English turkish grammar functional and transformational, yuksel goknel, 2015

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Transcript of English turkish grammar functional and transformational, yuksel goknel, 2015

  • ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR

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    [email protected]

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    TURKISH GRAMMAR

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    FOREWORD

    The Turkish Grammar book that you have just started reading is quite different from

    the grammar books that you read in schools. This kind of Grammar is known as traditional

    grammar. The main difference of a traditional grammar and that of a trans-formational one

    is that the first one describes a natural language as a static object, but the second one

    describes both the parts of the language engine and how it runs. Learning a traditional

    grammar is like learning about a motionless car. There is some-thing lacking in this

    description. It is the dynamics of the parts of a car that runs a hundred and twenty

    kilometers an hour.

    Traditional grammars describe only the physical appearance of a language; they do

    not mind what goes on behind the curtain. The mind of a human being works like the

    engine of a sports car. It arranges and chooses words matching one another, transforms

    simple sentence units to use in different parts of sentences, and recollects morphemes

    and phonemes to be produced by the human speech organs. All these activities are

    simultaneously carried out by the human mind.

    Another point that the traditional grammarians generally miss is that they write the

    grammar of a certain language to teach it to those who have been learning it from the time

    when they were born up to the time when they discover something called grammar. This

    is like teaching a language to professional speakers.

    Then, what is the use of a grammar? I believe most people were acquainted with it

    when they started learning a foreign language. Therefore, a grammar written for those

    who are trying to learn a second language is very useful both in teaching and learning a

    second language.

    I started teaching English as a second language in 1952, a long time ago. Years

    passed and one day I found myself as a postgraduate Fulbright student at the University

    of Texas at Austin in 1960. Although I studied there for only a short period, I learnt enough

    from Prof. Archibald A. Hill and Dr. De Camp to stimulate me to learn more about

    Linguistics.

    After I came back to Turkey, it was difficult to find books on linguistics in booksellers in

    Istanbul. Thanks to the American Library in Istanbul, I was able to borrow the books that

    attracted my attention.

    In those books, I discovered Noam Chomsky, whose name I had not heard during my stay

    in the U.S.A.

    I must confess that I am indebted to the scholars and the library above in writing this

    Turkish Grammar.

    I am also grateful to my son Dr. zgr Gknel who encouraged me to write this book

    and to Vivatinell U.K., which sponsored to publish it.

    YKSEL GKNEL

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    TO MY WIFE AYE GKNEL WITH LOVE

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    COMPLETALY REVISED COLORED ADITION

    2015

    YKSEL GKNEL

    Vivatinell Bilim-Kltr Yaynlar

    2015

    Grafik Tasarm Uygulamalar

    Vivatinell Press

    letiim:

