun
Plural
3 aliyorlarmiS
(aliyormuSlar)
See #10.
(f) Inferential conditional: `if I am/was, as they say, taking' or
`I gather that if I am/was taking':
Singular
1 aliyor :m:Ssem or aliyormuSsam
2 aliyor :m:Ssen aliyormuSsan
Plural
3 aliyor :miSseler aliyormuSsalar
(aliyorlar :m:Sse) (aliyorlarmiSsa)
See #11.
(g) Negative. The negative suffix is -me, added to the verb-stem
before the characteristic; its vowel is subject to the rules given
in I,36.
bekle-me-yor > beklem:yor he is not waiting
g0r-me-yor > g0rmUyor he is not seeing
al-ma-yor > almiyor he is not taking
koS-ma-yor > koSmuyor he is not running
Plural
(aliyorlar :d:yse)
I am/was taking':
Singular
1 aliyormuSum
2 aliyormuSsun
Plural
3 aliyorlarmiS
(aliyormuSlar)
See #10.
`I gather that if I am/was taking':
Singular
1 aliyor :m:Ssem or aliyormuSsam
2 aliyor :m:Ssen aliyormuSsan
Plural
3 aliyor :m:Sseler aliyormuSsalar
To the present negative base thus formed, the suffixes of `to be'
are added,just as with the positive base; for example, the negative
conjugation of al- is exactly as shown in paragraphs (a) to (f),
with the substitution of almiyor for aliyor throughout.
(h) Interrogative. The appropriate interrogative form of `to be'
is placed after the present base, positive or negative. As the inter-
rogative particle turns the preceding word into a question, the
literal meaning of, for example, almiyor muydunuz is `is it
not-taking that you were?'
`am I taking?' `am I not taking?'
Singular
1 aliyor muyum almiyor muyum
2 aliyor musun almiyor musun
3 aliyor mu almiyor mu
Plural
1 aliyor muyuz almiyor muyuz
2 aliyor musunuz almiyor musunuz
3 aliyorlar mi almiyorlar mi
`was I taking?' `was I not taking?'
Singular
1 aliyor muydum almiyor muydum
2 aliyor muydun almiyor muydun
Plural
3 aliyorlar miydi almiyorlar miydi
(aliyor muydular) (almiyor muydular)
`am/was I said to be `am/was I said not to be
taking?' taking?'
Singular
1 aliyor muymuSum almiyor muymuSum
2 aliyor muymuSsun almiyor muymuSsun
Plural
3 aliyorlar miymiS almiyorlar miymiS
(aliyor muymuSlar) (almiyor muymuSlar)
19. Present II. The base of this tense is the locative case of the
infinitive in -mek, to which are added the endings of the verb
`to be': gelmekte-y-:m `I am (in the act of) coming'; almakta-
sin `you are (in the act of) taking'; gelmekte-yd:m `I was (in the
act of) coming'; g0zlemekte-ym:Ss:niz `you are/were said to be
(in the act of) observing'; koSmakta-larsa `if they are (in the act
of) running', etc.
The negative is formed with the negative of `to be' (#12)--
almakta deG:l:m `I am not taking'; almakta deG:lsek `if we
are not taking', etc. For the interrogative and negative-interroga-
tive see ##13-14.
This present in -mekte, originally a literary formation, is
rapidly invading the spoken language. It differs from the present
in -yor in being used only of actions in progress and never of
actions envisaged.
Very rarely the locative of the verbal noun in -me is similarly
used: alma-da-y-im `I am in the act of taking'.
Subsequent references to `the present tense' are to be taken as
applying to the present I.
20. Future I. The characteristic is -ecek, added directly to
consonant-stems: gel-ecek `he will come'; g0r-ecek `he will see';
al-acak `he will take'; bul-acak `he will find'.
After vowel-stems a y is inserted: er:-y-ecek `it will melt';
tani-y-acak `he will recognize'. If the final vowel of the stem is
e or a,it is narrowed by the following y into : or i :
bekle-y-ecek > bekl:yecek he will wait
anla-y-acak > anliyacak he will understand
21. Uses of the future. This tense is used, like the English future,
to express not only what is going to happen but what the speaker
wants to happen: s:gara :Cmekten vazgeCeceks:n `you are
going to give up smoking cigarettes'; :ster :stemez bu :S:
yapacaksin `like it or not, you are going to do this job'. Also
as in English, the third person expresses a confident assumption:
S:md: merd:venden Cikan Ahmet olacak literally `the one
now coming upstairs will be Ahmet', i.e. `that will be Ahmet
coming upstairs now'. The future past, besides expressing past
intention--zaten bunu yapacaktim `I was going to do it any-
way'--is employed in the apodosis of conditional sentences, both
for `I would do it if ...' and `I would have done it if ...'.
22. Paradigms of the future. To the future base are added the
`to be' endings, as with the present base, except that the written
language regularly uses -d:r in the third person of the future to
express a simple future statement and not a supposition.
The change of intervocalic k to G must be borne in mind.
(a) Future simple:
`I shall come' `I shall take'
Singular
1 geleceG:m alacaGim
2 geleceks:n alacaksin
3 gelecek(t:r) alacak(tir)
Plural
1 geleceG:z alacaGiz
2 geleceks:n:z alacaksiniz
3 gelecekler(d:r) alacaklar(dir)
(b) Future past:
`I was about to come, `I was about to take,
would come' would take'
Singular
1 gelecekt:m alacaktim
2 gelecekt:n alacaktin
3 gelecekt: alacakti
Plural
1 gelecekt:k alacaktik
2 gelecekt:n:z alacaktiniz
3 geleceklerd: alacaklardi
(c) Future conditional:
`if I am about to `if I am about to
come' take'
Singular
1 geleceksem alacaksam
2 geleceksen alacaksan
Plural
3 geleceklerse alacaklarsa
(gelecekseler) (alacaksalar)
cf- #18 (c).
(d) Future past conditional: `if I was about to come':
Singular
1 gelecek :d:ysem or gelecekt:ysem or gelecekt:mse
2 gelecek :d:ysen gelecekt:ysen gelecekt:nse
Plural
3 gelecek :d:yseler gelecekt:yseler geleceklerd:yse
(gelecekler :d:yse)
So, with the changes due to vowel harmony, alacak :d:ysem
or alacaktiysam or alacaktimsa, etc. Cf. #9.
(e) Future inferential: `I am/was said to be about to come':
Singular
1 gelecek :m:S:m or gelecekm:S:m
2 gelecek :m:Ss:n gelecekm:Ss:n
Plural
3 gelecekler :m:S geleceklerm:S
(gelecek :m:Sler) (gelecekm:Sler)
(f) Future inferential conditional: `if, as they say/said, I am/was
about to come':
Singular
1 gelecek :m:Ssem or gelecekm:Ssem
2 gelecek :m:Ssen gelecekm:Ssen
Plural
3 gelecek :m:Sseler gelecekm:Sseler
(gelecekler :m:Sse) (geleceklerm:Sse)
(g) Future negative. Compare the present negative in #18-
gel-me-y-ecek > gelm:yecek he will not come
al-ma-y-acak > almiyacak he will not take
The same endings are attached as to the positive base: gelm:-
yeceG:m, gelm:yecekt:n:z, gelm:yecek :m:Sseler, etc.
(h) Future interrogative and negative-interrogative. These are
formed on the same lines as those of the present (#18 (h)), e.g.
gelecek m:y:m am I about to come?
gelm:yecek m:y:m am I not about to come?
gelecek m:yd:m was I about to come?
gelm:yecek m:ym:S:m am I said not to be about to come?
23. Future II. The ancient future suffix -es: has a restricted use
in the modern language. As a finite verb it occurs only in the
base-form, i.e. in the third-person singular, and is employed
solely for cursing:
:pe gel-es: may he come to the rope
k0r ol-asi may he become blind
ev-:n yikil-asi may your house be demolished
ocak-lari batasi may their hearth sink
ense-n kirilasi may your neck be broken
geber-es: may he die like a dog
kara topraGa may he enter the black earth
g:r-es:
The negative -me is narrowed by the buffer y before this suffix:
g0r-m:-y-es: `may he not see'; ol-mi-y-asi `may he not
become'.
Provincially, with the inferential forms of `to be' it does not
have this optative force but a different development of the original
future meaning: cepler:nden paralarini Cal-asi :m:S:m `I am
alleged to have stolen their money from their pockets'; karim
benden hoSlan-mi-y-asi :m:S `my wife is alleged not to like
me'. The future sense may not be readily apparent in these two
typical examples. The connexion of thought is suggested by the
American use of `I am not about to do it' for `I am not likely to
do it, not the sort of person who would do it'.
Unless otherwise indicated, subsequent references to `the future
tense' apply to the future I.
24. Aorist. This term, borrowed from Greek grammar, means
`the braod tense', whoich denotes continuing activity. The charac-
teristic is r, added directly to vowel-stems:
benze- to resemble benzer he resembles
anla- to understand anlar he understands
koru- to protect korur he protects
de- to say der he says
ko- to put kor he puts
After consonant-stems, a vowel is added before the r. Original
monosyllabic stems add e/a:
b:n- to mount b:ner he mounts
d0n- to turn d0ner he turns
et- to do eder he does
yap- to make, do yapar he makes, does
sun- to present sunar he presents
To this rule there are thirteen exceptions; monosyllabic stems
which insert :/U/i/u before the r. It will be noted that all but one
of these stems end in l or r:
b:l- to know b:l:r
gel- to come gel:r
ver- to give ver:r
g0r- to see g0rUr
0l- to die 0lUr
al- to take alir
kal- to remain kalir
san- to think sanir
var- to reach varir
bul- to find bulur
dur- to stand durur
ol- to become, olur
be, happen
vur- to strike vurur
Polysyllabic stems add :/U/i/u :
:mren- to covet :mren:r
sUpUr- to sweep sUpUrUr
aldat- to deceive aldatir
konuS- to speak konuSur
So too do extensions of monosyllabic stems, even if they are
themselves monosyllables:
de- to say de-n- to be said den:r it is said
ye- to eat ye-n- to be eaten yen:r it is eaten
ko- to put ko-n- to be put konur it is put
25. Uses of the aorist. The aorist denotes continuing activity, but
to equate, for example, yapar-im with `I do' and yapiyor-um
w:th `I am doing' is a misleading oversimplification. Funda-
mentally, yaparim 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'. yapiyorum 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'. yazarim and yaziyorum may both
be translated `I write'. But more specifically: yazarim `I am
a writer; in principle I write (though I may not yet have put pen
to paper)'. yaziyorum `I am writing now'; `as a matter of fact
I do write'; `I write, for example, for four hours every morning'
--her sabah d0rt saat yaziyorum--where the broad yazarim
would be incongruous with the precise expression of time. For
`I love you' the Turk says sen: sev:yorum; if he said sen: sev-
erim that would sound far too vague and without immediacy,
corresponding rather to `I like you'.
The aorist is used in requests: otur-ur musunuz `will you sit
down?' The future, oturacak misiniz, means `are you going to
sit down?' and the present, oturuyor musunuz, `are you in fact
sitting down?'
In promises: yarin gel:r-:m `I shall come tomorrow'. This
carries more conviction than the present yarin gel:yorum `I am
coming tomorrow' or the future yarin geleceG:m `I am going
to come tomorrow'. See also #36.
In stage directions: Esma g:r-er, otur-ur. Osman yer:nden
kalk-ar `Esma enters, sits. Osman rises from his place'.
In proverbs: :t Ur-Ur kervan geC-er `the dogs howl, the
caravan moves on'
As a vivid present: b:r akSam kapi hizla Calin-ir `one
evening there is a violent ringing at the door'.
The aorist of ol- `to become, happen, be' is used to ask per-
mission: ol-ur mu `is it all right?' (lit. `does it happen?'); answer
olur `all right' or olmaz `certainly not' (`it does not happen; it's
not on'). Note also olur mu b0yle `does it happen thus?' i.e.
`can such things be?'
An instructive example of the difference between the aorist and
the present is seen in this cynical remark on traffic hazards in
Turkey: baSka memleketlerde kazara 0lUrler; b:z kazara
yaSiyoruz `in other countries they die by accident; we live by
accident'. The force of the aorist 0lUrler is `I cannot say con-
fidently that anyone abroad is in fact dying at this precise instant,
but I am aware that people abroad are liable to die--kazara--as
the result of accident'. The present yaSiyoruz means `we are in
fact living at this moment but--kazara--it's more by luck than
judgement'.
26. Paradigms of the aorist. To the aorist base the `to be' endings
are suffixed as to -yor, i.e. without -d:r in the third person of the
present.
(a) Aorist present:
`I come' `I see' `I take' `I find'
Singular
1 gel:r:m g0rUrUm alirim bulurum
2 gel:rs:n g0rUrsUn alirsin bulursun
3 gel:r g0rUr alir bulur
Plural
1 gel:r:z g0rUrUz aliriz buluruz
2 gel:rs:n:z g0rUrsUnUz alirsiniz bulursunuz
3 gel:rler g0rUrler alirlar bulurlar
The common Anatolian -:k instead of -:z in the first-person
plural occasionally finds its way into literary works: gel:r:k,
g0rUrUk, alirik, buluruk; sometimes with h instead of k, to
represent the pronunciation kh (see I, 9, end).
(b) Aorist past. Besides translating `I used to do', this tense also
occurs in the apodosis of conditional sentences in the sense of
`I would do, would have done'.
Singular
1 gel:rd:m g0rUrdUm alirdim bulurdum
2 gel:rd:n g0rUrdUn alirdin bulurdun
3 gel:rd: g0rUrdU alirdi bulurdu
Plural
1 gel:rd:k g0rUrdUk alirdik bulurduk
2 gel:rd:n:z g0rUrdUnUz alirdiniz bulurdunuz
3 gel:rlerd: g0rUrlerd: alirlardi bulurlardi
(gel:rd:ler) (g0rUrdUler) (alirdilar) (bulurdular)
The separated forms gel:r :d:m, g0rUr :d:m, etc., are an
Armenianism.
(c) Aorist present conditional. As the conditional suffixes are
subject only to the twofold harmony, two examples are sufficient:
g0rUrsem goes like gel:rsem, bulursam like alirsam.
`if I come' `if I take'
Singular
1 gel:rsem alirsam
2 gel:rsen alirsan
3 gel:rse alirsa
Plural
1 gel:rsek alirsak
2 gel:rsen:z alirsaniz
3 gel:rlerse alirlarsa
(gel:rseler) (alirsalar)
(d) Aorist past conditional: `if I came, used to come', etc. The
Past conditional forms of `to be', separate or suffixed, follow the
aorist base:
Singular
1 gel:r/g0rUr/alir/bulur :d:ysem
2 ,, ,, ,, ,, :d:ysen
Plural
3 ,, ,, ,, ,, :d:yseler
(gel:rler/g0rUrler/alirlar/bulurlar :d:yse)
Singular
1 gel:rd:ysem g0rUrdUysem alirdiysam bulurduysam
2 gel:rd:ysen g0rUrdUysen alirdiysan bulurduysan
Plural
3 gel:rd:yseler g0rUrdUyseler alrdiysalar bulurduysalar
(gel:rler- (g0rUrler- (alirlar- (bulurlar-
d:yse) d:yse) diysa) diysa)
(e) Aorist inferential: `I am/was said to come', etc.
Singular
1 gel:rm:S:m g0rUrmUSUm alirmiSim bulurmuSum
2 gel:rm:Ss:n g0rUrmUSsUn ahrmiSsin bulurmuSsun
Plural
3 gel:rlerm:S g0rUrlerm:S alirlarmiS bulurlarmiS
(gel:rm:Sler) (g0rUrmUSler) (alirmiSlar) (bulurmuSlar)
(f) Aorist inferential conditional: `if I am/was said to come', etc,
Singular
1 gel:r/g0rUr/alir/bulur :m:Ssem
2 ,, ,, ,, ,, :m:Ssen
Plural
3 ,, ,, ,, ,, :m:Sseler
(gel:rler/g0rUrler/alirlar/bulurlar :m:Sse)
Singular
1 gel:rm:Ssem g0rUrmUSsem alirmiSsam bulurmuSsam
2 gel:rm:Ssen g0rUrmUSsen alirmiSsan bulurmuSsan
Plural
3 gel:r- g0rUr- alir- bulur-
m:Sseler mUSseler miSsalar muSsalar
(gel:rler- (g0rUrler- (alirlar- (bulurlar-
m:Sse) m:Sse) miSsa) miSsa)
(g) Negative. The aorist is unique in that its negative is not
formed by inserting -me before the characteristic r of the positive;
instead, the negative has a characteristic of its own, -mez, and
this is abraded to -me in the first persons. Further, whereas in
other negative bases it is the syllable before the -me that is
accented, in the negative of the aorist the -me or -mez itself
is accented except in the third-person plural, where the accent is
on the -ler. As -mez is subject to the twofold harmony, two
examples are sufficient.
`I do not come' `I do not take'
Singular
1 gelmem almam
2 gelmezs:n almazsin
3 gelmez almaz
Plural
1 gelmey:z almayiz
2 gelmezs:n:z almazsiniz
3 gelmezler almazlar
An older form of the first-person plural was in -mezUk instead
of -mey:z. It survives in :stemezUk `we don't want (it)', used to
typify opposition to progress.
The other tenses and moods are formed like their positive
counterparts but on the base -mez/maz, e.g.
Aorist past negative: `I used not to come/take, would not
come/take':
Singular
1 gelmezd:m almazdim
2 gelmezd:n almazdin
Plural
3 gelmezlerd: almazlardi
(gelmezd:ler) (almazdilar)
(h) Interrogative. The interrogative and negative-interrogative
conjugations follow the usual pattern:
gel:r m:y:m do I come? alir miyim do I take?
gelmez m:y:m do I not almaz miyim do I not take?
come?
gel:r m:yd:m used I to alir miydim used I to
come? take?
etc. etc.
The negative-interrogative is used colloquially as a vivid pre-
sent: terb:yes:z her:f ayaGima basmaz mi `the mannerless
fellow goes and steps on my foot', lit. `does he not step on ...?'
i.e. `is he the sort of man who would not step on ... ?', a rhetorical
question expecting the answer `no'.
27. m:S-past. This base is formed by adding -m:S to the stem:
gelm:S, g0rmUS, almiS, bulmuS. Two distinct functions are
combined in it.
(a) As a finite verb, with the Type I endings (excluding -d:r),
it conveys that the information it gives is based either on hearsay
or on inference from observed facts, but not on the speaker's
having seen the action take place. If you say kar yaGmiS `snow
has fallen', it means either that someone has told you so or that
you have seen the ground covered with snow, but not that you
actually saw the snow falling. So Corabim kaCmiS `my stocking
has laddered'; i.e. the speaker infers this from the look of her
stocking but did not notice it happening. In this respect the
m:S-past resembles the inferential of the verb `to be', except that
(i) whereas :m:S refers to past or present time, the m:S-past is
exclusively a past tense; (ii) :m:S mostly conveys that the informa-
tion given is based on hearsay, less often that it is based on
inference; (iii) -m:S is accented when it ends a word, whereas
:m:S, like all other parts of the verb `to be', is enclitic.
(b) This base is also a past participle, with no inferential con-
notation; see IX, 5.
There is no inferential connotation, i.e. the base is a past
participle, when it is conjugated with -d:r or with the past or
conditional forms of the verb `to be'. The addition of -d:r to the
base makes a definite past tense: gelm:St:r `he came, has come';
this is the normal past tense, third person, in written narrative,
for which the spoken language employs the past tense in -d:.
Thus with the Type I endings the following distinction can
be made:
(a) Inferential past: `I gather that I have come', etc.
Singular
1 gelm:S:m g0rmUSUm almiSim bulmuSum
2 gelm:Ss:n g0rmUSsUn almiSsin bulmuSsun
3 gelm:S g0rmUS almiS bulmuS
Plural
1 gelm:S:z g0rmUSUz almiSiz bulmuSuz
2 gelm:Ss:n:z g0rmUSsUnUz almiSsiniz bulmuSsunuz
3 gelm:Sler gormuSler almiSlar bulmuSlar
As with :m:S, the Ss of the second person is frequently reduced
to S in speech and sometimes in informal writing.
(b) Definite past: `he came, has come; they came, have come',
etc. (third person only):
Singular
3 gelm:St:r g0rmUStUr almiStir bulmuStur
Plural
3 gelm:Slerd:r g0rmUSlerd:r almiSlardir bulmuSlardir
(gelm:St:r- (g0rmUStUr- (almiStir- (bulmuStur-
ler) ler) lar) lar)
28. Pluperfect. The addition of the Type II endings makes the
pluperfect; gelm:S-t:m literally means `I-was having-come'.
`I had come' `I had seen' `I had taken' `I had found'
Singular
1 gelm:St:m g0rmUStUm almiStim bulmuStum
2 gelm:St:n g0rmUStUn almiStin bulmuStun
Plural
3 gelm:Slerd: g0rmUSlerd: almiSlardi bulmuSlardi
(gelm:St:ler) (g0rmUStUler) (almiStilar) (bulmuStular)
The pluperfect is used more frequently than its English counter-
part to show that one past event preceded another, e.g. Sehre
saat 10 da varmiStik, bUrosuna saat 3 te g:tt:k `we <had>
arrived in the city at 10 and went to his office at 3'.
29. Other paradigms of the m:S-past.
(a) Conditional: literally `if-I-am having-come', etc.
`if I have `if I have `if I have `if I have
come' seen' taken' found'
Singular
1 gelm:Ssem g0rmUSsem almiSsam bulmuSsam
2 gelm:Ssen g0rmUSsen almiSsan bulmuSsan
plural
3 gelm:Slerse g0rmUSlerse almiSlarsa bulmuSlarsa
(gelm:Sseler) (g0rmUSseler) (almiSsalar) (bulmuSsalar)
(b) Pluperfect conditional: `if I had come', etc. The independent
:d:ysem, etc. (#9) is put after the base:
Singular
1 gelm:S/g0rmUS/almiS/bulmuS :d:ysem
2 ,, ,, ,, ,, :d:ysen
Plural
3 ,, ,, ,, ,, :d:yseler
(gelm:Sler/g0rmUSler/almiSlar/bulmuSlar :d:yse)
The one-word forms gelm:St:ysem, etc., are not literary.
[MISSING LINE?]
is followed by the inferential of `to be'; see #10. In this tense,
for reasons of euphony, the independent :m:S:m, etc., are used
very much more often than the suffixed forms. It must be empha-
sized that the inferential element here comes from the :m:S and
not from the base, which in this tense, as in the pluperfect and
conditional, functions simply as a past participle. Thus gelm:S
:m:S or gelm:Sm:S means literally `he-is-said-to-be having-
come', just as gelm:St: means `he-was having-come' and gel-
m:Sse `if-he-is having-come'.
Singular
1 gelm:S/g0rmUS/almiS/bulmuS :m:S:m
2 ,, ,, ,, ,, :m:Ss:n
Plural
3 ,, ,, ,, ,, :m:Sler
(gelm:Sler/g0rmUSler/almiSlar/bulmuSlar :m:S)
Singular
1 gelm:S- g0rmUS- almiS- bulmuS-
m:S:m mUSUm miSim muSum
2 gelm:S- g0rmUS- almiS- bulmuS-
m:Ss:n mUSsUn miSsin muSsun
Plural
3 gelm:S- g0rmUS- almiS- bulmuS-
lerm:S lerm:S larmiS larmiS
(gelm:S- (g0rmUS- (almiS- (bulmuS-
m:Sler) mUSler) miSlar) muSlar)
(d) Inferential conditional: `if I am said to have come', etc.
Here again the separate :m:Ssem, etc., are commoner than the
suffixed forms.
Singular
1 gelm:S/g0rmUS/almiS/bulmuS :m:Ssem
2 ,, ,, ,, ,, :m:Ssen
Plural
3 ,, ,, ,, ,, :m:Sseler
(gelm:Sler/g0rmUSler/almiSlar/bulmuSlar :m:Sse)
The rare suffixed forms are like the m:S-past conditional (see
(a) of this section) but with -m:Sm:S, etc., replacing -m:S.
(e) Negative. -me is added after the stem: gelmem:S, g0r-
mem:S, almamiS, bulmamiS. To this negative base the same
endings are attached as to the positive base, except that as the
negative -me is subject only to the twofold harmony the suffixes
following it appear only in two forms: gelmem:S:m, bulma-
miSim `I gather that I have not come/found'; gelmem:Slerd:r,
bulmamiSlardir `they have not come/found'; gelmem:St:k,
bulmamiStik `we had not come/found'; gelmem:S :m:S:m,
bulmamiS :m:S:m `I am said not to have come/found'.
(f) Interrogative. This and the interrogative-negative are as
usual, with m: preceding the personal endings except -ler, which
it follows: gelm:S m:yd:k `had we come?'; gelmem:S m:yd:k
`had we not come?'; g0rmUS :m:Sler m: `are they said to have
seen?'; almamiS :m:Sler m: `are they said not to have taken?'
30. Necessitative. The characteristic is -mel:, which may be used
impersonally: gelmel: `one ought to come'; almali `one ought
to take'. It may also be conjugated with the present, past, and
inferential of `to be', but not with the conditional; see (f) below.
In origin it is the verbal noun suffix -me with -l: (IV, 5).
(a) Present: `I ought to come', `I ought to take':
Singular
1 gelmel:y:m almaliyim
2 gelmel:s:n almalisin
3 gelmel:(d:r) almali(dir)
Plural
1 gelmel:y:z almaliyiz
2 gelmel:s:n:z almalisiniz
3 gelmel:(d:r)ler almali(dir)lar
(b) Past:
`I had to come, `I had to take,
should have come' should have taken'
Singular
1 gelmel: :d:m almali :d:m
2 gelmel: :d:n almali :d:n
Plural
3 gelmel: :d:ler almali :d:ler
Singular
1 gelmel:yd:m almaliydim
2 gelmel:yd:n almaliydin
Plural
3 gelmel:yd:ler almaliydilar
(gelmel:lerd:) (almalilardi)
(c) Inferential: `they say/said I ought to ...'. The separate
gelmel: :m:S:m, almali :m:S:m is rare.
Singular
1 gelmel:ym:S:m almaliymiSim
2 gelmel:ym:Ss:n almaliymiSsin
Plural
3 gelmel:ym:Sler almaliymiSlar
(gelmel:lerm:S) (almalilarmiS)
(d) Negative. The negative base, gel-me-mel:, al-ma-mali,
like the positive base, is used impersonally, `one ought not to
come/take', as well as with the present, past, and inferential
endings: gel-me-mel:-s:n:z `you ought not to come'; gel-me-
mel:-yd:k `we ought not to have come', gel-me-mel:-ym:S-
s:n:z `they say/said you ought not to come'.
(e) Interrogative: gelmel: m: `should one come?' or `should
he come?'; gelmel: m:yd:n:z `should you have come?'; gelme-
mel: m:yd:k `should we not have come?' etc.
(f) Conditional. In place of the conditional forms of the neces-
sitative, a periphrasis is used, with the conditional forms of the
verbs gerekmek or :cabetmek `to be necessary', or, particularly
for the present conditional, the adjectives la=zim or gerek
`necessary' and the conditional forms of `to be', following the
-me verbal noun of the required verb with the appropriate
personal suffix:
gelme-m gerek:rse
,, :cabederse if I ought to come (lit `if my-coming
,, la=zim-sa is necessary')
,, gerek-se
gelme-m:z gerekt:yse if we had to come (lit. `if our-coming
,, :cabett:yse was necessary')
The future necessitative is expressed by a similar periphrasis:
gelme-s: gerekecek `he will have to come' (`his-coming will-
be-necessary')-
31. d:-past. This tense corresponds to both the English simple
past and perfect with `have'. Its characteristic is -d: (-t: after
unvoiced consonants), to which are added the Type II endings.
`I came, `I saw, `I did, `I found,
have come' have seen' have done' have found'
Singular
1 geld:m g0rdUm yaptim buldum
2 geld:n g0rdUn yaptin buldun
3 geld: g0rdU yapti buldu
Plural
1 geld:k g0rdUk yaptik bulduk
2 geld:n:z g0rdUnUz yaptiniz buldunuz
3 geld:ler g0rdUler yaptilar buldular
32. Uses of the d:-past. 'This is the tense used in speech when
relating past events positively known to the speaker. If one has
witnessed the arrival of a tourist-ship, one may report the event
in the words b:r tur:st vapuru geld:. The newspapers will say
b:r tur:st vapuru gelm:St:r, although in the headline they will
use the synonymous but shorter geld:. Someone who has learned
of the event from an eyewitness or from the newspapers will report
it as b:r tur:st vapuru gelm:S.
33. Other paradigms of the d:-past.
(a) Pluperfect. From the d:-past two pluperfect tenses are
made, on the pattern of the two past conditionals of the verb
`to be'; see #9. The first is commoner than the second, but not
so common as the pluperfect in -m:S-t: (#28).
`I had come' `I had seen'
Singular
1 geld:yd:m or geld:md: g0rdUydUm or g0rdUmdU
2 geld:yd:n geld:nd: g0rdUydUn g0rdUndU
3 geld:yd: g0rdUydU
Plural
1 geld:yd:k geld:kt: g0rdUydUk g0rdUktU
2 geld:yd:n:z geld:n:zd: g0rdUydUnUz g0rdUnUzdU
3 geld:yd:ler geld:lerd: g0rdUydUler g0rdUlerd:
`I had done' `I had found'
Singular
1 yaptiydim or yaptimdi bulduydum or buldumdu
2 yaptiydin yaptindi bulduydun buldundu
3 yaptiydi bulduydu
Plural
1 yaptiydik yaptikti bulduyduk bulduktu
2 yaptiydiniz yaptinizdi bulduydunuz buldunuzdu
3 yaptiydilar yaptilardi bulduydular buldulardi
(b) Conditional. As in the d:-pluperfect, there are two possible
forms, the first being more frequent. Only the conjugation of
stems with rounded vowels has been shown; for the conjugation
of geld:ysem/geld:mse and yaptiysam/yaptimsa, cf. #9.
`if I saw, have seen' `if I found, have found'
Singular
1 g0rdUysem or g0rdUmse bulduysam or buldumsa
2 g0rdUysen g0rdUnse bulduysan buldunsa
3 g0rdUyse bulduysa
Plural
1 g0rdUysek g0rdUkse bulduysak bulduksa
2 g0rdUysen:z g0rdUnUzse bulduysaniz buldunuzsa
3 g0rdUyseler g0rdUlerse bulduysalar buldularsa
(c) Pluperfect conditional. The separate :d:ysem, etc., and not
the suffixed forms are used.
`if I had come'
Singular
1 geld: :d:ysem or geld:m :d:yse
2 geld: :d:ysen geld:n :d:yse
Plural
3 geld: :d:yseler geld:ler :d:yse
(d) Negative. The same endings are attached to the negative
stem: gelmed:m `I have not come', almadiniz `you did not
take', yapmadiydik or yapmadikti `we had not done', g0r-
med:yse `if he has not seen', bulmadi :d:yseler `if they had
not found', etc.
(e) Interrogative. As the d:-past is conjugated with the Type II
endings and not the present of `to be', the interrogative particle
follows the whole word: geld:m m:? `did I come?'; yaptiniz mi?
`did you do?'; g0rdUk mU? `did we see?'; buldular mi? `did they
find?', etc.
There are alternative forms for the interrogative of the plu-
perfect:
`had I come?'
Singular
1 geld: m:yd:m or geld:m m:yd:
2 geld: m:yd:n geld:n m:yd:
3 geld: m:yd:
Plural
1 geld: m:yd:k geld:k m:yd:
2 geld: m:yd:n:z geld:n:z m:yd:
3 geld: m:yd:ler geld:ler m:yd:
Negative-interrogative: gelmed:m m:? `did I not come?';
yapmadiniz mi? `did you not do?'; g0rmed:k m:? `did we not
see?'; bulmadilar mi? `did they not find?'; gelmed: m:yd:m?
or gelmed:m m:yd:? `had I not come?', etc.
34. Conditional. As we have seen, the various bases so far
examined, except -mel:, have conditional moods, formed by
adding the conditional of `to be':
(i) To the base:
gel:yorsam if I am coming
geleceksem if I am going to come
gel:rsem if I come
gelmiSsem if I have come
geld:ysem if I came, have come
(ii) To the past or inferential forms of `to be' added to the base:
gel:yorduysam if I was coming
gel:yormuSsam if I am/was said to be coming
gelecekt:ysem if I was going to come
etc.
In addition, every verb has its own conditional base, the
characteristic being -se, which expresses (a) remote condition:
gelse `if he were to come'; (b) wish: gelse! `if only he would
come !' As with the conditional of `to be', the Type II endings
are used.
(a) Conditional present: `if I were to come', `if I were to take':
Singular
1 gelsem alsam
2 gelsen alsan
3 gelse alsa
Plural
1 gelsek alsak
2 gelsen:z alsaniz
3 gelseler alsalar
(b) Conditional past. With the past endings of `to be', the con-
ditional base expresses (a) unfulfilled conditions: gelseyd: `had
he come'; (b) hopeless wishes relating to past time: gelseyd:! `if
only he had come!' This must be carefully distinguished from
the d:-past conditional:
past conditional: gel-d:-:se > geld:yse `if he came'
conditional past: gel-se-:d: > gelseyd: `if (only) he had come'
Singular
1 gelseyd:m alsaydim
2 gelseyd:n alsaydin
3 gelseyd: alsaydi
Plural
1 gelseyd:k alsaydik
2 gelseyd:n:z alsaydiniz
3 gelseyd:ler alsaydilar
(gelselerd:) (alsalardi)
(c) Conditional inferential. With the inferential endings of `to
be', remote conditions and wishes can be quoted: gelseym:S
`they say that if he were to come' or `they are saying ``if only he
would come !'''
Singular
1 gelseym:S:m alsaymiSim
2 gelseym:Ss:n alsaymiSsin
3 gelseym:S alsaymiS
Plural
1 gelseym:S:z alsaymiSiz
2 gelseym:Ss:n:z alsaymiSsiniz
3 gelseym:Sler alsaymiSlar
(gelselerm:S) (alsalarmiS)
The separate forms gelse :m:S:m, etc., are also found.
(d) Negative: gelmesem `if I were not to come'; gelmeseyd:m
`if only I had not come!'; gelmeseym:S:m `they are saying of
me ``if he were not to come'' or ``if only he would not/had not
come!'''
(e) Interrogative. Besides asking for confirmation of what you
think you have heard (cf. #13 end)--gelse m:? ```if he were to
come!'' do you say?'--the interrogative of the conditional may
express indecision: g:tsem m:? `should I go?' See XX, 10.
The interrogative of the conditional inferential has alternative
forms:
Singular
1 gelse m:ym:S:m or gelsem m:ym:S
2 gelse m:ym:Ss:n gelsen m:ym:S
Plural
3 gelse m:ym:Sler gelseler m:ym:S
Negative-interrogative: gelmese m:ym:S:m or gelmesem
m:ym:S, etc., `are they saying of me ``if only he wouldn't come !''?'
35. Subjunctive. This mood, which some grammarians prefer to
call the subjunctive-optative, uses the Type III endings. It is not
strictly correct to speak of the third-person singular as the base
of this mood, as the elements of the first-person endings are
inseparable.
Present
Singular
1 geley:m alayim
2 geles:n alasin
3 gele ala
Plural
1 gelel:m alalim
2 geles:n:z alasiniz
3 geleler alalar
The accent is on the last syllable of the first persons and of the
third-person plural. The other endings are accented on the -e/a.
The endings of the second persons are those of Type I. The
final syllable of the first singular, though it looks like the `I am'
ending, is not; this is evident from the fact that it is accented,
which the `to be' endings never are. Historically, this ending
seems to be a hybrid; in the sixteenth century the ending of the
first singular of the subjunctive was -ey:n, and of the imperative
-eyem. The `I am' ending has, however, doubtless influenced its
development. The first is historically part not of the sub-
junctive but of the imperative, the old first-plural ending of the
subjunctive being -evUz.
The Anatolian forms of the first singular and plural sometimes
find their way into print; they are in -em and -ek respectively:
g:dem `let me go, I'll go'; g:dek or g:deh `let's go'.
With vowel-stems, a y is inserted before the Type III endings.
This narrows the preceding vowel, but the phonetic change is
not invariably reflected in writing. Thus the subjunctive of
s0yle- `to tell' and baSla- `to begin' is:
Singular
1 s0yl:yey:m baSliyayim
2 s0yl:yes:n baSliyasin
3 s0yl:ye baSliya
Plural
1 s0yl:yel:m baSliyalim
2 s0yl:yes:n:z baSliyasiniz
3 s0yl:yeler baSliyalar
Note that the y of the first-person ending -ey:m/ayim does
not narrow the preceding vowel in writing. In the colloquial,
however, the first singular of vowel-stems often loses the stem-
vowel and the buffer y; thus s0yl:yey:m, baSliyayim are heard
as s0yley:m, baSlayim, while yapayim `let me do' is heard
as yap::m or yap:m.
36. Uses of the subjunctive.` The subjunctive expresses concepts
envisaged by the subject or the speaker; it makes no statement
about facts, except that the first singular is used colloquially with
future meaning: yarin geley:m `let me come tomorrow' > `I may
come tomorrow' > `I'll come tomorrow'. The first plural means
`let us come', etc. The second persons are used in formal speech
to relay requests and commands: babam ded: k:, yarin b:ze
geles:n:z `my father said that you-should-come to us tomorrow'.
The third singular is used colloquially to ask cautious questions--
evde m: ola `might he be at home?'--and in a few set expres-
sions: from rasgel- `to chance', rasgele `may it fall out well.
good luck!'; kolay gele `may it come easy', a form of greeting
used when entering a place where someone is working; geCm:S
ola `may it be past', said when hearing of someone's illness. In
these last two expressions, however, Istanbul idiom favours the
imperative: kolay gels:n, geCm:S olsun. The third plural is
virtually obsolete. In subordinate clauses (see Chapter XIX) the
third persons are almost invariably replaced nowadays by the
third persons of the imperative.
37. Other paradigms of the subjunctive.
(a) Subjunctive past. Formed by suffixing to the third-person
singular of the subjunctive the past endings of `to be':
Singular
1 geleyd:m baSliyaydim
2 geleyd:n baSliyaydin
3 geleyd: baSliyaydi
Plural
1 geleyd:k baSliyaydik
2 geleyd:n:z baSliyaydiniz
3 geleyd:ler baSliyaydilar
(gelelerd:) (baSliyalardi)
It expresses unfulfillable past wishes: `would that I had come/
begun', usually reinforced by keSk: : keSk: bacaGi kirilaydi
`would that his leg had broken !' It is also used (i) as an alternative
to the conditional past and (ii) as the past tense of the imperative.
EXAMPLES: (i) b:leyd:m buraya kadar gelmezd:m `had
I known, I would not have come this far'. See, however, Chapter
XXI, last paragraph.
(ii) s0yl:yeyd:n:z `you should have said'. There is an idiomatic
use of the third-person singular imperative of var- `to come'
with that of another verb in the negative, e.g. varsin demes:n,
lit. `let him come let him not say', which means `he might as well
not say; it doesn't matter whether he says or not'. One way of
expressing the past tense of this is vara dem:yeyd: `he might
as well not have said'. Note the suspended affixation of the -yd:,
which belongs both to vara and dem:ye. For alternative way
see #40 and XXIV, 31 (the latter positive not negative)-
(b) Subjunctive inferential
Singular
1 geleym:S:m baSliyaymiSim
2 geleym:Ss:n baSliyaymiSsin
3 geleym:S baSliyaymiS
Plural
1 geleym:S:z baSliyaymiSiz
2 geleym:Ss:n:z baSliyaymiSsiniz
3 geleym:Sler baSliyaymiSlar
(gelelerm:S) (baSliyalarmiS)
These forms, which are not of frequent occurrence, are used
to quote the present and past subjunctive--geleym:S `people
are/were saying ``would that he had/might come!'''--and as an
alternative to the conditional inferential.
(c) Negative. The buffer y narrows the -me/ma to -m:/mi:
gelm:ye, baSlamiya, gelm:yeyd:m, baSlamiyaymiS, etc.
YI+K recommends that this change should not be shown in
writing.
(d) Interrogative. The particle m: follows the endings of the
present. In practice, only the first persons are likely to be en-
countered: geley:m m:, gelel:m m: `should I/we come?';
gelm:yey:m m:, gelm:yel:m m: `should I/we not come?' The
interrogative of the past is not in use.
The interrogative of the inferential is rare, as one might expect
from its meaning: `do/did they say ``would that he might come !''?'
Singular
1 gele m:ym:S:m baSliya miymiSim
2 gele m:ym:Ss:n baSliya miymiSsin
Plural
3 gele m:ym:Sler baSliya miymiSlar
(geleler m:ym:S) (baSliyalar miymiS)
38. Synopsis of the verb. The accompanying table shows the
first-person singular of all tenses and moods of gelmek `to come'
except the imperative (for which see the next section), the present
II (#19), and the future II (#23). The participles and verbal nouns
are also shown. See also the periphrastic tenses and moods in
IX,11.
The Roman numerals in the table refer to the types of personal
endings set out in #15, which for convenience are repeated
beneath the table. The Arabic numerals refer to the relevant
sections of the present chapter.
The suffixed forms of the verb `to be' have been shown except
where literary usage has a strong preference for the separate
forms.
39. Imperative.
Singular
2 gel g0r al bul
3 gels:n g0rsUn alsin bulsun
Plural
2 gel:n g0rUn alin bulun
gel:n:z g0rUnUz aliniz bulunuz
3 gels:nler g0rsUnler alsinlar bulsunlar
It will be seen that the imperative of the second singular is
identical with the stem; cf. the English imperative, which is
identical with the infinitive without `to'. Of the second-person
plural forms, the longer is the more polite. Care should be taken
not to confuse the third-person suffix of this mood with the
second-person singular of the Type I endings; if -s:n is added to
a stem, it makes the third-singular imperative: gel-s:n `let him
come'; if added to a base, it makes the second-singular present:
gel-ecek-s:n `you-are about-to-come'; gel-m:S-s:n `you-are
having-come'. An ancient suffix of the second person imperative
was -g:l : b:lg:l `know!'
The interjections hayd: `come on!', aman `mercy!' and
destur `mind out of the way!' (dastu**r (P) `permission') are some-
times given one or other of the endings of the second-plural
imperative when more than one person is being addressed:
hayd:n:z, amanin, desturun.
In the second-person plural of the imperative, the buffer y does
not narrow a preceding vowel: this rule applies to the second-
person plural of the positive imperative of vowel-stems and of
the negative imperative of all stems. Thus the positive imperative
of s0yle- `to tell' and baSla- `to begin' is as follows:
Singular
2 s0yle baSla
3 s0yles:n baSlasin
Plural
2 s0yley:n baSlayin
s0yley:n:z baSlayiniz
3 s0yles:nler baSlasinlar
The negative imperative of gel- and bul- :
Singular
2 gelme bulma
3 gelmes:n bulmasin
Plural
2 gelmey:n bulmayin
gelmey:n:z bulmayiniz
3 gelmes:nler bulmasinlar
The interrogative: gels:n m: `is he to come?'; s0ylemes:n m:
`is he not to tell?' An idiomatic use of the third-person negative
interrogative is to state a fact, with an implication of surprise:
satici :k: gazete :C:n benden on yer:ne sek:z kuruS almasin
mi? `would you believe it, for two newspapers the shopkeeper
took eight piastres from me instead of ten' (lit. `is the seller not to
take ...?'). cf. #26 (h).
Such colloquial imperatives as durundu `hey, stop !' and
bakindi `hey, look here !' (accented on the first syllable and used
as singular or plural) are compounded of the second-singular
imperative--dur, bak--and the adverb :md: `now'. A less likely
theory derives them from the second plural--durun, bakin--
and the interjection d: seen in hayd: `come on!'
40. -s:nd:. This ending is the third-person imperative -s:n with
the third-person past of the verb `to be': onun g:zl: f:k:rler:n:
halk ne b:ls:nd:? `how should the common people know his
secret thoughts?' bu yaziya Bakan kizmasin da, k:m kiz-
sindi? `who should have been angry at this article, if not the
Minister?' (for this form of conditional sentence see XX, 2).
Some Turkish grammarians reject this explanation and regard
the -d: as identical with the last syllable of hayd:. This is because
they will not admit the possibility of a past imperative, on the
grounds that the function of the imperative is to give an order and
one cannot give an order in the past. This somewhat mechanistic
objection can be disposed of if we regard the -d: as putting not
the imperatives b:ls:n, kizsin, but the whole sentences into the
past. For another example see XXIV, 31.
41. -s:n :C:n. An uncommon method of expressing purpose is
to use the postposition :C:n after the third-person imperative, as
in bu g0mleG: ona g:ys:n :C:n verd:m `I gave him this shirt
for him to wear', where g:ys:n d:ye (XI, 2) would be more
normal. For an example where it has clearly been used to avoid
the repetition of d:ye, see XXIV. 25.
42. -d:r suffixed to finite verbs. As we have seen in #4, -d:r
indicates supposition or, less commonly, emphasis when used as
a third-person copula. It may also be suffixed to verbs (except the
d:-past, conditional, subjunctive, and imperative) in any person,
including the first and second persons of the verb `to be'. In such
situations it generally does not so much emphasize the verb as
weaken it, the implication being that the speaker is stating as
a fact something of which he has no positive knowledge but only
a strong feeling or impression: Cocuk g:b:-y-:m-d:r ya ...
elbette Cocuk g:b:-y-:m `I-really-think-I-am-like a child, you
know ... indeed I am like a child'. Here the speaker begins by
stating his feeling and then, his conviction becoming firmer, he
states it as a fact.
Sa:r-:m I am a poet
Sa:r-:m-d:r I am surely a poet, I think I must be a poet
S::r yaziyorum I am writing poetry
S::r yaziyorum-dur surely I am writing poetry! or why, I
must be writing poetry!
b:l:yorsunuz you know
b:l:yorsunuzdur you surely know, I presume you know
uyu-muS-um I gather that I have slept
uyu-muS-um-dur I must have slept
oku-muS-sunuz you have read, I gather
oku-muS-sunuz-dur you are bound to have read
I+ng:l:z pol:s:n:n meth:n: hep:m:z duy-muS-uz-dur we
have all certainly heard the praises of the English police
It must be remembered, however, that the addition of -d:r to
the third person of the m:S-past makes a definite past tense (#27),
while its addition to the third person of the future I makes a
definite future (#22).
Note the differences between the three possible ways of trans-
lating `I have written him a letter':
ona b:r mektup yazdim
ona b:r mektup yazmiSim
ona b:r mektup yazmiSimdir
The first is a statement of fact; I remember writing the letter.
The second is an inference; I do not remember writing the letter,
but I have found the carbon copy in my file. The third, which
might be translated `I must have written ...', suggests that I do
not remember writing, nor have I any evidence that I wrote, but
after all it is over three months since I received his letter and
I presume I must have done something about it.
The nuances in the three possible ways of saying `my friend is
waiting for me' should also be noted:
arkadaSim ben: bekl:yor
arkadaSim ben: bekl:yormuS
arkadaSim ben: bekl:yordur
The first states a fact; I can see him there at the corner. The
second is based on hearsay; someone has seen him waiting and
told me so. The third is a supposition--`I'm sure he is waiting'--
based on the knowledge that my friend is always punctual, that
he said he would wait from five o'clock, and that it is now five
past five.
The context shows when -d:r has the emphasizing function:
CocuGa anlatin, mutlaka :la=ci :Cmel:d:r `explain to the child,
he really must drink the medicine'; babanin s0zUnden Cikmi-
yacaksinizdir, deG:l m:? 'it-is-a-fact-that-you-will-not-depart
from your father's word, is it not?' i.e. `you will positively not
disobey your father, will you?'
43. -d:r with a following verb. b:r kiyamet-t:r koptu, literally
`it is a resurrection broke out', may be translated `all hell broke
loose'. In such sentences, in which the noun is always preceded
by b:r, the -d:r is the main verb, with the following verb subordi-
nate. This is a vivid form of expression drawing attention to
a sudden startling event or a remarkable state of affairs, the latter
when the second verb is g:t-, denoting continuity (XI, 35 (g)).
sol kulaGima b:r tokat-tir :nd: `such a slap came down on
my left ear !'
bUtUn gUn evde b:r konuSma b:r patirdi b:r gUrUltU-dUr g:der
there is a perpetual talking and scurrying and noise in the
house all day long'.
Comparable is the colloquial use exemplified in: Adalarda
yaz mevs:m: b:r hayat-tir h:C sorma `on the Islands, the
summer season is such a marvellous life !' (`is a life don't ask !').
44. Summary of the forms of `to be'. The following summary of
the forms of the verb olmak `to become, be, happen, mature',
and of the verb `to be', shows how the former supplements the
deficiencies of the latter.
-:m I am oluyorum I am becoming, I tend to be
olmaktayim I am becoming
olacaGim I shall be, shall become
olurum I become, shall be
:m:S:m I am/was said to be olmuSum I infer that I have become
olmaliyim I ought to become, ought to be
:d:m I was oldum I became, have become
:sem if I a m olsam if I were, if I should become
olayim let me be, let me become
ol, olun,
olunuz be! become!
olsun let him be
olasi may he be
olab:l:r:m I can be, become (#55 (a))
olamam I cannot be, become (#55 (b))
:ken while being olurken while becoming (XI, 34)
The stem ol- also supplies the participles and verbal nouns of `to be'.
Particularly to be noted is the difference between :d:m and
oldum. Here is a pair of examples in the third person: b:r zelzele
:d: `it was an earthquake'; b:r zelzele oldu `an earthquake
occurred'.
45. var, yok. These words are adjectives meaning respectively
`existent' and `non-existent'. They take the place of English `there
is/are' and `there is/are not' and of the verb `to have'.
k0Sede b:r kahve var `there is a cafe=* on the corner'. bu
k0yde postahane var mi? `is there a post-office in this village?'
Answer: var `there is' or yok `there is not'. biCak var mi s:zde?
`have you a knife on you?' Answer: var `I have' or yok `I have
not'. biCaGiniz yok mu? `do you not have a knife?' (`your-knife
non-existent?'). Cocuk yet:m deG:l, babasi var `the child is
not an orphan, he has a father'.
The subject of English `have' is put in the genitive in Turkish:
CocuGun babasi var `the child has a father'. This is not an
ordinary izafet group; it literally means not `the child's father
exists' but `his father exists--the child's'. The distinction may
seem slight but has practical consequences; see XVI, 6. :mparatorun
elb:ses: yok `the emperor has no clothes'; ben:m SUphem yok
`I have no doubt'.
The present tense of `to be' and the forms based on :- may be
used in conjunction with var and yok: Burada yalniz mi-y-iz?
ded:. Hayir, ben de var-im, ded:m ```Are we alone here?'' said
he. ``No, I-am-present too'', I said'.
ev-:n bahCe-s: var the house has a garden
,, ,, vardi the house had a garden
,, ,, vardir formal: the house has ...;
informal: the house surely has ...
,, ,, varsa if the house has ...
,, ,, varmiS the house is said to have ...
,, ,, varken while the house has ...
For the negative of all these, var is replaced by yok: yoktu,
yoktur, yoksa, yokmuS, yokken.
For other verbal forms, i.e. for those missing from the left-hand
column in #44, ol- and its negative olma- take the place of
var and yok:
ev:n bahCes: olacak the house will have a garden
,, ,, olmiyacak the house will not have a garden
,, ,, olsaydi if the house had a garden
,, ,, olmasaydi if the house had no garden
,, ,, olsun let the house have a garden
,, ,, olmasin let the house not have a garden
,, ,, olmali the house ought to have a garden
The attributive use of var is confined to such expressions as
var kuvvet-:-yle dayandi `he resisted with all his strength'
(`with his existent strength') and of yok to yok yere `vainly' (`to
non-existent place').
Care is necessary to distinguish vardi < var-:d: from vardi
the third-singular d:-past of varmak `to arrive'. As the suffixes
of `to be' are enclitic, no confusion is possible in speech; `there
was' is va=*rdi, `he arrived' is vardi=*. In writing, the context should
obviate ambiguity: k0yde b:r m:saf:r vardi `there was a guest
in the village'; k0ye b:r m:saf:r vardi `a guest arrived in the
village'.
46. Extended stems. The suffixes treated in the next seven
sections are used to make reciprocal, causative, repetitive, re-
flexive, and passive verb-stems, to which are added the tense-
and mood-endings set out above.
47. The reciprocal or co-operative verb. The addition of -:S- to
a consonant- or of -S- to a vowel-stem shows that the action is
done by more than one subject, one with another or one to
another:
anla- to understand anlaS- to understand one another
benze- to resemble benzeS- to resemble one another
d0v- to beat d0vUS- to fight one another
koS- to run koSuS- to make a concerted
rush or to run in all
directions
sev- to love sev:S- to love one another
uC- to fly uCuS- to fly about together
The precise meaning of such a verb cannot always be deduced
logically; thus tutuS-, from tut- `to hold', means not only `to
hold each other' and `to hold mutually'--el tutuStular `they held
hands'--but also `to catch fire'. yatiS- is not `to lie down together'
but `to subside'; yapiS- is not `to do together' but `to adhere';
gel:S- is not `to come together' but `to develop'; kalkiS- is not
`to rise together' but `to attempt something beyond one's powers'.
A grammar cannot be a substitute for a dictionary.
48. The causative verb. This is formed by adding one or other of
the suffixes listed below to the stem, original or reciprocal.
(a) -d:r-. This suffix is etymologically and functionally distinct
from the suffix meaning `is', but is identical with it in its phonetic
metamorphoses (see #3). It is the commonest causative suffix, but
is not used with polysyllabic stems ending in a vowel or l or r.
don- to freeze (intr.) dondur- to freeze (tr.)
d0n- to turn (intr.) d0ndUr- to turn (tr.)
:nan- to believe :nandir- to persuade
0l- to die 0ldUr- to kill
sev-:S- to love one another sev:St:r- to make to love one another
ye- to eat yed:r- to feed
The final sentence of the previous section is applicable to this
section too; e.g. al-dir- means `to cause to take' but also `to pay
attention'; koS-tur- is `to cause to run' but also `to run about in
a panic'. See further #51.
(b) -:r-. This is used with some twenty monosyllables of which
the commonest are:
aS- to pass, surpass aSir- to cause to pass over
bat- to sink (intr.) batir- to sink (tr.)
b:t- to finish (intr.) b:t:r- to finish (tr-)
doG- to be born doGur- to give birth to
doy- to be satiated doyur- to satiate
duy- to feel, hear duyur- to divulge
dUS- to fall dUSUr- to make fall, drop
geC- to pass (intr.) geC:r- to pass (tr.)
g0C- to migrate g0CUr- to cause to migrate
:C- to drink :C:r- to make drink
kaC- to escape kaCir- to let escape, lose
p:S- to cook (intr.) p:S:r- to cook (tr.)
S:S- to swell (intr.) S:S:r- to inflate
taS- to overflow taSir- to make overflow
yat- to lie down yatir- to lay down, deposit
(c) -t- is used with polysyllabic stems ending in a vowel or l or r:
anla- to understand anlat- to explain
bekle- to wait beklet - to keep waiting
dUzel- to be put in order dUzelt- to arrange
kUCUl- to become small kUCUlt- to belittle
otur- to sit oturt- to seat
s0yle- to speak s0ylet- to make speak
(d) -:t- is used after a few monosyllabic stems, mostly ending
in k, e.g.:
ak- to flow akit- to shed
kok- to smell (intr.) kokut- to make smell
kork- to fear korkut- to frighten
sap- to deviate sapit- to send astray
sark- to lean down sarkit- to suspend
Urk- to start with fear UrkUt- to startle
(e) -er- occurs only in these words:
Cik- to go out, go up Cikar- to remove, raise
C0k- to collapse C0ker- to cause to collapse,
make kneel
g:t- to go g:der- to remove
kop- to break off, break out kopar- to break off (tr.),
(intr.) cause to break out
on- to prosper onar- to repair (also ondur- `to
improve' (tr.))
(f) Irregular are:
em- to suck emz:r- to suckle (also emd:r- `to cause
(e.g. a pump) to suck')
gel- to come get:r- to bring
g0r- to see, perform (a g0ster- to show (also g0rdUr-
duty, task, etc.) `to make perform')
kalk- to rise kaldir- to raise, remove
49. Doubly causative verbs. The causative -t- may be suffixed to
-d:r-, -:r-, and -er-; the causative -d:r- may be suffixed to -t-
and -:t-, sometimes with no change of meaning. Thus from de-
`to say' the causative `to make say' is ded:r- or ded:rt-; from
kon- `to settle', kondur- or kondurt-. More often, however,
both suffixes have their full value:
0l- to die
0ldUr- to kill
0ldUrt- to have someone killed
p:S- to cook (intr.)
p:S:r- to cook (tr.)
p:S:rt- to get something cooked
Causatives of the third and fourth degree are theoretically
possible but are rarely if ever found outside the pages of grammar-
books, e.g. 0l-dUr-t-tUr-t- `to get someone to get someone to
get someone to make someone die', i.e. to kill through the agency
of three intermediaries.
50. Syntax of the causative. When a transitive verb is made
causative, the object of the basic verb remains in the accusative,
while the object of the causative element of the verb is put in the
dative: mektub-u :mzala-dim `I signed the letter'; mektub-u
mUdUr-e :mzala-t-tim `I got the director to sign the letter'
(`to-the-director I-was-the-cause-of-signing'). salon-un duvar-
lar-i-n-i boya-y-acaktim `I was going to paint the walls of
the drawing-room'; salonun duvarlarini b:r amele-y-e boya-
t-acaktim `I was going to get a workman to paint', etc.
When the object of the causative element is not expressed,
English idiom usually demands a passive participle: mektubu
:mzalattim `I got the letter signed'; salonun duvarlarini
boyatacaktim `I was going to have the walls of the drawing-
room painted'.
When an intransitive verb is made causative, the subject of the
basic verb becomes the object: rak:b-: 0l-dU `his rival died';
rak:b-:-n-: 0l-dUr-dU `he killed his rival'. This causative verb,
having an object, can now be treated like any other transitive
verb: rak:b:n: k:ralik b:r kaat:l-e 0l-dUr-t-tU `he got a
hired murderer to kill his rival' (`to a hired murderer he-was-the-
cause-of-making-die his-rival'). Cocuk doG-du `the child was
born'; anne, CocuG-u doG-ur-du `the mother bore the child';
ebe, anne-y-e CocuG-u doG-ur-t-tu `the midwife helped the
mother to bear the child'; ebe, anne-y-: doG-ur-t-tu `the mid-
wife brought the mother to birth'.
When an originally transitive verb is made doubly causative,
the second intermediary may be expressed with the help of
vasita (A) `means', or tavassut (A) or the neologism aracilik
`mediation': mektub-u mUdUr-e ka=t:b-:n vasitas:yle/tavas-
sut:yle/araciliG:yle :mzala-t-tir-dim `through the agency
of the secretary, I got the director to sign the letter'. The second
intermediary need not be mentioned: mektubu mUdUre :mza-
lattirdim `I got someone to get the director to sign the letter'.
Verbs construed with the dative retain the dative when they are
made causative, the object of the causative element being put in
the accusative: s0z-Um-Un doGru-luG-u-n-a :nan-ir misiniz?
`do you believe in the truth of my statement?'; s0zUmUn doGru-
luGuna s:z-: nasil :nan-dir-ayim? `how am I to make you
believe in the truth of my statement?'. Cocuk, okul-a baSla-di
`the child started school'; CocuG-u okul-a baSla-t-tik `we made
the child start school'. herkes kend:s:-n-e acin-iyor `everyone
is sorry for him'; herkes-: kend:s:ne acin-dir-iyor `he is
making everyone sorry for him'.
The causative means not only `to make someone do something'
but also, voluntarily or involuntarily, `to let someone do something':
orman-lar-imiz-i keC:-ler-e ye-d:r-:yor-uz `we are letting
the goats eat our forests'. para-m-i tramvay-da Cal-dir-miS-
im `I have had my money stolen on the tram'. tren-: kaC-ir-dik
`we missed the train' (`we let the train escape')-
The negative of the causative is commonly used for `not to
permit': b:z: s0yle-t-me-d:ler `they did not let us speak'.
51. The repetitive verb.
(a) Stems extended by the suffixes -(:)S- and -t:r- are not
necessarily reciprocal and causative. In the following verbs the
ending -(:)St:r- conveys repeated and intensive action:
ara- to seek araStir- to research, investigate
at- to throw atiStir- to gobble up
Cek- to pull Cek:St:r- to slander
serp- to sprinkle serp:St:r- to scatter about
sor- to ask soruStur- to make inquiries
sUr- to smear sUrUStUr- to put on make-up
tak- to attach takiStir- to dress up
ver- to give ver:St:r- to be abusive
For additional emphasis the simple verb may be used before
the repetitive verb: tak takiStir, sUr sUrUStUr (imperative
second sing.) `doll yourself up in your best clothes and put on
your full war-paint'.
(b) -(e)kle- can no longer be regarded as a live suffix (with the
reservation that the language reformers may at any time decide to
resurrect it) but is found in a small number of verbs, e.g.:
dUrt- to prod dUrtUkle- to keep prodding
:t- to push :tekle- to manhandle
sUr- to drive sUrUkle- to drag
uyu- to sleep uyukla- to keep dozing off
(c) -ele- is even rarer:
SaS- to be bewildered SaSala- to be bewildered
gev- (obsolete) to chew gevele- to chew over, beat about the bush
[MISSING LINE(S)?][THIS LOOKS LIKE THE REFLEXIVE]
[AND #52 IS MISSING]
bul- to find bulun- to find oneself, be
d0v- to beat d0vUn- to beat one's breast
g:y- to put on, wear g:y:n- to dress oneself
sal- to throw salin- to oscillate
s0yle- to speak s0ylen- to grumble to oneself
yika- to wash yikan- to wash oneself
Like the `middle voice' of ancient Greek, this suffix denotes
action done not only to oneself but also for oneself:
et- to do ed:n- to acquire
geC- to pass geC:n- to make a living, get along
kaC- to run away kaCin- to abstain
kalk- to rise kalkin- to progress, recover
yap- to make yapin- to make for one-
self or to have
(e.g. a suit) made
Both senses may occur in the same verb: aran-, from ara- `to
seek', means `to search one's mind' and `to seek something for
oneself': araniyorsun `you're asking for it !' (i.e. a good hiding).
taSin-, from taSi- `to carry', means both `to turn things over in
one's mind' and `to move oneself, move house'.
As with verbs in -:St:r-, the meaning of the reflexive is not
always guessable: e.g. g0r-Un- is not `to see oneself' but `to seem,
to appear'; sev-:n- is not `to love oneself' but `to rejoice'.
53. The passive verb. This is formed by adding -:l- after all
consonants except l : sev-:l- `to be loved'; g0r-Ul- `to be seen';
yap-il- `to be made'; tut-ul- `to be held'.
Stems in l or a vowel form their passive identically with the
reflexive:
al- to take, buy al-in- to be taken, bought
oku- to read oku-n- to be read
kapa- to shut kapa-n- to be shut
Thus, for example, s0ylen- is both the reflexive and the pas-
sive of s0yle- and means either `to grumble' or `to be spoken';
yikan- is either `to wash oneself' or `to be washed'. In cases
where ambiguity might arise, the passive can be indicated by
adding -:l- to the -(:)n, or the reflexive can be shown by using
the reflexive pronoun (V, 4): CocuGu yikadi `she washed the
child'; Cocuk yika-n-di `the child washed himself or was
washed'; Cocuk yika-n-il-di `the child was washed'; Cocuk
kend: kend:n: yika-di `the child washed himself'.
Just as some verbs take a doubly causative suffix for no obvious
reason, so some take a doubly passive suffix; e.g. the passive of
de- `to say' is de-n-:l- as well as de-n-.
The passive of anla- `to understand' is irregular: anla-S-il-
`to be understood'.
54. Uses of the passive. It is not used as much as its English
equivalent for the sake of elegant variation; e.g. instead of `he
was rebuked by his father', a Turk is more likely to say `his father
rebuked him'. Another difference from English idiom is that when
baSla- `to begin' is construed with a passive verb it is put in the
passive itself: bu :S-: yap-ma-y-a baSliyorlar `they are
beginning to do this job'; bu :S yap-il-ma-y-a baSla-n-iyor
`this job is beginning to be done' (`is-being-begun to-be-done')-
But the most remarkable feature of the Turkish passive is its
impersonal use: n:C:n yalan s0yle-n-:r? `why are lies told?', i.e.
`why do people tell lies?' In this example the passive verb appears
to have a subject, but impersonal passives are also regularly
formed from intransitive verbs and then have no conceivable
grammatical subject; indeed, the example bu ... baSlaniyor
above may be explained under this head. bahS:s at-in d:S-:-n-e
bak-il-maz `one does not look at the teeth of a gift horse'
(`looking-is-not-done to the tooth ...'). o zamanlar Karak0y'-
den Harb:ye'ye taks: :le :k: l:ra-y-a g:d-:l-:r-d: `in those
days, one used to go from K. to H. by taxi for two liras'. g:d:l:rd:
is the aorist past passive, lit. `going-used-to-be-done'; cf. Virgil's
sic itur ad astra `thus does one go to the stars' yildizlara b0yle
g:d:l:r. The sentence bu :la=C-la k:mse :y: olmaz `with this
medicine no one becomes well' may be expressed impersonally
thus: bu :la=Cla :y: ol-un-maz, using the aorist present negative
passive of ol-; `becoming-is-not-done'. yerl:-ler-le Cabuk
arkadaS ol-un-ur `one quickly becomes friends with the
natives'.
This passive of ol- is used to form the passive of verbs com-
pounded of et- `to do' and a verbal noun (see #57) and is com-
moner in this use than the passive of et-: onu tenk:t ed:yorlar
`they are criticizing him'; tenk:t olunuyor or tenk:t ed:l:yor
`he is being criticized'.
55. The potential verb. This might, on grounds of structure, have
been treated together with compound verbs such as ol-a-gel- and
gel-:-ver- (see XI, 35) but is singled out here because of its
great frequency and its anomalous negative.
(a) The positive is formed by adding the appropriate part of
b:l- `to know' to the required stem, original or extended, plus
-e/a (with the usual buffer y after vowel-stems): gel-:r-:m
`I come'; gel-e-b:l-:r-:m `I can come'. gel-d:-yse `if he came';
gel-e-b:l-d:-yse `if he was able to come'. anli-y-acak-miS-im
`I gather that I shall understand'; anli-y-a-b:l-ecek-m:S-:m
`I gather that I shall be able to understand'. The verb in the next
example is the aorist present interrogative of the potential passive
of ol-, used impersonally: hak:katen bedbaht ol-un-a-b:l-:r
m:? `is it possible to be truly unhappy?'
(b) The negative, i.e. the impotential, is formed by adding to the
stem the suffix -eme/ama, the first vowel of which is accented
and the second may be narrowed to :/i by a following y. This was
originally the negative of a now obsolete verb umak `to be power-
ful, able'. gel-me-mek `not to come', gel-eme-mek `to be
unable to come'; anla-ma-mak `not to understand', anli-y-
ama-mak `to be unable to understand'. The aorist of the im-
potential is conjugated like the aorist negative, its base being not
-eme-r but -emez. It will be seen that the impotential of any
verb-form can be made by inserting e/a before the negative
suffix: gelmed: `he did not come'; gelemed: `he could not
come'. anlamiyor `he does not understand'; anliyamiyor `he
cannot understand'. b:lmezler `they do not know'; b:lemezler
`they cannot know'.
(c) The positive potential endings may be attached to a negative
or even to an impotential stem: gel-m:-y-eb:l-:r-:m `I am able
not to come', i.e. `I may not come' or `I don't have to come if
I don't want to'. gel-em:-y-eb:l-:r-:m `I am able to be unable
to come', i.e. `I may be unable to come'.
56. The order of extensions. The order in which the extensions
to the stem are placed is as follows:
1. reflexive
2. reciprocal
3. causative
4. passive
Examples of verbs containing both reflexive and reciprocal
suffixes are hard to find; one such, a product of the language
reform, is dayaniS- `to practise mutual aid', made up thus:
simple: daya- to prop up
-reflexive: daya-n- to prop oneself up
-reciprocal: daya-n-iS- to engage with other people
in propping oneself up
We may continue the extensions to show the full possibilities of
the verb:
-causative: daya-n-iS-tir- to make to practise mutual aid
-passive: daya-n-iS-tir-il- to be made to practise mutual aid
The only departures from this order are apparent rather than
real; i.e. the reciprocal suffix can follow the passive or causative
suffix but only in the case of pseudo-passive or pseudo-causative
verbs, that is, verbs which look like passives or causatives but
whose original simple stems have gone out of use, e.g.: daGil- 'to
disperse'; daGil-iS- `to disperse all in different directions'.
seG:rt- `to hasten'; seG:rd-:S- `to hasten together'.
Examples of the normal order:
simple aci- to feel pain
reflexive aci-n- to feel pain in oneself, to grieve
causative aci-n-dir- to make grieve
passive aci-n-dir-il- to be made to grieve
simple tani- to know
reciprocal tani-S- to know one another
causative tani-S-tir- to make to know one another, introduce
passive tani-S-tir-il- to be introduced to one another
simple :n- to descend
causative :n-d:r- to bring down
passive :n-d:r-:l- to be brought down
To summarize, the `extended stem' is the simple stem plus any
or all of these four extensions, in this order: reflexive, reciprocal,
causative, passive. Less commonly, `reflexive' and `causative' may
be replaced by `repetitive'. To the extended stem, as to the
simple stem, may be added any one of the following options:
(a) negative -me-
(b) potential -eb:l-
(c) impotential -eme-
(d) negative-potential -m:yeb:l-
(e) impotential-potential -em:yeb:l-
Then comes the tense and/or mood characteristic and finally the
personal suffix, which, if Type I, may be preceded by the inter-
rogative particle (the Type II endings are followed by the in-
terrogative particle). Using the stem daya-, all four extensions,
option (e), the future characteristic, the interrogative particle, the
inferential suffix and the Type I ending of the first-person plural,
we arrive at: dayaniStirilamiyab:lecek m:ym:S:z? `is it said
that we may not be able to be made to practise mutual aid?' This
example, though a little contrived, would not strike a Turk as
unnatural. The three following examples are all taken from recent
writings (the third from an article on anti-aircraft defences):
acindirilmadik `we were not made to grieve' (stem aci--
reflexive- causative- passive-negative-first-person plural of
d:-past). taniStirilamadiysaniz `if you were not able to be
introduced' (stem tani--reciprocal- causative- passive-im-
potential-second-person plural of d:-past conditional). :nd:r-
:lem:yeb:lecekler `it may be that they will not be able to be
brought down' (stem :n--causative-passive-impotential-
potential-third-person plural of future).
57. Auxiliary verbs.
(a) etmek. There is a handful of verbal phrases consisting of
a Turkish noun and the verb etmek `to do', on the pattern of
the English 'to do honour to', e.g. yardim etmek `to help'; alay
etmek `to mock'. These served as the model for a vast number
of phrases in which the first element was an Arabic verbal noun:
kabul acceptance kabul etmek to accept
mukayese comparison mukayese etmek to compare
:spat proof :spat etmek to prove
teSk:l formation teSk:l etmek to form
The same device is used nowadays to make verbs from foreign
words, especially French past participles:
de=*sinfecte=* dezenfekte etmek to disinfect
isole=* :zole etmek to isolate, insulate
adapte=: adapte etmek to adapt
organize=* organ:ze etmek to organize
knock-out nakavt etmek to knock out (in boxing)
Nouns whose final syllable is subject to any of the changes
described in I, 16, 17 (c), 19 are usually written as one word with
etmek, especially if they are monosyllables:
af forgiveness affetmek to forgive
f:k:r thought f:kretmek to ponder
tehy:C excitement tehy:cetmek to excite
Exceptional is haketmek 'to deserve', with a single k although
it is from hak, acc. hakki (I, 16, last paragraph); hakketmek `to
engrave' is regular, < @akk (A).
(b) eylemek, formerly an elegant alternative to etmek, is now
little used except (i) to avoid the constant repetition of etmek;
(ii) in Allah rahmet eyles:n and Mevla= rahmet eyleye `God
have mercy <on him/her>'; (iii) in the stereotyped expression ne
etsen:z ne eylesen:z `whatever you do, in spite of all your
efforts' (for the syntax see XX, 7).
(c) kilmak was anciently another alternative to etmek, but as
an auxiliary verb it now occurs regularly only in namaz kilmak
`to perform the rites of Muslim prayer' and takla kilmak `to do
a somersault', though in this latter phrase it is often replaced
by atmak `to throw'. It is still fairly common in the sense of `to
make someone something', as in muharebe har:c-: kilmak
`to render hors de combat' (`to make war-outside') and mecbur
kilmak `to oblige' (`to make compelled'), with the dative of the
-me verbal noun: ben: bunu yap-ma-y-a mecbur kildilar
(or ett:ler) `they have obliged me to do this'.
(d) buyurmak properly means `to order' and was used in
courtly speech as a substitute for other verbs, including etmek
and eylemek, the underlying theory being that exalted persons
do not perform any task themselves but simply command; thus
`he forgave me' would be ben: affett: or ben: affeyled: if the
forgiver were an ordinary man, but ben: af buyurdular (note
the courtly plural) if he were the Sultan.
Nowadays, ne buyurdunuz `what did you say?' is mostly used
ironically, but the imperative buyurun is regularly used to mean
`deign', in making courteous requests. It may be construed with
an accusative when it stands for `take', or with a dative when it
stands for `enter': buyurun kahve-n:z-: `please take your
coffee'; buyurun salon-a `please enter the drawing-room'.
(e) yapmak `to make, do', unlike etmek, does not usually make
transitive verbal phrases; one exception, officially sanctioned,
though disliked by purists, is park yapmak `to park (a car)'.
It replaces etmek, however, when a normally transitive verbal
phrase is used without an object or when the noun element is
defined; i.e. when the noun is really the object of `to do' and is
not just part of a compound verb: bu :k: eser-: mukayese
ed:yor `he is comparing these two works' but bu :k: eser-:n
mukayese-s:-n-: yapiyor `he is making a comparison (`doing
the comparison') of these two works'; masraflarimi hesab-
ed:yorum `I am calculating my expenses' but hesap yapi-
yorum `I am calculating'.
(f) The passive and causative forms of etmek, but not of
eylemek, are in full use: k0prUyU tam:r ed:yorlar `they are
repairing the bridge'; k0prU tam:r ed-:l-:yor `the bridge is
being repaired'; k0prUyU tam:r et-t:r-:yorlar `they are having
the bridge repaired'; k0prU tam:r et-t:r-:l-:yor `the repair of
the bridge is being carried out' (`the bridge is-being-got-repaired')-
For the use of ol-un-mak instead of ed-:l-mek see #54, end.
Some phrases with etmek make their passive in olmak
instead of or as well as in ed:lmek or olunmak. This is easily
explicable where the first element is not a noun but an adjective,
e.g. in kaybetmek `to lose', the kayb being a corruption of the
Arabic gha**'ib `missing', so the passive kaybolmak is literally
`to be missing'. Similarly, from mahku=m `condemned' comes
mahku=m etmek `to condemn', passive mahku=m olmak or
mahku=m ed:lmek. But olmak is also used to make the passive
of a number of etmek compounds whose first element is a noun,
e.g.: tiraS etmek `to shave'; tiraS olmak `to be shaved, shave
oneself'. mahvetmek `to destroy'; mahvolmak `to be de-
stroyed'. defetmek `to repel'; defol! `buzz off !'
In such phrases, olmak seems to mean `to undergo, be sub-
jected to', as in the following examples too:
0ksUrUk olmak to catch a cough
t:fo olmak to catch typhoid
amel:yat olmak to undergo an operation
sUnnet olmak to undergo circumcision
:mt:han olmak to sit an examination
cehennem ol! get to hell out of it!
(g) Any Arabic verbal noun may itself govern an object in the
absence of et- : aCiklama-y-i tekrar etmek :stem:yorum
`I do not wish to repeat the explanation'; aCiklama-y-i tekrar-
dan kaCin-il-miS-tir `repetition of the explanation has been
avoided' (`avoidance-has-been-done from-repeating . . . ). Bursa '-
yi z:yaret ett:m `I visited Bursa'; Bursa'yi z:yaret:m `my
visiting Bursa, my visit to B.' saat-: tahm:n ett:m `I guessed
the time'; saat-: tahm:n-e CaliStim `I tried to guess the time':
onu teSy: edel:m `let us see him off; onu teSy:e hazirlanalim
`let us prepare to see him off'.
The Italian borrowing seen in the transitive verbal phrase
protesto etmek `to protest against' may similarly take a direct
object even in the absence of the auxiliary verb: :SC:ler, lokavt-i
protesto ett:ler `the workers protested-against the lockout';
lokavt-i protesto m:t:ng-: :C:n :z:n alindi `permission has
been obtained for the meeting of protest-against the lockout'.
Note that whereas the i suffixed to lokavt is the mark of
the accusative, the : after m:t:ng is the suffix of the third
person.
The object may be in the dative; e.g. `to attend school' is
okul-a devam etmek (`to do continuance to school'): her
Cocuk, :lk okula devam-a mecbur-dur `every child is obliged
to attend primary school' (`... is compelled to-continuance
to...').
IX. PARTICIPLES
1. Present. The present participle is formed by adding -en to the
stem, original or extended: gelen `coming'; olan `being, becom-
ing'; :nd:r:len `being brought down'; daGiliSan `dispersing'.
The usual y is inserted after vowel-stems and narrows the pre-
ceding vowel, although this narrowing is not always shown in
writing: anla- `to understand', anliyan (anla-y-an) `under-
standing'; bekle `to wait', bekl:yen (bekle-y-en) `waiting'. The
vowel of the negative -me is similarly treated: anlamiyan
(anla-ma-y-an) `not understanding'; olmiyan (ol-ma-y-an)
`not being'; beklem:yen (bekle-me-y-en) `not waiting';
gelm:yen (gel-me-y-en) `not coming'.
These words function as adjectives or nouns: bekl:yen m:sa-
f:rler `the guests who-are-waiting'; bekl:yenler `those who are
waiting'; oynamiyan Cocuklar `children who-do-not-play';
oynamiyanlar `those who do not play'.
Participles exercise the same governance as the corresponding
finite verb; e.g. beklemek is transitive, so its participle governs
an accusative: b:z: bekl:yenler `those who are awaiting us'. But
baSlamak `to begin' takes a dative, so: bu :S-e baSliyanlar
`those who are beginning this job'.
The present participle may overlap the very recent past: yen:
doG-an Cocuk `new-born child'; yen: aCil-an fabr:ka `newly
opened factory'; geC-en hafta `last week'. Such idiomatic uses
must not be confused with situations where the present participle
has to be translated by an English past tense because the main
verb of the sentence is in the past: gUl-en adam Cikarildi `the
man who laughed (lit. `the laughing man') was thrown out'.
The participle of the present II is -mekte ol-an or -mekte
bulun-an.
2. Future I. The participle is identical with the base: olacak
`who/which will be'; olmiyacak `who/which will not be'. In
formal speech and writing, where the rules of word-order are
strictly applied, confusion is unlikely between the future participle
used as an attributive adjective and the third person of the future
simple tense; an attributive adjective precedes its noun, whereas
in formal language the subject precedes its predicate: :y: haber
`good news'; haber :y: `the news is good'. gelecek haber `news
which will come'; haber gelecek `the news will come'.
In informal speech, however, and in the increasingly popular
devr:k cUmle school of writing (XV, 3), the subject may follow
its predicate: gelecek, haber `it will come, the news'. To avoid
ambiguity the future participle is often used together with the
present participle of ol- or bulun- `to be'; gelecek olan haber
`the news which-is about-to-come'; bu :S: yapacak bulunan
amele `the workman who-is going-to-do this job'.
The future participle also functions as a noun: gelecek `who/
which will come, the future'; gelecekler `those who will come';
olacak olur `what-is-to-be will-be'. There is a tendency, how-
ever, to attach case-endings to olan rather than directly to the
future participle, especially in the singular: gelecek olanlarin
(rather than gelecekler:n) CoGu akrabamiz `of-those-who-are
about-to-come most are our relatives'; bunu okuyacak olana
`to-the-one-who-is going-to-read this' (okuyacaGa is theoretically
possible but most unlikely).
Apart from this sense of `who/which is about to ...', the future
participle has a quasi-passive use, as in y:yecek b:r Sey alalim
`let us buy something to eat' (`a thing pertaining-to-future-eating';
okuyacak b:r k:tap :st:yorum `I want a book to read'; softalar
saldiracak adam ariyor `the bigots are seeking someone to
attack' (`man pertaining-to-future-attacking'). The future passive
participle of intransitive verbs is used impersonally in the same
way: otur-ul-mi-y-acak b:r ev `a house not to be lived in'
(`pertaining-to-future-living's-not-being-done'). This use of the
active and the impersonal passive future participle is possible only
when the participle is attributive, never when it is predicative,
whereas the future passive participle of transitive verbs can be
used either way:
Attributive: (a) active: okuyacak b:r k:tap `a book to read';
(b) transitive passive: oku-n-acak b:r k:tap `a book which will
be read'; (c) intransitive passive (impersonal): SaSilacak b:r Sey
`a thing at which surprise will be shown'.
Predicative: transitive passive: bu k:tap oku-n-acak `this
book will be read, is to be read'.
The active participle cannot be used predicatively in the quasi-
passive sense: bu k:tap okuyacak could only mean `this book
will read' and not `this book is one to read'. Nor can the im-
personal passive participle be used predicatively: one can say bu
evde oturulacak `living-will-be-done in this house, one will live
in this house', where oturulacak is a finite verb, but not bu ev
oturulacak.
In this sense of `pertaining-to-future-doing', the future par-
ticiple may be followed by the postposition kadar, e.g. :st:hsal,
:ht:yaClara yet:Sm:yecek kadar az-dir `production is in-
adequate to meet requirements', lit. `is small the amount pertain-
ing to future sufficing for needs'. Here the future participle might
be thought to be an ordinary `which will not suffice', but such an
explanation cannot be applied to d0nem:yecek kadar yUrU-
mUStUk `we had walked too far to turn back'; lit. `amount
pertaining to future inability to turn', not `the amount which will
not be able to turn'. Cocuk, okula g:decek kadar bUyUktUr
`the child is big enough to go to school' (`the amount pertaining
to future going - - -'). Cocuk, okula g:dem:yecek kadar
kUCUktUr `the child is too small to go to school' (`the amount
pertaining to future inability to go ...').
Several future participles have become common nouns, e.g.:
g:y- to put on g:yecek garment
Cek- to pull Cekecek shoe-horn
oy- to drill a hole oyacak drill
yak- to burn yakacak fuel
ye- to eat y:yecek food
The future participle of ol- often has the ironic sense of `who
is supposed to be, so-called': damad-im olacak o kumarbaz
`that gambler who is supposed to be my son-in-law'; d:SC:
olacak o kasap `that butcher who calls himself a dentist'. The
present participle of `to be' is not used after the future partiple
in this use, so damadim olacak olan kumarbaz can only mean
`the gambler who is going to be my son-in-law'.