    Vivatinell Cosmopharmaceutics

    Fetih Mah. Tunca Sk. No:2 34704

    Ataehir / stanbul / TRKYE

    Tel: +90 216 470 09 44

    Faks: +90 216 470 09 48

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    CONTENTS

    Foreword 2

    Contents 7

    Infntves and Gerunds 13

    Logical, Morphemic, and Oral Sequencing 15

    Turkish Grammar 18

    Turkish Vowel and Consonant Harmony 19

    Vowel Harmony Sequence 19

    Consonant HarmonySequence 21

    Morphemes and Their Allomorphs 24

    Derivational Morphemes and Their Allomorphs 25

    Morphemes Attached to Nouns that Produce Nouns 25

    Morphemes Attached to Nouns that Produce Adjectives 26

    Morphemes Attached to Adjectives that Produce Nouns 29

    Morphemes Attached to Verbs that Produce Nouns 30

    Morphemes Attached to Verbs that Produce Adjectives 34

    Morphemes Attached to Nouns that Produce Verbs 35

    Morphemes Attached to Adjectives that Produce Verbs 36

    Inflectional Morphemes and Their Allomorphs 36

    Nominal Phrases 39

    Adverbs and Adverbials 42

    Transformational Activity of the Logic 43

    Form and Function in Languages 46

    Using Adjectives as Adverbs 48

    Inflectional Morphemes 50

    Defining [] Morpheme and its Allomorphs [i, , , u] 50

    The [LE], [LE.YIN] and [E], [DE], [DEN] Inflectional Morphemes 55

    [LE] allomorphs: [le, la] 55

    [LE.YIN]: 56

    [E], [DE], [DEN] and [LE] Morphemes 56

    [E] allomorphs: [e, a] 58

    [DE] allomorphs: [de, da, te, ta] 64

    [DEN] allomorphs: [den, dan, ten, tan] 66

    Possessive + Owned Noun Compounds (sim Tamlamalar) 68

    Definite Noun Compounds (Belirtili sim Tamlamalar) 68

    Indefinite Noun Compounds (Belirtisiz sim Tamlamalar) 75

    Noun Compounds Without Suffixes (Taksz Tamlamalar) 76

    Noun + Infinitive Compounds (sim Mastar Tamlamalar) 77

    Prepositions and Postpositions (Edatlar) 78

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    Primary, Secondary, and Weak Stresses, and Intonation 80

    [E], [DE], [DEN] Morphemes + Postpositions 89

    Inflectional Morphemes Attached to Verbs 96

    Linking Verbs 97

    Past Positive, Negative, Positive Question, Negative Question 109

    Linking Verb Future 111

    Present Modals with Verb be 112

    must be 112

    cant be 113

    may be 114

    may not be 115

    The Interrogative Sentences Whose answers are "Yes" or "No" 116

    must be, have to be, should be, ought to be, neednt be 118

    have to be (zorundaym) 119

    neednt be (gerek yok) 119

    The Simple Past Verb be (2) 120

    Interrogative Words 124

    [M] (Rumor, Inference) (Sylenti, Anlam karma) 128

    The Future Form of be (will be) 130

    there is, there are; have, (have got) 130

    there used to be, there used to have 132

    there must (may) be, there cant be, there is going to be 132

    Imperatives and Wishes 133

    Wish 135

    The Simple Present Tense (Geni Zaman) 137

    The Verbs Ending with Vowels or Consonants 141

    Turkish Verbs that are Formed by Objects Followed by Verbs 141

    The Negative Form of The Simple Present Tense 144

    The Simple Present Positive Question 146

    The Simple Present Negative Question 147

    The Question Words Used in the Simple Present Tense 149

    The Present Continuous and the Present Perfect Continuous 151

    The Verbs That Are Not Used In The Simple Present In Turkish 156

    Turkish Verb Frames (Trkede Fiil atlar) 158

    Transitive and Intransitive Verb Frames 158

    Reflexive Verb Frames 159

    The Passive Transformation of the Intransitive Verb Frames 160

    Reciprocal Verb Frames (te Fiil atlar) 162

    Both Transitively and Intransitively Used English Verbs 163

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    The Simple Past and the Present Perfect 170

    Mili Past Tense (Rumor and Inference) (Mili Gemi) 178

    The Simple Future and be going to 182

    The Past Continuous Tense 185

    The Past Perfect Continuous Tense 189

    Was (were) going to 190

    used to 191

    The Rumor Forms of The Simple and The Continuous Tenses 192

    The Past Perfect Tense 194

    The Future Continuous Tense 195

    The Future Perfect Tense 196

    Infinitives (Mastarar) 196

    The [mek, mak] Infinitives 197

    The [me, ma] Infinitives 197

    The [i, , , u] Infinitives 197

    The [dik, dk, dk, duk, tik, tk, tk, tuk] Infinitives 197

    Where and How the Infinitives are Used 199

    1.(a) The [mek, mak] Infinitives Used as Subjects 199

    1.(b) The [mak, mak] Infinitives Used before Postpositions 199

    1.(c) The [mek, mak] Infinitives Used as Objects of iste 201

    1.(d) The [mek, mak] Infinitives Used Attached to [DEN] morphemes 201

    2.(a) The [me, ma] Infinitives Used Attached to Noun Compounds 203

    2.(b) noun+infinitive-[], and V-[me-/y/i], V-[ma]-/y/] 204

    2.(c) noun+infinitive-[e, a] 208

    2.(d) noun+infinitive Compounds Followed by [den, dan] 208

    3.(a) noun+infinitive-[], [E], [DE], [DEN] 210

    4.(a) possessive noun+ V-[dik, dk, dk, duk, tik, tk, tk, tuk] 210

    The Passive Infinitive 211

    Modals 213

    Present Modals 213

    can, may [ebil, abil] 213

    must [meli, mal] 217

    have to (zorunda) 219

    neednt (dont have to) 220

    should (ought to) 221

    may or can (e.bil, a.bil) (2) 222

    Past Modals 223

    Could 223

    was (were) able to 224

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    would, could (polite request) 225