This sense is sometimes found in the future participle of other
verbs: gUvenl:k saGliyacak :nsanlar `the people who-are-
supposed-to-ensure security'.
See also XX, 9.
3. Future II. The restricted future base -es: may be used as an
adjective: k0r olasi her:f `the damned scoundrel' (`the may-he-
become-blind scoundrel'); can-i Cikasi kari `the accursed
woman' (`the may-her-soul-come-out woman'); ad-i batasi
ka=f:r `the abhorred infidel'. In the colloquial it may occur in
non-pejorative contexts, e.g. SaSilasi b:r Sey is a sub-standard
variant for SaSilacak b:r Sey `an astonishing thing'.
As a noun: k0r olasi bunu yapti mi? `has the damned-one
done this?'; cani Cikasi-nin p:C-: geld: `the accursed-one's
bastard has come'. The suffix -ce may be added without altering
the meaning: k0r olasica, cani Cikasicanin.
4. Aorist. The aorist participles, positive and negative, are
identical with the respective bases:
Finite verb Participle
su akar water flows akar su flowing water
su akmaz water does not akmaz su stagnant water
flow
Sa:r 0lmez the poet does 0lmez Sa:r the immortal
not die poet
Some aorist participles have become or are becoming common nouns:
yaz-ar writer
oku-r yaz-ar literate (`reader-writer')
dUSUn-Ur thinker
Cik-ar profit, advantage (`what comes out')
Cikmaz impasse (short for Cikmaz yol `road which
does not come out')
gel-:r revenue (`what comes')
kes-er adze (`cutter')
All these can be fully declined: yazar-in `the writer's; okur
yazarlar `literates'; Cikmaz-dan `from the impasse', etc. But
aorist participles which usage has not fixed as nouns are not
unusually declined. For example, `he is unreasonable' is s0z anla-
maz, lit. `he does not understand words'. If we wish to use this
expression to translate `those who are unreasonable' we cannot
simply add the plural suffix, since s0z anlamazlar would
naturally be taken as the third-person plural of the finite verb,
`they are unreasonable'. Instead, we either add a noun, e.g.
adam `man' or k:S: `person', or use the present participle of
anla-ma-, or of ol- following anlamaz:
s0z anlamaz adamlar
s0z anlamaz k:S:ler
s0z anlamiyanlar
s0z anlamaz olanlar
5. m:S-past. The participle is identical in form with the base but
has none of the inferential sense of the m:S-past: pla=n hazirla-
n-miS `I gather that the plan has been prepared'; hazirlanmiS
pla=n `the plan which has been prepared'. Like the future par-
ticiple in -ecek, it is often used in conjunction with the present
participle of `to be': gelm:S olan/bulunan arkadaSlar `the
friends who have come'. So, for example, `of those who have sat
down' may be translated:
oturmuSlarin
oturmuS olarlarin
oturmuS bulunanlarin
The following phrase contains the m:S-past, present II, and
future I participles of oku- `to read, study': Avrupa'da
okumuS, okumakta ve okuyacak olan genCler `young people
who have studied, are in process of studying, and will study in
Europe'.
6. d:-past. The participle is identical in form not with the base
but with the first-person plural, -d:k. It appears mostly in frozen
forms, of which these are the commonest:
b:ld:k acquaintance
tanidik ,,
dUSUnUlmed:k unthought-of
:S:t:lmed:k unheard-of
ded:k said
g0rUlmed:k extraordinary (`unseen')
olmadik unprecedented (`not-having-happened')
umulmadik unlooked-for
beklenmed:k unexpected
okumadik unread
okunmadik
yaratik creature
yapilmadik not done
It will be observed that most of these are negative and that
b:ld:k, tanidik, okumadik, ded:k, and yaratik, though active
in form, are passive in meaning. This is because the past participle
in -d:k really means not `having done' but `characterized by past
doing'. So the active okumadik `characterized-by-not-reading'
comes to be synonymous with the passive okunmadik `charac-
terized-by-not-being-read'.
The action may be present as well as past, or begun in the past
and still continuing; the same ambiguity occurs in the English
passive participle: compare `things done nowadays' with `things
done fifty years ago'.
Apart from the frozen forms listed above, any verb may appear
in the negative with -d:k in sentences of the type of `I have left
no stone unturned': okumadik gazete kalmadi `no newspaper
is left unread' (`newspaper characterized-by-not-reading has-not-
remained'); aramadik b:r yer komadim `I have left no place
unsearched'; sUrmed:k kara birakmadilar `they have left no
evil imputation unmade' (`they-have-not-left black characterized-
by-not-smearing'). Care must be taken to distinguish this par-
ticiple from the first-person plural of the d:-past, as in gezmed:k
memleket birakmadik `we have left no country unvisited'.
7. The personal participles. Of paramount syntactic importance
are the forms made by adding a personal suffix to the participles
in -d:k and -ecek. b:r tanidik `an acquaintance' is literally
`a characterized-by-knowing'; the addition of a personal suffix
shows on whose part the knowing was or is, and the resulting
word can be used as an adjective or noun: thus b:r tanidiGim is
`an acquaintance of mine' and tanidiklarim `my acquaintances';
tanidiGim b:r adam `a man I know' (`a man characterized-by-
my-knowing'); tanidiGim adamlar `the men I know'.
Similarly, as okuyacak means `pertaining to future reading',
okuyacaGim means `pertaining to my future reading', `which
I shall read', while the plural okuyacaklarim means `things
which I shall read'.
When the personal suffix is that of the third person, it may
stand in izafet with a qualifier or possessor.
The personal participle is used:
(a) As an adjective. okuyacaGim k:tap `the book which I shall
read'; kardeS-:m-:n bekled:G: m:saf:r `the guest whom my
brother is/was awaiting' (`pertaining to my brother's awaiting');
TUrk:ye'ye geld:G:n:z uCak `the aircraft in which you come/
came to Turkey'; doGduGu Seh:r `the city in which she was
born'; oturacaGimiz ev `the house in which we are going to
live'; konuSacaklari meseleler `the problems which they are
going to discuss'; sevg:, saygi duyduGumuz b:r meslektaS
`a colleague for whom we feel affection, respect' (`pertaining-to-
our-feeling affection ...'); kiz-in oynamadiGi bebek `the doll
with which the girl is/was not playing'; mUcevherler:n CalindiGi
oda `the room from which the jewels were stolen'; bunu aldiGim
f:ata satarim `I shall sell this for the price at which I bought <it>',
It will be seen that from the point of view of the English
translation these examples fall into two classes: those in which the
noun qualified by the personal participle is translated as the direct
object of the verb; and those in which the translation requires the
insertion of a preposition before the relative pronoun (`in which,
for whom, with which, from which, at which').
The device employed to distinguish between past and present
time, when the context is insufficient guide, is exemplified in;
dUn yaptiGim ve bugUn yapmakta olduGum :Sler `the jobs
which I did yesterday and am doing today' (`pertaining-to-my-
doing yesterday and pertaining-to-my-being in-the-act-of-doing
today').
(b) As a noun meaning `that which I do', etc. Avrupa'da
g0rdUkler:m `the things I saw in Europe'; s:ze b:r d:yeceG:m
yok `I have nothing to say to you' (`to-you a thing-of-my-future-
saying is-not'); Beatles'ler:n her yaptiGi I+ng:ltere'de moda
oluyor `everything the Beatles do is becoming the fashion in
England': her `every' qualifies the noun yaptiGi `thing of their
doing'; halk b:z:m :nanmadiGimiza :nanab:l:r `the people
may believe that which we do not believe': :nan- is construed
with a dative; :nanmadiGimiz means `that pertaining to our not
believing'. olduGundan bUyUk g0rUnUr `it seems bigger than
it is' (`... than-that-of-its-being').
In the following phrase the adjectival and nominal uses are
exemplified by baktiGi and sevd:G:n: respectively: her baktiGi
kadinda sevd:G:n: g0ren Sa:r `the poet who sees his beloved
in every woman he looks at' (`seeing in every woman pertaining-
to-his-looking the-one-pertaining-to-his-loving').
(c) As a noun meaning `(the fact of) my doing', etc.: bugUn
g:deceG:m SUphel: `it is doubtful whether I shall go today'
(`my-future-going is doubtful'); I+stanbul'a geld:G:m:n d0r-
dUncU gUnUydU `it was the fourth day after my arrival in
Istanbul' (`... of-my-coming to-Istanbul'); b:r part: kur-
duGunuz, :sm:n:n de TUrk:ye Adalet Part:s: olduGu
doGru mu? `is it true that you have founded a party and that its
name is the Justice Party of Turkey?' (`your-founding ... and
its-name's being ... is true?'); hazir bulunduGuna g0re
`in view of its being ready' (lit. `according to-the-fact-of-its-being
ready'). Cf. olduGuna g0re in XXIV, 18.
The third-singular personal participle of the ancient er- `to be'
survives in the phrase ne :dUGU bel:rs:z `of doubtful antecedents'
(`his-being what, unclear, it being unclear what he is';
for the syntax see XVIII, 1), sometimes modernized to ne
olduGu bel:rs:z.
8. -eceG: gel-. The future personal participle is used with gel-
`to come', as in n:C:n d:yeceG:m gel:yor `I begin to feel like
saying ``why?''', lit. `my-future-saying ``why?'' is-coming'; cf.
uykum gel:yor `my-sleep is-coming', i.e. `I feel sleepy'. I+stan-
bul'u g0receG:m geld: `I feel like seeing Istanbul' (`my-future-
seeing Istanbul has-come')-
9. -es: gel-. The participle of the future II is colloquially used
in the same way: n:C:n d:yes:m gel:yor ; I+stanbul'u g0res:m
geld:. The third-person suffix, however, is omitted; i.e. -es: may
stand for -es:-s: : :nsan-in n:C:n d:yes: gel:yor `one feels like
saying ``why?''' (`man's saying why comes').
10. .eceG: tut-. The future personal participle with tut- `to
catch hold': kizini evlend:receG: tuttu `he was suddenly seized
with the idea of getting his daughter married', lit. `his-future-
causing-to-marry caught-hold'; g:tm:yeceG:m tuttu `I suddenly
feel like not going', lit. `my-future-not-going has-caught-hold')-
11. Periphrastic tenses and moods. The verb ol- is used with the
bases of the present I, the future I, and the m:S-past, to give
a greater suppleness to the tense-system. gel:yor olmalilar `they
must be coming'; bakacak olursaniz `if you will look' (`if-you-are
about-to-look'); gelm:S olacaGiz `we shall have come'; toplanti-
niza :St:rak edemem:S olmaktan mUteess:r:m `I regret not
having been able to take part in your meeting' (`I-am-regretful from-
being having-been-unable-to-do participation'); unutmuS olma-
yin `I hope you have not forgotten' (`do-not-be having-forgotten').
With the aorist participles, ol- gives an inchoative sense: bunu
yapar oldu `he started to do this' (`became doing'); bunu yap-
maz oldu `he stopped doing this' (`became not-doing'); bunu
yapamaz oldu `he became incapable of doing this'; bu tekl:f:
kabul etmez olur muyum h:C, lit. `do I ever become not-
accepting this suggestion?', i.e. `am I ever likely not to accept ... ?'
The use of the future, aorist, and m:S-past bases in such peri-
phrases is readily understandable, as these bases are the participles
of their respective tenses. The reason for the use of the present
base is not so obvious. The fact that in origin it is itself an aorist
(VIII, 16) may be the explanation.
The use of deG:l `not' instead of or as well as the negative verb
also makes possible the expression of a number of shades of
meaning: bu tehl:ke sez:lm:yor deG:l `this danger is not un-
perceived'; bunu yapacak deG:l:m `I do not intend to do this';
bunu b:lmez deG:l:m `I am not unaware of this' (`I-am-not
not-knowing'); b:r net:ceye varmiS deG:l:m `I don't claim to
have reached a conclusion' (`I-am-not having-reached'); bunu
anlamamiS deG:l:m `I have not failed to understand this'
(`I-am-not having-not-understood'); zor kullanmadi deG:l,
kullandi `it's not that he didn't use force; he did' (`force he-did-
not-use not, he-used'); ben, yazinizi okudum deG:l, g0rme-
d:m b:le `I have not read your article; I haven't even seen <it>';
ben, yazinizi okudum deGil, ezberled:m `I have not <merely>
read your article; I have learned (it) by heart'.
X. VERBAL NOUNS
1. Introductory. The principal suffixes which make verbal nouns
are: -mek, -mekl:k, -me, and -:S. Primarily, -mek denotes
pure undefined action, -mekl:k the fact of action, -me the
action or result of action, -:S the manner of action; there is, how-
ever, a certain blurring of the boundaries of their functions.
2. -mek. This is usually termed the suffix of the infinitive (cf.
VIII, 1). It has two peculiarities of accidence: it never takes the
personal suffixes or the suffix of the genitive case (see p. 173,
Addendum). The other cases are in full use:
Absolute: (a) As subject: bunu b:lmek ka=f:d:r `to know this is
sufficient'; esk:den kopmak kolay :S deG:l `to break away from
the old is no easy task'.
(b) As object of :stemek `to want' and b:lmek `to know':
CaliSmak :st:yor `he wants to work'; susmak b:lmez `he does
not know <how> to keep quiet'.
(c) As qualifier in izafet groups: yazmak arzu-su `the desire
to write'; konuSmak n:yet-: `the intention to speak'; eGlenmek
:ht:yac-i `the need to amuse oneself'.
(d) As object of the postpositions :C:n and Uzere: dUnyayi
deG:St:rmek :C:n ne la=zim? `in order to change the world,
what is necessary?' This is the usual way of expressing purpose.
Uzere `on, on the basis of' is similarly used: CarSiya g:tmek
Uzere otobUse b:nd: `she got on the bus to go to the market'.
It also translates `on condition of, on the understanding that':
yarin ger: vermek Uzere bana on l:ra ver:r m:s:n:z? `will
you give me ten liras on the understanding that I give it back
tomorrow?' (`on-the-basis-of to-give back')-
olmak Uzere, lit. `on-the-basis-of to-be', may sometimes be
translated by `being' or `as being' but can often be left un-
translated: bu mektepte on beS ayri m:llet-:n, ekser:s:
albay olmak Uzere, yUksek rUtbel: subay-i okumaktadir
`in this school, high-ranking officers of fifteen different nations are
studying the majority of them being colonels'; alti-si kiz, d0rd-
U erkek olmak Uzere, on talebe-m var `I have ten pupils, six-
of-them girls, four-of-them boys'.
-mek followed by Uzere and part of the verb `to be' means
`to be on the point of': tren, hareket etmek Uzere-yd: `the
train was on the point of starting'.
Accusative as object of verbs other than :ste- and b:l- : evlen-
meG-: dUSUnUyorlar `they are contemplating getting-married';
ay-da :k: yUz l:ra vermeG-: taahhUt eder `he undertakes to
pay 200 liras a month' (`in-the-month'); devletten yardim
g-0rmeG-: umuyoruz `we are hoping to receive help from the
State'; atlamaG-i nasil becerecekt:? `how would he manage
to jump?'; ekmek almaG-i unuttu `he forgot to buy bread'.
In front-vowel verbs, the accusatives of -mek and the verbal
noun in -me (#7) are phonetically identical: g:tmeG-:, g:tme-
y-:. In back-vowel verbs, the accusative and dative of -mak are
phonetically identical, almaG-i and almaG-a both being pro-
nounced alma**. Consequently, the accusative of -mek/mak is
rapidly being supplanted in writing, as it has long been in speech,
by the accusative of -me/ma ; in all the examples in the preceding
paragraph -meG:/maGi can be replaced by -mey:/mayi.
Dative: yUrUmeG-e baSladik `we began to walk'; :sted:G:n:
yapmaG-a aliSiktir `she is accustomed to-doing what-she-
wants'; borcumu 0demeG-e geld:m `I have come to-pay my
debt'; s:gara almaG-a g:tt: `he has gone to buy cigarettes'.
Here too -meye/maya is taking the place of -meGe/maGa,
though for the expression of purpose, as in the last two examples,
-meGe/maGa seems to be holding its own in the written language
for the moment.
Locative: bunu yapmak-ta be:s g0rmed: `he saw no harm
in-doing this'. The locative of -me can replace that of -mek in
such a sentence, but not so frequently in the present II tense
g:tmektey:m, etc.
Ablative: hak:kat-: yazmak-tan kend:m: alamamiStim
`I had-not-been-able-to-restrain myself from-writing the-truth';
pol:s-e haber vermek-ten baSka Carem:z yok 'we have no
remedy other than-to-give information to-the-police'; a=r Cekmek-
ten ba=r Cekmek evla=dir `to-bear burdens is-better than-to-bear
shame'.
See also -mektense, XI, 30.
3. The infinitive with subject. In the older language, the infinitive
in -mek could regularly have a subject: sen b0yle za'm U
p:ndar sah:b-: olmak nedend:r `why are you so puffed up
and conceited?' (lit. `you to-be possessor of such pretension and
conceit is-from-what?'). Modern usage replaces sen olmak `you
to be' by sen:n olma-n `your being'. The old usage survives,
however:
(a) In proverbial expressions: b0yle oGul olmaktan olmamak
yeGd:r `better no son than such a son' (`than <for> such a son to
be, not-to-be is-better').
(b) In dictionary definitions: bulaSmak : b:r nesne, Uzer:ne
sUrUlen b:r Sey yUzUnden k:rlenmek `to be defiled: <for>
a thing to be dirtied because of something smeared on it', where
nesne is the subject of the infinitive k:rlenmek.
(c) In headlines: Nurculuk aleyh:nde konuSan b:r mUftU
susturulmak :stend: `it was desired that a mufti who spoke
against the Nurcu doctrine should be silenced'; the subject of
:stend: `was wanted' is b:r mUftU susturulmak `<for> a mufti
to be silenced'. The text of the story avoids giving the infinitive
a subject by making the verb active: 200 k:S:l:k b:r grup,
mUftUyU susturmak :stem:St:r `a 200-person group wanted
to silence the mufti'. It may be noted, incidentally, that whereas
the text employs the past tense in -m:St:r, the headline has the
synonymous but shorter -d:.
(d) Rarely in other contexts, e.g. parasi Calinmak mi k0tU,
Harpagon olmak mi? `is it worse to have one's money stolen
or to be a miser?', lit. `his-money to-be-stolen is bad? to be
a miser?'
4. -mekl:. The adjectival suffix -l: is occasionally added to the
infinitive, as in :nsan aGlamakli oluyor vallah: `honestly, one
feels like crying' (`man becomes characterized-by-weeping, by-
Allah')-
On the other hand, -s:z `without' is not added to -mek,
-s:z:n being used instead; see XI, 31.
5. Common nouns in -mek. In contrast to the many common
nouns which are in origin -me verbal nouns, very few -mek
infinitives have acquired concrete meaning: yemek `food' (as an
infinitive, `to eat'); Cakmak `cigarette-lighter' (`to strike'); tok-
mak `door-knocker' (from the obsolete infinitive tokimak `to
knock'). The noun ekmek `bread' and the infinitive ekmek `to
sow' are not etymologically connected.
6. -mekl:k. Unlike the bare -mek, -mekl:k can take personal
suffixes and all case-endings. It is nothing like so frequent as
-me, but is rather more precise in its sense of `the act of doing';
it also has one advantage over -me, namely that -me with the
first-singular personal suffix--g:t-me-m `my going'--is indis-
tinguishable in spelling and pronunciation from the first-singular
negative of the aorist present tense--g:t-mem `I do not go'; any
possible ambiguity can be eliminated by using g:tmekl:G:m for
the former. Thus g:tmem la=zim mi? `is my-going necessary,
must I go?' might, if we ignore punctuation, be read as `I'm not
going; must I?', whereas there is no such ambiguity about g:t-
mekl:G:m la=zim mi?
7. -me. Verbal nouns formed with this suffix, unlike those in
-mek, appear in every case and with the personal suffixes. In
the absolute case they are identical in writing with the negative
of the second-person singular imperative, but differ in accentua-
tion:
gelme=* coming ge=*lme do not come
yapma=* doing ya=*pma do not do
In the dative the buffer y narrows the preceding vowel: sor-
m:ya ne lUzum vardir? `what need is there for-asking?' han-
Ceres:n: yirtan hiCkiriklari d:nd:rm:ye uGraSiyordu `she
was striving to still the sobs which tore her throat': sormiya <
sor-ma-y-a; d:nd:rm:ye < d:nd:r-me-y-e, though the un-
narrowed spellings are more frequent in writing.
The -me and not the -mek forms are used in phrases like
`waiting-room, reading-book, working-hours': bekleme salon-u,
okuma k:tab-i, CaliSma saatler-:, since, for example, bekle-
mek means the undefined concept of waiting, whereas what goes
on in a waiting-room is bekleme, the act of waiting. The -me
forms are therefore used in indirect commands: bu yaziyi
okuma-m-i s0yled: `he told me to read this article' (`he-stated
my-action-of-reading'); see XVII, 1.
Forms like tanimamama in the following sentence can be
confusing when first encountered: yaptiGim hatayi memleket:
tanimamama vereb:l:rs:n:z `you may ascribe the mistake
I made to-my-not-knowing the country'. The word is built up
thus: stem tani--negative -ma-verbal noun -ma-`my' -m-
dative -a. If the negative is replaced by the impotential -ama we
get taniyamamama `to my inability to know'.
The English verbal noun may have active or passive meaning;
compare `the singing of the choir' with `the singing of the song'.
Turkish can make passive verbal nouns by adding -me to the
passive stem: bu a=let-: kullan-ma-si `his-using this instru-
ment'; bu a=let-:n kullan-il-ma-si `the use (``the being-used'')
of this instrument'. Although phrases like bunun yapmasi
kolay `the doing of this is easy' do occur, the passive bunun
yapilmasi kolay is more usual.
8. Common nouns in -me. The sense of `result of action' appears
in the use of a great many -me verbal nouns as common nouns,
e.g.:
as- to hang asma vine
devS:r- to levy devS:rme levy, i.e. recruitment or
recruit
dol- to be filled dolma stuffed vine- or cabbage-leaf,
embankment
dondur- to freeze dondurma ice-cream
d0n- to turn d0nme convert
ez- to crush ezme pure=*e
yaz- to write yazma manuscript
Many are used as adjectives, e.g.: asma k0prU `suspension-
bridge'; asma kat `mezzanine floor'; yazma k:tap `manuscript
book'; dolma kalem `fountain-pen'. doG- `to be born', bUyU-
`to grow up': doGma bUyUme b:r I+stanbullu `a born and bred
Istanbul man'; anadan doGma k0r b:r adam `a man blind
from birth' (`from-mother birth blind'). kal- `to remain': baba-
dan kalma emla=k `inherited estates' (`from-father remnant');
Osmanli I+mparatorluGundan kalma b:r:s: `someone left
over from the Ottoman Empire'. yap- `to make': yapma C:Cekler
`artificial flowers'.
The passive verbal noun is also possible in this adjectival use:
I+ng:l:z kumaSindan yapilma b:r ceket `a jacket made of
English cloth'.
9. -mel:. For the specialized function of this ending see VIII, 30.
Descriptive adjectives of this form are few, e.g. asmali `having
a vine' (Asmali Mesc:t `Mosque of the Vine' is the name of a
mahalle, quarter, of Istanbul); aGlamali `tearful'.
10. -masyon. The ending of such French borrowings as organ:-
zasyon, adaptasyon, and telekomUn:kasyon is jocularly
conflated with the -me verbal nouns of uydur- `to invent' and
at- `to boast', giving uydurmasyon `concoction, fabrication'
and atmasyon `line-shooting'.
11. -:S. This denotes not only the manner but also the fact of
action, e.g. from yUrU- `to walk': bu yUrU-y-US-le kasabaya
akSama kadar varmiS olacaGiz `with this way of walking, at
this rate, we shall have reached the town by evening'. her gUn
b:r saat yUrUyUS yapmalisiniz `you ought to do an hour's
walking every day' (b:r saat is adverbial). Note that the English
verbal noun `walk' has the same two senses.
When this suffix is added to vowel-stems the buffer y does not
usually narrow the preceding vowel; thus from anla- `to under-
stand', anlayiS; from de- `to say', dey:S. But from ye- `to eat',
y:y:S is more common than yey:S, probably because of the
cumulative narrowing effect of the two y's: her y:G:d-:n b:r
yoGurt y:y:S-: var `every young man has a way-of-eating
yoghurt', i.e. everyone has his own way of doing things.
The -:S verbal noun can also be made from passive stems: bu
ev-:n yap-il-iS-i `the structure of this house' (`way-of-being-
made').
A limited number of -:S verbal nouns form adjectives with
-l:, e.g.:
elver- to be suitable elver:Sl: suitable
g0ster- to show g0ster:Sl: ostentatious
kullan- to use kullaniSli serviceable
yaG- to rain yaGiSli rainy
12. -mezl:k, -memezl:k. The addition of -l:k (IV, g) to the
negative aorist base makes a few abstract nouns such as anlaS-
mazlik `misunderstanding', saldirmazlik `non-aggression',
doymazlik `insatiability'. From this form comes a reduplicated
negative in -me-mez-l:k, denoting persistent non-doing, failure
to do: pol:t:kacilarin uzaGi g0r-e-memezl:G-: `the short-
sightedness of the politicians' (`their-persistent-inability-to-see
the-distant'); gelmemezl:k etme, sen: bekler:z `don't fail to
come; we expect you'; tat:llerde CaliSmamazlik etme `don't
fail to work in the vacation'; ona sela=m vermemezl:k edemez-
d:m, CUnkU o bana `merhaba' ded: `I couldn't not greet him,
for he said ``hello'' to me'.
The ablative, less commonly the dative, of -memezl:k with
gelmek `to come', or the dative of -mezl:k with vurmak `to
strike', means `to pretend not to':
b:lmemezl:kten gelemezs:n:z
b:lmemezl:Ge gelemezs:n:z you cannot pretend not to know
b:lmezl:Ge vuramazsiniz
There is some fluctuation of usage; -memezl:Ge vurmak is
used by some speakers of standard Turkish, but -mezl:kten
gelmek is a provincialism.
Addendum to #2. In transliterated Ottoman texts, forms in
-meG:n will be found; this is not the genitive but the instru-
mental of -mek. For example, olmaGin means `by being', `be-
cause of being', `with being', or `when being'.
XI. [MISSING: ADVERBIALS]
1. Introductory, This chapter deals with the many adverbial
forms of the verb. The term `gerunds' has been chosen from
among the several terms in use, which include `deverbal adverbs',
`adverbials', `gerundives', `gerundia', and `converbs', as it has the
merit of brevity. Those who are familiar with the gerund in Latin,
however, will find little in common between it and most of the
forms here described. Indeed, the only point of approach is that
one sense of the adverbial form of the verb -erek, `by doing', is
like that of the ablative case of the Latin gerund, e.g. faciendo.
The forms treated in ##2-12 are made by adding suffixes to
verb-stems, with the usual y as buffer where necessary and the
usual fluctuation of usage about the narrowing or otherwise of
a preceding vowel; e.g. anla- with the suffix -erek may be found
spelled as anlayarak or anliyarak.
The forms treated in sections ##13-33 are formed from par-
ticiples, tense-bases, or verbal nouns.
2. -e. We have already met this suffix in the formation of the
potential verb. It occurs also in a few frozen forms, made from
the stems geC- `to pass', kal- `to remain', rasgel- `to meet by
chance', ortaklaS- `to enter into partnership', sap- `to deviate',
de- `to say', and Cal- `to strike, throw'. Cf. g0re, VII, 4.
geC-e, kal-a are used to indicate the hour of the clock at
which something happens: saat UC-U y:rm: geCe geld: `he came
at twenty past three' (`twenty passing hour three'); saat d0rd-e
beS kala g:tt: `he went at five to four' (`five remaining to hour
four'). The saat may be omitted: UCU y:rm: geCe; d0rde beS
kala. kala is also used in expressions of distance like eve b:r
k:lometre kala benz:n b:tm:S `a kilometre from home we ran
out of petrol' (`to-the-house one kilometre remaining, the petrol
finished').
rasgele `haphazardly': rasgele b:r tanes:n: aldim `I took
one of them haphazardly, at random'.
ortaklaSa `jointly, in common': bUtUn bu serv:sler, Comet
4B jet uCaklariyla ve Olymp:c A:rways :le ortaklaSa
yapilir `all these services are carried out with Comet 4B jet
aircraft and in conjunction with O.A.'
sapa is an adjective meaning `out of the way, off the beaten
track'.
d:ye `saying': evet d:ye cevap verd: `he answered ``yes''' (`he
gave answer saying yes'). Its use has been greatly extended:
(a) To saying in writing: yarin gel d:ye b:r telgraf Cekt: `he
sent a telegram saying ``come tomorrow'''. GI+RI+LMEZ d:ye b:r
levha `a sign saying NO ADMITTANCE''' (note the impersonal
passive g:r:lmez, lit. `entering is not done').
(b) To unspoken thoughts: k:m bunu yapti d:ye dUSUnU-
yordum `I was wondering who had done this' (`I was thinking,
saying ``who has done this?''').
(c) To expressions of purpose and intention: Allah sen:
dUnya boS kalmasin d:ye yaratmamiS `God did not create
you just to take up room' (`saying ``let the world not remain
empty'''). Hence the common interrogative ne d:ye? `with what
intention?' (`saying what?'): ne d:ye yemek yem:yorsun?
`what's the idea of not eating?'; ne d:ye erken geld:n?--s:z:
bekletm:yey:m d:ye `why have you come early?'--`in order
not to keep you waiting' (`saying-what have you come early?'--
`saying let me not make you wait').
(d) Colloquially it is used for `named': BeS S+eh:r d:ye b:r
k:tap `a book named Five Cities'; L:va d:ye b:r dostum var
`I have a friend named Liva'. In formal language, the place of
d:ye in these two examples would be taken by adli, :s:ml:, or
:sm:nde.
(e) In the sense of namina (VII, 7): ehl:yet :mt:hani d:ye
b:r Sey yok BelC:ka'da `there is nothing you could call a
driving-test in Belgium'.
Cala occurs in some compound adverbs, e.g.: Calakalem
yazmak `to write busily' (lit. `throwing-pen'); CalakaSik yemek
`to gobble greedily' (`throwing-spoon'); CalakUrek aCilmak `to
row away at full speed' (`to recede throwing-oar').
These frozen forms apart, the -e gerund does not occur singly;
either (a) the -e gerund of one verb is repeated or (b) the -e
gerunds of two verbs are used side by side, indicating repeated
action contemporaneous with that of the main verb. The accent
falls on the first -e of the pair:
(a) leylek zipliya zipliya uzaklaSmiSti `the stork had hopped
away' (zipla- `to hop'; lit. `the stork hopping hopping had
receded'); :nsan belk: d0GUle d0GUle uslanir `perhaps one
grows well-behaved with being constantly beaten' (d0GUl- pass:ve
of d0G- `to beat'); her kel:me :C:n kalem:n: d0rt beS kere
hokkasina batira batira uzun uzun yazdi `dipping his pen
into his ink-well four or five times for each word, he wrote at
great length' (batir- `to dip', causative of bat- `to sink'). Another
example is seen in the formula of farewell: gUle gUle! `<go>
happily!' (gUl- `to laugh').
With phrases formed from a verbal noun and an auxiliary verb,
there is no need to repeat the verbal noun; thus from tak:b-
etmek `to follow': :zler:n: tak:bede ede yUrUdUk `we walked,
following their tracks'. From feth-etmek `to conquer': mem-
leketler fethede ede :lerled:ler `they advanced, conquering
country after country'.
(b) yUrUkler kona g0Ce yaylaya g:tt:ler `the nomads went
to the plateau, camping and moving on, camping and moving on'
(kon- `to settle', reflexive of ko- `to put'; g0C- `to migrate');
b0yle gelm:S b0yle g:decek dUnyamiz: bozula dUzele,
deG:Se gel:Se, yen: esk:y:, esk: yen:y: vura vura `thus our
world has come <down to us> and thus will it go <on>: being-spoilt
and put-right, changing and developing, the new constantly-
striking the old, the old the new'. Other examples: hopliya
zipliya `hopping and skipping'; gUle oyniya `laughing and
dancing'; :te kaka `pushing and shoving'; dUSe kalka `falling
and rising', i.e. with great difficulty.
The repeated -e gerund has an idiomatic use, exemplified in:
g:de g:de s:nemaya mi g:tt:n? lit. `going and going was it to
the cinema you went?', i.e. with all that going, after all that,
couldn't you find anywhere better to go than the cinema? gele
gele b:r kUCUk paket geld: `after all that, one little parcel came'.
bana da kala kala C:rk:n b:r kadinin karSisinda boS b:r
yer kalmiS lit. `and to me, remaining and remaining, an empty
place remained opposite an ugly woman', i.e. after all that waiting
for a seat, all that was left for me was ... .
3. -erek. Whereas -e -e denotes repeated activity contemporaneous
with the main verb, -erek denotes a single act or continued acti-
vity contemporaneous with or slightly prior to the main verb.`
The first vowel of this suffix is accented, except (a) with negative
stems, where, as usual, the syllable before the negative -me is
accented, thus b:le=*rek `knowingly' but b:=*lm:yerek `unknowingly';
(b) in o=*larak `being', which has the initial accent usual in adverbs
(see #4)- gUlerek cevap verd: `laughingly he answered'; kapiyi
aCarak sokaGa firladi `opening the door, he rushed into the
street'; g0rmezl:Ge vurarak geCt: `pretending not to see, he
passed by'.
It often corresponds to the English `by doing' or `with doing':
b:r okuyucu bu yaziya dayanarak hataya dUSeb:l:r `a
reader, by-relying on this article, may-fall into error'; gecey:
konuSarak geC:rd:k `we passed the night with-talking'.
As repeated actions can merge into continuous action, the
senses of -e -e and -erek overlap to some extent; for `he came
running', koSa koSa geld: and koSarak geld: are both possible,
and `you did this deliberately' may be bunu b:le b:le yaptin or
bunu b:lerek yaptin. In the next example, the main verb is
modified by two -erek gerunds, the second of which is itself
modified by an -e -e gerund: her yaptiGini bana aCiklayarak,
a=letler:n: seve seve kullanarak :k: saat kadar CaliSti
`explaining to me everything he did, using his instruments
lovingly, he worked for some two hours'.
4. olarak. The -erek form of ol- more often than that of other
verbs, has a different subject from the main verb: bu sene :lk defa
olarak Amer:ka'ya g:tt:k `this year, for the first time (lit. `<it>
being the first time'), we went to America'. yemek olarak b:r
k:lo elma aldim `as food (``being food'') I bought a kilo of
apples'. In the next example, the subject of olarak could be `I' or
`you' (it is in fact `I'): s:ze b:r dost olarak bunu s0ylUyorum
`I am telling you this as a friend'. This word therefore becomes
a useful device for creating adverbial phrases: net:ce olarak (`it
being the result') `consequently'; kat'i= olarak or kes:n olarak
` definitely'.
5. -:p. Instead of using two verb-stems with identical suffixes
side by side or joined by `and', such as kalktik g:tt:k `we rose,
we went' or okumaz ve yazamaz `he cannot read and he cannot
write', -:p may be added to the first verb-stem: kalk-ip g:tt:k;
oku-y-up yaz-a-maz. For `let me go and work in the city', there
is no need to say g:dey:m (ve) Seh:rde CaliS-ayim; g:d-:p
Seh:rde CaliS-ayim is sufficient. Instead of oyna-mak ve
Sarki s0yle-mek `to dance and to sing', oyna-y-ip Sarki
s0yle-mek.
otur-up konuS-uyorlar `they are sitting and talking'; ara-
y-ip bul-madi `he did not seek and find'; :C-:p y:-y-eceG:z `we
shall drink and eat'; otur-up d:nlen-:n:z `sit and rest!'; g:d-ip
g0r-mel:y:z `we ought to go and see'; seC-:p al-irsam `if
I choose and buy'; gel-:p g:d-enler `those who come and go'
(note that this is not synonymous with gelenler ve g:denler
`those who come and those who go').
If a positive stem with -:p is followed by the same verb's
negative stem with the suffix of a verbal noun or personal par-
ticiple, the sense is of a choice between the positive and the
negative: l:der': beGen-:p beGen-me-mek, sank: da=va=ya
:nan-ip :nan-ma-ma 0lCUsU olmuStur `approval or dis-
approval of the leader has become as it were the criterion of belief
or disbelief in the cause' (lit. `to-approve-and not-to-approve ...
has become the measure of to-believe-and not-to-believe ...');
kend:s:n: sev-:p sev-me-d:G:m: b:lm:yorum `I do not know
whether I love her or not' (`... my-loving-and my-not-loving');
davetler:n:n kabul ed-:p et-m:-y-eceG:me karar vermel:-y:m
`I ought to decide whether or not to accept their invitation'
(`I-ought-to-give decision to-my-future-doing acceptance and
my-future-not-doing'); gelel:m ben:m b:r eleSt:rmec: ol-up
ol-ma-diGima `let us come to the question of whether or not
I am a critic' (`let-us-come to-my-being-and my-not-being ...').
ben:m sor-ul-up sor-ul-mi-y-acaGindan end:Se ett:G:m
sual Suydu `the question about which I was anxious whether it
would be asked or not was this' (`the question pertaining-to-my-
doing anxiety from-its-future-being-asked-and not-asked was-
this'; Suydu == Su-:d:).
The use of de `and' (see XIII, 2) after -:p marks a break be-
tween the action of the two verbs; this is particularly common
when the second verb is negative but the first is not: Zengo'yu
g0r-Up de kork-ma-mak :mka=nsizdi `it was impossible to
see Zengo <the name of a bandit> and not be afraid'. Without the
de, the meaning would be `... not to see and not to be afraid'
b:l-:p de s0ylemek :stem:yenler:n tavr:yle ded: k: ...
`with the air of those who know and do not want to tell, he said
...'. Here the de separates b:l- from s0ylemek and also from
the negative element in :stem:yenler:n; i.e. the suffixes which
are replaced by the -:p are -en-ler-:n `of those who'. Without the
de, the -:p would link b:l- to s0ylemek: `... those who do not
want to know and to tell'. ne yapacaksin, eve g:d:p de? `what
will you do when you have gone home?' (in reply to eve g:d:-
yorum `I am going home'). Here the de marks a time-lag be-
tween the going and the doing. In this example there may be
detected a trace of the original function of -:p, which was to create
past participles. There is a clear survival of this use in the
traditional joke about Nasrettin Hoja's planting a tree, making
water on it and saying g0rUp g0receG:n rahmet bu kadar!
`that's all the rain you're ever going to see !' (`the rain you-have-
seen-and will-see is this much').
Modern writers tend to avoid using more than one -:p in
a sentence, except for some stereotyped phrases: ne yapip
yapip bu :S: baSarmali `at all costs (``doing-and doing what'')
one must make a success of this task'; dUSUnUp dUSUnUp Su
tekl:fte bulunuyorlar `after thinking and thinking they are
making this proposal'.
Other set expressions involving -:p include: durup dururken
`without provocation', lit. `while standing and standing': durup
dururken bana hUcum ett: `he attacked me unprovoked', i.e.
while I was just standing and minding my own business. olup
b:tmek (`to occur and finish') `to happen', of which the past
tense olup b:tt: is used as a noun, `event, fait accompli'.
s0vUp saymak (`to swear and recount') `to curse and swear'.
6. -:nce. This denotes action just prior to that of the main verb.
The accent is on the first syllable of this suffix. o gel:nce kal-
karim `when he comes I shall get up'. b0yle yaz de-y-:nce
yaz-an, sus dey:nce sus-an haber mUessese-s: olur mu?
`can there be an organ of the press like this, which writes when
it is told to write and is silent when told to be silent?' (`thus,
on-<someone's>-saying ``write !'' writing, on-<someone's>-saying
``be-silent !'' being-silent news-institution occurs?'). yaninda
biCaG-i varsa Uzer:me hUcum ed-:nce ne yaparim ben?
`if he has his knife on him, when he attacks me what do I do?'
otobUs gel-me-y-:nce b:r taks:ye b:nd:m `as the bus did not
come I got into a taxi'. hoca ol-ma-y-inca talebe olmaz ya!
`if there is no teacher there is no pupil, you know !' (`teacher not-
being, pupil does-not-occur').
gel:nce `on coming' is frequently used after a dative to mean
`as for': bana gel:nce `as for me'; paraya gel:nce, o Cok zor
b:r mesele `as for money, that's a very difficult problem'.
In the older language, -:nce meant `until'; the sense of `on
doing' was then expressed by the now defunct -:cek. The older
meaning of -:nce survives only in proverbs: Arap doy-unca
ye-r, Acem Catla-y-inca `the Arab eats until he is satisfied, the
Persian until he bursts'.
7. -:nceye kadar, -:nceyedek, -:nceye deG:n `until'. This is
simply the dative of -:nce with a postposition meaning `as far as':
rapor neSr-ol-uncaya kadar h:C b:r Sey yapamayiz `we can-
not do anything until the report is published'; 0l-Unceyedek
beka=r kalacak `he will remain a bachelor until he dies'.
8. -ene kadar, -enedek, -ene deG:n `until'. This use of the
dative of the present participle with a postposition meaning `as
far as' is no longer confined to the popular language; though
more informal than -:nceye kadar, it has a respectable recent
literary past and is especially frequent in newspapers: hUkUmet,
abluka altina alinan yerlerdek: TUrkler aClik tehl:kes:yle
karSilaS-ana kadar pas:f kalmiStir `the government has
remained passive until the Turks in the blockaded areas (``the
places taken under blockade'') are faced with the danger of
hunger'. bugUn-e gel-ene kadar bunun farkinda deG:ld:m
`until <coming to> today I was not aware of this' (`I-was-not in-
the-discernment-of this'). b:z g:d-ene kadar orada hap:s
kalacaktir `until we go, he will remain imprisoned there'.
9. -es:ye `to the point of'. This dative of the participle of the
future II occurs mostly in set expressions: Cildir-asiya sevmek
`to love to the point of going mad'; onu 0ldUr-es:ye d0vdUm
`I beat him to the point of killing'; bu elb:sey: ver-es:ye yap-
tir-dim `I have had this suit made on credit' (`for future giving';
the uninflected veres: is also used in this sense); bayil-asiya
gUldUler `they laughed to the point of fainting'; kend:ler:nden
geC-es:ye hora teperlerdi `they used to dance the hora (a cyclic
dance) to the point of losing consciousness' (`to-the-point-of-
passing from-themselves').
The negative is rare, except for durmamasiya `unceasingly'.
-es:ye kadar in the sense of -:nceye kadar `until' is a pro-
vincialism.
10. -el:, -el: ber:, -el:den ber:, -d:m -el: `since'. The -d:m in
this last is the first-person singular of the past tense, which
changes as appropriate:
gelel:
b:z buraya gelel: ber: h:C yaGmur yaGmadi
gelel:den ber:
geld:k gelel:
`since we came here it has not rained'. s:z geld:n:z gelel: `since
you came'; o geld: gelel: `since he came'. b:z buraya gelel: :k: yil
oldu olmadi `it is scarcely two years since we came here' (`two
years have-been have-not-been').
In the older language, -el:den was used without ber: for `since'.
-el: suffixed to a negative stem means `during the time that ...
not', but is best translated `since': ben g0rm:yel: b:rkaC k:lo
verm:Ss:n:z `since I saw <you>, you have lost some weight'.
11. oldum olasi or oldum olasiya. This expression means `ever
since the beginning of things, for as long as anyone can remember'.
It is a corruption of oldu olali `since it has been'; in spite of
appearing to contain the first-person singular oldum, it does not
mean `for as long as I can remember'. bu durum bugUn olmuS
deG:ld:r; oldum olasi b0yled:r `this situation has not come
into existence today; it has always been thus'.
12. -meden or -mezden `before, without'; -meden or -mezden
evvel/0nce `before'. The forms in -mezden are much less com-
mon in writing than those in -meden. ben gelmeden evvel
:Se baSlamayiniz `don't start work before I come'; mektubu
okumadan atti `he threw the letter away without reading <it>';
`Para bulunmazdan k:mse Cikamaz' d:yor pol:s ```Before
the money is found no one can go out'', says the policeman'.
An adverb may be introduced before the evvel or 0nce: o
0lmeden az 0nce `a little before he died'; b:z ayrilmadan :k:
gUn evvel `two days before we left'.
Cok geCmeden (`before much passes') means `before long'. To
avoid suffixing -s:z `without' to s:z `you', `without you' is ex-
pressed, in contexts where sens:z would be too familiar, by s:z
olmadan `without your being'.
This ending -meden looks like the ablative of the -me verbal
noun; hence indeed its use with evvel and 0nce. Historically,
however, it is not so, as is shown by the accentuation, for the
ending is enclitic, the accent falling on the verb-stem: ge=*lmeden,
oku=*madan, whereas in the ablative of -me it is the -den that is
accented. Because of the risk of ambiguity, the ablative of -me
is not used as often as it might be; e.g. k:tap okumadan Cok
eGlen:yorum could be taken to mean `I get a lot of fun without
reading books', so to express `I get a lot of fun from reading books'
one uses the ablative of -mek rather than of -me: k:tap okumak-
tan, etc.
13. -r -mez. The juxtaposition of the positive and negative
aorist bases denotes `as soon as': ben oturur oturmaz telefon
Caldi `as soon as I sat down, the telephone rang' (i.e. just as
I was on the border-line between not-sitting and sitting); ger:l-
la=*cilar, karanlik basar basmaz g0rev :C:n derhal toplanir-
lar `the guerillas assemble at once for duty as soon as darkness
falls'. Colloquially, the positive and negative of the d:-past are
similarly used: oturdum oturmadim telefon Caldi. A similar
colloquial use is exemplified in o geld: m: geld: bana haber
ver `let me know the moment he comes' (lit. `has he come? he has
come; <in that case> tell me').
Three exceptions: :ster :stemez is an adverbial phrase meaning
`whether one wants it or not, willy-nilly'; olur olmaz and b:l:r
b:lmez are adjectival phrases meaning respectively `ordinary,
chosen at random' and `half-knowing, with a little knowledge'.
14. -d:kCe. The suffix -ce (XII, 2) added to the participle in -d:k
denotes `so long as, the more': ben konuS-tukCa konuSacaGim
gel:r `the more I talk, the more I feel like talking' (`as I talk,
my-future-talking comes'). o gUl-dUkCe ben de gUldUm `the
more she laughed, the more I laughed'. sen o mektubu yazmaG-i
gec:kt:r-d:kCe baSlamasi gUC olacak `the more you delay
writing that letter, the harder it will be to begin' (`its beginning
will become hard'). dedem koynunda yat-tikCa ben:m-s:n
ey gUzel toprak `so long as my ancestors lie in your bosom you
are mine, o lovely land'. doGu, :nsan-in p:S-t:kCe sustuGu,
sus-tukCa p:St:G: yer `the east is the place where the more one
matures the more one is silent; the more silent one is the more
one matures' (`the place pertaining to his--man's--being silent
as-he-matures' and vice versa).
The negative means much the same as -me-y-:nce: devlet
yardim et-me-d:kCe fert ne yapab:l:r? `so long as the State
does not help, what can the individual do?'
The use of her `every' before -d:kCe gives the sense of `when-
ever': b:ze her geld:kCe C:Cek get:r:yor `every time he comes
to us he brings flowers'.
Particularly common are g:tt:kCe `gradually' (lit. `as it goes');
gUn geCt:kCe `as the days pass'; oldukCa `rather': o akSam
oldukCa az yed: `that evening he ate rather little'.
15. -d:G:nce. The suffix -ce can also be added to the personal
participle; this was an old Anatolian equivalent of -d:kCe but is
sometimes used nowadays in the sense of `in the measure of his
doing' or `inasmuch as he does': herkes, elden geld:G:nce,
fak:rlere yardim etmel: `everyone ought to help the poor as
much as he can afford' (`in-the-measure-of-its-coming from-
hand'). uzaGi g0remed:G:m:zce, manzara hakkinda b:r
f:kr:m:z yoktu `inasmuch-as-we-could-not-see far, we had no
idea about the landscape'.
16. -d:kte `on doing, at the moment of doing'. This is not very
frequent. It may be reinforced by her: her mektup aldikta
yUzU gUler `every time he gets a letter his face lights up'; her
geld:kte kavga eder `every time he comes he quarrels'.
17. -d:kten sonra `after doing'. This is the regular converse of
-meden evvel/0nce- roman-i oku-duktan sonra f:kr:m:
s0yl:yey:m `let me state my opinion after reading the novel'.
Expressions of time may be inserted: yen: vaz:fe-m-e baSla-
diktan b:r hafta sonra tuhaf b:r Sey oldu `a week after <my>
beginning my new duty, a queer thing happened'.
18. -d:kten baSka `apart from doing, in addition to doing';
o, bu S::r: oku-duktan baSka ezberlem:S de `apart from
reading this poem he has learned it by heart too'; :ng:l:zce
konuS-ama-diktan baSka, tUrkCe de b:lmez-s:n `apart from
not being able to speak English, you don't know Turkish either'.
19. -d:G:nden baSka. The personal participles are similarly used
in the ablative with baSka: konuSamadiGindan baSka `apart
from the fact that you cannot speak'; ev parasini 0d:yem:yece-
G:nden (0de- `to pay') baSka `apart from the fact that he is not
going to be able to pay the rent'.
20. Gerund-equivalents. The personal participles form the basis
of a number of gerund-equivalents (i.e. phrases equivalent in
meaning to a gerund) about which one important general observa-
tion must be made: if they have a third-person subject expressed,
it is in the absolute case. Consider first these three sentences:
(a) o gUn yaGmur yaGdi `that day, it rained'.
(b) o gUnlerde Cok yaGmur yaGdi `in those days it rained a lot'.
[(c) MISSING: (o gUn yaGmurluydu)]
In (a), o gUn is an adverb modifying yaGdi; in (c) it is a noun-
phrase, subject of :d:. o gUnlerde in (b) is, in Turkish termino-
logy, a locative complement to the verb (in English we should call
it an adverbial phrase of time). Now if o is replaced by a personal
participle whose subject is a noun, that noun stays in the absolute
form in (a) but goes into the genitive in the other two sentences:
(a) Orhan geld:G: gUn yaGmur yaGdi `the day Orhan came, it rained'.
(b) Orhan'in R:ze'de kaldiGi gUnlerde Cok yaGmur yaGdi
`in the days Orhan stayed at Rize, it rained a lot'.
(c) Orhan'in geld:G: gUn yaGmurlu :d: `the day Orhan came was rainy'.
The words Orhan geld:G: gUn in (a) are a gerund-equivalent;
i.e. they could be replaced by Orhan gel:nce or Orhan geld:kte,
and so Orhan remains in the absolute case. But Orhan'in kal-
diGi in (b) and Orhan'in geld:G: in (c) are adjectival phrases,
qualifying gUnlerde and gUn respectively, and as their subject
Orhan is definite it is put in the genitive. The same distinction
is seen in these examples: soyadi kanunu CikacaGi zaman ben
Avrupaya g:tm:St:m `when the surname-law was about to be
promulgated, I had gone to Europe'; soyadi kanununun Cika-
caGi gUnlerde b:r akSam yemeG:nde AtatUrk'Un sofrasinda
:d:m `in the days when the surname-law was about to be promul-
gated, at one evening meal I was at AtatUrk's table'. In the first
example, zaman is an adverb and the phrase soyadi ... zaman
is a gerund-equivalent; in the second, gUnlerde is a noun and
soyadi ... CikacaGi an adjectival phrase qualifying it.
:nsan vas:yetnames:n: yazacaGi zaman avukatini CaGir-
mali `when a man is about to write his will he should call his
lawyer'; here again zaman is an adverb and :nsan ... zaman
a gerund-equivalent. But in :nsanin vas:yetnames:n: yazacaGi
zaman olur `the time occurs when a man is about to write his
will', zaman is the subject, qualified by :nsanin ... yazacaGi.
Such gerund-equivalents, containing the words zaman or
vak:t `time', gUn `day', an `instant', sira `moment', used ad-
verbially in the absolute form and qualified by a personal par-
ticiple, correspond to English adverbial clauses of time.
g:tt:G:m:z zaman o kaldi when we went, he stayed
g:tt:G:m:z zaman o kalir when we go, he stays
g:tt:G:m:z zaman o kalacak when we go, he will stay
g:deceG:m:z zaman o geld: when we were about to go, he came
g:deceG:m:z zaman o gel:r when we are about to go, he comes
g:deceG:m:z zaman o gelecek when we are about to go, he will come
21. -d:G: mUddetCe `as long as': Osman bahCede CaliStiGi
mUddetCe Sarki s0yler `Osman sings all the time he works in
the garden'. In this gerund-equivalent, mUddetCe may be re-
placed by the neologism sUrece.
22. -d:G: halde. The most frequent sense of this gerund-
equivalent is `although': `ve' edat-i o kadar yaygin kul-
laniSli olduGu halde d:l:m:zdek: yer-: sanildiGindan Cok
daha az 0neml:d:r `although the particle ve is so widely used,
its place in our language is much less important than is thought'.
baGirdiGim halde k:mse yardima gelmed: `although I
shouted, no one came to help'.
It is, however, also found in its literal sense of `in a state of
...ing': bacaGi alCida olduGu halde eve d0ndU `she returned
home with her leg in plaster' (`in a state of being her-leg in-
plaster'; for the construction, see XVIII, 1).
23. -d:G: takd:rde lit. `in-the-assumption pertaining-to-his-
...ing' is still used to mean `in the event of his ...ing', though
disapproved by modernists, who prefer a simple `if'-clause:
hazir bulunamadiGiniz takd:rde toplantiyi teh:r eder:z `in
the event of your being unable to be present, we shall postpone
the meeting'.
24. -d:G: :C:n or -d:G:nden. The personal participle followed by
:C:n or in the ablative case means `because of his ...ing': b:r
mUslUman-la evlend:G: :C:n (or evlend:G:nden) k:l:seden
atilmiStir `because she married <with> a Muslim she has been
expelled from the church'; bu akSam t:yatroya g:deceG:m:z
:C:n (or g:deceG:m:zden) yemek erken y:yeceG:z `because
we are going to go to the theatre this evening, we shall dine early'.
25. -d:G: n:spette `in proportion to his ...ing'. This is a little
antiquated, and most writers nowadays would prefer -d:kCe:
annem, kend:n: mUdafaaya CaliStiGi n:spette fazla ez:l:rd:
`my mother used to be all the more bullied as she tried to defend
herself' (`... used to be more crushed in the proportion of her
trying ...').
26. -d:G: kadar. The personal participle followed by kadar
`amount' means `as much as': :sted:G:n:z kadar kalab:l:r-
s:n:z `you can stay as long as you want'; doyacaGimiz kadar
y:yeceG:z `we shall eat as much as will fill us' (`... the amount
pertaining-to-our-future-being-satiated').
27. -d:G: g:b: `as soon as he does/did' or `as he does/did'. In the
first of these two uses the -d:G: g:b: is a gerund-equivalent. The
two uses are paralleled in English; cf. `I left as he came in' and `I
think as he thinks'.
-eceG: g:b:, however, is not a gerund-equivalent but is used
only in the literal sense of `as he will ...': 0Gretmen, ders:
0Grenc:-n:n anliyacaGi g:b: anlatmali `the teacher should
explain the lesson in a way the pupil will understand' (`like
what-he-will-understand')-
28. -eceG:ne or -ecek yerde `instead of ...ing': her:f benden
0zUr d:leyeceG:ne (or d:leyecek yerde) kUfUre, hakarete
baSladi `the scoundrel, instead of begging pardon from me,
began swearing and insulting'. baSkasi yUz vereceG:ne (or
verecek yerde) s:z y:rm: ver:n `instead of someone else giving
a hundred, you give twenty' (the speaker is offering a bargain).
kiSin burada kal-ip yUk olacaGima (or olacak yerde) Sehre
g:d-:p ekmeG:m: ararim `instead of staying here in winter and
being a burden, I shall go to the city and seek my bread'.
29. -mekle. This and the next two gerunds are based on the
infinitive.
-mekle is frequent in its literal sense of `with/by ...ing':
g:tmekle aptallik ett:m `I did a silly thing by going'; gUnU-
mU hep CaliSmakla geC:rd:m `I spent my day entirely with working'.
As the infinitive could regularly have a subject in the older
language (see X, 3), -mekle used to occur with a subject different
from that of the main verb, as in I+stanbul'da bUyUk b:r yangin
zuhur etmekle, Sultan Sel:m Ed:rne'ye g:tt: `with a great
fire occurring in Istanbul, Sultan Selim went to Edirne'. This now
sounds highly archaic; the modern idiom would be zuhur ett:G:
:C:n or CiktiGi :C:n `because ... occurred'.
-mekle beraber or -mekle b:rl:kte `together with ...ing'
is common in the sense of `although': pek zeng:n olmamakla
beraber her zaman n:kb:nd:r `although he is not very rich he
is always optimistic'. In this construction the subject of -mekle
can still be different from that of the main verb.
30. -mektense or -mekten :se `rather than': Sehr:n yakici
havasi altinda bunalmaktansa Sar:yer'e g:tm:ye karar
verd:m `rather than be suffocated under the scorching air of the
city, I decided to go to Sariyer' (g:tm:ye is the dative of g:tme,
the verbal noun of g:t-). onu bu halde g0rmektense 0lUmU
b:n defa terc:h eder:m `rather than see him in this state I would
a thousand times prefer death'.
The explanation of this form is that the -ten is comparative,
so, for example, g0rmektense means `if it is by comparison with
seeing, if it is from the starting-point of seeing'. An alternative
explanation would make it a corruption of g0rmekten ey:s:
(the modern :y:-s: `its good'), so that the original sense would
have been `that which is better than seeing'. This is unlikely, as
the ey:s: would have been too obviously redundant in such pro-
verbial expressions as na=da=n :le konuSmaktan :se ehl-: :rfan
:le taS taSimak yeGd:r `rather than converse with the ignorant
it is better to carry stones with the learned' (ehl-: :rfan is a
Persian izafet group).
An older alternative is -medense: aGlamadansa aGlatmak
:la=hi= b:r kanundur `to-make-weep rather-than-to-weep is a
divine law'.
This use of the ablative followed by -se is not confined to the
verbal nouns; cf. h:C yoktansa ona da razi olduk `we agreed
to that as being better than nothing', lit. `if it is by comparison
with nothing'.
31. -meks:z:n `without ...ing'. This is less frequent than
-meden. :nsan CaliSmaksizin para kazanmaz `one cannot
earn money without working'; dem:ndenber: sebeb:n: b:lmek-
s:z:n rahatsiz oluyordum `recently I have been getting unwell
without knowing the-cause-of-it'.
32. Equivalents of `as if'.
(a) -ces:ne. This suffix is used with nouns (see XII, 2 (h)) and
with the base of the aorist and m:S-past and with the third-person
singular inferential of the aorist, present I, future I, and m:S-past:
yaGmur, bardaktan boSan-ir-casina yaGiyordu `the rain
was falling as-if-being-emptied out-of-glasses'; mak:nen:n b:r
parCasi ol-muS-Casina, saGa sola bakmadan CaliSiyorlardi
`they were working without-looking to right <or> to left as-if-
having-become a part of the machine'; pek esk:den taniS-ir-
miS-Casina el sikiStik `we shook hands as-if-being acquainted
long-since', i.e. as if we had known each other for years; kend:
kend:ne s0ylU-yor-muS-Casina mirildandi `he murmured
as-if-talking to himself'; 0l-ecek-m:S-Ces:ne sik sik soluyordu
`he was breathing rapidly as-if-about-to-die'; :y: b:r s0z s0yle-
m:S-m:S-Ces:ne b0bUrlen:yordu `he was showing off as if he
had said something worth saying' (lit. `as-if-having-said a good
saying')-
An example of the suspended affixation of this suffix: h:C b:r
Sey g0rmUyor ve duymuyormuSCasina g0zUnU kapadi `he
closed his eyes as if seeing and hearing nothing', i.e. g0r-mU-
yor-muS-Casina ve duy-mu-yor-muS-Casina.
(b) The same sense is conveyed by g:b: `like': boSanir g:b:,
olmuS g:b:, taniSirmiS g:b:, etc.; the whole phrase can be
introduced by sank: (see XIII, 30).
(c) The dative of the base of the m:S-past is often used with
benzemek `to resemble', as in timarhaneden kaC-miS-a
benz:yorsun `you look as if you had escaped from the asylum'
(lit. `you resemble having-escaped ...'). The same construction
may be found with other bases, even that of the present (`even',
because this base is not a participle): uyuyor'a benz:yor `he
looks as if he is sleeping'. This is not a normal literary construc-
tion; hence the apostrophe to separate the verb from the dative
suffix. The closest English equivalent is `he looks like he's sleeping'.
33. -meces:ne. The addition of -ces:ne to the verbal noun in
-me makes a form meaning `on condition of', used colloquially to
express the terms of a wager: sali gUnUne kadar :S: b:t:r-
meces:ne bahse g:rd:k `we made a bet (``we entered wager'')
to finish the job by Tuesday'. This form cannot be made to refer
to a particular person, nor, in this meaning, can it be made
negative. For example, for `we bet that you would not be able to
finish the job by Tuesday', the dative of the future personal par-
ticiple is used (with the impotential -eme-): sali gUnUne kadar
:S: b:t:rem:yeceG:ne bahse g:rd:k.
The negative appears in durmamacasina `ceaselessly'.
Synonymous are durmamasina and durmamasiya.
34 :ken Originally a participle of the obsolete er- `to be', this
now means `while being'. Like the other surviving forms of that
stem, it may be used as an independent word or a suffix. The
e being invariable, the suffixed forms are -ken after consonants
and -yken after vowels: bu kel:me aslinda :s:mken, edat
olarak da kullanilir `while this word is originally a noun, it is
also used as a particle' (`this word in-its-origin noun-while-being,
it is also used being a particle'); kend:s: Cocukken babasi
0lmUStU `while he was a child (``himself child-while-being''),
his father had died'; ben oradayken (orada :ken) 0yle b:r
n:yet: yoktu `while I was there he had no such intention'.
It may be suffixed to any tense-base, positive or negative,
singular or plural, except the d:-past, but is most frequent with
the aorist: o g:derken muhakkak ben: uyandir `when he is
going, be sure to wake me'; Cocuklar parkta oynarlarken b:z
CarSiya g:tt:k `while the children were playing in the park, we
went to the market'; b:zde kanunlarin CoGu tatb:k ed:lmezken
acaba bu kanun neden kemal-: c:dd:yetle tatb:k ed:l:r?
`amongst us while most of the laws are not applied, why, I won-
der, is this law applied in real earnest?' (kemal-: c:dd:yetle is
a Persian izafet: `with perfection-of seriousness').
With bases other than the aorist: kapici bana anahtari
ver:yor-ken zil 0ttU `while the janitor was giving me the key,
the bell rang'; b:z hana g:rmekte-yken gUneS batti `while
we were entering the inn, the sun set'; gUrUltUden neSem:z
kaCmiS-ken hep:m:z gene gUldUk `while our pleasure had
fled (``our-pleasure while-being-having-fled'') because of the noise,
we all laughed again'; sirasi gelm:S-ken Sunu da s0yl:yey:m
`as the time for it has come (``its-time while-being-having-come''),
let me say this too'; ka=Gidi alacak-ken durdu `while-about-to-
take the paper, he stopped'; tam g0mecek-ler-ken 0lmekten
cayiyor `just as-they-are-about-to-bury <him> he changes his
mind about (``swerves away from'') dying'.
With the future participle in the depreciatory sense (IX, 2, end):
marangoz olacak-ken gUzel:m dolabimizi berbat ett: `while
he is supposed to be a carpenter, he has ruined our lovely cupboard'.
Like the English `while', :ken may be used concessively:
o del:kanli, Cok :r: yapili :ken (or yapiliyken) gUrbUz
sayilamaz `that young man, while of very large build, cannot be
considered robust'.
In the next example, :ken is followed by the ablative suffix:
sen:n kadarkendenber: pul topluyorum `I have been collect-
ing stamps since I was your age' (-ken-den-ber: `since while
being'; sen:n kadar `as big as you')-
35. Compound verbs.
(a) The addition of durmak to the -e or -:p gerunds denotes
continuous action: s0ylenedurmak or s0ylen:p durmak `to
keep grumbling'. Less commonly, a finite tense may be followed
by the same tense of durmak: s0ylen:r durur `he keeps
grumbling'; s0ylend: durdu `he kept grumbling'. A colloquial
alternative is -e komak or -e koymak: CaliSako or CaliSakoy
`keep on working !'
(b) The addition of gelmek to the -e gerund has the same
effect: neler Cek-e-geld: `what things he-has-always-suffered!';
b0yle :Sler ol-a-geld: `such things have always happened';
kullan-a-geld:G:m:z ArapCa ve FarsCa kel:meler `the
Arabic and Persian words which we have always used'; okun-a-
gelen k:taplar `books which are always being read'.
The gel- is sometimes written separately: bu hata y:ne
yapila gelmekted:r `this mistake is still being constantly made'.
Exceptional is Cik-a-gelmek, meaning not `to keep coming
up' but `to come up suddenly'.
(c) -e-kalmak `to remain, be left ...ing': don-a-kaldim
`I was left freezing, was petrified'; bak-a-kaldilar `they re-
mained staring'.
(d) The imperative of g0rmek placed after the negative of
the -e gerund of other verbs means `mind you don't', or, if the
imperative be that of the third person, `beware, lest ...': oraya
g:t-m:-y-e-g0r `mind you don't go there'; harp ateS-: yan-
mi-y-a g0r-sUn `beware lest the fire of war be kindled'.
(e) Until the nineteenth century, the m:S- or d:-past of yaz-
mak, added to an -e gerund, indicated that the action of the
first verb was narrowly averted. Even as an archaism, the only
example one might see now is dUS-e-yazdi `he well-nigh fell'.
The modern expression for this is az kaldi dUSUyordu, lit. `little
remained he-was-falling'.
(f) Rapid or sudden action is conveyed by suffixing to a verb-
stem an : (or, after a vowel, y:), which changes with vowel-
harmony, and vermek: onu kaldir-i-verel:m `let us quickly
remove it'; Abdurrahman'in :C:nden Su her:f: den:ze uCur-
u-vermek geCt: `Abdurrahman felt like chucking that fellow
into the sea' (`to-suddenly-make-to-fly that fellow to-the-sea
passed through-his-inside'); k0prU C0k-U-verd: `the bridge
suddenly collapsed'. Colloquially, the first element may be re-
peated: k0prU C0kU C0kUverd:.
The passive suffix is attached to the ver-, not to the first verb-
stem: kapidan diSariya koy-u-ver-:l-d: `he-was-rapidly-put
outside the door'.
There are alternative forms of the negative. If the ver- is
negated, it means that the rapid or sudden action was not done:
g:d-:-vermek `to go quickly, to dash'; CarSiya kadar g:d:verd:
`he dashed as far as the market'; CarSiya kadar n:C:n g:d:ver-
me-d:? `why did he not dash as far as the market?' If the ma:n
stem is negated, it means `to stop abruptly': CarSiya kadar
n:C:n g:t-me-y-:-verd:? `why has he suddenly stopped going
as far as the market?'
(g) The addition of g:tmek to the -e gerund denotes con-
tinuity or finality according to context: :y:l:Ge keml:k ol-a-
gelm:S ol-a-g:der (proverb) `kindness has always been requited
with evil and always will be' (`for-good, bad has-always-happened,
always-will-go-on-happening'). kadinlarimizin yUzUnden ati-
lan peCe bUtUn gerCekler:m:z:n yUzUnden at-il-a-g:decek-
t:r `the veil cast away from the face of our women will-be-cast-
away-and-done-with from the face of all our realities'.
See also the use of -d:r g:der in VIII, 43.
(h) Colloquially, finality is expressed by the use of the third-
person past g:tt: after any person of the d:-past of another verb:
b:r tUrlU isinamadim g:tt: Su koltuGa `I just haven't been
able to get used to this ministerial post, and that's all there is
to it' (said in false modesty by a `man of the people'). b0yle
kapandi g:tt: hirsizliktan Cok daha bUyUk b:r suC, :nsanlari
yok yere suClandirma suCu `thus was a crime much graver
than theft covered up and done with, the crime of accusing people
falsely'.
Alternatively, the base of the m:S-past may be followed by
g:tm:S with the appropriate personal ending: 0lmUS g:tm:S-
ler `they're dead and gone'; unutmuS g:tm:S:m `I've totally
forgotten'.
XII. [MISSING: ADJECTIVES]
1. General observations. Almost any `adjective' may modify
a verb:
:y: good :y: CaliSir he works well
doGru straight yol doGru g:der the road goes straight
heyecanli excited heyecanli konuSuyor he is talking excitedly
aCik open aCik konuSalim let us speak openly
aGir heavy aGir basti it pressed heavily
yavaS slow yavaS g:t go slowly
A repeated adjective or noun may serve as an adverb:
yavaS yavaS yUrUyorduk we were walking slowly
h:ka=yey: gUzel gUzel anlatti he told the story beautifully
kapi kapi dolaStim I wandered <from> door <to> door
ev ev aradilar they conducted a house-to-house search
efend: efend: davrandi he behaved in a gentlemanly way
Cf. hanim hanimcik oturdu `she sat like a proper little lady'.
There are a host of reduplicated adverbial expressions, includ-
ing onomatopoeic words like horul horul; see XIV, 29. Some
verbs have reduplicated cognate adverbs ending in m : sUrUm
sUrUm sUrUnmek `to grovel grovellingly', i.e. to drag out
a wretched existence; burum burum burulmak `to be con-
torted gripingly'; kivrim kivrim kivrilmak `to writhe con-
vulsively'. The adverb :C:n :C:n `inwardly' must not be confused
with the postposition :C:n `for'.
The distributive numerals when repeated serve as adverbs:
:k:Ser :k:Ser g:rd:ler `they entered two by two'; d0rder d0rder
`in fours'; :k:Ser UCer `in twos and threes'. For `one by one',
however, b:r b:r or teker teker is preferred to b:rer b:rer.
`Little by little' is azar azar.
Adjectives can be made into adverbs with the help of suret (A)
`shape' and hal (A) `condition': haf:fsurette `lightly' (`in light
shape'); aGir surette `heavily'; fena halde `badly, unpleasantly '
The same is done for adjectives and nouns with the help of
olarak (XI, 4): azami= olarak `at most' (`being maximal');
Saka olarak `jokingly' (`it being a joke').
2. -ce. This enclitic suffix makes adverbs from substantives.
(a) From adjectives it makes adverbs of manner: :y: `good',
:y:ce `well'; gUzel `beautiful', gUzelce `beautifully, properly';
doGru `straight', doGruca `directly'.
(b) The pronominal n which appears before the case-endings
of third-person pronouns appears also before this suffix: bu `this',
bunca `this much, so much'; o or kend:s: `he', onca or kend:s:nce
`according to him'; bazilari `some people', bazilarinca
`on the part of some people'.
(c) The translation of the adverbs it makes from nouns depends
on the context, as with the pronouns in the preceding paragraph.
In the next two examples we have plain adverbs of manner:
CocukCa konuSuyorsun `you are talking childishly'; ordumuz,
dUSmana aslanca saldirdi `our army attacked the enemy like
lions'.
Sometimes it means `in respect of' and corresponds to the
American use of `-wise': adanin araz:s: toprakCa zayiftir `the
island's land is weak in respect of soil'; karisi kend:s:nden
yaSCa bUyUak ve zeka=ca UstUndUr `his wife is older than he
(``bigger age-wise'') and intellectually superior'; karinca karar-
i-n-ca lit. `the ant according to its assessment', i.e. `one contri-
butes to the extent of one's modest ability'.
(d) In the sense of `on the part of', it is rapidly superseding
tarafindan as an indicator of the agent of a passive verb: M:lli=
Savunma BakanliGi-n-ca hazirlanan teklif, Mal:ye-ce
redded:lm:St:r `the proposal prepared by the Ministry of
National Defence has been rejected by the Finance Department'.
dUnyaca meShur `world-famous' (`famed on-the-part-of-the-
world').
(e) The adverbs it makes when attached to names of peoples
come to be used as names of their languages and then as adjectives:
tUrkCe konuSmak `to speak like-the-Turks, to speak Turkish';
akici b:r tUrkCe :le ded: k: ... `in a fluent Turkish, he said
tUrkCe s0zlUk `Turkish dictionary'; :ng:l:zce konuSmak `to
speak English'; :ng:l:zcen:z nasil? `how is your English?';
:ng:l:zce b:r kel:me `an English word'. Hence, with the inter-
rogative ne: nece? `(in) what language?'
(f) In numerical expressions: k:lometrelerce uzak `kilo-
metres away' (`distant kilometres-wise'); haftalarca 0nce `weeks
before'; uCaklarin m:ktari 10.000 lerced:r (read on b:n-
lerced:r) `the number of aircraft is in the tens of thousands';
bu m:llet, ben:m g:b: daha b:nlerce Mustafa Kemal Cikarir
`this nation will produce thousands more Mustafa Kemals like me'.
(g) Added to the demonstratives b0yle, S0yle, and 0yle.
b0ylece and the far rarer 0ylece have the sense of `therefore' as
well as `thus': :S b0yle tamamlandi `the job was completed
in this way'; b0ylece :S tamamlandi `that's how the job came
to be completed'. S0ylece is synonymous with S0yle `thus'.
(h) Extensions of -ce.
(i) -cene: b0ylecene, :y:cene are
colloquial alternatives for b0ylece, :y:ce.
(ii) -ces:ne. This is occasionally used to make adverbs from
nouns: domuz-casina `piggishly'; canavar-casina `like a
monster'; eSek-Ces:ne `like a donkey'. See XI, 32.
3. Nouns used adverbially.
(a) In the absolute case: sabah akSam CaliSiyorum `I am
working morning <and> evening'; hava alani, Seh:rden on beS
k:lometre uzaktir `the airfield is 15 km. distant from the city';
s:zden b:r baS uzundur `he is a head taller than you'; :k: hafta
evvel `two weeks ago'. Note, however, that b:r an evvel does not
mean `a moment before' but `as soon as possible'.
(b) In the dative and ablative cases (cf. #13 (e)): doGrudan
doGruya `directly, without intermediary'; :nce-den :nce-ye
`in fine detail'; dar-a dar `narrowly, only just'; baS-a baS `on
equal terms'; baS baS-a `te=te a*= te=te'; baS-tan baS-a `entirely';
b:r-den-b:r-e (written as one word) `immediately'; gUn-den
gUn-e `from day to day'; gUnU gUnU-n-e `to the very day', `by
return of post', (lit. `its-day to-its-day')-
(c) In the old instrumental case. See #13 (f) and I, 39 (d), and
note the widely used neologism 0rneG:n `for example', this being
the instrumental of 0rnek `pattern'.
4. Foreign adverbs. Arabic substantives with the Arabic accusative
ending -an (unaccented) are used as adverbs, e.g.:
:kt:sat economics :kt:saden economically
kaza accident kazaen accidentally
muvakkat temporary muvakkaten temporarily
n:spet proportion n:speten relatively
s:yaset politics s:yaseten politically
Ser: religious law Ser'an canonically
Possibly because the two adjacent vowels of kazaen (originally
separated by a glottal stop) are hard to pronounce, the Persian
synonym kazara is more usual.
It is not unknown for people of limited education to coin
analogous adverbs from non-Arabic words, such as kUltUren for
`culturally', properly kUltUrce or kUltUr bakimindan `from the
point of view of culture'.
In a number of commonly used adverbs of this formation the
original -an came to be pronounced as long a; e.g. evvela= `first
of all'; asla `never'; acaba `I wonder' (lit. `wonderingly');
mutlaka `absolutely'; faraza `hypothetically, for argument's
sake'- mesela= `for example'- ha=la= `still' (which exists side by
side with ha=len `at present', both from @a**lan). The final a of
acaba is now pronounced short.
From the Arabic a**n `moment' and sa**"at- `hour' were formed,
with the Persian preposition ba `by', anbean `from moment to
moment', and saatbesaat `from hour to hour'. Analogous
formations with the Turkish yil and gUn are yilbeyil `year by
year' and gUnbegUn `day by day'. These are disapproved by
purists (just as English purists disapprove `per day'), as is 0zbe-
0z `one hundred per cent genuine', similarly formed from the
Turkish 0z `self, essence', which has a firm place in the colloquial.
French has recently contributed otomat:kman `automatically',
though purists prefer otomat:k olarak.
From the dialectal Italian giaba comes caba `gratis, into the
bargain'.
5. Comparison of adverbs. This follows the pattern of com-
parison of adjectives (III, 4): sen benden :y: b:l:rs:n `you know
better than I'; uCak, sesten sUratl: g:d:yor `the aircraft is
going faster than sound'.
Cok `much' when following an ablative translates `more, rather
than': annes:nden Cok babasina benz:yor `he resembles his
father more than his mother'. The Arabic z:yade (`increase') is
similarly used: speleoloj:, b:r spordan z:yade b:r :l:md:r
`speleology is a science rather than a sport'.
In negative sentences `much' is translated by pek (which as
an adjective means `strong'): pek sevm:yorum `I don't much
like'; pek gelmez `he doesn't come much'.
`Most' is en Cok: en Cok teyzes:ne benz:yor `he most
resembles his aunt'. In the presence of another adverb, however,
Cok is unnecessary: en sUratl: g:den uCak, jet uCaGidir `the
aircraft which goes most quickly is the jet aircraft'.
6. b:r. Besides meaning `one' and `a', b:r is used adverbially to
mean `once' and `only': her hafta b:r gel:yor `he comes once
every week'; b:r g0rUrse ne yapab:l:r:z? `if once he sees, what
can we do?'; b:r ona, b:r bana bakti `he gave a look at him,
a look at me'; her Sey b:tt:, b:r bu kaldi `everything is finished,
only this is left'; b:r ben, b:r de Allah b:l:r `only God and
I know' (said when hinting at a dark secret); bunu b:r sen
yapab:l:rs:n, b:r de o `only you and he can do this'.
b:r de `and another thing, moreover' (for de see XIII, 2): sen
gel, b:r de arkadaSin gels:n `come, and let your friend come
too'. In the locution b:r de ne g0rey:m it conveys surprise; `and
all of a sudden': pencereden baktim b:r de ne g0rey:m, b:r
pol:s kapiya doGru yUrUyor `I looked through the window and
all of a sudden what should I see--a policeman is walking towards
the door'.
7. b:r tUrlU `by no means' (in negative sentences). As a noun,
tUrlU means `kind, category'; as an adjective, `various'. b:r
tUrlU onu kandiramadim `I just could not convince him'.
8... . b:le or hatta= ... `even'. sirrini benden b:le sakladi `
`he concealed his secret even from me'.
hatta= (A), though less common than b:le, is standing its
ground: cam:y: kaC defa gezd:m hatta= m:nareler:ne Ciktim
`how many times have I gone round the mosque; I have even
been up its minarets'.
Colloquially, it may be repeated, or preceded by daha, for
emphasis: :y: futbolcular, kla=s adamlar, hatta= hatta= yildizlar
vardi aralarinda `there were good footballers among them, men
of class, even stars'. bugUnUn :nsani lUks aramiyor, hatta=
:stem:yor, daha hatta=, lUks'den kaCiyor `the man of today
is not looking for luxury, he does not even want it; he even runs
away from luxury'.
It may reinforce b:le : hatta= onu sevm:yenler b:le cesaret:n:
:nka=r edem:yorlar `even those who do not like him cannot deny
his courage'.
9. a=deta `virtually, as it were'. The OTD defines the word thus:
`as usual; simply; merely; sort of; nearly; as good as: walk!
(riding command).' This, though all true, obscures the fact that
ninety-nine times out of a hundred a=deta is used to tone down an
exaggeration or to apologize for a metaphor: bu k:tap, a=deta
s:z:n :C:n yazilmiS g:b:d:r `this book seems virtually to have
been written for you'. bu dar ve uzun va=d:, a=deta b:r korkulu
rUyaya benz:yordu `this narrow and long valley resembled, as
it were, a dreadful dream'.
10. Adverbs of place:
:Cer: inside diSari outside
yukari up aSaGi down
:ler: forward ger: backward
0te yonder ber: hither
karSi opposite
(a) All these can be used as nouns: ev-:n yukari-si k:ralik
`the upper part of the house is to let'; kuyu-nun aSaGi-si
karanlikti `the bottom of the well was dark'; :S-:n 0te-s:n:
bana birak `leave the rest of the business to me'.
(b) Or as adjectives: :ler: f:k:rler `progressive ideas'; saat:m
beS dak:ka ger: `my watch is five minutes slow'; karSi yaka
`the opposite shore'. For `inside' and `outside' as adjectives, how-
ever, :C and diS (VII, 6) are commoner than :Cer: and diSari.
(c) All but 0te and karSi can be used as postpositions with the
ablative.
(d) As adverbs, they indicate motion towards, either in the
absolute form or in the dative, except that 0te-ye and karSi-ya
[LINE MISSING]
went inside'; diSari or diSariya g:tt: `he went outside'; 0teye
g:tt: `he went further on'; karSiya g:tt: `he went to the opposite
side'. The earthy expression for being on the horns of a dilemma
is: aSaGi tUkUrsem sakalim, yukari tUkUrsem biyiGim `if
I spit down, my beard; if I spit up, my moustache'.
To indicate rest in or motion from, they are put in the locative
or ablative respectively; in these cases :Cer:, diSari, yukari, and
:ler: generally lose their final vowel: :Cerden `from inside';
diSarda `on the outside'; :lerde `in front, in the forefront, in
future'; yukardan `from above, from upstairs'; aSaGida `down
below, downstairs'.
11. aSiri. As an adjective or adverb this word means `excessive(ly)'.
With a noun preceding, it means `beyond, at an interval of': den:z
aSiri b:r memleket `an overseas country'; gUn aSiri `every
other day'; b:zden b:r ev aSiri oturuyorlar `they are living
one house <beyond> from us, next door but one'. It is not a post-
position; the construction is as in k0yden b:r k:lometre uzak
`one kilometre distant from the village'.
12. -re. The addition of this unaccented suffix to bu, Su, o, and
ne turns them into nouns of place, of which the dative, locative,
and ablative cases make the equivalents of English adverbs of
place:
buraya hither Suraya, oraya thither nereye whither?
burada here Surada, orada there nerede where?
buradan hence Suradan, oradan thence nereden whence?
The locative and ablative forms may lose their first a or e: burda,
nerden, etc.
The absolute forms bura, Sura, etc., can theoretically occur as
subject of a sentence but seem never to do so in standard Turkish;
instead, they take the third-person suffix (II, 22 (d)): orasi gUzel
`that place is beautiful'; burasi neres:? `what place is this?'
It must be emphasized that when `here' means `this place' and
not `in this place' burasi and not burada must be used: burasi
Ankara Radyo'su `Here is Ankara Radio'. So with Surasi and
orasi; for example, in this extract from a description of darkest
Africa: VahSi= hayvanlar orada :d:. Yamyamlar, p:gmeler
orada :d:. S:yah irkin anavatani orasi :d: `Wild animals
were there. Cannibals and pygmies were there. The motherland
of the black race was there'.
bura, etc., can be the first or second element of izafet groups:
bura halk-i kuzu g:b: `the people of this place are like lambs';
ora-nin hava-si gUzel `the weather of that place is beautiful';
Sehr-:n ora-si Cok pahali `that part of the city is very expensive';
Sehr-:n nere-s:-n-de oturuyorsun? `in what part of the city
are you living?'; bura-si-n-da `in this part of it'.
orasi and Surasi may mean `that/this aspect of the matter
under discussion': ne :st:yorlar senden?--orasini b:lm:yorum
`what do they want of you?'--`I don't know that part of it';
Surasi da var `there is the following point about it too'; Surasini
unutmiyalim `let us not forget the following fact'.
buraca, oraca (#2) mean `on the part of this/that place,
institution', etc.: buraca ver:lecek b:lg: yok `there is no
information to be given by-this-department'; Senato'ya arzo-
lunan fakUlte karari, oraca kabul ed:lm:St:r `the faculty
decision submitted to the Senate has been accepted by-that-body',
The diminutive of Surada is quite common: Suracikta `just
over there'; buracikta and oracikta are rarer.
In the plural: oralari gezd:n:z m:? `have you toured those
parts?'; buralarin yabancisiyim `I am a stranger in these
parts' (lit. `the stranger of these parts'); buralarda otel var mi?
`is there an hotel hereabouts?'
With -l: : burali deG:l:m `I am not a native of this place';
nerel:s:n:z? `of what place are you a native?'
neredeyse or nerdeyse (i.e. nerede :se, lit. `wherever it is'),
means `soon' or `almost'.
Ahmet nerede, Mehmet nerede (lit. `where is A., where is
M.?') means `how can you compare Ahmet and Mehmet?' Cf. the
colloquial use of a single nerede for `far from it!', `not likely!'
13. Adverbs of time.
(a) Nouns used as adverbs of time usually appear in the absolute
case: ne zaman oldu? `when did it happen?' (`what time?' in
the broad sense, not `at what o'clock?', for which see the next
[MISSING LINE]
today'; yarin akSam gelecek `he will come tomorrow evening';
geCen yil `last year'; dUn sabah `yesterday morning'; b:r gUn
`one day' (but gUnUn b:r:nde `some day'); sabah sabah `early
in the morning'; sabah akSam `all day long' (lit. `morning
evening'); o saat `straight away' (see I, 16).
Izafet groups in the absolute case: akSamUstU, less commonly
akSamUzer:, means `at sunset', lit. `evening-top', i.e. `on even-
ing'; cf. yemekUstU `at dinner-time', suCUstU `redhanded' (`on
guilt'). Names of days of the week are mostly used in izafet with
gUn `day': CarSamba gUnU geld: `he came on Wednesday'.
(b) Some adverbs consist in plural nouns with the third-person
suffix, which has the defining function mentioned in II, 22:
akSamlari `in the evenings, of an evening'; geceler: `by night';
sabahlari `of a morning'. The adverbs sonra `after' and 0nce
`before' are similarly treated: sonralari `afterwards'; 0nceler:
`previously'.
(c) The locative occurs in, for example, :lkbaharda `in spring',
sonbaharda `in autumn'; bu esnada, o esnada `meanwhile';
bu/o sirada `at this/that time'; geCenlerde `recently'; s:md:-
lerde `round about now'; bayramda `at the festival'. With names
of months: haz:randa `in June'; haz:ran ayinda `in the month
of June'; y:rm: alti temmuzda `on 26 July'. With years: 1453
te (b:n d0rt yUz ell: UCte) `in 1453'; 1453 yilinda or senes:nde
`in the year 1453'.
(d) The dative: haftaya g0rUSUrUz `we'll meet next week';
akSama gel:r `he'll come this evening'.
(e) Coktan (`from much') means `for a long time, long since',
but the meaning of other adverbs formed in the ablative case is
not so readily apparent: bugUnden yarini dUSUnmel: means
`one should think about tomorrow today', not `from today on-
ward' but `from the standpoint of today'. Similarly, S:md:den
means `already now', not `from now'; esk:den `in the old days';
0nceden `at first'; sonradan `subsequently'.
(f) The old instrumental case appears in: yazin `in summer';
kiSin `in winter'; gUzUn `in autumn' (for which sonbaharda is
much commoner); gUndUzUn `in the daytime'; :lk:n `first of
all'; d0nUSUn `on the return journey'. It is also the last element
in the invariable suffix -ley:n : sabahley:n `in the morning',
akSamley:n `at evening' (see p. 205, Addendum).
Addendum to #13. The same suffix is seen in -c:ley:n, meaning
`-like'. Though otherwise obsolete, it survives in benc:ley:n and
b:zc:ley:n, sometimes used (especially by Yakup Kadri Kara-
osmanoGlu) in mock humility for `like poor old me' and `like us
ordinary mortals' respectively.
14. Telling the time.
(a) saat kaC? what is the time?
saat b:r one o'clock
saat b:r: beS geC:yor five past one (`five is passing hour one')
saat b:r: Ceyrek geC:yor quarter past one
saat b:r: y:rm: beS geC:yor five-and-twenty past one
saat b:r buCuk half past one (`hour one and a half')
saat :k:ye y:rm: beS var five-and-twenty to two
(`there are twenty-five to
hour two')
saat :k:ye Ceyrek var quarter to two
(b) saat kaCta? at what time?
saat b:rde at one o'clock
saat b:r: beS geCe (XI,2) at five past one
saat b:r: Ceyrek geCe at a quarter past one
saat b:r buCukta at half past one
saat :k:ye y:rm: beS kala at five-and-twenty to two
saat :k:ye Ceyrek kala at a quarter to two
saat may be omitted in the answers though not in the questions:
b:r buCuk `half past one'; b:r buCukta `at half past one'.
15. ertes:. The bare erte `the morrow' is no longer used, but
the form with the third-person suffix appears in izafet in, for
example, bayram ertes: `the day after the festival', savaS
ertes: `the day after the battle' and, somewhat abraded, in
cumartes: `Saturday' (< cuma ertes: `the morrow of Friday')
and pazartes: `Monday' (pazar `Sunday'). As an adjective,
ertes: means `the following' and occurs in such adverbial phrases
as ertes: gUn `(on) the following day', ertes: ay `(in) the follow-
ing month'. ertes: ve daha ertes: gUnler `(on) the two following
days'.
16. evvels:, evvelk:. evvels: `previous' is for an earlier
evvel-:-s: (for the doubled suffix cf. V, 7). It is far commoner than
the synonymous evvelk:. Despite its third-person suffixes, it is used
only adjectivally: evvels: gUn `the previous day, the day before
yesterday', evvels: yil `the previous year, the year before last'.
The spellings evels:, evelk:, are common but not recommended.
17. evvel and sonra, `before' and `after', both used as post-
positions with the ablative, are also adverbs: b:r hafta evvel
oldu `it happened a week ago'; UC gUn sonra gelecek `he will
come three days later, three days from now'; on seneden az b:r
zaman evvel `<a time> less than ten years ago'. Note b:r hafta
evvel-:-n-e kadar, `until a week ago'; on sene evvel:ne kadar
`until ten years ago'.
18. S:md: `now'. Colloquially it may take the diminutive suffix:
S:md:c:k, also S:mc:k and S:md:k, `just now, right away'. In
the dative: S:md:ye kadar `until now'. In the ablative: S:md:den
sonra `after now, henceforth'. Colloquial in the same sense is
S:mdenger:. For S:md:den see also #13 (e); a colloquial variant
is S:mden.
19. artik, bundan b0yle, gayri. artik means `at last' or `hence-
forth', i.e. it marks a turning-point: artik g:del:m `that's enough
of that; let's go'; artik yaz geld: `summer has come at last';
biktim artik `<l've stood it long enough and> now I'm fed up';
artik bunu yapmaz `he won't do this any more'.
Synonymous in the sense of `henceforth' are bundan b0yle
and the provincial gayri : bundan b0yle oraya g:tmem `I'm
not going there any more'; :nsaf gayri! (lit. `justice henceforth')
`it's time we had a bit of fair play!'
20. daha `still, more, (not) yet' partly overlaps the senses of
ha=la= (A) `still, (not) yet' and henUz (P) `just, (not) yet': daha
(or ha=la=) burada misin `are you still here?'; ha=la= daha burda
misin (coll.) `are you still here?'; daha (or ha=la= or henUz)
g:tmed: m: `hasn't he gone yet?'; daha okuyacak b:r Sey
kalmadi `there is nothing more left to read'; daha dUn geld:
`he came only yesterday'; mektubu henUz aldim, daha (or
ha=la=) okuyamadim `I have just received the letter; I haven't yet
been able to read it'; daha b:r hafta bekled:k `we have already
waited a week'; daha b:r hafta beklemel:y:z `we must still wait
a week'; b:r hafta daha beklemel:y:z `we must wait one more
week'.
b:r daha in negative sentences means `no more, not again':
oraya b:r daha g:tme `don't go there any more'.
21. hemen (P) `at once, just about': gUneS doGunca hemen yola
Ciktilar `the sun having risen, they at once set out'; hemen o
siralarda taniSmiStik `we had become acquainted just about
that time'.
hemencek and hemencec:k (both coll.) `instantly': ben:
g0rUnce hemencec:k duvardan atladi `seeing me, he instantly
leaped over the wall'.
hemen hemen `almost, very soon': hemen hemen :k: yil
oldu `it has been almost two years' (lit. `almost two years have
happened'); muamma hemen hemen halled:lecek `the riddle
will very soon be solved'. Cf. neredeyse, #12.
22. gene, y:ne `again, still': gene o adam `it's that man again';
h:C telefon etmed:, gene :y: ; konuSacak vakt:m yok `he has
not telephoned at all; still, that's all right; I have no time to talk',
23. The verb `to be' in temporal expressions: ell: seneden
fazladir Su evde oturuyor `she has been living in that house for
over fifty years' (`it is more than fifty years she is living ...');
b:r buCuk saatt:r sen: ariyorum `I have been looking for you
for an hour and a half'; kaC zamandir konuSmadik `we haven't
talked for quite some time' (`how much time it is we have not
talked'); :k: yil oluyor Par:s'e g:tt: `getting on for two years
ago he went to Paris' (`two years are coming into being he went
- - -'); Ahmet k0yden ayrilali (XI, 10) alti ay oldu `it has been
six months since Ahmet left the village' (`six months have happened
since ...').
The adverb bildir `a year ago, a year before' (which is not very
common in writing) appears to be a phonetic simplification of b:r
yil-dir `it is a year'.
24. derken (i.e. the aorist of demek--ken, lit. `while saying')
is used for:
(a) `while everyone is saying ...': yen: yol b:tt: b:t:yor derken
ha=la= b:tmed: `while everyone is saying the new road is just about
finished (lit. ``has finished is finishing''), it still is not finished'.
(b) `at that precise moment': sokaGa Cikiyordu, derken
telefon Caldi `he was going out and at that precise moment the
telephone rang'.
(c) `while attempting to', with a first-person subjunctive: onu
kurtarayim derken ben de dUStUm `while attempting to save
him, I fell too' (lit. `while saying ``let me save him'' . . ')
XIII. CONJUNCTIONS AND PARTICLES
1. ve (A) `and' is little used in speech and many Turks contrive
to dispense with it entirely in writing, employing the native
resources of the language instead: :le, -:p, de (see next section),
or simple juxtaposition. That is to say, co-ordinate words and
clauses may be put one after the other with no conjunction at all,
on the pattern of Caesar's veni vidi vici. Thus `he came into the
room and sat down on a chair' may be odaya g:rd: ve b:r
sandalyeye oturdu or odaya g:r:p b:r sandalyeye oturdu or
odaya g:rd:, b:r sandalyeye oturdu. `You and I' may be sen
ve ben or sen:nle ben. `You, I, and your brother' may be sen,
ben, ve kardeS:n or sen, ben, kardeS:n de or just sen,
ben, kardeS:n.
The Persian for `and', o**, came into Ottoman as u or U after
consonants, vu or vU after vowels, forms which survive in some
compound nouns: abuhava `climate' (a**b (P) `water', hawa**'
(A) `air'); hercUmerc `turmoil, Armageddon' (h` arj wa-marj (A),
with Persian o** replacing Arabic wa). Similar Ottoman expressions
which have not attained the status of Turkish words are now
written separately: yar U aGyar `friend and foe'; kaza vU kader
`fate and destiny'.
2. de `and, also, too' never begins a sentence and, though written
as a separate word, is enclitic and changes to da after back-
vowels. It also changes to te or ta after unvoiced consonants,
although the modern tendency, supported by YI+K, is not to
show this change in writing.
(a) When it means `too', it follows the word it modifies: oraya
ben de g:tt:m `I too went there'; ben oraya da g:tt:m `I went
there too' (as well as elsewhere); ben oraya g:tt:m de `I went
there too' (I did not only read about it); Sapka-n-i, palto-n-u
da g:y `wear your hat and your coat too'.
(b) Repeated, it equals `both ... and ...': Sapkani da paltonu
da g:y `wear both your hat and your coat'; ben de sen de kar-
deS:n de `both I and you and your brother'.
(c) When it comes between two words which it connects, it can
usually be translated `and', but often it has an overtone: `and
then', `and so', or even `but': CaliSmiS da kazanmiS `he worked
and he won'; ev:me kadar g:dey:m de s:ze geley:m `let me
go as far as my house and then come to you'; b:z: g0rdU de
sela=m vermed: `he saw us but did not give us greeting'; nasil
oldu da seC:lmed:n:z? `how was it that you were not chosen?'
(`how did it happen and so you were not chosen?'); ne yapti da
kurtuldu? `how did he manage to escape?' (`what did he do and
so was saved?'); ne :y: ett:n de geld:n `how well you did to
come !' (`... and came'); s0yle de gels:n `tell him to come' (`say,
and so let him come'); 0lUr de s0ylemez `he will die rather than
tell' (`he will die and will not tell')-
(d) A common elliptical use is seen in: n:C:n sormadin?--
utandim da ... `why didn't you ask?'--`I was ashamed, that's
why', lit. `I was ashamed and <therefore did not ask>'. A fuller
form is: utandim da ondan `I was ashamed and therefore ...'
(lit. `and from-that').
(e) After a repeated verb, de indicates sudden action after a long
delay: m:saf:r gelmez gelmez de, b:rden gel:r `the guest does
not come, does not come, and suddenly he comes'; durdu durdu
da, turnayi g0zUnden vurdu `he stood, stood, then shot the
crane in the eye' (i.e. after a long spell of apparent indecision he
acted with great speed and efficiency).
(f) It has an emphasizing function after pronouns and adverbs:
:k:s: de `both of them'; UCUmUz de `all three of us'; sus, sen de!
`quiet, you!'; ne de gUzel Sey! `what a pretty thing!'; o f:l:m
Cok da gUzel :m:S `that film is said to be very good'; bu s0ylent:
h:C de doGru deG:l `this rumour is not at all true'; durum,
daha da aGirlaSmiStir `the position has become even more serious'.
(g) dah: `too, also', from which de is derived, is seldom used
by the younger generation of writers.
3. ne ... ne ... or ne ... ne de ...`neither ... nor ...'. The
number of nes is not restricted to two. Whether to use a positive
or a negative verb with ne is to some extent a matter of taste.
The following rules sum up the general literary usage.
The verb is positive:
(a) When each ne introduces a separate verb or separate clause:
k:tabi ne aldim ne de okudum `I neither bought the book nor
read it'; ne t:yatroya g:der ne radyoyu d:nler `he neither goes
to the theatre nor listens to the radio'.
(b) When one verb, in the non-initial position, covers both or all
clauses: bu sabah ne Cay ne kahve :Ct:m `this morning I drank
neither tea nor coffee'; ne S:S yansin ne kebap `let neither the
spit burn nor the meat' (i.e. I hope no harm comes to either
party); ne TUrkCe, ne ArapCa, ne FarsCa b:l:yor `he knows
neither Turkish nor Arabic nor Persian'.
The verb is negative:
(a) When one verb covers and precedes both or all the elements
introduced by ne: gelmez ne dost ne dUSman `there does not
come either friend or foe'; bugUn Cikmadim ne bahCeye ne
sokaGa `today I have not gone out either to the garden or to the
street'.
(b) When it is conditional: ne sen, ne ben bu :Se kariSmasa-
ydik b0yle olmazdi `if neither you nor I had interfered in this
business, it would not be like this'. For the first-person plural
verb see XVI, 3 (d).
(c) If the negative nature of the sentence is emphasized by an
adverb or particle: ne tUtUne, ne :Ck:ye sakin aliSmayin `mind
you don't become accustomed to tobacco or drink' (lit. `beware
do not').
(d) If the subjects or complements introduced by ne are
resumed by another subject or complement before the verb: ne
I+stanbul'a ne Konya'ya, b:r yere g:tm:yor `neither to Istan-
bul nor Konya, he does not go anywhere'; ne sen, ne o, :k:n:z
de b:lmed:n:z `neither you nor he, both of you did not know'.
(e) If the verbal element is a gerund other than -:p, -erek, or
:ken : ne memlekette konuSulan d:l:, ne oranin a=detler:n:
b:lmed:G:nden Cok zahmet Cekt: `because he did not know
either the language spoken in the country or the customs of that
place, he had a lot of trouble'; ondan ne b:r sela=m ne b:r
mektup almadikCa adini b:le anmiyacaGim `so long as I do
not receive from him either a greeting or a letter, I shall not
mention even his name'.
(f) If a number of words or a pause intervene between the
second ne and the verb, so that the negative nature of the sentence
needs to be reasserted: ne Sapka almak, ne de Sapkasiz
gezmek--b:lhassa kiS aylarinda--:stem:yorum lit. `neither
to buy a hat nor to go about hatless--especially in the winter
months--I do not want'; bu sabah ne Cay, ne kahve ... :C-
med:m `this morning neither tea nor coffee ... I did not drink'.
4. gerek ... gerek ... or gerek ... gerekse ... `both ...
and ...': bu haber, gerek Ankara'da gerekse VaS:ngton'da
fena b:r hava yaratmiStir `this news has created a bad atmo-
sphere both in Ankara and in Washington'. In some contexts the
translation `whether ... or ...' is possible but may be misleading,
as the words introduced by gerek are not mutually exclusive,
e.g. gerek ben g:dey:m, gerek s:z g:d:n, gerek o g:ts:n, :S:n
sonu deG:Smez `whether I go or you go or he goes, the end of
the affair will not change' (lit. `both let me go and you go and let
him go ...')-
5. hem ... hem ... or hem ... hem de ...`both ... and ...':
hem z:yaret hem t:caret `both pilgrimage and trade' (a pro-
verbial expression, cf. our `combining business and pleasure').
A single hem or hem de means `and indeed, moreover':
sicak, hem ne sicak or hem de ne sicak `it's hot, and how hot!'
6. ha ... ha ... `both ... and ...': ha baG, ha bahCe, ha tarla
`both orchard and garden and field'.
7. :ster ... :ster ... `(either ...) or ...'. In origin, :ster is
the aorist participle of :ste- `to want'; its use is not confined to the
third person: :ster g:t, :ster kal, bana ne? `go or stay; what
is it to me?'; :ster g:ts:n, :ster kalsin, bana ne? `let him go or
let him stay; what is it to me?'
8. ... olsun ... olsun `both ... and ...', `whether ... or ...'.
This is the third-person imperative of ol-, lit. `let it be', repeated:
lokanta olsun, otel olsun, her Sey var orada `let it be
restaurants, let it be hotels, there's everything there'.
A single olsun means `if only', as in: yUzUnU b:r kere olsun
g0rmek :st:yorum `I want to see his face, if only once' (lit.
`let it be one time'); b:r dak:ka olsun :st:rahat edel:m `let
us rest, if only for a minute'.
9. ya ... ya ... veya ... `either ... or ... or ...':ya ben,
ya sen, veya Mehmet `either you, or I, or Mehmet'. The
third choice can be introduced by ya da (occasionally written
yada) or yahut (P) instead of veya.
veya, yahut, and veyahut all mean `or': elma veya (or yahut
or veyahut) Seftal:, ne :stersen al `apples or peaches, buy
whatever you want'. yahut is decreasingly used in this sense, but
is current in the sense of `or indeed', offering a total change of
plan: bu akSam b:ze gel:n yahut b:z size gelel:m `come to us
this evening--or let us come to you'; bu mektubu postaya ver,
yahut dursun, ben kend:m g0tUrUrUm `post this letter--or
let it stay, I shall take it myself'. Cf. the use of yoksa in #34.
veyahut is distinctly old-fashioned.
10. ama, fakat, la=k:n `but'. All three words are Arabic in
origin, but ama, being the least alien in shape and having many
idiomatic uses, is the most assured of survival: sen de gel, ama
gel `you come, but come!' (i.e. be sure to come). gUzel ama! is
a slightly surprised `it's good, mind you!'
At the end of a sentence it may convey a slight reproof: bu
s0z s0ylenmez ama! `one does not say this, though!'
For emphasis it reverts to its original form amma, with the
second a long: amma (or amma da) yaptin ha! `now you've
done it!'
It is sometimes preceded, sometimes followed, by a comma; the
latter if it introduces a change of subject or if for any other reason
there is a slight pause after it: kiz gUzel, ama benc:l `the girl is
beautiful but selfish'; yarin gelmek :st:yor ama, ben evde
bulunmiyacaGim `he wants to come tomorrow but I shall not
be at home'; ben de ona yardim ett:m ama, p:Sman oldum
`I too helped him--but I repented <of it>'.
Between simple adversative clauses, `but' need not be expressed
at all (cf. ve): yalancinin ev: yanmiS, k:mse :nanmamiS
(proverb) `the liar's house burned, <but> no one believed'.
The purist expression for `but' is ne var k:.
11. ancak, yalniz `only'. Both, like English `only', are orinally
adverbs but also have an adversative use: ancak :k: buCuk l:ram
var `I have only two and a half liras'; yalniz Sunu demek
:st:yorum `I want to say only this'; kUtUphanede CaliSmam
la=zim, ancak bugUn g:demem `I have to work in the library,
only I cannot go today'; geld:, yalniz b:raz geC kaldi `he came,
only he was a bit late'.
12. mamaf:h (maamaf:h), bununla beraber, bununla
b:rl:kte `however, nevertheless'. The first is from ma`a ma** fi**h
(A) `with what is in it' and the first two syllables are long, despite
the modern spelling with a single a; the :, however, is short and
the final h is often omitted in pronunciation. The other two
equivalents mean literally `together with this'.
13. madem, mademk:, deG:l m:, deG:l m: k: `since'. The a of
madem(k:) is long < ma** da**m (A) `as long as'; for the k: see #15.
madem(k:) anlamiyorsun, n:C:n kariSiyorsun? `since you
do not understand, why do you interfere?'
deG:l m: (k:) is a provincialism now being groomed to succeed
madem(k:): deG:l m: or deG:l m: k: ded:G:m: yapmadin,
yUzUme bakma `since you have not done what I said, do not
look at my face'.
14. meGer, meGerse `it seems that, apparently'. This introduces
inferences and is consequently used with an inferential verb: ben
de sen: arkadaS sanirdim; meGerse aldanmiSim `I thought
you a friend; it seems I have been deceived'; meGer ne kadar
sev:yormuSum bu kizi ... yanimda :ken neye anlama-
miSim? `I realize how much I love this girl; why did I not
understand when she was by my side?'
It may end a sentence: CarSiya CikmiS meGer `he has gone
to the market, apparently'.
A colloquial alternative is meGerley:m. [meGerley:n?]
15. k: `that'. The importation of this Persian conjunction opened
the door to the Indo-European pattern of sentence, which is in
many respects the reverse of the native Turkish literary pattern:
yarin geleceG:ne em:n:m `I am sure he will come tomorrow'
em:n:m k: yarin gelecek
geleceG: SUphes:z `it is indubitable that he will come'
SUphes:z k: gelecek
beklemes:n: :st:yorum `I want him him to wait'
:st:yorum k: bekles:n
kapiyi kapamiyan b:r Cocuk `a child who does not shut the door'
b:r Cocuk k: kapiyi kapamaz
In this last example, the only one from which the k: cannot be
omitted, even in the roughest colloquial, k: looks like a relative
pronoun. It is possible that such uses may have been helped to
gain currency by the resemblance between k: and the Turkish
interrogative pronoun k:m ; indeed, k:m is a very ancient alterna-
tive for k:, still occasionally heard and, in the written language,
surviving in n:tek:m (#17). Grammatically, however, k: is purely
a conjunction. This is not a pedantic question of nomenclature but
is of practical importance in translation, particularly of sentences
like the following: k:razi yed:m `I ate the cherry' k: Seker g:b:
not `which was like sugar' but `and found it was like sugar'. This
will be clearer if we consider such uses as baktim k:, lit. `I looked
that', but to be translated `I looked and saw that', `I looked and
behold!': baktim k:, kapi aCik `I looked and saw that the door
was open'; geld:m k:, k:mseler yok `I came and found there
was no one there'; Cantami aCtim k:, bomboS `I opened my
bag and found it absolutely empty'.
Although the attachment of k: has become habitual in such
sentences, it is not essential. Ediskun1 [EyUboGlu?]
gives an example of the use
of k: --b:ber: d:l:me deGd:rd:m k: zeh:r g:b: `I let the pepper
touch my tongue and found it was like poison'-- which he glosses
by simply putting a comma in place of the k:.
k: cannot be omitted:
(a) When it introduces a relative clause of the Indo-European
type, with a finite verb, following the qualified word instead of the
Turkish type with a participle preceding it.
(b) When it introduces a noun clause which is the subject of
a preceding verb: g0rUlUyor k:, bu karar haksizdir `it is
evident that this decision is wrong'; anlaSiliyor k:, yen: yol
haz:ran ayinda aCilacaktir `it is understood that the new road
will be opened in June'.
[MISSING]
introductory adverbial clause such as bu sebeptend:r k: `it is
for this reason that ...'. Many such expressions contain a post-
position: bundan dolayidir k:, pla=n tatb:k ed:lemed: `it
is on account of this that it has not been possible to apply the
plan'; I+sla=m:yet:n kabul-:-yle-d:r k:, TUrk d:l: Uzer:ne
b:r taraftan ArapCa, 0bUr taraftan FarsCa etk: yapmaya
baSlamiStir `it is with the acceptance of Islam that Arabic on
the one hand, Persian on the other, began to influence the 'Turkish
language'.
(c) When it links two sentences of which the first indicates the
time at which the action of the second occurs: gUneS batmiSti
k: k0ye vardik `the sun had set when we reached the village';
telefonu kapayarak yer:me henUz d0nmUStUm k:, kapi
z:l:n:n UstUste b:rkaC kere CalindiGini duydum `putting
down the telephone, I had just returned to my seat when I heard
the doorbell ring several times in quick succession'.
The link between k: and the preceding word is very close (in
accent it is enclitic and some writers habitually put a comma after
it), whereas it may be separated by a word or phrase from the
clause it introduces: bu d:l kalkmali k: ortadan, baSliyab:le-
l:m tUrkCe dUSUnmeGe `this language must disappear, so that
we may be able to start to think in Turkish'. The writer has
chosen to reverse the normal phrase for `to disappear', ortadan
kalkmak, but has not displaced k: from immediately after the
verb. The sentence would be complete without it, but it serves
as a warning that a consequence is coming; cf. the premonitory
use of eGer in XX, 8. b:r yazar d:yormuS k:, b:r derg:de
geCen ay, ... `it seems a writer was saying, in a journal last
month, that ...'. daha :ler: g:d:p d:yeceG:m k: s:ze ...
<I>shall go further and say to you that ...'.
Parenthetic remarks are introduced by k:. eGer bu mektubu
okuduysan--k: okuduGuna em:n:m--onun ne yaptiGini
b:l:yorsundur `if you have read this letter--as I am sure you
have--you certainly know what he is doing'. hal 0yle olsa b:le--
k: deG:l elbette--sana ne? `even if the situation were thus--
as it certainly isn't--what is it to you?'
Clauses expressing consequence are introduced by k:. 0yle
zayifladi k: b:r der: b:r kem:k kaldi `he grew so thin that he
remained only skin and bone'. b:r baGirdi, b:r baGirdi k: yer
yer:nden oynadi `he gave such a shout, such a shout that the
earth started from its place'.
The consequence, however, is frequently left to the imagination,
as it is in English, except that the k: is retained whereas we omit
the `that': 0yle zayifladi k:! `he grew so thin!' o kadar gUldUk
k:! `we laughed so much!' b:r baGirdi k:! `he gave such a
shout!' An intermediate stage is seen in the next example, where
the three dots indicate that the expression of the thought is not
going to be completed and then the writer completes it after all:
o kadar sevd:m k: bu Sehr: ... oturup aGlayasim geld:
(IX,9) `I loved this city so much ... I felt like sitting down and
crying'. The vestigial k: is very frequent in the colloquial:
Deveye `Neden boynun eGr:?' dem:Sler. `Nerem doGru
k:?' dem:S `They said to the camel, ``Why is your neck crooked?''
Said he, ``What part of me is straight, that <you should single out
my neck>?''' `Hang: part:dens:n:z?' `Memlekette b:rkaC
part: var mi k:?` `Of which party are you?' `Are there several
parties in the country that <you need to ask>?' The k: in both these
last examples may be translated `then'.
There are several other colloquial uses of k:. At the end of
a question it indicates anxiety: bu borcun altindan kalkab:l:r
m: k:? `can he ever rise from-under this debt?' Between repeated
words it shows admiration or surprise: vapur k: vapur! `such
a fine ship!' okudu k: okudu! `my goodness how he studied!'
b:lmem k: means `I wonder' (not `I don't know that ...'):
b:lmem k: ne yapsam? `I wonder what I should do?' b:lmem
k: k:me S:ka=yet etsem? `I wonder who to complain to?'
For k: with the subjunctive, see Chapter XIX.
16. meGerk: `unless' is followed by the subjunctive: Um:d:m:z
yok, meGerk: hUkUmet mUdahale ets:n `we have no hope,
unless the government intervene'; vapura yet:Sm:yeceks:n,
meGerk: koSasin `you will not catch the steamer unless you run'.
17. n:tek:m, netek:m `just so, just as' introduces the second
clause of a comparison: ben hata yaptim, n:tek:m s:z de hata
yaptiniz `I made a mistake, just as you made a mistake'.
Even when it begins a sentence, it refers not forward but back
to the preceding sentence: DUnkU toplantida bulunmadim.
N:tek:m yarink: toplantida bulunmak n:yet:nde deG:l:m
`I was not at yesterday's meeting. In just the same way, I do not
intend to be present at tomorrow's meeting'.
The synonymous nasil k: is used in the same way, but may
also introduce the first clause of a comparison, often with an 0yle
`thus' in the second clause: nasil k: ben hata yaptim, s:z de
0yle hata yaptiniz `just as I made a mistake, so did you too make
a mistake'.
18. halbuk:, oysa(k:) (accented on the u and o respectively)
`whereas', `though'. These represent the backward- not the
forward-looking `whereas' or `though', even when they begin
a sentence, in which case the correct translation is `Yet' or `But':
bana gUcenm:S, halbuk: aramizda b:r Sey geCt:G:n:
hatirlamiyorum `I gather he is vexed with me, though I do
not recall that anything has passed between us'. Halk, Cok defa
softayi :deal:stle kariStirir. Oysak: softa, :deal:st:n tam
ters:d:r `The people often confuse the bigot with the idealist.
Yet the bigot is the exact opposite of the idealist'.
19. CUnkU, z:ra `for'. These Persian borrowings almost always
begin a sentence but, like the English `for', always explain the
preceding statement (cf. n:tek:m, halbuk:): D:ller:n doGuSu
demek, kel:men:n doGuSu demekt:r. C+UnkU, her d:l:n en
kUCUk b:rl:G: kel:me'd:r `The origin of languages means the
origin of the word (``to say `the origin oflanguages'is to say ...'').
For the smallest unit of every language is the word'. `la=k:n'
baGlaci, Esk: TUrkCede yoktur; CUnkU ArapCa asillidir `the
conjunction la=k:n does not exist in Old Turkish, because it is of
Arabic origin'.
z:ra could replace CUnkU in these examples, but is not much
used. The spelling CUnk: for CUnkU is not recommended.
20. demek `it means': Sene yil demekt:r. Senev: de yillik
demek olacak `Sene means ``year''. So senev: will mean (``will
be to say'') ``annual''' (senev: < sanawi** (A)).
A fuller form of the expression is seen in the first example of
the preceding section and in: demokras: demek adalet demek-
t:r `to say ``democracy'' is to say ``justice'''.
At the beginning of a clause demek, demek k:, or demek
oluyor k: (`it becomes to say') signifies `that is to say': dUSUnU-
yorum, demek k: varim `I think, that is to say, I exist'.
demek alone can be used when seeking corroboration of an
impression: paraniz yok demek? `so you have no money?'
demek o da gel:yor? `that means he is coming too?'
21. d:Ger taraftan (P, A) and 0te yandan, lit. `from the other
side', are not as adversative as they look; `moreover' or `at the
same time' is usually the best rendering, not `on the other hand'.
22. gerC: (P) `it is true that': gerC: pek sev:ml: deG:l, ama
gayet :y: b:r arkadaStir `it is true he is not very attractive, but
he is a very good friend'.
23 gu=ya (P) `allegedly, forsooth'; usually pronounced and some-
times written g0ya. For an example see XXIV , 12.
24. han:, an old word for `where?', has several idiomatic uses. It
may be reinforced by ya, written together with it or as a separate
word.
(a) It asks the whereabouts of someone or something expected
but not in evidence, or lost and unattainable: han:ya arkadaSiniz,
gelmed: m:? `where is your friend; hasn't he come?' han: o
gUnler! `where are those <good old> days!'
(b) It draws attention to a failure to carry out a promise: han:
ya bana b:r hed:ye get:recekt:n? `I thought you were going
to bring me a present?'
(c) `You know' covers most other uses: han: bUronuzda
esmer Cocuk var ya, :Ste o s:z: ariyor `you know there's the
dark boy in your office; well it's he who is looking for you' (for
:Ste see #28); han: yanliS da deG:l `and it's not wrong, you
know'.
(d) A parenthetic han: yok mu lends weight to the following
words: bu problem: C0zmek :C:n, han: yok mu, tam UC
gUn CaliStim `to solve this problem, would you believe it,
I worked exactly three days'.
han:d:r onu g0rmUyorum `I haven't seen her for ages'.
25. hele `above all, at any rate'; with an imperative, `just': hele
s:z bunu s0ylememel: :d:n:z `you above all should not have
said this'; hele :nsan kaybi yokmuS `at any rate there is no loss
of life reported' (`there-is-said-to-be-no human-loss'); Suna bak
hele `just look at that!'; Cocuk sinifini geCmes:n hele, d0Ger:m
onu `just let the child not pass up (``let-him-not-pass his-class''),
I'll give him a good hiding'.
A doubled hele hele is hortatory: hele hele s0yle daha neler
olmuS `come on then, tell what else happened !'
26. herhalde `certainly, surely'. The literal translation is `in
every case', but this gives a misleading idea of the use. In the
first two examples it indicates a strong supposition: herhalde
b:l:yorsunuz `you surely know'; gazetede okumuSsunuzdur
herhalde `you have certainly read <it> in the newspaper'.
:ster darilsin, :ster darilmasin, herhalde hakkimi
:st:yeceG:m `let him get cross or not, as he chooses, I shall
certainly ask for my due'.
27. :se (`if it is') and its suffixed forms (VIII, 8) draw attention
to the preceding word and may be translated `as for', `whereas',
`however' according to context: ben :se (bense) patates h:C
yem:yorum `as for me, I don't eat potatoes at all'; lit. `if it is
I <about whom you are asking> ...'; babasi I+ng:l:z, annes: :se
(annes:yse) Amer:kali `his father is English, whereas his mother
is American'.
The word before :se may be in whatever case the syntax of the
rest of the sentence demands: kend:s: pek hoS, ses:n: :se h:C
sevmem `he himself is very pleasant; his voice, however, I don't
like at all'. Here ses:n: is accusative, object of sevmem. For :se
following the genitive, see the fifth example in XVI, 6.
28. :Ste `behold !' `there !' `precisely': han: ben:m kalem?--
:Ste! `where is my pen?'--`there!'; :Ste otobUs geld: `there, the
bus has arrived'; :Ste bu sebepten dolayi ona oy vermed:m
`precisely for this reason I did not vote for him'.
29. sakin. ln origin it is the imperative of sakinmak `to be
cautious'. As an interjection, sakin or sakin ha means `beware!
don't do it!' It is also used with a negative imperative: sakin
dUSme! `mind you don't fall!'
With the periphrastic perfect tense of the negative imperative
it expresses anxiety: sakin unutmuS olmayin `I do hope you
have not forgotten' (`do-not-be having-forgotten'). A question-
mark may emphasize the doubt in the speaker's mind: s0yle-
d:kler:m: sakin unutmuS olmasin? `I do hope he hasn't
forgotten what I said?'
30. sank: `as if' (lit. `suppose that') is usually construed with g:b:
following an inferential verb or a tense-base, or with an inferential
verb alone: sank: dUnyada baSka b:r kadin yokmuS g:b:
hep AySe'y: dUSUnUyor `as if there were no other woman in the
world, he thinks entirely of Ayesha'; sank: b:lm:yor g:b:s:n:z!
`as if you didn't know !'; sank: kabahat ben:mm:S! `as if the
fault were mine!'
In a question it conveys an argumentative or scornful `do you
think?': ablaniza Cok UzUntU verd:n:z de :y: m: ett:n:z
sank:? `you have greatly upset your sister and have you <thereby>
done well, do you think?'
Otherwise it is to be translated `it is as if': mak:ne sabah
akSam CocuGa el:n:n ve kafasinin gUcUnU hesaplatiyor;
sank: ona ``Ben:mle yapacaGin her :Sten sen sorumlusun,
ben kariSmam'' d:yor `the machine all day long makes the
child take account of the power of his hand and head; it is as if
it says to him ``For every job which you are going to do with me,
you are responsible; I do not interfere'''.
31. S0yle dursun (lit. `let it stand thus'), with an infinitive as
subject, means `let alone ..., never mind about ...'.
radyoda d:nled:G:m:z Sarkilarin CoGu m:lli= olmak S0yle
dursun mus:k: b:le deG:ld:r `most of the songs we listen to on
the radio are not even music, let alone national'.
tercUmanlik yapmak S0yle dursun, kend: l:sanini b:le
b:lmez `never mind about acting as interpreter, he doesn't even
know his own language'.
32. ya has a wide variety of functions in the colloquial, e.g. at the
end of rhetorical questions: her akSam s:nemaya g:d:l:r m:
ya? `does one go to the cinema every evening?'
In the sense of `you know', `isn't that so?': bugUn n:ye okula
g:tmed:n?--pazar ya! `why haven't you gone to school today?'
--`it's Sunday, you know!' k0Sede kUCUk b:r dUkka=n var ya,
:Ste orada aldim `you know there's a little shop on the corner;
well I bought <it> there'.
In the sense of `yes indeed' the a is pronounced long: s:ze
Cay verey:m m:?--ya, ver `may I give you <some> tea?--
`yes, do'.
At the beginning of a clause it means `and what about ...?';
this is the use most likely to be found in the written language:
bu kadar yet:S:r, d:yorsun, ya yet:Smezse? `this much will
be enough, you say; and what if it isn't enough?' A versified
slogan of the 1960 revolution ran: Gerek:rse / O+lUrUz / B:z. /
Ya s:z? `If necessary / We are ready to die, / We. / And you?'
33. yok is used colloquially for `no' in reply not only to questions
containing var mi or yok mu (VIII, 45): g:d:yor musun?--
yok `are you going?'--`no'. In this sense it is often pronounced
without the k and with the vowel lengthened, and may be pho-
netically spelled yooo !
When retailing an unlikely story, a sarcastic yok may preface
each clause: yok ka=Gidi kalmamiS, yok mUrekkeb: :y:
deG:lm:S, hasili b:r alay bahaneler `oh no he had no paper
left, oh no his ink was no good; in short, a host of excuses'.
34. yoksa `if not, otherwise': uslu durursun, yoksa sen: b:r
daha buraya get:rmem `you'll stand nice-and-quiet, otherwise
I shan't bring you here again'.
It then comes to be used to introduce the second half of double
questions: bu mUmkUn mU yoksa deG:l m:? `is this possible,
or is it not?'; bugUn mU yoksa yarin mi g:d:yorsunuz? `is it
today or tomorrow you are going?'
When two possibilities are considered but only one is expressed,
yoksa may begin the sentence: yoksa g:tsem m:? `or should I go?'
XIV. WORD-FORMATION
1. Deverbal substantives. In sections 2-18 are discussed the
principal suffixes which are added to verb-stems to make nouns
and adjectives, excluding those dealt with under the headings of
participles and verbal nouns in Chapters IX and X. These suffixes
have been and are the chief weapons of the language-reformers in
their campaign to substitute words from Turkish roots for Arabic
and Persian borrowings.
2. [MISSING: -:c:]
ak- to flow akici fluent
oku- to read oku-y-ucu reader
gUl-dUr- to make to laugh gUldUrUcU amusing
uyuS-tur- to benumb uyuSturucu narcotic
et- to make sarhoS ed:c: intoxicant (`drunk making')
0l-dUr- to kill haSarat 0ldU-rUcU :la=C
insecticide (`insect killer medicament')
d0n-dUr- to turn baS d0ndUrUcU hiz
vertiginous (`head turning') speed
ver- to give hayat ver:c: life-giving
The first vowel of the suffix has been lost in d:lenc: `beggar'
from d:len- `to beg'. 0Grenc: `student, pupil' was manufactured
analogously from 0Gren- `to learn'.
3. -men. A suffix -man occurs in a number of time-honoured
words, apparently with intensive significance; e.g. from koca
`big', kocaman `huge'; from S:S `swollen', S:Sman `fat'.
The language-reformers have used -men to make nouns of occupation:
0Gret- to teach 0Gretmen teacher
oku-t- to make to read okutman lector
say- to count sayman accountant
seC- to choose seCmen elector
yaz- to write yazman secretary
In this use the suffix is a hybrid, deriving, on the one hand, from
the Turkish -man and, on the other, from the English -man,
familiar to the Turks in three borrowings from French: vatman
`tram-driver', sportmen `sportsman', and rekortmen `record-
holder'. The last two may have come via Russian.
egemen `sovereign' purports to be derived from ege or eGe
`guardian'. In fact it is a distortion of the Greek `leader';
the French he=*ge=*mie was borrowed in the form hegemonya by
Ziya G0kalp (d. 1924).
4. -:k makes adjectives, mostly with passive meaning, and nouns,
mostly denoting the result of action:
b:rleS- to unite b:rleS:k united
boz- to destroy bozuk unserviceable, spoilt
Cik- to come out Cikik dislocated
deG:S- to change deG:S:k varied
0ksUr- to cough 0ksUrUk cough
s0k- to undo s0kUk unravelled
tUkUr- to spit tUkUrUk saliva
5. -: denotes action or result of action. It occurs only with mono-
syllabic consonant-stems:
dol- to be filled dolu full
kork- to run korku fear
koS- to run koSu race
0l- to die 0lU dead, corpse
yap- to make yapi construction
6. -t:, -:nt:.
(a) -t: denotes action or result of action:
bel:r- to appear bel:rt: symptom
buyur-ul- to be ordered buy(u)rultu command
bula-n- to be nauseated bulanti nausea
Calka-n- to be agitated Calkanti agitation
(b) Analogously with the last two examples, there are a number
of nouns ending in -:n-t: from verbs with no reflexive in use, e.g.;
ak- to flow akinti stream
bur- to twist buruntu colic
Cik- to come out Cikinti projection
C0k- to collapse C0kUntU debris
kur- to brood kuruntu melancholy
fancy [??]
7. [MISSING: -g:]
sev- to love sevg: affection
:C- to drink :Ck: (alcoholic) drink
Cal- to play Calgi musical instrument
as- to hang aski pendant, braces (U. K.),
suspenders (U.S.A.)
bur- to twist burgu gimlet
0r- to interlace 0rgU plait
yar- to split yargi decision
8. -C makes adjectives and abstract nouns, primarily from re-
flexive stems and other stems in n:
:Gren- to be disgusted :GrenC loathsome, loathing
:nan- to believe :nanC belief
kazan- to win kazanC gain
kiskan- to envy kiskanC jealousy
usan- to be bored usanC boredom
By analogy, korkunC `terrible' is formed from kork- `to fear',
although this verb has no reflexive.
9. [MISSING: -ek]
yala to lick yalak trough
bat- to sink batak marsh
ele- to sift elek sieve
tara- to comb tarak comb
0lC- to measure 0lCek scale of a map
yed- to tow yedek tow-rope > led animal > spare
aksa- to limp aksak lame
bUyU- to become great bUyUk great
soGu- to become cold soGuk cold
Urk- to shy Urkek timid
From at- `to throw' comes atak `bold, daring', not to be con-
fused with the identical-looking noun meaning `attack', a French
borrowing used by sports-writers and military experts.
10. [-gen]
Cek:n- to withdraw Cek:ngen retiring
d0GUS- to fight d0GUSken bellicose
sokul- to push oneself in sokulgan ingratiating
unut- to forget unutkan forgetful
A rare by-form is -eGen:
ol- to happen olaGan normal
p:S- to cook (intr.) p:SeGen easily cooking
gez- to stroll gezeGen planet
11. -g:n makes nouns and adjectives with active or passive
meaning:
er- to mature erg:n adult
kiz- to become heated kizgin fevered
sol- to fade solgun faded
sUr- to exile sUrgUn exile
b:t- to end b:tk:n exhausted
kUs- to sulk kUskUn sulky
SaS- to go astray SaSkin bewildered
coS- to overflow coSkun exuberant
geCk:n `past' and aSkin `exceeding' may govern an object: elli
yaSini geCk:n b:r adam `a man past his fiftieth year'; boyu,
:k: metrey: aSkindi `his height was over two metres'.
12. -:t, -t (the latter after vowel-stems). This noun-suffix, though
not very productive in former times, is a favourite of the neo-
logizers; witness the last five examples:
ayir- to distinguish ayirt distinction
geC- to pass geC:t passage, ford
yoGur- to knead yoGurt yoghurt
an- to call to mind anit memorial
soy- to strip soyut abstract
taSi- to carry taSit vehicle
yak- to burn yakit fuel
yaz- to write yazit inscription
It occurs also in a few adjectives deliberately derived from
substantives:
yaS age yaSit coeval
eS mate eS:t equal
karSi opposite karSit contrary
An analogous recent coinage is somut, from som `solid', for
`concrete', as opposed to soyut `abstract'.
13. -:m makes nouns, many of them denoting a single action,
This too is an abundant source of neologisms, e.g. basim and
the three following examples on the next page.
:C- to drinK :c:m draught
yut- to swallow yudum swallow, mouthful
d:l to slice d:l:m slice, strip
doG- to be born doGum birth
0l- to die 0lUm death
tut- to hold tutum thrift, behaviour
The noun of unity tut- is irregular: tutam `handful'.
bas- to press,print basim printing
de- to say dey:m expression
dur- to stand durum situation
yat-ir- to lay, deposit yatirim investment
See also XII, 1; sUrUm sUrUm, etc.
Examples of deverbal nouns in -m from vowel-stems are few,
but the reformers have created some on the analogy of anlam,
alleged to be used in Konya in the sense of `meaning'; cf. anla-
`to understand'.
g0zle- to observe g0zlem observation
kavra- to grasp kavram concept
The same dubious suffix is seen in the neologism gUndem
`agenda' from gUnde `in the day'.
14. -:n makes nouns:
ak- to flow akin stream, rush, raid
ek- to sow ek:n crop
tUt- to smoke (intr.) tUtUn tobacco
yiG- to pile up yiGin heap
bas- to press, print basin the Press
15. -geC, -g:C. These two related suffixes make a few nouns,
mostly denoting agent or instrument:
dal- to plunge dalgiC diver
sUz- to filter sUzgeC filter, strainer
yUz- to swim yUzgeC swimmer, float
baSla- to begin baSla-n-giC beginning
patla- to explode patla-n-gaC, patla-n-giC
pop-gun, fire-cracker
16. -tay. This neologism seems to have been extracted from the
Mongol quriltai `assembly of the nobles', as if the word were
derived from the Turkish kur-ul- `to be established' -*-tay.
kurultay is the name given by the Turkish Linguistic Society to
its annual congress. The `suffix' has been used (with substantives
as well as with verb-stems) to create a number of administrative
terms, all of which, except the first, are often used in official
language. The older terms are given in brackets.
kamu (archaic) all, whole Kamutay Grand National Assembly
(BUyUk M:llet Mecl:s:)
daniS- to consult DaniStay Council of State
(S+ura-yi Devlet, Devlet S+urasi)
sayiS- to settle accounts SayiStay Exchequer and Audit
(D:van-i Muhasebat, Muhasebat D:vani)
yargi decision Yargitay Supreme Court of Appeal
(Temy:z Mahkemes:)
17. -ev, -v. This was borrowed by the neologizers from the Kazan
dialect.
g0r- to see, perform g0rev duty
sayla- to choose saylav deputy, M.P.
sina- to test sinav examination
s0yle- to tell s0ylev speech
18. -ey, -y. This suffix, of Chaghatai origin, is also beloved of
the neologizers.
dene- to try deney experiment
d:k- to set up d:key perpendicular
ol- to happen olay event
yat- to lie yatay horizontal
It is rarely added to nouns:
yUz- face dUzey surface
19. Denominal verbs. Relatively few substantives are also verb-
stems; among the commonist are:
aci grief aci- to grieve (intr.)
boya paint boya- to paint
ekS: sour ekS:- to become sour
esk: old esk:- to become worn out
gerek necessary gerek- to be necessary
g0C migration g0C- to migrate
kuru dry kuru- to dry (intr-)
On the other hand, many verbs are formed by adding suffixes to
substantives. These suffixes are discussed in ##20-29.
20. [MISSING: -e]
boS empty boSa- to divorce
harC expenditure harca- to spend
kan blood kana- to bleed
oyun game oyna- to play
yaS age yaSa- to live
21. -le-. This, with its derivatives (##22-24), is the most pro-
ductive of all verbal suffixes. The precise relationship between the
meanings of the basic substantive and the derived verb is not
always guessable; compare the last two examples in list (a). It is
added to:
(a) Nouns:
balta axe baltala- to sabotage
g0z eye g0zle- to keep an eye on
k:l:t lock k:l:tle- to lock
k:r dirt k:rle- to dirty
su water sula- to irrigate
yumurta egg yumurtala- to lay eggs
kuzu lamb kuzula- to lamb
k0pek dog k0pekle- to cringe
(b) Adjectives:
kUCUk small kUCUkle- to slight
ser:n cool ser:nle- to become cool
tem:z clean tem:zle- to clean
UC three UCle- to increase to three,
to let a farm in ex-
change for one-third of
the crop
(c) Onomatopoeic words:
hav hav bow-wow havla- to bark
m:yav miaow m:yavla- to mew
pUf puff pUfle- to puff, blow out
22. -len-. In origin the reflexive and passive of -le-, it also makes
some verbs synonymous with those in -le-, and some of which
there is no -le- form in use:
tem:zle- to clean tem:zlen- to be cleaned
k:rle- to dirty k:rlen- to become dirty
ser:nle- to become cool ser:nlen- to become cool
can soul,life canlan- to come to life
ev house evlen- to marry
Its causative is -len-d:r-: canlandir- `to vivify', evlend:r-
`to give in marriage'.
23. -let-. The causative of -le-. Some verbs formed with it are
synonymous with the forms in -le-:
tem:zle- to clean tem:zlet- to get cleaned
k:l:tle- to lock k:l:tlet- to get locked
k:rle- to dirty k:rlet- to dirty
24. -leS-. Originally the reciprocal of -le-, it is also freely used
to make verbs meaning `to become ...':
karSila- to meet karSilaS- to meet one another
ser:n cool ser:nleS- to become cool
dert pain, trouble dertleS- to tell each other your
troubles
mektup letter mektuplaS- to correspond
Tanri God tanrilaS- to become divine
0lmez (IX,4) immortal 0lmezleS- to become immortal
Amer:ka-li American amer:kalilaS- to be Americanized
garp-li westerner garplilaS- to be westernized
b:r one b:rleS- to become united
Its causative is -leS-t:r-: 0lmezleSt:r- `to immortalize',
garplilaStir- `to westernize', b:rleSt:r- `to unite'.
25. -el-, -l-. Added to a number of adjectives, but very few nouns,
it conveys `to become ...'. Disyllables in final k lose it before
this suffix:
az little azal- to diminish (intr-)
Cok much CoGal- to increase (intr.)
boS empty boSal- to be emptied
s:vr: sharp-pointed s:vr:l- to become prominent
alCak low alCal- to condescend
ufak tiny ufal- to diminish (intr.)
yUksek high yUksel- to rise
y0n direction y0nel- to direct oneself
The causative is -elt-, -lt-: azalt- `to diminish' (tr.), yUkselt-
`to raise'.
26. -er-. No longer productive, with adjectives of colour it con-
veys `to become ...'; added to other words it usually has an active
sense. Disyllabic adjectives of colour lose their final syllable before
it; more accurately, -er- is added to the monosyllabic stem from
which the disyllabic adjective is derived:
ak white aGar- to become white
boz grey bozar- to become grey
g0k blue green g0Ger- or to become blue green
g0ver- (I, 10)
yeS:l green yeSer- to become green
kizil red kizar- to become red, be roasted
sari yellow sarar- to become yellow
ev house ever- to marry off
ot grass otar- to pasture
su water suvar- (p. 29) to water an animal
yaS moisture yaSar- to become wet
27. -se-. This was once not uncommon in the sense of `to want
...', e.g. in tUtUnse- `to crave tobacco'. The only surviving
example in common use is:
su water susa- to thirst
In a few words it has the sense of`to regard as . . :':
ben:m of me ben:mse- to regard as one's own
mUh:m important mUh:mse- to think important
C:rk:n ugly C:rk:nse- to think ugly
gar:p stranger gar:pse- to consider strange, to
feel lonely
28. -:mse-. A suffix -:mse- with the same meaning appears in:
az little azimsa- to consider inadequate
Cok much CoGumsa- to consider excessive
In the postvocalic form -mse- it is used to make two neologisms:
:y: good :y:mse- to be optimistic
k0tU bad k0tUmse- to be pessimistic
The aorist participles :y:mser and k0tUmser are commonly
used for `optimistic' and `pessimistic' respectively.
Different in sense and in being formed from a verb-stem is
gUlUmse- `to smile'; cf. gUl- `to laugh'. This -:mse- may have
been formed on the analogy of ben:m-se- and mUh:m-se- but
is more likely related to the adjectival suffix -:ms: (IV, 3).
29. -de- is added to a number of onomatopoeic words ending in
r or l which, when repeated, are used as adverbs. For example,
cizir imitates the sound of sizzling; `sizzlingly' is cizir cizir,
while cizirdamak is to make this noise. Such verbs in -de- have
a corresponding noun in -d: or -t:, thus cizirti`sizzling'. There
is also a verb ciz-la-mak `to sizzle'. A series like this exists for
many onomatopoeic words, though in some the verb in -le- is
wanting. Where there is a verb in -le-, it is used with the doubled
adverb in preference to the verb in -de-. Thus `to snore snortingly'
is horul horul horlamak rather than horuldamak.
Imitative
Word Represents Verb Noun Verb
gicir creaking gicirda- gicirti --
hiril growling hirilda- hirilti hirla-
horul snoring horulda- horultu horla-
kUtUr crunching kUtUrde- kUtUrdU --
patir footsteps patirda- patirdi --
paril glittering parilda- parilti parla-
piril " pirilda- pirilti --
takir tapping takirda- takirti --
30. Compound nouns and adjectives. The various ways in which
these may be formed are dealt with in this and the following
sections.
Two nouns juxtaposed:
baba father anne mother babaanne paternal grandmother
anneanne maternal grandmother
kayin brother- ata father kaynata father-in-law
in-law ana mother kaynana mother-in-law
baS head bakan minister baSbakan prime minister
CavuS sergeant baSCavuS sergeant-major
parmak finger baSparmak thumb
:C interior yUz face :CyUz `the inside story'
kale fort :Ckale citadel
orta middle CaG epoch ortaCaG the Middle Ages
okul school ortaokul intermediate school
g0z eye kulak ear g0zkulak alert, interested
aGa chief bey lord aGabey elder brother
hanim lady efend: master hanimefend: Madam
beyefend: Sir
yUz face g0z eye yUzg0z over-familiar
0n front ayak foot 0nayak pioneer, ringleader
s0z word 0ns0z foreword
yargi judgement 0nyargi prejudice
31. Abbreviated nouns. Some military terms have been formed on
the pattern of Russian officialese, from abbreviated nouns:
tUmen division general general tUmgeneral major-general
ordu army orgeneral general (4-star)
donatim equipment ordonat equipment branch
Ust top teGmen 2nd Ustegmen 1st
lieutenant lieutenant
32. Izafet groups:
yil year baS head yilbaSi New Year
el hand b:rl:k oneness elb:rl:G: co-operation
:C interior aci pain :Cler acisi heart-rending
hanim lady el hand hanimel: honeysuckle
saman straw yol way samanyolu the Milky Way
cuma Friday erte morrow cumartes: Saturday
tar:h history 0nce before tar:h 0nces: prehistoric
m:lletler nations ara interval m:lletlerarasi international
harp war sonra after harp sonrasi post-war
su water Ust top suUstU surface (adj.)
33. Frozen izafet groups. The following words, though izafet
groups in origin, are treated like simple vowel-stems (cf. II, 24).
Thus den:zaltilar `submarines', b:nbaSiya `to the major',
ayakkabici `shoemaker'.
den:z sea alt underside den:zalti submarine (noun and adj.)
b:n thousand baS head b:nbaSi major
yUz hundred yUzbaSi captain
on ten onbaSi corporal
ayak foot kap cover ayakkabi footwear, shoes
34. Proper names consisting in izafet groups. Patronymics in
-oGlu are strictly declined as izafet groups: OsmanoGullari
`the Ottoman dynasty', KaramanoGluna `to the karamanid'.
Colloquially, however, surnames of this type are sometimes
treated as simple vowel-stems; thus `to AzizoGlu', strictly Az:z-
oGluna or Az:zoGlu'na, may occur as Az:zoGlu'ya.
I+n0nU as a place-name is declined as an izafet group; as a sur-
name (derived from the place-name) it is declined as a simple
noun. Either way it may be written with or without an apostrophe
before the case-endings:
Place-name Surname
abs. I+n0nU
acc. I+n0nU'nU I+n0nU'yU
gen. I+n0nU 'nUn
dat. I+n0nU'ne I+n0nU'ye
loc. I+n0nU'nde I+n0nU'de
abl. I+n0nU'nden I+n0nU'den
35. Adjective-noun:
bUyUk great anne mother bUyUkanne grandmother
kara black yel wind karayel north-wester
top-lu knobbed :Gne needle toplu:Gne pin
kirk forty ayak foot kirkayak centipede
36. Noun-noun--l: :
c:n demon f:k:r thought c:nf:k:rl: shrewd
koyun sheep baS head koyunbaSli mutton-headed
orta middle boy stature ortaboylu of medium height
37. [MISSING: Adj-noun-l: ?]
aC hungry g0z eye aCg0zlU avaricious
alCak low g0nUl soul alCakg0nUllU humble
del: mad kan blood del:kanli young man
:k: two can soul :k:canli pregnant
38. Noun-adjective:
sUt milk beyaz white sUtbeyaz milk-white
k0mUr coal s:yah black k0mUrs:yah coal-black
39. Noun-third-person suffix-adjective:
el-: his hand aCik open el:aCik generous
See XVIII, 1.
40. Noun-verb:
kUl ash basti it pressed kUlbasti grilled meat
dal branch dalbasti fine and large (of cherries)
unutma do not forget ben: me unutmaben: forget-me-not
To this class belong the names of two dishes made with auber-
gines: hUnka=rbeGend: `the Sovereign approved' and :mam-
bayildi `the Imam swooned'.
The verb may be a participle:
kervan caravan kiran breaking kervankiran the morning
oyun game bozan spoiling oyunbozan spoilsport
yurt land sever loving yurtsever patriot
41. [MISSING]
Cit crack! kirildim I have been Citkirildim fragile,
broken effeminate
Sip plop ! sevd: he has fallen Sipsevd: susceptible,
in love impressionable
42. Verb-verb:
Cakar it strikes almaz it does not Cakaralmaz useless, not
fire take working; facetious term
for gun, `blunderbuss'
kapti it snatched kaCti it fled kaptikaCti small, privately owned
omnibus, `pirate bus'
vurdum I hit duymaz he does vurdumduymaz thick- skinned
not feel
43. Hyphenated compounds. The hyphen is hardly ever used in
compound words, except in one or two modernisms like okur-
yazar `literate' (`reader--writer') and akt0r-rej:s0r `actor--
producer', phrases like Ankara-Konya yolu `the Ankara-Konya
road' and 0Gretmen-0Grenc: orani `teacher-pupil ratio', and
names of commercial firms like I+pek-I+S `Silk-Work'.
Some of the compounds shown above as one word may be
spelt as two, and vice versa.
44. Repetitions. As in English, a verb may be repeated to indicate
the duration of activity: CaliSacaksin, CaliSacaksin ve muvaf-
fak olacaksin `you will work, you will work, and you will be
successful'.
Similar locutions are frequent in the colloquial: kalalim
kalalim akSama kadar kalalim, sonra? `all right, suppose we
stay till evening; what do we do then?' (lit. `let us stay, let us stay,
till evening let us stay; after?'). arabayi sUrmUS, sUrmUS,
n:hayet yet:St: `he drove and drove the car and finally arrived'.
If the object of the repeated verb is also repeated, inversion is
automatic: sUrmUS arabayi, sUrmUS arabayi, n:hayet
yet:St:. yapacaGim da yapacaGim `I'll certainly do it' (`I shall
do and I shall do'). g:tt: m: g:tt:! `I'll say he went !' (`did he go?
he went!').
This last construction is found with adjectives too: :ht:yar
zeng:n m: zeng:n! `the old man is certainly rich' (`... rich?
rich !').
When repeated adjectives qualify nouns in the plural, the sense
is more than simply intensive; e.g. gUzel gUzel kizlar means not
just `very beautiful girls' but `girls each more beautiful than the
last'; yen: yen: Um:tler are not `very new hopes' but `ever-new
hopes'.
Repeated nouns: avuC avuC paralar `coins by the handful';
araba araba odun `cartload after cartload of wood'; sira sira
daGlar `range on range of mountains'; demet demet otlar
`bundles and bundles of grass'; kUme kUme evler `masses and
masses of houses'. A once-popular song begins: Ey m:ralay,
m:ralay! / Asker:n alay alay `O Colonel, Colonel! / Your
soldiers are regiment on regiment'.
45. Doublets. On almost every page of the dictionary will be
found nouns and adjectives consisting in pairs of assonant words.
Such doublets are of three kinds.
(a) Each element is a regular word:
:S gUC employment (`work toil')
kanli canli robust (`having blood and life')
yorgun argun dead-tired (`tired exhausted')
yorgun argun [??] jerrybuilt (`collection fitting-together)
(b) Only one element is a regular word, the other exists only in
this doublet:
Cocuk child Coluk Cocuk wife and family
siki close siki fiki intimate
Carpik crooked Carpik Curpuk crooked and twisted
alaca motley alaca bulaca garish and discordant of colour
(c) Neither element has independent existence:
allak bullak topsy-turvy
abuk sabuk nonsensical
ivir zivir miscellaneous rubbish
46. m- doublets. The largest class of doublet is that in which
a word is followed by an echo of itself but with m replacing its
initial consonant or preceding its initial vowel. The meaning of
this form beginning with m is `and so on, and suchlike'. derg:
okumuyor `he doesn't read journals'; derg: merg: okumuyor
`he doesn't read journals or periodicals or magazines'. bahCede
aGaC yok `there are no trees in the garden'; bahCede aGaC
maGaC yok `there are no trees or shrubs or bushes in the garden'.
It must be emphasized that it is useless to seek such words as
merg: and maGaC in the dictionary; they are manufactured ad
hoc.` part:ler, mart:ler, hep reform meform d:ye baGirip
CaGiriyorlar `the political parties and suchlike are always
shouting and screaming about reform and all that'. :S:n sonunu
anlat--sonu monu yok `tell <me> the end of the business'--`it
has no end or anything resembling an end'. A rough equivalent
of `but me no buts' is fakati makati yok, lit. `it has no ``but''
(fakat) or anything like a ``but'' (makat)'.
The late Prime Minister Menderes, on hearing that Harold
Stassen was retiring as administrator of United States foreign aid,
remarked: Stassen g:derse, yer:ne Mtassen gel:r. Yardimi
ondan aliriz `If Stassen goes, some close facsimile of Stassen will
take his place. We'll get the aid from him.' A Turkish workman
who had married a German girl, when asked how they managed
to communicate, replied: Tarzanca marzanca :dare ed:yoruz
:Ste `We manage in the manner (or `language'; see XII, 2 (e)) of
Tarzan and his mate Jane, that's how it is'.
It will be seen that this is essentially a colloquialism; for a neat
literary use of it see XXIV, 14. An ingenious political use was
made of it before the 1960 revolution, when the opposition weekly
Kim was suspended but immediately reappeared under the title
of Mim. Besides meaning, in this context, `something closely
resembling Kim', this is the name of the Arabic letter m which
was used by the Ottoman bureaucracy as a `black mark', to put
against the names of those politically suspect. Hence m:ml:, still
current for `on the black list'.
This device is possible only because of the lack of native
Turkish words with initial m. With words which do begin with
m, m-doublets cannot be made and falan or f:la=n (V, 21) is
used instead: mUfett:Sler falan gel:yor `the inspectors and all that lot
are coming'.
XV. THE ORDER OF ELEMENTS IN THE SENTENCE
1. Nominal sentences and verbal sentences. Turkish grammarians
classify all sentences as either nominal or verbal, the former being
those in which the verbal element, if any, is one of the parts of `to
be' not formed from the stem ol-; the latter, those in which the
verbal element is from ol- or any other normal stem.
Thus these are nominal sentences:
hava gUzel(d:r) the weather is fine
yorgun deG:l:m I am not tired
yUzU tem:z :d: his face was clean
ev Cok ucuz :m:S the house is said to be very cheap
bekl:yordur he is sure to be waiting
These are verbal sentences:
hava gUzel oldu the weather has become fine
yorulmadim I have not become fatigued
yUzUnU yikadi he has washed his face
ev satilmiS the house appears to have been sold
bekl:yor he is waiting
The distinction, however, has no practical value; the weight
given to it by Turkish schoolteachers is a relic of the days when
Turkish grammar was taught with the technical terms of Arabic,
in which the distinction is of fundamental importance.
2. The principles of word-order. The cardinal rule is that the
qualifier precedes the qualified; i.e. the adjective, participle, or
qualifying noun precedes the noun; the adverb or complement
precedes the verb; the modifying phrase or adverb precedes the
adjective:
bUyUk ev the big house
d0nen tekerlek the turning wheel
C:ftC:n:n ev: the farmer's house
Cabuk geld: he came quickly
Cabuk ol be quick!
buraya geld: he came here
buradan uzak far from here
H:nd:stan kadar bUyUk b:r memleket a land as big as India
H:nd:stan'dan bUyUk b:r memleket a land bigger than India
pek kUCUk b:r bahCe a very small garden
To leave aside, for the moment, the flexibility given to the
written word by writers of the devr:k cUmle school (see #3),
the typical order of the elements in a literary sentence is-- (1)
subject, (2) expression of time, (3) expression of place, (4) indirect
object, (5) direct object, (6) modifier of the verb, (7) verb. If any
of these elements is qualified, the qualifier precedes it. The
definite precedes the indefinite, so elements (4) and (5) will
change places if the indirect object is indefinite and the direct
object is definite. Thus CocuGa h:ka=yey: anlatti `she told the
child the story', but h:ka=yey: b:r CocuGa anlatti `she told the
story to a child'.
By `modifier of the verb' in position (6) is meant what Turkish
grammarians call tUmleC `complement'. This may be:
(a) a noun in the dative, locative, or ablative case: ves:kalari
Ankara'ya yolluyorum `I am sending the documents to
Ankara'; m:saf:r otelde bekl:yor `the guest is waiting in the
hotel'; onu penceremden g0rdUm `I saw him from my window'.
(b) an adverb or the equivalent: diSari Cikalim `let us go out-
side'; b:z:m kadar CaliSmiyor `he is not working as much
as we are'.
(c) a particle: evet, gel:r:m `yes, I am coming'; hayir, gel-
mem `no, I am not coming'.
An example of the typical word-order-- (1) ressam (2) geCen
hafta (3) Bebek'te (4) b:ze (5) res:mler:n: (6) :k:nc: defa
olarak (7) g0sterd:; i.e. (1) the artist (7) showed (4) us (5) his
pictures (6) for the second time (2) last week (3) at Bebek. The
definite precedes the indefinite, so, if he showed his pictures not
to us but to a journalist, elements (4) and (5) will change places:
res:mler:n: b:r gazetec:ye g0sterd:. Any element which is
to be emphasized may be placed immediately before the verb:
geCen hafta Bebek'te b:ze res:mler:n: ressam g0sterd: `it
was the artist who showed us ...'; ressam Bebek'te b:ze
res:mler:n: geCen hafta g0sterd: `it was last week that the
artist showed us ...'; ressam geCen hafta b:ze res:mler:n:
Bebek'te g0sterd: `it was at Bebek that the artist showed us ...'.
If the verb is intransitive, elements (4) and (5) are replaced
by the complement or modifier of the verb: (1) kiz kardeS:m
(2) S:md: (3) Par:s'te (4) trenden (5) :n:yordur; (1) my sister
(5) must be alighting (2) now (4) from the train (3) in Paris.
(1) :k: sarhoS (2) dUn akSam (3) Taks:m'de (4) karakolluk
(5) oldular ; (1) two drunkards (5) became (4) police-station-material
(2) yesterday evening (3) at Taksim (i.e. they were locked up).
The subject of var and yok adjoins them as a rule: daGda
b:r ayi var or b:r ayi var daGda `there is a bear on the moun-
tain'; evde k:mse yok or k:mse yok evde `there is no one in
the house'.
It will not escape the reader's attention that such `typical'
sentences are relatively infrequent among the enormous variety
that can occur in human speech, especially in its written form.
Nevertheless, although not every sentence will have all these
elements, the order given above will be found to fit not only most
sentences but also most clauses within the sentence.
3. The inverted sentence, devr:k cUmle. In English, which has
discarded most of its inflexions, the rules of word-order must be
obeyed or the syntactic relationships of the various parts of the
sentence will be upset. In an inflected language like Turkish
or Latin one can take liberties with the conventional word-order
and still be intelligible.
Romalilar, barbarlari yend:ler
Romani barbaros superaverunt
The Romans defeated the barbarians
Let the Romans and the barbarians change places in the Turkish
or Latin sentences and the basic implication remains the same,
though there is a shift of emphasis (`it was the Romans who
defeated the barbarians'). If they change places in the English,
the sense is totally reversed.
In the past, Turkish prose-writers, like Classical Latin authors,
have in the main denied themselves the freedom of word-order
which the structure of their language offers. The qualifier in
a definite izafet had to precede its noun, just like the attributive
adjective; the verb had to come at the end of the sentence. Any
departure from these laws could be dismissed as colloquial. Under
the Republic, however, new factors have altered the situation: the
`Anatolian' school of novelists and short-story writers have made
peasant speech a familiar element of literature; the language-
reformers have largely succeeded in establishing the principle
that the gap between the written and spoken languages must be
narrowed if not eliminated; the writers of the devr:k cUmle
(`inverted sentence') school have deliberately departed from the
conventional word-order even in formal writing. As they are
widely admired and imitated by the younger generation, it seems
likely that their style will one day impose itself on all but the most
formal and solemn prose. To ignore the `inverted sentence' in the
hope that it will go away, as some conservative Turkish gram-
marians do, is to confuse the duties of grammarian and literary
critic.
In fact, the devrik cUmle school's deviations from con-
ventional word-order can all be paralleled in the works of the
most venerated writers of all periods. Where the more inept
adherents of the school go wrong is that they do not use such
deviations occasionally, so that by their novelty they may be the
more telling, but make them into a new norm.
In the `inverted sentence', the qualifier in a definite izafet may
follow the word it qualifies. The rule that attributive adjectives
(in which we may include participial qualifiers, the equivalent of
English relative clauses; see XVIII, 2) must precede their nouns
is unbreakable, simply because an adjective which is placed after
its noun automatically becomes predicative. mav: den:z `the blue
sea' reversed becomes den:z mav: `the sea is blue'. :lk aklima
gelen cevap means `the answer which comes first to my mind',
If :lk ... gelen is put after cevap, the meaning becomes `the
answer is that which first comes to my mind'. But if we take a
definite izafet group such as C:ftC:-n:n ev-: `the farmer's house'
and invert it, ev: C:ftC:n:n, the grammatical suffixes still show
the relationship between the two words and the meaning is un-
altered. True, they might also mean `his house is the farmer's',
but in context there could be no ambiguity. In informal speech
the answer to a question like `what's that place over there?' may
well be in the form ev: C:ftC:n:n. The inverted order is even more
likely if the phrase is part of a longer sentence, e.g. ev: bUyUk,
C:ftC:n:n `his house is big, the farmer's'. This may look as if the
qualifier C:ftC:n:n is added as an afterthought, but in fact this is
at least as common a form of sentence in the spoken language
as the formal C:ftC:n:n ev: bUyUk. In poetry this type of inversion
is frequent; there are two instances of it in two consecutive lines in
Yahya Kemal's ACik Deniz (`The Open Sea'): G:tt:m o son
d:ya=ra k: serhadd:d:r yer:n. / Ha=la= d:l:mded:r tuzu eng:n
den:zler:n! `I went to that last land which is earth's boundary. /
Still on my tongue is the salt of the limitless seas!' In formal
prose, serhadd-:-d:r yer-:n would be yer:n serhadd:d:r, while
tuz-u eng:n den:z-ler-:n would be eng:n den:zler:n tuzu.
Prose examples are not so frequent: g:y:n:S: ... hayl: acay:pt:
bu adamin (Yakup Kadri) `this man's mode of dress was very
peculiar'; here the effect is racy and conversational. halkin
konuStuGu d:lle, b:l:m, felsefe ve edeb:yatin d:l:n: b:r-
leSt:rmek, baSka b:r dey:mle dUSUndUGUnU konuSur g:b:
yazmak, :lk :S: olmuStur Avrupa'da aydin k:S:ler:n
(EyUboGlu) `to unify the language spoken by the people and the
language of science, philosophy, and literature, in other words, to
write one's thoughts as if speaking them, has become the first
task of the intellectuals in Europe'. The inversion in the last six
words is probably due to the desire to avoid the ugly assonance
of k:S:ler:n :lk :S:.
The commonest manifestation of the devr:k cUmle and the
one which most infuriates conservative critics is that the verb does
not come at the end of the sentence. In the colloquial, an impera-
tive often begins a sentence, because someone with urgent instruc-
tions to give will naturally put the operative word first: Cik
oradan! `get out of there!' yakma la=mbayi! `don't light the
lamp!' Similarly with an urgent question; the bus-conductor in
the rush-hour will shout, with his finger poised over the bell, var
mi :necek? (or var m':necek?) `is there anyone about to get
off?' although at quieter moments he may ask :necek var mi?
In a statement, however, the verb tends not to come first. The use
of Sey `thing' for `what-d'ye-call-it?' is an indication of the
strength of this tendency; if one wants to say `I saw the exhibition'
and momentarily forgets the word, one is more likely to say Sey:
g0rdUm--serg:y: than g0rdUm--serg:y:. Similarly for `I am
going to the what-d'ye-call-it--the exhibition': Seye g:d:yorum
--serg:ye rather than g:d:yorum--serg:ye. Consequently,
even in the writings of the devr:k cUmle school, it is rare to find
a sentence beginning with a verb other than an imperative or
a question, except for introductory formulas which are part of the
standard written language, such as g0rUlUyor k: `it seems that'.
But the verb frequently precedes its subject, object, or modifier.
ben: burada bulursa Abd: AGa, 0ldUrUr (Y. Kemal) `if Abdi
Agha finds me here, he'll kill me'. Nasil der Yunus Emre: B:r
ben var bende benden :Cer:. F::l: sona koyun da, bakin ne
oluyor cUmle (EyUboGlu) `What is it Yunus Emre says? ``There
is an `I' in me, within the `I'''. Put the verb at the end and see
what becomes of the sentence' (`what the sentence becomes'). UC
beS k:S:y:z b0yle s0yl:yen, b:l:yoruz CoGunluGa bunu
anlatamiyacaGimizi (N. AtaC) `we are a handful of people who
talk like this; we know that we could not make the majority
understand it'.
4. The sentence-plus. For one type of devr:k cUmle there is
a useful term invented by C.S. Mundy; he applies the name
`sentence-plus' to the sort of statement in which qualifiers or
modifiers are added to the end of a sentence which is already
grammatically complete in itself. Mundy gives the example
Kayser:'de b:r damadi var `he has a son-in-law at Kayseri'.
If this is expanded into `he has a son-in-law who is a doctor at
Kayseri', it becomes, in the formal written language, Kayser:'de
doktor olan b:r damadi var, but in speech Kayser:'de b:r
damadi var, doktor. Besides being the regular mode of ex-
pressing such meanings in speech, the sentence-plus occurs
frequently in Old Ottoman texts, so that the outsider's sympathies
are with those modernist writers who make full use of it, rather
than with the pedants who condemn it as un-Turkish. The first
of the three following examples is from the fifteenth-century
historian ASik PaSazade: hem :k: yildiz doGdu ol zamanda
kuyruklu `moreover two stars rose at that time, tailed' (i.e.
comets). kapilar da g0nUller: g:b: hep yari aCilir m:saf:re;
g0rUlmeden 0nce g0rmek, g0rmekten de Cok g0zetlemek
:ster g:b: (EyUboGlu) `the doors too, like their hearts, are always
<only> half-opened to the guest, as if wanting to see before being
seen and to spy rather than to see'. gUreSC:ler, b:r avuC tuz
alip yere atarlar, Sans get:rs:n d:ye `wrestlers take a handful
of salt and throw it on the ground for luck' (lit. `saying let it
bring luck').
XVI. NUMBER, CASE, AND APPOSITION
1. Concordance of subject and verb. It used to be stated as a rule
of grammar that inanimate plural subjects took a singular verb,
plural verbs being used with animate subjects or with inanimates
personified or considered as individuals, e.g. aGaClar, yUzUmUze
konfet: atiyorlar `the trees are throwing confetti into our faces'.
Conversely, an animate plural subject could take a singular verb
if it represented a number of people acting as one. This rule needs
to be modified in one respect: another factor nowadays seems to
be the distance between subject and verb; i.e. if an inanimate
plural subject takes a plural verb for no obvious reason, it will
be because subject and verb are widely separated: F-84 jet
uCaklari, ta=y:n ed:len hedefler: roket atarak tahr:p etm:S-
lerd:r `the F-84 jets destroyed the assigned targets by firing
rockets'.
2. Singular and plural in izafet groups. In an izafet group whose
qualifier is a plural, the qualified word, if singular, has the singular
possessive suffix: Carklar d0nUyor, kUCUk Cark bUyUGUnU
d0ndUrUyor (Sait Faik) `the gears turn, the little gear turns the
big one'. If the penultimate word were bUyUkler:n: it would
mean `the big ones'. The singular suffix of bUyUG-U-nU refers
to the plural Carklar. Bu yUzUkler Cok pahali. Daha ucuzu
yok mu? `These rings are very expensive. Have you no cheaper
ones?' Here the singular suffix of ucuz-u refers to the class
yUzUk of which bu yUzUkler are individual members. This rule
may be broken to avoid ambiguity: tUrlU a:lelere--b:lhassa
H:nd-Avrupa--mensup olan d:l ve lehCeler:n yayilma tarzi
mekan:zmasi, a:t olduklari a:le CerCeves: :C:nde :ncelen-
erek tesp:t ed:lm:S bulunuyor `the mechanism of the manner
of spreading of languages and dialects belonging to the various
families--especially the Indo-European--has been established by
being studied within the framework of the family to which they
belong'. As `to which they belong', a:t olduklari, refers to the
inanimate plural `languages and dialects', it could have been
singular, a:t olduGu, except that this might have been taken as
referring to one of the preceding singulars `spreading', `manner',
or `mechanism'.
3. Idiomatic uses of the plural.
(a) A plural noun is sometimes employed where English prefers
the singular: soGuklar sebeb:yle Sehr:n su borulari patla-
miStir `because of the cold, the city's water-pipes have burst'.
What the city has had to face is not just soGuk, cold in general,
but soGuklar, some specific instances of cold. bu haber, b:z:
hayretlere dUSUrdU `this news reduced us to astonishment'. :y:
geceler! `good night!' Allah akillar vers:n! `God give <you>
sense!' Feth: Bey, o gece hasimlari Uzer:ne saldirarak b:rer
b:rer yerlere ser:yordu (AGaoGlu Ahmet) `Fethi Bey that night,
attacking his opponents, was strewing them one by one on the
ground'. gel:n, beyazlar g:ym:St: `the bride wore [white?]'
[MISSING LINE][IMPROVED]
dul kadin, karalar g:ym:St: `the widow wore black';
[MISSING or GARBLED?]
although brides wear white, cricketers wear whites.
Note also: ger:lere g:tmek `to go back'; uzaklarda `in the
far distance'; yakinlarda `in the vicinity'; geCenlerde `in recent
times'; buralarda `in these parts'.
(b) The use of the plural for a single second or third person is
a mark of respect: orada yalniz baSiniza mi oturuyorsunuz?
`do you live there all alone?' eS:n:z daha gelmed:ler m:? `has your
wife not yet arrived?'
(c) On the other hand, the use of the first plural for the first singular
is modest: boynumuz kildan :nce `our neck is finer than a hair'. This a
jocular expression meaning `I'll have my hair [head?] cut off if I
don't do as I'm told'.
(d) The first person plural verb is used when the speaker and
another person are joint subjects: onunla t:yatroya g:tt:k `he
and I went to the theatre'.
If the speaker is regarded as the prime mover while the other
plays a subordinate part, the verb may be singular: onunla bera-
ber t:yatroya g:tt:m `I went to the theatre, together with him'.
In the next example, from a newspaper headline, the first plural
of the reciprocal verb means not `I and another' but `we and
others': Bulgar:stan'la yen:Semed:k `we and Bulgaria were
unable to defeat each other'; i.e. the Turkish and Bulgarian
football-teams drew.
(e) The fact that the plural suffix -ler never occurs more than
once in the same word makes possible a useful distinction:
taniStiGimiz adamlar mUhend:st:ler (== mUhend:s :d:ler)
`the men whom we met were engineers'; taniStiGimiz adamlar
mUhend:slerd: (== mUhend:sler :d:) `the men whom we met
were the engineers'. m:saf:rseler (== m:saf:r :seler) `if they
are guests'; m:saf:rlerse (== m:saf:rler :se) `if they are the
guests'. mahkemeye g:renler yargiC deG:ller `those entering
the court are not judges'; mahkemeye g:renler yargiClar
deG:l `those entering the court are not the judges'.
4. The accusative with b:r. Although the accusative suffix shows
that the word to which it is attached is definite, the use of it is not
precluded by the presence of b:r, since this, as well as being the
`indefinite article', is the numeral `one'. Nevertheless, even in such
contexts, `a' and not `one' may often be the better translation.
Compare her gUn b:r gazete okuyorum with her gUn b:r
gazetey: okuyorum. Both may be translated `every day I read
a newspaper', but the second, unlike the first, implies that I
always read one particular newspaper. TUrk hUkUmet:, an-
laSmalarin aynen uygulanmasini :st:yen b:r notayi Bulgar
hUkUmet:ne verm:St: `the Turkish government had given the
Bulgarian government a note asking that the agreements should
be given strict effect'. Here the nota is defined by the pre-
ceding participial clause ending in :st:yen, and therefore has the
definite accusative ending. ne aCiklari, ne aClari, ne ben:
kizina mUnas:p g0rmeyen zeng:n tUccari h:C b:r Sey:
dUSUnm:yeceG:m (Sait Faik) `I am going to think neither of
the naked nor the hungry, nor the rich businessman who does not
regard me <as> suitable for his daughter; not anything at all'.
Because h:C b:r Sey `not any thing' resumes and expands the
definite objects about which he is not going to think, it too goes
into the accusative.
5. Two idiomatic uses of the dative case.
(a) The absolute case of the present participle, followed by its
dative case, conveys the idea of a multitude of people doing some-
thing in excessive haste: kumsali g0rseyd:n yikanmak :C:n
gelen gelene `if you had only seen the beach; people coming in
droves to bathe', lit. `the-one-coming in order to bathe <is added>
to-the-one-coming'. b:zde hUkUmetten kaCan kaCana `amongst
us, people fall over each other to avoid being in the government',
lit. `in us, the-one-fleeing from-government <is added> to-the-
one-fleeing'.
(b) kardeS:m b:ze gelm:yor d:ye merak etme; gel:yor gelmes:ne
`don't worry about my brother not coming to us; he
does come, for what it's worth', lit. `he comes for its coming'. The
implication is perhaps that he does not come very often and
certainly that when he does come the visit is never a great success.
gerC:, bulunduGum yer den:z: g0rmUyor deG:l; g0rUyor
g0rmes:ne, ama en aSaGi b:r, b:r buCuk saatl:k b:r yerden
(Orhan Veli) `It is true that the place where I am is not without
a view of the sea; it has a view all right, but from a distance of at
least an hour to an hour and a half'; lit. `not it-does-not-see the-
sea, it-sees for-its-seeing'. para 0denmes:ne 0den:rd: ama
aradan aylar geCerd: `the money would be paid all right, but
months would intervene'. Rustavel:, bati d:ller:ne Cevr:l-
m:St:r Cevr:lmes:ne `Rustaveli <a Georgian poet> has been
translated into the western languages, for what it is worth' (i.e.
but nobody reads the translations).
This construction, with the third-person suffix of the -me
verbal noun, is used even when a second person is addressed; the
antecedent of the third-person suffix is vague :` gUzel olmasina
gUzels:n ama b:r de kusurun var `you are beautiful, as far as
that goes, but you also have a fault'. An old-fashioned English
equivalent is `you're beautiful, to say beautiful', i.e. but not to
say anything complimentary beyond that. Cf. `Oh she's beautiful
enough, if that were all!'
In the first of the two following examples, which are from
Aziz Nesin, the -me verbal noun has no personal suffix; in the
second, there is no verbal noun at all, the abstract noun being
used instead: Sa:r olmaya ben Sa:r:m ama okuyamam `I am
a poet all right, but I can't recite'. gUzell:G:ne gUzelm:Ss:n
`you are said to be beautiful, as far as that goes'. gUzell:G:ne here
is ambiguous, as its suffix might be that of the second- or third-
person singular; it is in fact third-person singular, `for the beauty
of it', and does not vary with the person, so `I am said to be
beautiful, as far as that goes' would be gUzell:G:ne gUzelm:S:m.
6. The genitive as logical subject. Although as a rule the subject
comes first in the sentence, we not infrequently find a sentence
beginning with a word or phrase in the genitive case. The reason
is that if the logical subject, the topic-word of the sentence, does
not coincide with the grammatical subject, it is the logical subject
which comes at the beginning. bu gel:Smeler:n, doGulu
vatandaSlarimizin hayatlarinda ne g:b: etk:ler yaratacaGi
ortadadir `what sort of effects these developments will create in
the lives of our eastern fellow-citizens is manifest'. The predicate
is ortada-dir `is in the middle', that is, in medio,in full view.
The subject is all the rest of the sentence, bu ... yaratacaGi,
these words being the substantivized form of the question bu
gel:Smeler ... ne g:b: etk:ler yaratacak? `what sort of
effects will these developments produce ...?' The process of
turning this question into a noun-clause has put bu gel:Smeler
into the genitive--`these developments' creating what sort of
effects'--but these two words are still the logical subject and are
marked as such by their position at the beginning of the sentence
and by the comma.
bu kazanin, hayatina mal olmasina ramak kaldi `this
accident all but cost him his life', lit. `of this accident, a last
breath remained to its being the cost for his life'.
kocasinin, tipki diSarda olduGu g:b:, evde de az konuS-
mak a=det:yd: (I+lhan Tarus) `her husband was in the habit of
speaking little at home too, just as he was outside', lit. `of her
husband, just as it was outside, to speak little at home too was
his custom'.
Hamd: bey:n Cocuklarina tek b:r f:ske b:le vurduGu
g0rUlmem:St:. Oysa k: :k:s: de oldum olasi haSariydilar
(idem) `Hamdi Bey had never been seen to strike his children even
a single flick of the fingers. Yet both of them were pests and
always had been.' Lit. `Hamdi Bey's striking ... had not been
seen'. The lack of a comma after bey:n must be due to an over-
sight, as one is needed not merely to mark the logical subject but
to prevent the reader from taking the first three words as an izafet
group (`to Hamdi Bey's children').
bu :nsanlarinsa :C:ne b:r kurt dUSmUStUr (EyUboGlu)
`as for these people, they are full of misgivings', lit. `as for of
these people, a worm [wolf?] has fallen into the inside of them', with the
logical subject :nsanlar-in emphasized by -sa ; see XIII, 27.
:kt:sadi= buhranin, bu gUne kadar b:r tUrlU 0nU alinamadi
`the economic crisis has been not at all preventable up to
now'. `To prevent something' is b:r Sey-:n 0n-U-nU almak
`to take the front of a thing'. Here the phrase is in the passive:
`its front has not been able to be taken'.
bu kuvvet:n 0nUne durulmaz `this force is irresistible'.
The largest class of sentence with the logical subject in the
genitive is that denoting possession or the lack of it: Mehmed':n
parasi var `Mehmet has money'; Mehmed':n parasi yok
`Mehmet has no money'. Such expressions must not be thought
of as consisting in an izafet group-var or yok. The syntactical
grouping is not Mehmed':n parasi / var `Mehmet's-money
exists' but Mehmed':n / parasi var `Mehmet has-money'. The
proof is as follows.
An izafet group cannot be split by an adverb unless the qualified
element is a verbal noun; see p. 43, footnote. Consider the group
cem:yet-:n toplanti-si `the society's meeting'. If the meeting
occurred yesterday and we wish to include that information in
the izafet group, we cannot insert the adverb dUn but must make
it into an adjective: cem:yet:n dUnkU toplantisi `the society's
hesternal meeting'. sakalli :ht:yar-in durum-u hoSuma
g:derd: `I liked the bearded old man's attitude' (`his attitude
used-to-go to-my-pleasure, used to appeal to me'). If we wish to
insert in the izafet group the adverbial clause `especially when he
was accepting a tip', b:lhassa bahS:S alir-ken, this clause must
be made adjectival by the addition of -k: : sakalli :ht:yarin
b:lhassa bahS:S alirkenk: durumu... . Similarly, if we wish
to say `Mehmet's money in that bank is over a million', the
adverbial phrase of place o banka-da must be made into an
adjective: Mehmed':n o bankadak: parasi (or Mehmed ':n o
bankada bulunan parasi) b:r m:lyondan fazladir. But the
Turkish for `Mehmet has money in that bank' is Mehmed':n o
bankada parasi var. It follows that what we have here is not
an izafet group plus var but a statement, o bankada parasi var
`he has money in that bank', to which Mehmed':n is the subject.
7. Apposition. Although the normal method of linking two nouns
is by izafet, considerable use is also made of apposition. The usual
way of saying `a shepherd-girl' is b:r Coban kizi, i.e. a girl
belonging to the category of shepherd. Also possible, however, is
b:r Coban kiz or b:r kiz Coban, the emphasis in the latter being
on kiz, `a girl shepherd'. So with b:r kadin doktor `a woman
doctor', as against b:r doktor kadin `a woman doctor'. b:r
kadin doktoru, however, with izafet, is `a gynaecologist'. A lady
gynaecologist might be referred to as b:r kadin kadin doktoru.
but b:r kadin j:nekolog would be more usual in sophisticated
circles.
Izafet groups may be used as qualifiers in apposition to nouns:
ev sah:b: is `householder' and ev sah:b: takim is `the home
team'; s0z konusu `subject of discussion' and s0z konusu
kanunlar `the laws under discussion'. tar:h 0nces:, literally `the
before of history', and harp sonrasi, literally `the after of war',
are nouns of this class, although we translate them as adjectives:
tar:h 0nces: dUnya `the prehistoric world'; harp sonrasi
Avrupa `post-war Europe'.
A curious use of apposition is seen in such expressions as s:z
yaSta 'of your age', literally `in you-age'; s:z yaStak:ler `people
of your age'; ben yaSta yahut daha bUyUk Cocuklar `children
of my age or older'.
Apposition is the rule with titles: Osman Gaz:, Balaban
Bey, Zenb:ll: Al: Efend:, Hal:de Hanim, MareSal Fevz:
C+akmak, Doktor Adnan, Profes0r MansuroGlu. It will be
noticed that the ancient titles follow the name whereas the
modern Marshal, Doctor, and Professor precede it, in the western
fashion. Sultan is an interesting exception; it preceded the
names of sovereigns--Sultan Mehmet, Sultan SUleyman--
but followed the names of non-regnant members of the dynasty,
male and female: Cem Sultan `Prince jem' Esma Sultan
`Princess Esma'.
Apposition is not used, however, as it is in English, to show
a person's occupation in such expressions as `Ahmet Bilen, a pro-
fessor of the Faculty of Letters'; Turkish idiom demands `from
the professors of the Faculty of Letters Ahmet Bilen': Edeb:yat
FakUltes: Profes0rler:nden Ahmet B:len. So genC aktr:s-
ler:m:zden AySe GUzel `Ayesha GUzel, one of our young
actresses'; gUmrUk memurlarindan Orhan Soysal `Orhan
Soysal the Customs officer'. These expressions in the ablative,
like other qualifiers, precede the word they qualify; cf. efend:den,
dUrUst :nsanlar `respectable, honest people' (efend:-den `from
the class ``gentleman'' ').
Expressions consisting of a numeral and the name of a con-
tainer or a unit of measurement are followed by the name of the
commodity in apposition:
b:r bardak su a glass of water
:k: S:Se sUt two bottles of milk
UC kutu k:br:t three boxes of matches
d0rt araba odun four cartloads of wood
beS yil hap:s five years' imprisonment
alti avuC dolusu Seker six handfuls of sugar
or alti avuC Seker
yed: kaSik dolusu Corba seven spoonfuls of soup
sek:z dak:ka gec:kme eight minutes' delay
dokuz metre kumaS nine metres of cloth
The same construction is used with words like takim `set',
grup `group', c:ns, nev:, CeS:t `sort': b:r takim CamaS:r
`a set of linen' (cf. V, 9), b:r grup talebeler `a group of students',
b:r CeS:t armut `a sort of pear'.
With ara `interval' the distributive numerals are used in such
sentences as otobUsler, beSer onar dak:ka ara :le geC:yordu
`the buses were passing at five- or ten-minute intervals'.
Either or both of the nouns in apposition may be separately
qualified: b:r tencere p:s su `a saucepan of dirty water', :k:
bUyUk S:Se beyaz Sarap `two large bottles of white wine'.
XVII. THE NOUN CLAUSE AND THE SUBSTANTIVAL SENTENCE
1. The verbal noun in -me and the personal participles. It will
be recalled that the personal participles have three functions: as
adjectives, as nouns meaning `that which I do' and as nouns
meaning `the fact that I do'. It is the third of these functions which
will be discussed in this section, as it must be distinguished from
the functions of -me in its sense of `the act of doing'.
-me is used in indirect commands, -d:G: and -eceG: in indirect
statements and questions: Cocuklara aSaGiya :n:p kend:s:n:
sokakta beklemeler:n: s0yled: `she told the children to go
downstairs and wait for her in the street'. With the substitution of
bekled:kler:n: for beklemeler:n:, the sentence would mean
`she told the children that they went down and waited ...'; with
bekl:yecekler:n:, `... that they would go and wait ...'. onbaSi-
ya k0Seye doGru koSmasini emrett: `he ordered the corporal
to run towards the corner'; yarin sabah gelmen:z :C:n tele-
fon ett: `he has telephoned for you to come (``for your coming'')
tomorrow morning'; kapiyi k:l:tlemey: unutmayiniz `do not
forget to lock (``the locking'') the door'; kapiyi k:l:tlemen:z:
tavs:ye eder:m `I recommend that you lock (``your locking'')
the door'; kapiyi k:l:tled:G:n:z: unutmayiniz `do not forget
that you have locked the door'; lokantamizda mUskUrat :sti-
mal olunmadiGindan (XI, 24) talep ed:lmemes: muhterem
mUSter:ler:m:zden r:ca olunur `as intoxicants are not used in
our restaurant, our honoured clients are requested not to ask for
them' (`their-not-being-demanded is-requested from our ...
clients'); en Cok bunun yapilmasini :sterd:m `most of all
I should like this to be done'.
Although the function of the personal suffixes is to indicate the
agent of the -me verbal noun, the third-person suffix is used with
the -me verbal noun of impersonal passives: de Gaulle, dolar
yer:ne altin esasina d0nUlmes:n: :sted: `de Gaulle has
demanded a return to the gold standard instead of the dollar';
kapilara dayanilmamasi r:ca olunur `it is requested that one
should not lean against the doors' (`its-not-being-leaned to-the-
doors is-requested'); :ler: g:d:lmes: r:ca olunur `going (``the
being-gone-of-it'') forward is requested'. The -s: in these
examples performs no visible function and is to be ascribed to
analogy with sentences of the type of the two preceding examples;
cf. also II, 22. For a similar use of the third-person personal
participle of an impersonal passive, see XVIII, 3 (a).
Indirect questions are made by turning the verb of the direct
question into the appropriate personal participle: ne yapiyorum?
`what am I doing?' ne yapacaGim? `what am I going to do?' ne
yaptiGimi, ne yapacaGimi b:lm:yorum `I do not know what
I am doing <or> what I am going to do'. parayi k:mden aldiniz?
`from whom did you take the money?' parayi k:mden aldiGi-
nizi soracak deG:l:m `I do not intend to ask from whom you
took the money'. kizlarin yanina yaklaSti ve kend:ler:ne ne
Sek:lde yardim edeb:leceG:n: sordu `he approached the girls
(``came near to the side of the girls'') and asked in what way he
could help them' (for the conditional force of edeb:leceG:n: see
XX, 9).
In the following example (from EyUboGlu), the -me verbal
noun is used in the indirect question beginning with nasil, to
convey the idea of necessity; i.e. there is an indirect command
within the question: her yerde, her zaman okuryazarlar
toplum hayatinin nasil b:r dUzene g:rmes: g:b: meseleler
Uzer:nde az Cok b:r f:k:r sah:b:d:rler `everywhere and
always the literates have more or less of an idea on questions such
as what sort of order social life should enter'. The personal par-
ticiple g:rd:G:, g:rmekte olduGu, or g:receG: would mean not
`should enter' but `has entered', `is entering', or `would enter'.
When a personal participle is the subject of a sentence whose
predicate is a noun, care must be taken not to read it as qualify-
ing the noun: Bu :k: kaygu b:r araya gelm:yorsa kabahat
k:m:n? Orasi ayri mesele: ama gelmed:G: ortada `If these
two concerns do not coincide (``do not come to one place''), whose
fault is it? That is a separate problem, but that they do not co-
incide is manifest' (`their-not-coming is in-the-middle'; cf. XVI,
6, first paragraph). To take gelmed:G: as an adjectival qualifier
of ortada (`but in the middle to which they do not come') is
grammatically possible but fruitless.
In the next example, both subject and predicate are personal
participles: zaten b:z:m de merak ett:G:m:z bunlarin k:mler
olduGu `just so; what we are curious about is who these people
are'. The subject is merak ett:G:m:z `that pertaining to our
exercising curiosity', the predicate bunlarin k:mler olduGu
`of-these, their-being who?'
2. The substantival sentence. This term has been coined to cover
a situation which often arises in Turkish: a complete sentence
functions as a noun clause or adjectival clause within a longer
sentence. An obvious example, not peculiar to Turkish, is in
reporting speech: gUneS daha batmadi, ded: ```the sun has
not yet set'', said he', where the words quoted are the direct
object of ded: `said he'. But in Turkish the substantival sentence is
more widely used than this, especially in the colloquial and there-
fore in the latest literary idiom. The regular literary practice with
a sentence that is to be the subject or object of a verb is to turn
it into a noun clause by substituting a personal participle for the
finite verb of the original sentence: kumar meraklisi :d:, b:r
gece b:n l:ra kaybett:G: olurmuS `he was a gambling enthusi-
ast; it was said that there were occasions when he lost a thousand
lira in a night'. Here the subject of olurmuS `was said to happen'
is b:r ... kaybett:G: `his losing ...'. `yer yok' d:ye mUSter:
Cevr:ld:G: g0rUlmUS Sey deG:ld:r `for customers to be turned
away with the words ``no room'' is a thing that has never been
witnessed'. Here the subject is Cevr:ld:G: `their being turned',
In the next example, however, the original finite verb has not
been changed to a personal participle: dUSUnUS ayriliklar
hayatimizi allak bullak eder de dostluGa dokunmaz olur
mu? (EyUboGlu) `is it possible that differences of ways of thinking
can throw our lives into chaos and not affect friendship?' The
subject of olur mu is the complete sentence dUSUnUS ... dokunmaz.
3. The substantival sentence as adjectival qualifier. kuS uCmaz
kervan geCmez b:r yer `an inaccessible spot', lit. `a bird-does-
not-fly, caravan-does-not-pass place', with the sentence kuS ...
geCmez occupying the normal position of the attributive adjec-
tive, before b:r. aSaGi tUkUrse sakali, yukari tUkUrse
biyiGiydi `he was in a quandary', lit. `he was if he spits down, his
beard; if he spits up, his moustache'; cf. XII, 10 (d). seyahattan
UfUr uCtum, tut kaCtim, d0ndUm `I came back from the trip
so skinny that a breath of wind would have blown me away', lit.
`I came back, puff! I've flown; hold me! I've gone!' The four-
verb sentence UfUr ... kaCtim stands in place of an adjective
such as `emaciated'. In the essay which gives its name to EyU-
boGlu's Mavi ve Kara, the `blue' and the `black' symbolize
respectively art and money: H:C b:r Sey vermez m: olur
paranin kulu olmuS sanatCi? Ver:r, kolayina kaCtiGi :C:n
daha da bol ver:r; ama ne? K:rl: b:r mav:, olmasa da olur
b:r mav: `Is it totally unproductive that he becomes, the
artist who has become the slave of money? He produces; because
he has taken the easy course (``fled to-the-easy-of-it'') he pro-
duces even more abundantly, but what? An impure blue, a blue
we could well do without'. The adjectival qualifier of the final
b:r mav: is the complete conditional sentence olmasa da, olur
`even if it were non-existent, that would be all right'. It may be
noted that whole sentences can similarly be used as qualifiers in
colloquial English: `a headmaster of the ``this is going to hurt me
more than it's going to hurt you'' breed'; `a sheriff of the ``shoot
first and then ask questions'' school'.
4. The substantival sentence as qualifier in izafet. The sentence
so used can be of as little as one word, or longer: 0ldU haber:
`the news that he has died', lit. `he-has-died the-news-thereof';
olmaz cevabi `the answer ``it is not possible'''; kalk borusu
`reveille' (`the ``Rise!'' trumpet'); nereye g:d:yoruz sorusu `the
question ``where are we going?'''; ben yaptim :dd:as:yle `with
his claim of ``I did it'''; ne oldum del:s: `a parvenu who gives
himself airs' (```what I have become!'' madman'). nasil olup
da ... tab:r: fransizca'nin `comment se fait-il que' sU mana-
s:yle kullanilir `the expression nasil olup da ... is used with
the meaning of the French ``comment se fait-il que'''. The sU is
the third-person suffix linking the French phrase to its qualifier
fransizca'nin and it has this particular form because it takes its
vocal colour from the `que', whose vowel is more or less the
Turkish 0.
5. The sentence with case-endings. As a whole sentence can thus
take the syntactic place of a substantive, it is not surprising that
we sometimes find a sentence to which a case-ending is attached:
komSu hasta, geCm:S olsun'a g:del:m `the neighbour is ill;
let's go and wish him better', lit. `let-us-go for-the-``may-it-be
past'''. The literary Turkish for `he makes no mention of when
it will be finished' is ne zaman b:t:r:leceGinden h:C bahsetm:-
yor, with the personal participle (here in the ablative because that
is the case required by bahsetmek `to mention') replacing the
finite verb of the simple question ne zaman b:t:r:lecek? But
a vivid colloquial version could be ne zaman b:t:r:lecek'ten
h:C bahsetm:yor, which has the feeling of `When will it be
finished? That he doesn't mention'. See also the last example in
XI, 32.
XVIII. ADJECTIVAL PHRASES AND PARTICIPIAL QUALIFIERS
1. The baSibozuk construction. This type of qualifier derives
from a statement whose subject is an izafet group: Su adam-in
baS-i bozuk `that man's head is deranged'. The words baSi
bozuk `his head deranged' can be used to qualify adam by
placing them before it: baSi bozuk adam `the his-head-deranged
man, the man whose head is deranged'. Now when a sentence
whose verb is not simply the copula (as it is in baSi bozuk) is
made into a qualifier, the verb becomes the corresponding
participle; thus to make a qualifier out of U+n:vers:tede hukuk
okuyor `she is reading law at the University' we substitute for
the present tense okuyor the present participle okuyan : U+n:-
vers:tede hukuk okuyan kiz `the girl who is reading law ...'.
But this construction offers further possibilities. Beginning
with the statement kizi hukuk okuyor `his daughter is reading
law', we can turn it into a qualifier on the baSibozuk pattern:
kizi hukuk okuyan adam `the man whose daughter is reading
law' (`the his-daughter-reading-law man'). babasi C+:n'de doGdu
`his father was born in China'. The participle corresponding to
doGdu is doGmuS: babasi C+:n'de doGmuS b:r tanidiGim
var `I have an acquaintance whose father was born in China'.
:ht:yar-in ak sakal-i kana boyanasi (VIII, 23) `may the old
man's beard be dyed in blood!' The future II may be used
adjectivally (IX, 3): bu ak sakali kana boyanasi :ht:yar
tUtUn kaCakCilar:yle ortaktir (F. Cela=lettin) `this damned old
scoundrel (lit. ``this may-his-white-beard-be-dyed-in-blood old-
man'') is in league with the tobacco-smugglers'.
When the verb of the original statement is simply the copula,
the use of a participle meaning `being', i.e. olan or bulunan, is
optional in the derived baSibozuk qualifier. It is perhaps a little
more usual when the subject of the qualifying phrase, the baS of
baSibozuk, is something or someone external to the thing or
person qualified, as in the first three of these examples: evi
bUyUk olan b:r arkadaSim `a friend of mine whose house is
big'; bahCes: bUyUk olan b:r ev `a house which has a big
garden'; amcasi bakan bulunan b:r Cocuk `a child whose
uncle is a minister'; el: aCik b:r dost `an open-handed friend'.
The construction provides a large number of phrases, some so
common that, like baSibozuk itself, they are generally written
as one word, e.g. gel:S:gUzel `random' (lit. `its-way-of-coming
beautiful', i.e. however it comes it is all right); karniyarik `stuffed
aubergine' (`its-belly split'); d:n: bUtUn `pious' (`his-religion
complete'); g0zU pek `unyielding' (`his-eye firm'); el: boS
`empty-handed'.
If such an adjectival phrase is used predicatively, the personal
suffix may vary with the person: sakin el:n boS gelme `mind
you don't come empty-handed'; but sakin el: boS gelme is also
possible.
As alternatives to many such expressions, phrases with -l: may
be used: `a garden with a tumble-down wall' may be duvar-i
yikik b:r bahCe or yikik duvar-li b:r bahCe; `the keen-eyed
colonel' may be bakiSlar-i kesk:n albay or kesk:n bakiS-li
albay; `the open-windowed room' pencere-s: aCik oda or aCik
pencere-l: oda.
2. Translation of English relative clauses. The purist may object
that such a heading as this has no place in a Turkish grammar.
The uses of the Turkish participles, however, are difficult to grasp
through a purely descriptive treatment and the author is there-
fore emboldened to hope that he may be forgiven for approaching
the topic from the wrong end.
The English-speaker composing in Turkish must resist the
temptation to translate his relative clauses with the help of k:
(XIII, 15); this use is regarded as alien and is increasingly rare
in modern Turkish.
(a) When the relative pronoun (i.e. the English relative pro-
noun) is in the nominative, use -en, -m:S (olan), -ecek (olan):
`the man who is now speaking' S:md: konuSan adam; `the
letter which came yesterday' dUn gelm:S olan mektup; `the
congress which will begin tomorrow' yarin baSliyacak olan
kongre.
(b) Use the personal particles:
(i) When the relative pronoun is in the accusative, either as
object of the verb in the relative clause--`the letter which I wrote'
yazdiGim mektup; `the lawyer whom he chose' seCt:G: avukat--
or as object of a preposition other than `of' or one whose Turkish
equivalent is a secondary postposition (in which cases rule (d)
applies): `the ship on which they came' geld:kler: vapur; `the
door from which we emerged' CiktiGimiz kapi; `the beggar at
whom you looked' baktiGiniz d:lenc:. When the relative pronoun
is the object of `with', b:rl:kte or beraber `together' may be
inserted: `the friends with whom he drank' b:rl:kte :Ck: :Ct:G:
arkadaSlar.
(ii) When the relative pronoun is in the genitive and the noun
it governs is in the nominative as complement of the verb in the
relative clause; the equivalent noun in Turkish takes the third-
person suffix: `the man whose servant I am' h:zmetC:s: bulun-
duGum adam; `a society of which I am a member' Uyes:
bulunduGum b:r cem:yet; `the province of which you are
going to become governor' val:s: olacaGiniz v:la=yet; `the
village of which he has been elected mayor' muhtari seC:ld:G:
k0y.
The rule holds good if the verb with the complement is depen-
dent on another verb: `the society of which I intend to become
a member' Uyes: olmak n:yet:nde bulunduGum cem:yet (`the
society pertaining-to-my-being-found in-the-intention-of to-be-
come its-member'); `the village of which he wishes to be elected
mayor' muhtari seC:lmek :sted:G: k0y (`the village pertaining-
to-his-wishing to-be-elected its-mayor').
(c) When the relative pronoun is in the genitive and the noun
it governs is in the nominative as subject of the verb in the relative
clause, use the baSibozuk construction with participle: `the man
whose father is now speaking' babasi S:md: konuSan adam;
`the jockey whose horse came first' ati b:r:nc: gelm:S olan
cokey; `the society whose congress will start tomorrow' kongre-
s: yarin baSliyacak olan cem:yet.
(d) When the relative pronoun is in the genitive and the noun
it governs is in the accusative, or when the relative pronoun is in
the accusative as object of a preposition other than `of' or one
whose Turkish equivalent is a secondary postposition, use baSi-
[MISSING]
pictures we are seeing' res:mler:n: g0rmekte olduGumuz
ressam; `the artist at whose pictures we looked' res:mler:ne
baktiGimiz ressam; `the society to whose congress we shall go
tomorrow' kongres:ne yarin g:deceG:m:z cem:yet; `the house
from the inside of which we emerged' :C:nden CiktiGimiz ev;
`the ideal for whose sake he died' uGrunda 0ldUGU UlkU.
(e) Rules (c) and (d) apply also if the noun following the `whose'
is itself in the genitive. If the noun governed by that noun in the
genitive is the subject of the verb in the relative clause, proceed
according to rule (c); if it is the object of the verb or of a pre-
position, proceed according to rule (d): `the man whose father's
house is near ours' babasinin ev: b:z:mk:ne yakin olan adam;
`the man whose father's house we bought' babasinin ev:n:
aldiGimiz adam; `the man in (``with'') whose father's car we
came' babasinin arabas:yle geld:G:m:z adam.
3. Two variant types of participial qualifier. The previous section
does not cover two situations which arise in Turkish.
(a) When an impersonal verb is made into a qualifier, it can be
either as a participle or as a personal participle: saGlik :stat:st:k-
ler:ne g0re mart en Cok hastalanilan, hatta= en Cok 0lUnen
aydir `according to health statistics, March is the month in
which most illness arises, indeed in which most deaths occur'.
hastalan-il-an and 0l-Un-en are the participles corresponding to
hastalan-il-iyor and 0l-Un-Uyor, impersonal passives meaning
`being-ill-is-done' and `dying-is-done'. yavaS yavaS normale
d0nUldUGU b:r sirada, o adam :kt:dara geCt: `at a time when
things were slowly returning to normal, that man came to power'.
d0nUldUGU is the adjectival form of the statement d0n-Ul-
Uyordu `returning was being done', but the function of the third-
person suffix here is not obvious. The best explanation is that the
use of the personal participle in expressions of time with sira,
zaman, etc., has become habitual.
(b) Sometimes in situations where rule (b) of the previous
section would lead us to expect a personal participle, we find
instead -en, -m:S, or -ecek: gUneS g:rm:yen eve hek:m g:rer
`the physician enters the house which sunshine does not enter';
yangin Cikan b:r Amer:kan uCak gem:s:nde 47 0lU sayildi
`on an American aircraft-carrier on which fire broke out, 47 dead
have been counted'; sirtindak: g0mlek, bazi kasabalarda
:lkokul 0Grenc:ler:ne g0GUslUk yapilan yerl: gr: bezdend:
`the shirt on his back was of the local grey cloth of which in some
towns pinafores are made for primary-school pupils'; elektr:k
get:r:len Istiranca k0yUnde sanay:leSme baSladi `in the
village of I., to which electricity is being brought (or `has just
been brought'; see IX, 1, penultimate paragraph), industrializa-
tion has begun'; AtatUrk'Un :sted:G: :lk 0Gret:m raporunu
hazirlamak Uzere CiktiGimiz b:r k0y gez:s:nde h:C 0Gret-
men g:rmem:S b:r k0yde okur yazar Cocuklar bulduk `on
a village-tour, which we went on in order to prepare the report on
primary education which A. wanted, we found children who could
read and write in a village which no teacher had ever entered';
kal:tey: muhafaza etmek :C:n tUtUn ek:lecek sahalari
tesb:t edeceG:z `in order to preserve the quality, we shall fix
the areas where tobacco is to be sown'. In these examples we
might have expected:
not but
g:rm:yen g:rmed:G:
Cikan CiktiGi
yapilan yapildiGi
get:r:len get:r:ld:G:
g:mem:S g:rmed:G:
ek:lecek ek:leceG:
In fact, only in the penultimate example is the personal participle
a possible alternative; in the others, it would sound too specific
in conjunction with the broad and amorphous subjects sunshine,
conflagration, pinifores by and large, electricity, and tobacco. In
the penultimate example, g:rmed:G: would be possible; it may
be that in the writer's mind there was an echo of a proverb
which is the first example in this paragraph.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- 36
XIX. THE SUBJUNCTIVE AND KI+
1. Clauses of purpose. Clauses of purpose containing a subjunctive
may, but need not, be introduced by ta k: (sometimes written
ta= k:) or by k: alone: o vak:t, b:r saGa b:r sola baSvurmaGa
baSliyorsunuz; ta= k: daldiGiniz bu toprak deryasi :C:nden
kend:n:ze b:r :z bulup Cikasiniz (Yakup Kadri) `then you
begin to cast about, now to right, now to left, so that you may find
a track for yourself and emerge from this ocean of earth into
which you have plunged'. oturdum k: b:r dak:ka d:nleney:m
`I sat down so that I might rest a minute'. Note that there is no
`sequence of tenses'; the main verb in the past tense is followed
by the present subjunctive. herkesten Cok koSacaksin k:
paCayi kurtarasin `you will run more than everybody so that
you may save your skin'. S:md: uyuyun k:, sabah kalkinca
d:nC kafayla CaliSasiniz `now sleep, so that when you get up
in the morning you may work with a sound head'.
It must be emphasized that k: merely introduces such clauses;
it is the subjunctive (in which term is included the third-person
imperative) that expresses purpose, so that the k: may be omitted
from purpose-clauses, especially in less formal language: pen-
cerey: aC, oda havalansin `open the window, so that the room
may air'. Muhalefet ne yapilsin :st:yor? S0yles:nler 0Grene-
l:m `What does the Opposition want done? Let them say, so that
we may learn', lit. `What does the Opposition want should-be-
done? Let-them-say let-us-learn'.
2. The subjunctive after a negative main verb. After a negative
main verb, the subjunctive with k: is used to show what would
have been the consequence had the main verb been positive but,
as things stand, is now impossible: 0ded:G:m taks:tler:n
makbuzlari yanimda deG:l k: Cikarip g0sterey:m (Aziz
Nesin) `the receipts of the instalments I have paid are not on me
that I should produce and show them'. O+lUm bu. S:yaset
hayati deG:l k:, b:r o yana b:r bu yana d0nes:n (idem) `It's
death, this. It isn't political life, that you should swing now to that
side, now to this'. Ben g:tt:kCe 0fkelenmeGe baSliyorum: /
`Nasil arabacilik bu! d:yorum; ne yol b:l:rs:n, ne de ... /
`Yol nerede efend:? yol yok k: b:ley:m; d:yor. / B:Caren:n
hakki var. Evet yol yok k:...(Yakap Kadri) `I am gradually
beginning to get annoyed. `What sort of driving is this!' I say;
`You neither know the road, nor...''.`Where is the road, sir?
There is no road for me to know,'' says he. The poor fellow is
right. Yes, there is no road' (for the translated final k: cf. page
214, second paragraph).
The subjunctive occurs in other types of subordinate clauses
after a negative main verb: gUn geCm:yor k: tur:st:k tes:sler-
den b:r S:ka=yet mektubu almamiS olalim `a day does not
pass without our receiving (`that we be not having-received'')
a letter of complaint from the tourist establishments'. The logic
behind the use of the subjunctive here is that as we in fact receive
such letters daily, our not receiving one is only a concept, with
no objective reality. h:C b:r ger:c: yoktur k:, AtatUrk dUSmani
olmasin `there is no reactionary who is not an enemy of AtatUrk'.
h:C tamh:n etm:yorum k: vaz:yette b:r deG:S:kl:k olab:ls:n
`I do not reckon that there can be a change in the situation'.
zannetmem k: paSa veyahut val:des: buna razi olsunlar
`I do not think that the Pasha or his mother will agree to this'.
3. The subjunctive in noun clauses. The third-person imperative
without k: makes noun clauses which can be the subject or object
of a verb; for an instance of the latter use, in the last example in
section 1, above. b0yle b:r m:llet es:r yaSamaktansa mahvol-
sun evla=dir (AtatUrk) `for such a nation, to be annihilated is
preferable to living <as> slaves'. The predicate is evla=-dir `is
preferable'; the subject is b0yle ... mahvolsun `that such
a nation be annihilated'. ev ben:m olsun da z:yani yok tek
katli olsun `let the house be mine and it doesn't matter if it is
single-storied'. Here the subject is tek katli olsun `that it be
single-storied'. the predicate z:yan-i yok `there is no harm in it'.
dUSUnceler:m:z:n y0nU b:r olsun yeter `that the direction of
our thoughts be one <and the same> is sufficient'. h:C olmasin
daha :y: `that it should not exist at all is better'. bu kadar bas:t
b:r :S: yapamasin, hayret doGrusu `that he should be unable
to do a job as simple as this is truly surprising'. C+alikuSu aGlasin?
---------------------------------------------------------------------- 39
On sened:r ne muall:meler:nden, ne arkadaSlarindan bunu
g0ren olmamiSti `That the Wren should weep? For ten years
none of her teachers or friends had seen this' (`neither of her
teachers nor of her friends the-one-seeing this had-not-occurred').
The question-mark indicates wonder at the unusual event; the
author could not make a question of it in the normal way, because
C+alikuSu aGlasin mi could only mean `Is the Wren to weep?'
An alternative way of analysing these examples is to explain
them as consisting of two separate main clauses, e.g. mahvolsun
evla=dir `let it be annihilated; <that> is preferable'. Against this is
the fact that such sentences are pronounced with no pause be-
tween the two verbs. Nor will this explanation fit the example bu
kadar bas:t ... doGrusu, or indeed the last one.
XX. CONDITIONAL SENTENCES
1. Open conditions. These are expressed by the conditional form
of the appropriate tense.
(a) present: halkimizi gerCekten sev:yor-sak, onun :C:n
CaliSiyoruz derken yalan s0ylem:yor-sak, onu kuSkulardan
korkulardan kurtarmak :lk :S:m:z olmali `if we truly love
our people; if, when saying we are working for them, we are not
telling lies, our first task ought to be to deliver them from sus-
picions and fears'.
(b) future: s0yl:yecek-sen (or s0yl:yecek olur-san) s0yle `if
you are going to tell, tell'.
(c) aorist: this is by far the commonest tense of open conditions:
hUla=sa eder-sek Suraya variyoruz `if we summarize, we
arrive at this point'; Sunu b:r anlar-saniz bana bUyUk b:r
:y:l:k etm:S olacaksiniz `if you will only understand this, you
will have done me a great kindness'; bu t:rene yet:Semez-sem
:S: kaCiracaGim `if I cannot catch this train I shall lose the job'.
(d) past: o, yola CikmiS-sa b:z n:ye oturuyoruz burada?
`if he has started out, why are we sitting here?'; gUnah mi
:Sled:k beS on para kazandi-ysak? `have we committed a sin
if we've earned five or ten coppers?'
2. Alternatives to the conditional verb. Open conditions may also
be expressed without a conditional verb, in four possible ways:
(a) The protasis may have a personal participle with takd:rde;
see XI, 23.
(b) The protasis may be a question in the d:-past: o geld: m:
ben burada durmam, lit. `has he come? I do not stop here',
which may mean either `if he has come I'm not stopping here' or
`if ever he comes I don't stop here'. A macabre old saying ran
asildin mi I+ng:l:z s:c:m:yle asil `if you are hanged, be hanged
with English rope'.
(c) The sentence may be cast as a reductio ad absurdum; the
protasis concedes what the speaker regards as false, the apodosis
(introduced by de) asks for an alternative: sen yapmadin da
k:m yapti? `you didn't do it and who did?'; Tanri, DoGru'nun,
I+y:'n:n, GUzel':n yardimcisi olmaz da ney:n yardimcisi
olur? `if God does not help the True, the Good, the Beautiful,
what does He help?' (lit. `God does not become the helper of ...
and of what does He become the helper?')-
(d) In the colloquial, the protasis may have an imperative
instead of a conditional verb: uzatma birakir g:der:m `don't
prolong <the discussion because if you do> I shall abandon <it
and> go'.
3. Remote and unfulfilled conditions. The verb of the protasis is
in the appropriate tense of the conditional mood; the verb of the
apodosis is, with unfulfilled conditions, in the aorist past or, less
commonly, the future past; with remote conditions or for greater
vividness with unfulfilled conditions, the aorist present or future
simple: ev:m:z d0Sel: dayali ol-sa buyurun de-r-d:m ama
g0rUyorsunuz ... `if our house were properly furnished I
should say ``please come in'' but you see ...'; baSka b:r kaynaG-
imiz ol-ma-sa-ydi bu a=l:m:n tetk:kler: bu meseleye tam
b:r cevap verm:S olacakti `if we had no other source, this
scholar's researches would have given a complete answer to this
problem'; bakmakla usta olun-sa k0pekler kasaplik 0Gren:r
`if one became (impersonal passive) a master craftsman by
watching, the dogs would learn the butcher's trade'; sen ol-san
ne yap-ar-sin? `ifit were you,what would you do?' Note that the
idiom is `if you were', i.e. the person responsible; cf. the next
example. meden:yet:n maddes: ma=nev:s: d:ye ayirmalar
yapanlara ben ol-sam h:C elektr:k ver-mem `to those who
make distinctions between material and spiritual civilization
(`distinctions saying ``of civilization, its material, its spiritual'''),
I should give no electricity, if it were up to me'. Su adam kar-
Simda ol-sa girtlaGina saril-acaGim `if that man were facing
me I should wrap myself round his throat'.
4. Apodosis to an unexpressed protasis. The aorist past is used
in expressions like ol-ur-du `it would be' and :ste-r-d:m
`I should like', which are apodoses of an implicit remote or un-
fulfilled protasis such as `if possible, if it were so': Baudela:re':n
D0rdUncU Mehmed':n hayatini tanimiS olmasini :sterd:m;
hakki olan b:r S0hret kazan-ir-di `I should have liked Bau-
delaire to have been acquainted with the life of Mehmet IV;
he would have won a fame which is his due'. Sen sariSinsin,
ben de esmer:m. Ne gUzel CocuGumuz olurdu, ded: ```You
are blonde, I am dark. What a beautiful child we should have'',
said he'.
5. Alternative protases. Pairs of alternative protases are expressed
in the remote form (because the two conditions, being mutually
exclusive, are not both open), with a de after the verb in each
protasis: b:z :ste-sek te :ste-me-sek te kiz beGenmed:G:
adama var-maz `whether we want it or whether we do not
want it, the girl will not marry a man she does not like'; Seh:rde
:S bul-sam da bul-ma-sam da k0ye h:C d0nmem gayri
`whether I find work in the city or not, I shall never go back to
the village any more'.
6. Concessive clauses. A single conditional verb followed by de
is concessive: k0ye :ste-sem de d0nemem gayri `I cannot go
back to the village any more even if I should want to'; :Cmem!
ded:-ysem de, israr ett:ler `though I said ``I don't drink!'',
they insisted'. See also XI, 22 and 29, last paragraph.
7. `Whatever, whenever, whoever, wherever'. Such words are
expressed by ne, ne vak:t, k:m, nerede, etc. (with or without
a preceding her ; cf. the penultimate paragraph of XI, 14) followed
by a conditional verb: ne yikilmiS-sa softalar yikmiStir bu
memlekette `whatever has been demolished the bigots have
demolished in this country'. ne kadar yukaridan :n-er-se
o kadar der:ne g:r-er `the greater the height it falls from, the
deeper it goes in' (of a pile-driver; lit. `from whatever amount
high it descends, to that amount deep it enters'). ne vak:t evler:ne
g:t-sek veyahut onlar b:ze gel-se-ler hep kavga ederler
`whenever we go to their house or they come to us, they always
quarrel'. nasil with a conditional verb is usually best translated
not `however' but `just as' or `in just the same way that': nasil
I+stanbul m:marliGi b:r gUnde teSekkUl etmem:S-se,
BoGaz:C: de tek b:r zamanin eser: deG:ld:r `just as Istanbul
architecture did not take shape in one day, so too the Bosphorus
is not the work of a single time'.
Sentences of the type discussed in the preceding paragraph can
be put into the past tense by making the verb of the apodosis past:
ne kadar yukaridan :nerse o kadar der:ne g:der-d: `the
greater the height it fell from, the deeper it used to go in'.
8. eGer, Sayet. Both these words are Persian in origin and they
mean respectively `if' and `if perchance'. As the sense of `if' is
conveyed in Turkish by the conditional verb, neither is syn-
tactically essential. eGer is useful in a long and complicated
sentence to give warning that a conditional verb is coming, in
the same sort of way that Spanish uses a premonitory inverted
question mark and exclamation mark. eGer Augsburg :tt:faki
akded:lmem:S olsaydi bugUnkU dUnyanin pek baSka b:r
dUnya olacaGi dUSUnUlemezse de, eGer Newton 1687 de
Pr:nc:p:a'sini neSretmem:S olsaydi, bugUnkU :l:m ve
meden:yet a=lem:n: ayni vaz:yette bulacaGimiz pek SUphel:
:d: `although it cannot be thought that if the Treaty of Augsburg
had never been concluded the world of today would be a very
different world, if Newton had not published his Principia in 1687
it is very doubtful whether we would find today's world of science
and civilization in the same position'. One might have expected
the last verb to be olurdu `it would have been', but the con-
ditional notion, the `would have', is contained in the bulacaG-
imiz ; see the following section.
The use of Sayet has much the same effect as stressing the `if'
in an English conditional sentence:
gelse if he should come (as he might)
Sayet gelse if he should come (which I doubt)
gel:rse if he comes (as he perfectly well may)
Sayet gel:rse if he comes (which I am not guaranteeing)
9. Conditional sense of the future personal participle. The future
personal participle is used to turn into a noun- or adjective-clause
the apodosis of a remote or unfulfilled condition: bugUnkU
Hanhay b0lges:nde Rus jeologlar araStirmalar yapmiSlar
ve sonunda bu b0lgen:n 1000 yil 0nce ormanli olamiya-
caGini ortaya koymuSlar `Russian geologists have conducted
researches in the present-day Hanhay region and have finally
shown that a thousand years ago this region could not have been
forested'. Here olamiyacaGi (in the accusative as object of
ortaya koymuSlar `they have placed into the middle, have
revealed') is the nominal form not of olamiyacak `it will not be
able to be' but of olamiyacakti `it could not be'. esk:den
k:mb:l:r kaC gUn, kaC gecede kona g0Ce g:decekler: b:r
yere S:md: UC beS saat :C:nde kuS g:b: uCacaklardir `to a
place to which in the old days they would have gone (g:decekler:
here not ``pertaining to their future going'' but ``pertaining to their
future-in-the-past going'') in who knows how many days and
nights, constantly camping and moving on, they will now fly like
birds in a few hours'. See also XXIV, ##27, 28.
10. The conditional base. Turkish grammarians call the con-
ditional base, e.g. gelse, `the wish-condition mood', d:lek-Sart
k:p:. When it expresses wishes it may be introduced by keSk:
or keSke (P), which syntactically is as redundant as eGer. The
reader is once again reminded to distinguish between (a) the past
tense of the conditional mood and (b) the conditional mood of
the past tense:
(a) b:l-se-yd:m if I had known
(b) b:l-d:-ysem if I knew
(a) can be the protasis of an unfulfilled condition--b:lseyd:m
buraya gelmezd:m `had I known I should not have come
here'--or can stand alone as a hopeless wish: b:lseyd:m! or
keSk: b:lseyd:m! `if only I had known!' (b) is the protasis of an
open condition in the past: o zaman b:ld:ysem S:md: unut-
muSum `if I knew then, I have forgotten now'.
The first persons of the conditional base can express a diffident
first-person imperative: CarSiya g:tsek `if we were to go to the
market', with an implied apodosis olmaz mi? `would it not be
all right?' Cf. eSyalarimi Suraya koysam olmaz mi `wouldn't
it do if I were to put my things over there?' An intermediate stage
may be seen in CarSiya g:tsek m:? `how about going to the
market?' (lit. `if we were to go ...?'). But no apodosis seems to
be implicit in ne yapsam? `what should I do?' For an alternative
explanation of these uses, see the end of #14, below.
11. -sene, -sen:ze. The interjection e/a is suffixed to the second
persons of the conditional base to make an imperative: desene!
`do say!' otursaniza! `do sit down !' This may be followed by ya
[MISSING LINES]
[SECTIONS 12, 13]
or fifty pages'; onlara yardim :C:n versen versen ell: l:ra
ver:rs:n `if you give anything to help them you will give fifty lira'.
14. olsa gerek `it must be'. Sa:t Fa:k':n kaygusu yen: olmak
deG:l, sah:h olmak : gerCekten yen: olmasini saGlayan da
bu olsa gerek (EyUboGlu) `Sait Faik's concern is not to be
original but to be authentic: this must be what in fact makes him
original'. The construction is rare with other verbs than ol-: bu
f:k:r, yanliS b:r dUnya telakk:s:nden doGsa gerek `this idea
must originate from a mistaken attitude to the world'. gerek
means `necessary' and the construction may be an elliptical con-
ditional sentence: `if it be, <then it is as> is necessary'. This
possibility is supported by olsa yer:d:r in the next example, `if
it be, it is its place', i.e. it is appropriate: B:z :nsanlar Allahi
arayip dururuz. Bulsak acaba ne d:yeceG:z? I+lk S:ka=yet:m:z
tiynet:m:z:n bozukluGu hakkinda olsa yer:d:r (HUseyin
Rahmi) `We humans are constantly seeking God. If we should
find <Him>, I wonder what we shall say? It is appropriate that
our first complaint should be about the corruptness of our clay'.
An alternative explanation is that the conditional sometimes over-
laps the subjunctive and that the literal sense of olsa gerek is
`necessary <that> it be'. Thus we might explain ne yapsam?
(#10) as synonymous with ne yapayim?
XXI. ASYNDETIC SUBORDINATION
Just as co-ordination can be expressed asyndetically, i.e. with no
conjunction (cf. XIII, 1), so subordination may be expressed with
no visible subordinating link.
(a) With verbs of thinking and perceiving: vagonu doldu
sanarak baSka yere g:decekler (ReSat Nuri) `thinking the com-
partment full, they will go elsewhere'. sanmak `to think' regularly
has two objects, e.g. sen: arkadaS saniyordum `I used to think
you <a> friend'. The second object here is the finite verb doldu
`has become full'. z:hn: gayr::ht:yari= b:r hayal yapti; b:r
la=hza yumurcaGi yataGinda sapsari yatiyor g0rdU (idem)
`her mind involuntarily created a vision; for an instant she saw
the awful child lying deathly pale in his bed'.
The common locution s:z: g:tt: m: b:ld: is puzzling unless
one remembers that b:lmek means not only `to know' but also
`to consider, to guess': `he wondered whether you had gone', lit.
`he considered you <as> ``has he gone?''' Note that the verb of the
subordinate clause is in the third person, although a second person is
being addressed, as in this example: ben sen: 0ldU b:l:yordum
`I was thinking you were dead' (`I was considering you <as> ``he
has died'''). The subordinate verb may be in the first or second
person and the pronoun object can then be omitted: memleket
ger:, d:yoruz; ve memleket: ger: bulduGumuzu aCikla-
makla, :ler: olduGumuzu :sbat ett:k zanned:yoruz `we say
``the country is backward'' and, by making it clear that we find
the country backward, we think we have proved that we <personally>
are advanced'. This is a neat and euphonious alternative to ...
:ler: olduGumuzu :sbat ett:G:m:z: zanned:yoruz. S:md:
ona ne s0ylUyordur b:l:yor musun? (Y. Kemal) `do you know
what he must be telling him now?' A more literary way of saying
this is S:md: ona ne s0yl:yeceG:n: b:l:yor musun? `do you
know what he will be telling him now?' bana ne oldu hiC
sormaymiz `don't ask what has happened to me'. b:r de bak-
tim, son duraGa gelm:S:z `I gave a look, we have arrived,
I realized, at the last stop'. To assume an ellipsis of k: in this last
example is natural for English-speakers, who feel that `I saw we
had arrived' is short for `I saw that we had arrived'. But, as we
have seen in XIII, 15, k: is not an essential element of such
sentences.
Besides the verbs already mentioned, the construction is found
with saymak and addetmek `to count', farzetmek `to suppose',
and duymak and h:ssetmek `to feel'.
(b) With expressions of time formed with -d:r and ol-. To the
examples given in XII, 23 may be added: :k: defa-dir muhac:r
olduk `it is twice we have been exiles'; o gUn bugUn-dUr
devam eder `it has been going on like that ever since', lit. `that
day is today it continues'; yazarin da gUnler: olur, kalem:n-
den bal akar `the writer too has days <when> honey flows from
his pen'; b:r gUn gelecek, ben: unutacaksin `a day will come
<when> you will forget me'.
(c) b:r kiyamett:r koptu, etc. See VIII, 43.
(d) s0ylen:r durur, etc., and isinamadim g:tt:, etc. See
XI, 35 (a) and (h)`
(e) Conditional sentences with a question or an imperative as
protasis. See XX, 2 (b) and (d). :nsan CaliSti mi her Sey:
baSarir `if one works one accomplishes everything', lit. `has man
worked? he accomplishes everything'. yapma, 0ldUrUrUm sen:
`stop it, I'll murder you'. In translating, we provide a subordinat-
ing link by inserting respectively `in that case' and `or', but the
subordination is clear to a Turk without any such device.
It is debatable whether to include under this heading the use
of the subjunctive past in unfulfilled conditionals, e.g. b:leyd:m
buraya kadar gelmezd:m `had I known, I should not have
come thus far'. On the whole it seems best to call it an instance
of asyndetic subordination, as this explains how the use arose,
whereas the stock explanation, that in such sentences the sub-
junctive past is synonymous with the conditional past, explains
nothing.
XXII. PUNCTUATION
There is no general agreement among Turkish writers or printers
on how to punctuate and the reader must be prepared for any-
thing. The advice given in the Introduction to OTD is not
without its occasional value: `If you are completely bewildered
by some sentence, try cutting out all the punctuation marks and
often you will find it quite easy to translate.' One cannot, how-
ever, afford to ignore a comma near the beginning of a sentence,
which usually indicates the subject: bu Bakanin kararidir `it
is this Minister's decision'; bu, Bakanin kararidir `this is the
Minister's decision'. Un:vers:tel: kizi kaCirdi `he abducted the
girl undergraduate'; Un:vers:tel:, kizi kaCirdi `the under-
graduate abducted the girl'.
The semicolon is rare; the reader may have noticed how often
the translation of an example uses a semicolon where the original
has a comma.
A colon, even when it does not introduce direct speech, may
be followed by a capital letter: KariSik b:r duygu var :C:mde :
Bu yil bana hem pek kisa, hem de pek uzun gel:yor (N.
AtaC) `I have a mixed feeling inside me: I am finding this year
both very short and very long'. B:r gUn evvel kurduGu kapana
bakti : Kapan nasil biraktiysa 0yle duruyordu `He looked
at the trap he had set a day earlier: the trap was standing just as
he had left <it>'-
Quotation marks are entirely dispensed with by some writers:
N:C:n d:yeceG:m gel:yor (S. Kocag0z) `I feel like saying
``Why?'''. Some use a dash and quotation marks or a dash alone
to mark a change of speaker in a dialogue:
--O+yleyse sorumlu k:m? d:ye baGirdim.
G0zler: g0zler:mde,
--Sorumlu dUzen, bUtUn suC dUzen:n ... ded: (A. Nesin)
```In that case, who is responsible?'' I cried. His eyes on mine,
he said, ``The one responsible is the system; all the fault lies with
the system'''. See also the last example in the first paragraph of
XIX, 2, where each speaker's words are introduced but not
closed by quotation marks.
The word of saying, etc., may be written with a capital letter:
Babamin ben: d:nlemes: la=zim ... Dey:p duruyordu.
```My father must listen to me'', he kept saying'. Cf. D:ye in the
next example.
In Ottoman printing, brackets were used round quotations and
words especially emphasized. Relics of this practice may still be
encountered: I+ler: g:den de yok. Tramvayda: <I+ler: g:d:l-
mes: r:ca olunur> D:ye yazili olmasina raGmen (B. Felek)
`Nor is there anyone going forward, in spite of the fact that there
is a notice in the tram reading ``Passengers are requested to go
forward''' (`in spite of its being written saying ...'). Z:yaretC:ler,
heyet mensuplarindan b:r:n:n dey:m: :le (utanC ver:c:) b:r
kabul g0rmUSlerd:r `The visitors, in the words of one of the
members of the group, had a ``shameful'' reception'.
The use of three dots, to indicate that something has been left
to the imagination, is very common, especially after a final k::
N:C:n cevap verm:yorsun?--B:rSey sormadin k: ... `Why
don't you answer?'--`You haven't asked anything <for me to
answer>'.
The question mark is often omitted after rhetorical questions
or replaced by an exclamation point: C+ocuk cop :le d0vUlUr
mU! `Does one beat a child with a truncheon?' It may be omitted
after polite requests couched in question-form: B:r su lu=tfeder
m:s:n:z `Will you be so kind as to let me have a glass of water?'
Question marks and exclamation points, in or out of brackets,
are used to indicate irony, presumably by those who do not trust
their readers to detect it unaided. akrabam olacak o zat-i
ser:f:n? bana etmed:G: kalmadi `there is nothing which that
honourable gentleman who is supposed to be my kinsman has not
done to me'. her yazdiGi cUmlede :k: UC hata yapan bUyUk
a=l:m (!) S:md: ne d:yor? `what is the great scholar, who makes
two or three mistakes in every sentence he writes, saying now?'
Names of months and days are generally written with a small
letter and not a capital.
XXIII. SENTENCE-ANALYSIS
The present chapter is devoted to a word-by-word demonstration
of how one sets about translating a complicated sentence. The
great difficulty is not so much that the Turkish verb usually
comes at the end. It is that as the Turkish qualifier precedes
whereas the English qualifier generally follows, a native English-
speaker has virtually to read the Turkish sentence backwards.
One important reservation must, however, be made. When the
author has used side by side several words or clauses of the same
grammatical function, whether or not they are joined by a con-
junction they must be translated in the order in which he wrote
them and not backwards, i.e. not in the order in which one meets
them as one works back from the verb.
The two specimen sentences are both somewhat longer than
the modern norm. The first, which is from I+. H. DaniSmend's
I+zahli Osmanli Tarihi Kronolojisi (Istanbul, 1947-1955), ii. 183,
also exceeds the modern norm in its proportion of Arabic words.
Muazzam b:r devlet:n fak:r, zayif ve muhtaC b:r m:llete
b:r takim s:yasi= ve askeri= mU-la=hazalarla sadaka Sekl:nde
verm:S olduGu bu mUsa=adeler:n :st:kla=l mefhumunu :hla=l
eden b:rer s:yasi= :mt:yaz mah:yet:n: almasi, Osmanli
:mparatorluGunun :nh:tat devr:nde kuvvetlenm:S olan
Avrupa devletler:n:n bu esk: mUsa=adeler: g:tt:kCe su=::st:
ma=l etmeler:nden mUtevell:t ve b:lhassa son dev:rlere
mUnhasir b:r vaz:yett:r.
In a sentence of some length one can generally rely on the
author's putting a comma after the subject. The first comma is
after fak:r `poor', which is indeed in the absolute case. But if this
is the subject the preceding words must qualify it; being in the
genitive case, however, they can only qualify in izafet, i.e. they
can only qualify a word with the third-person suffix. Moreover,
as the three words after the comma mean `weak and needy', they
clearly belong with fak:r as qualifiers of b:r m:llete. The next
comma is after almasi, which is also in the absolute case, so we
shall assume that this is the subject and that everything preceding
qualifies it. alma-si `its taking' is the second element of an izafet,
the first element of which cannot be mah:yet:n: as that is in the
accusative; the izafet must be a definite one and we have to find
its defining genitive. The nearest preceding genitive is bu
mUsa=adeler-:n `these concessions'. So far we have `these con-
cessions' taking', i.e. `the fact that these concessions take', and
the object of `take' is mah:yet-:-n: immediately preceding it:
`its nature'. This is the second element of an izafet of which
:mt:yaz `privilege' is the qualifier. It is itself qualified by b:rer
s:yasi= `each-one-a political ':`the nature of so many political
privileges'. The four preceding words must also qualify :mt:yaz:
:hla=l ed-en `which violate' / :st:kla=l mefhum-u-nu `the con-
cept of independence'. Now we fit together the izafet muazzam
b:r devlet-:n `a mighty State's / olduG-u `pertaining to it' ----
being' / verm:S `having-given'; i.e. `which a mighty State had
given' / sadaka Sekl-:-nde `in the form of charity' / -la `with' /
b:r takim ... mUla=hazalar `a number of political and military
considerations' / fak:r ... b:r m:llet-e `to a poor, weak, and needy
nation'.
So much for the subject. Now we look at the end of the sentence
for the verb: -t:r `is'. Its complement is b:r vaz:yet `a
situation'. The remainder of the sentence qualifies this word.
mUnhasir `confined' / son dev:rler-e `to the latest periods' /
etme-ler:-nden `from their doing' / su=::st:ma=l `abuse'; i.e.
`from their abusing' / whose abusing? Avrupa devleter-:-n:n
`the european States'' / kuvvetlenm:S olan `which had grown
strong' / Osmanli ... devr-:-nde `in the Ottoman Empire's
period of decline'. All we need now is an object for `abusing': bu
esk: mUsa=adeler-: `these ancient concessions' / g:tt:kCe
`gradually'.
`The fact that these concessions, granted by a mighty State as
charity to a poor, weak, and needy nation in view of a number of
political and military considerations, assumed the character of
political privileges which violated the concept of independence
is a situation born of the gradual abuse of these ancient concessions
by the European powers, which had grown strong during the
Ottoman Empire's period of decline; a situation peculiar to the
latest times.'
The second specimen is from Niyazi Berkes's 200 Yildir
Neden Bocalsyoruz (Istanbul, 1965), pp. 129-30.
TUrk:yede devletC:l:k programinin uygulaniliSina g:r:S-
:l:rken, pla=nlamanin yalniz sanay: alanina teks:f ed:lmes:,
toprak hukuku reformunun 0nlenmes:, sanay:leSme :ler-
led:kCe bunun tarimsal mak:neleSmeye hem tekn:k hem
ekonom:k sebeple tes:r edememes: tarim alaninin pla=n-
lama diSinda ayri bakanliklarin sUrekl: olmayan, Cok defa
b:rb:r:n: tutmayan gel:S: gUzel tedb:rler:ne birakilmasi,
0zell:kle eG:t:m alani :le tarim alani arasinda h:Cb:r
pla=nli :l:S:kl:k kurulmamasi, okuma-yazma 0Gretmekle
k0ylUnUn kalkinacaGina :nanilmasi, ve en sonunda da
sank: Cok kahramanca b:r :S :m:S g:b: k0ylUye mUka=fat
tevz: eder g:b:, toprak daGitma g:b: s0zde-reformlara
gid:lmes: devletC:l:G:n baSarisizliGa uGratilmasinda baS-
lica roller: oynamiStir.
We may leave aside for the moment the first clause, ending in
-ken `while', as it is obviously an adverbial clause of time, and
concentrate on the main sentence.
A rapid glance shows seven -me verbal nouns with the third-
person suffix but no case-ending, five of them followed by a
comma (the omission of commas after edememes: and g:d:lmes:
must be accidental). These verbal nouns we may take to be the
subjects of the final verb oynamiStir `has played', or rather, as
there are several subjects, `have played' / baSlica roller: `the
principal roles' / devletC:l:G-:n uGratilma-si-nda `in e=*tatism's
being brought' / baSarisizliG-a `to successlessness'. Now we deal
with the seven noun-clauses. pla=nlama-nin teks:f ed:l-me-s:
`planning's being condensed' / yalniz sanay: alan-i-na `only to
the sphere of industry'. Then comes a four-word izafet chain:
toprak hukuk-u reform-u-nun 0nlenme-s: `land-law-reform's
being-prevented'. sanay:leSme :lerled:kCe `as industrialization
advanced' / bu-nun tes:r ed-eme-me-s: `its inability to af-
fect' / tarimsal mak:neleSme-ye `agricultural mechanization'
(tes:r etmek `to affect' is construed with a dative) / sebep-le
`by reason' / hem tekn:k hem ekonom:k `both technical and
economic'. tarim alan-i-nin birakilma-si `the agricultural
sphere's being-left' / pla=nlama diSinda `on the outside of
planning' / ayri bakanliklar-in gel:S: gUzel tedb:rler-:-ne
`to the haphazard measures of different ministries'. sUrekl:
olmayan and Cok defa b:rb:r:n: tutmayan both end in present
participles and amount to relative clauses qualifying tedb:rler:ne :
`which were not continuous and which often did not hold each
other', i.e. which were often mutually conflicting. h:Cb:r pla=nli
:l:S:kl:k kurul-ma-ma-si `no planned relationship's being-
established'; the izafet is indefinite as the qualifier, being negated,
cannot be definite. 0zell:kle ... arasinda `especially between
the sphere of education and the sphere of agriculture'. I+nan-il-
ma-si `its being believed'; the passive is impersonal, as :nanmak
`to believe' is construed with a dative and cannot be made into
a true passive. The -si has no visible antecedent and its presence
is clearly due, at least in part, to analogy with the five preceding
verbal nouns which are in izafet with qualifiers. The dative
required by :nan- is k0ylU-nUn kalkinacaG-i-na `the villager's
future progressing': `the belief that the villager would progress' /
okuma-yazma 0Gretmek-le `by teaching reading-writing'. ve
en sonunda da `and at the most last of it' / g:d-:l-me-s:
`going's being done', another impersonal passive, which we may
paraphrase by `having recourse' / s0zde-reformlar-a `to re-
forms in word', i.e. `to so-called reforms' (the hyphen is not
strictly necessary but is probably intended to make s0zde a sort
of prefix, corresponding to `pseudo-'). toprak daGitma g:b:
`such as distributing land' / sank: ... :m:S g:b: `as if it were
a very heroic action' / k0ylUye ... eder g:b: `as if distributing
largess to the villager'. Now the first clause. The verb g:r:Smek
`to enter upon' is another of those which take a dative, so the
passive g:r:S-:l- is impersonal. `In Turkey, while one was enter-
ing upon' / devletC:l:k program-i-nin uygulan-il-iS-i-na
`the e=*tatism-programme's being-applied'. It is probably best to
break up this huge structure when translating into English.
`The following factors, which existed when the programme of
e=*tatism was being put into effect in Turkey, were largely responsible
for the failure of e=*tatism. (a) Planning was confined to the sphere
of industry. (b) The reform of the land-law was prevented. (c) As
industrialization advanced, the less was it able, for technical as
well as economic reasons, to affect agricultural mechanization.
(d) The sphere of agriculture was left outside the scope of planning
and abandoned to the haphazard measures taken by several
ministries; measures which were discontinuous and often in
conflict with each other. (e) No planned relationship was set up,
in particular between education and agriculture. (f) There was
a belief that the advancement of the peasant could be achieved
by teaching him to read and write. (g) Recourse was had to such
pseudo-reforms as land-distribution, as though this were a piece
of great magnanimity; as if bestowing largess on the peasantry.'
XXIV. FURTHER EXAMPLES
The sentences below are intended to provide supplementary
illustrations of various points of grammar.
1. Baraj'da toplanacaGi hesaplanan 15 m:lyar metrekUp
su :le, kurak b0lge rahatCa sulanab:lecekt:r `with the 15
thousand million cubic metres of water which, it is calculated,
will be collected at the dam, it will be possible for the dry zone
to be irrigated quite easily'. toplanacaGi hesaplanan su `the
water whose future collecting is being calculated'. See XVIII, 2 (c).
2. U+CU yumurtliyan on b:r tavuGu var `he has eleven hens,
three of them laying'.
3. Solcu p:yes saGci p:yes d:ye b:r ayirim yapmak, 0mUr-
ler:nde kaC defa t:yatroya g:tt:kler: meraka deGer bu sayin
Uyeler:n hadd: deG:ld:r `to make a distinction between ``leftist
plays'' and ``rightist plays'' is not the place of these honourable
members, concerning whom one may well wonder how many
times in their lives they have ever been to the theatre'. kaC
defa ... g:tt:kler: merak-a deGer `their having gone how
many times <being> worthy of curiosity'.
4. Karisinin evler:ne siGindiGi :k: kadini 0ldUren adam
tevk:f ed:lm:St:r `the man who killed the two women in whose
house his wife had taken refuge has been arrested'; lit. `the two
women pertaining to his wife's taking refuge in their house'.
5. I+k: hemSer: olduGu s0zler:nden anlaSilan :k: hamlaci
(Sait Faik) `two chief rowers, from whose speech it was evident
that they were two fellow-townsmen'; ... olduGu s0zler:nden
anlaSilan `their-being ... being-understood from their words'.
6. S+ayet g0rUrsem el:n: 0peceG:m b:r okuyucu, b:r mektup
yazdi bana `a reader, whose hand I shall kiss if I see him, has
written me a letter'.
7. Sen de t:caret m: yapiyorsun, del:kanli?--Neden
yapmiyacakmiSim? `Do you engage in commerce too, young
man?'--`Why shouldn't I?' yap-mi-y-acak-miS-im is the
inferential form of yapmiyacaktim `I should not', and the literal
meaning of the question is `why is it inferred <by you> that
I should not?'
8. Kiz, Sansin varmiS ... Ya bu her:fle evlenseym:Ss:n ...
--Allah korumuS (Aziz Nesin). `Daughter, it is to be inferred
<from what we now see> that you were lucky (Sans-in `'your luck''
var ``existent'' -miS ``I gather that it was''). And what if--I see it
all now--you had married this scoundrel !' (the words in dashes in
this last sentence represent the difference between the conditional
inferential evlen-se-y-miS-s:n and the conditional past evlen-
se-y-d:n)--`God protected me, I now realize' (the last three
words of the translation would have been unnecessary had she
said koru-du instead of koru-muS)-
9. GeCm:S olsun, ev:n:ze hirsiz g:rm:S.--G:rd:, ded:m
(idem). ```I hope you soon get over it; I hear your house has been
burgled.''--``It has indeed'', I said.' Lit. ```May it be past; thieves,
I gather, have entered your house.''--``They have in fact entered'',
I said.'
10. Hanim Sof0rler:m:z :ft:har ets:nler, yalniz TUrk
erkekler:nden deG:l, BelC:kali Sof0rler:nden de :ht:yatli
vasita kullaniyorlar. Daha doGrusu kullaniyorlarmiS. `Let
our lady drivers take pride; they drive (``use vehicles'') not only
more carefully than Turkish men, but also more carefully than
Belgian drivers. To be more accurate, they are said to do so.'
11. Esk: b:r nah:ye mUdUrU (k: orada kalsa :m:S S:md: val:
olab:l:rm:S) kend:n: s:nemaya verm:S (DoGan Nadi). `A
former regional director (who, if he had stayed there, it is said
(:m:S), could now have been a provincial governor, it is said,
(-m:S)) is said to have dedicated himself to the cinema.'
12. GUya (sic, for gu=ya), sen, CikardiGin Kadro mecmuasinda
:kt:sadi= s:yaset:m:z: baltalayan ve hatta= Part: Umum:
Ka=t:b:n:n :dd:asina g0re Rej:m':n temeller:n: sarsan (!)
neSr:yatta bulunuyormuSsun. Bu, b0yle g:derseym:S
T:caret Vek:l: tuttuGu yolda emn:yetle :lerleyemezmiS.
O+te yandan Cumhur:yet Halk Part:s: de h:z:pleSmek
tehl:keler:ne maruz kalirmiS (Yakup Kadri). `Allegedly, you,
in the magazine Kadro which you put out, have been engaging in
publication which sabotages our economic policy and even, accord-
ing to the assertion of the Party General Secretary, shakes the
foundations of the re=*gime. If this were to go on like this, they say,
the Minister of Commerce would not be able to proceed safely
on the road he has taken. Furthermore, the RPP would, they say,
be left exposed to risks of breaking up into factions.'
13. DokunmuSlar; ded: ve g:tt:kCe aGirlaSan b:r sesle
:la=ve ett: : DokunmuSlar deG:l dokundular; ben:m g0z-
UmUn 0nUnde ... (idem). ```I heard they assaulted <her>'', he
said and added, in a voice which grew gradually heavier, ``No,
I didn't hear it; they actually did it, in front of my eyes'''.
14. Ama bUtUn bu gerCeklere :nat, sanati paranin, mav:y:
karanin UstUne Cikaranlar var ya? B:nde b:r de olsun var
ya? I+Ste onlar sanatCi; Ust tarafi manatCi! C+ok mu sert
oldu bu yargi? YumuSatalim b:raz : bUtUn manatCilarin
sanatCi olduGu zamanlar vardir (EyUboGlu). `But despite all
these truths, there are, are there not, those who put art above
money, the blue above the black (XVII, 3)? They exist, even
though they be one in a thousand, don't they? It is precisely
these who are artists; the remainder are etceteras! Has it been
very stern, this judgement? Let's soften it a little: there are times
when all the etceteras become artists.' Here manatCi has been
extracted from the m-doublet sanatCi manatCi `artists and so
on' and given an independent life of its own.
15. Ama devletl:ler b:r kuSkulanmiya g0rsun (XI, 35 (d)),
en merhametl:ler en zal:mler b:r anda b:rleS:yor, d:n
kardeS: m:n kardeS: d:nlem:yorlardi (idem). `But let the
Establishment not grow suspicious; the most compassionate and
the most tyrannical would unite in an instant and would not heed
any considerations of common religion or common anything else'
(`they would not listen to ``religion-brother'' or ``anything-else-
of-the-sort-brother'' '; d:n m:n).
16. B:zde eleSt:r: olup olmadiGi yillardir tartiSilip durur.
Varilan sonuC, b:zde eleSt:r: olmadiGidir. `Whether or not
we have any literary criticism has been constantly debated (XI,
35 (a)) for years. The conclusion that has been reached is that we
have no literary criticism.' varmak `to arrive' is intransitive;
varilan is therefore the impersonal passive participle; see
XVIII, 3 (a).
17. Bazi gUnler, Cafe=* Soufflot'nun mutad toplantilarina
Sam: PaSazade Seza: Bey ve Prens Mehmet Al: g:b:--
Ragip Bey:n tab:r:nce--ar:stokratlarin da :St:rak ett:G:
olurdu. `On some days it would happen that--to use Ragip
Bey's expression--aristocrats too like Sezai Bey, the son of Sami
Pasha, and Prince Mehmet Ali, would join in the usual meetings
at the Cafe=* Soufflot.' :St:rak ett:G: `their participating' /
olurdu `used to occur'.
18. Haci olan b:r MUslUman sosyal hayatini nasil tanz:m
etmel:d:r?--I+sla=m:yet ``hUsn-U ahla=k'' olduGuna g0re haci
olup olmamakliGin buna b:r tes:r: yoktur. This is a reader's
question and a newspaper columnist's answer (Refik Ulunay). Its
grammatical interest lies in the use of the somewhat rare verbal
noun in -mekl:k (see X, 6). There could have been no possibility
of ambiguity, as the verbal noun is negative and in the genitive,
if the writer had chosen to use the -me verbal noun instead:
olmamanin. But clearly he wished to be both precise and
impressive, hence olmamakliGin `of the fact of not being'. `How
ought a Muslim who is a pilgrim to arrange his social life?'--
`As Islam is moral excellence (II, 26), the fact of being or not
being a pilgrim has no effect on this.'
19. Ey Allahim, bUtUn :nsanlara, onlarin sen:n Cocuklarin
ve b:rb:rler:n:n kardeS: olduklarini 0Gretmen zamani
gelmed: m:? (Halide Edip). `O God, has not the time come for
You to teach all mankind that they are Your children and each
other's brothers?' The termination of Cocuklar-in is not the
genitive suffix but the second-singular possessive. Probably a
writer of a later generation would have chosen an alternative to
0Gretme-n `your teaching', because of the far commoner
0Gretmen `teacher'.
20. I+smet PaSanin S:md:ye kadar olmaz ded:G:n:n, oldu-
Gunu b:len varsa parmak kaldirsin! `Hands up anyone who
knows of anything ever yet happening which Ismet Pasha said
wouldn't happen!' Lit. `if there is anyone who knows the happen-
ing of that pertaining to Ismet Pasha's saying ``It won't happen''
(olmaz) till now, let him raise finger'.
21. BayramlaSamadiklarimiz. `Those of our number with
whom we cannot exchange the season's greetings.' This splendid
word headed the obituary column of a newspaper at the Bayram,
the festival which ends the month of fasting, in 1960. Bayram-
laS- `to exchange Bayram greetings'; -ama- VIII, 55 (b);
-diklarimiz IX, 7.
22. Daha sonra Hazret: Muhammed:n Med:neye :lk ayak
bastiGi gUn deves:n:n kapisinda d:z C0ktUGU EyUp Sultanin
tUrbes: z:yaret ed:ld:. `Later a visit was paid to the mausoleum
of EyUp Sultan, at whose door the Prophet Muhammad's camel
knelt the first day he set foot in Medina.' This is an involved
example of the rule given in XVIII, 2 (d): `EyUp Sultan, charac-
terized-by-its-bending knee' (d:z C0ktUGU) `at-his-door' (kapi-
sinda). The `its' refers to Hazret: Muhammed:n deves:n:n
`His Excellency Muhammad's camel's'. Hazret (A) means
-Presence' and is used in Persian izafet as an honorific.
23. Bu konuda yayimlanan deGerl: b:r makalede, S+:nas:'-
n:n p:yes yazmasi, ``Fransiz t:yatrosunu yakindan g0rUp
tanidiktan sonra Garp t:yatrosunun edebi= deGer:n: :y:ce
kavramiS olmasi'' :le yorumlanmiS, ve, eser:n: ``oynatma
Um:d: olmaksizin yazdi''Gi s0ylenm:St:r (Cevdet Kudret).
`In a valuable article published on this theme, Shinasi's writing
of plays has been interpreted by ``his having thoroughly grasped
the literary value of the Western theatre after seeing and becoming
acquainted with the French theatre from close at hand'' and it
has been said that ``he wrote with no hope of producing'' his
play.' This sentence is remarkable for a grammatical oddity not
unlike the one discussed on p. 49, n. 3. The quotation oynatma
Um:d: olmaksizin yazdi `he wrote without there being hope
of getting-performed' has been turned into a noun clause, subject
of s0ylenm:St:r, by adding Gi to the finite verb yazdi, instead
of closing the quotation at olmaksizin and then putting yazdiGi.
This is not a unique example of this use.
24. G0rUlUyor k:, verd:G:m:z 0rneklerde ve veremed:G:m:z
b:nlerces:nde, d:l mantiGi kolaylik ve sUrat: saGlamak
:C:n, kend: kanunlarina aykiri da olsa bazi tasarruflara
g:tmekted:r. `It is seen, in the examples we have given and the
thousands that we have not been able to give, that the logic of
language, in order to ensure ease and speed, resorts to certain
economies, even though they be contrary to its own laws.' Note-
worthy here is the substantivizing effect of the third-person suffix
on the adverb b:nlerce `by thousands'.
25. DUn K0prUden geCerken Fat:h cam::n:n m:nares:ne
[MISSING LINE]
yerleS:rse Demokrat Part: zamaninda yerleSm:St:r d:ye
tar:h k:taplari yazsin :C:n, ben de buraya yaziyorum.
(B. Felek). `Yesterday while crossing the Bridge I saw that flags
had been hoisted on the minaret of the Fatih mosque. I am
writing <this> here so that if this custom too takes root, tomorrow
or the next day, the history-books may write that it took root in
the Democrat Party era.' The rare use of :C:n with a third-person
imperative to express purpose (VIII, 41) is doubtless to avoid
repeating d:ye; yazsin d:ye would have been the natural way
of saying `so that they may write'.
26. Kirik Al:--MUsaaden olursa kalkalim hoca efend:, b:ze
:z:n ver! ded:. Vara dem:yeyd:. Bek:r Hocadir bu, yaka-
sina b:r yapiSmas:yle Kirik Al:'y: sandalyeye C0kertt:
(Aziz Nesin). `Broken Ali said, ``With your permission (lit. `if
your permission exists'), Hoja Efendi, let's go; give us leave!'' He
might as well not have said it (VIII, 37 (a), at end). It was Bek:r
Hoja that he had to deal with (p. 71, foot); with one grab at his
collar he sent Broken Ali flopping back into the chair,'
27. EGer 0Grenc: b:r sorunun beS Sikkindan b:r:n: :Saretl:-`
yecekken :k: Sikki doGru d:ye :Saretlem:Sse, elektron:k
bey:n oyuna gelmey:p hemen bunu farketmekte ve 0Gren-
c:n:n kurnazlik yaptiGini ortaya koymaktadir. `If the
student, while supposed to mark one of the five alternatives (i.e,
alternative answers) of a question, has marked two alternatives
as correct, the electronic brain is not taken in but notices this at
once and reveals that the student is guilty of sharp practice.' Note
the necessitative sense of the future participle in :Saretl:-y-
ecek-ken, not `while he will mark' but `while he should mark'.
See the first sentence of VIII, 21, and cf. the next example.
28. Tavuklar en yumurtalayacaklari zamanda yumurtala-
mayiverd:ler. `The hens, at the time when thy should most
have laid, suddenly stopped laying.' See XI, 35 (f).
29. Ben:m de gUlmUSlUGUm vardir AtatUrk'Un kullandiGi
b:r Cok ter:mlere (EyUboGlu). `There have been times when
I too have laughed at a number of terms which AtatUrk used.'
For the construction, see XVII, 2, and cf. the next example.
30. Bu seC:m:n bUtUn problemler: C0zmUSlUGU :ler:
sUrUlemez. `It cannot be suggested that this election has solved
all the problems.' Lit. `this election's state-of-having-solved all
the problems cannot-be-pushed forward'.
31. Proje gerCekleSseyd: hak:katen TUrklere dUSecek pay
ancak bu ruhani= pay olacakti ; maddi= payi varsin maddeye
tapan ga=vurlara kalsindi (Niyazi Berkes). `If the project were
to materialize, in fact the share that would fall to the Turks would
be only this spiritual share; the material share of it might as well
be left to the infidels, who worshipped the material.'
32. A=deta kalin b:r yaGmur bulutu :C:ne g:rd:k ve etrafi
deG:l, g:tt:G:m:z yolu g0remez olduk (R. N. GUntekin). `We
entered what was virtually a dense rain-cloud and ceased to be
able to see not <just> our surroundings but the <very> road on
which we were going.' For g0remez olduk `we-became unable-
to-see', see IX, II.