    Perfect Modals 227

    must have 227

    cant (couldnt) have 229

    should have (ought to have) 230

    may have 231

    might have 232

    neednt have 232

    didnt need to 233

    Transformations (English) 234

    Nominalization of the Simple English Sentences 235

    Transformation of the Simple Sentences into Modifiers in English 240

    The Productivity of the Natural Languages 242

    TheTransformed Simple Sentences Used as Adverbial Clauses 244

    Turkish Sentence Nominalizations 246

    Turkish Simple Sentence Nominalization 249

    Transformed Nominal Phrases 249

    The infinitives with [me, ma]: 251

    The infinitives with [dik, dk, dk, duk, tik, tk, tk, tuk]: 252

    Simple Sentence Nominalization 1: V - [DK] - [pers] - ([]) 252

    The Simple Future Tense: V-[ecek, acak]-[pers]-[] 253

    The Past Perfect: V-[mi, m, m, mu] + ol-[duk]-[pers]-[] 254

    The Future Perfect V-[mi, m, m, mu] + ol-[duk]]-[pers]-[] 254

    Simple Sentences with the Verb root ol (be) 254

    Chain Noun Compounds 255

    2. V- [DK]- [pers]-([]) 258

    V-[M] + ol-[duk]-[pers]-([]) 261

    Nominalized Phrases Containing question words 261

    Turkish Modifier + Noun Compounds 264

    Simple Sentences and Transformed Nominal Phrases 269

    The Passive Transformation and the Passive Verb Frames 271

    The Verb Frames 274

    The Structural Composition of the Causative Verb Frames 275

    A Short List of Verb Frames 276

    Causative Verb Frames Examples 281

    The Passive Causative 282

    Some Example Sentences of the Verb Frames 283

    Adverbial Clauses (Postpositional Adverbial Phrases) 330

    Time 330

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    before 330

    after 335

    when and while 336

    while 340

    as soon as 342

    until 344

    by and by the time 346

    since 347

    Cause or Reason 349

    Contrast (Ramen) 351

    Purpose 354

    Place 358

    Manner 358

    as 358

    as if (as though) 360

    Result 362

    so that, such that 362

    o kadar + adjective + noun-time + ki 363

    too + adjective + to + V + iin and adjective + enough + to + Verb 364

    Degree 365

    Comparative Degree 365

    Superlative Degree 368

    Positive or Negative Equality 368

    Parallel Proportion (Kout Uyum) 370

    Wish 371

    wish + would 371

    wish + past subjunctive 372

    wish + past perfect or perfect modal 373

    Conditional Sentences 374

    Present Real Supposition 375

    Present Unreal (contrary to fact) Supposition 378

    Past Real Supposition 379

    Past Unreal (contrary to fact) Supposition 380

    Orders and Requests 381

    Plain Orders and Requests 381

    Polite Requests 382

    Polite Refusals 384

    Offers 384

    { verb- [P] } 385

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    Question Tags (Deil mi?) 386

    So do I (Neither do I) 387

    Conjunctions and Transitional Phrases 388

    Intensifiers 395

    Roots, Stems and Verb Frames 399

    Morphemic and Oral Sequences 401

    Symbols and Abbreviations 403

    References 404

    Note: The aim of this colored revised version of this book is not to make the pages look colorful, but to show the functional parts of the words in different colors. The following colored lines and words indicate them. For instance: 1. Subject pronouns and the subject allomorphs that are attaced to main verbs are blue. 2. Verb roots, verb stems and verb frames, and the derivational allomorphs that change noun roots or stems, and adjective roots into verbs are red. 3. Objects, nouns, coordinating conjunctions and the last suffix-es that turn words into nouns are black. 4. Adverbs, adverbials, adverbial phrases, prepositions or post-positions, subordinating conjunctions, adverb clauses, and the inflectional allomorphs that change nouns into adverbs are green. 5. Subject and object complements are brown. 6. Adjectives and noun modifiers, and the purple allomorphs at-tached to nouns and verbs that change them into adjectives, and the a, an, the ariticles are purple. In short, when you see a black allomorph attached to the end of a Turkish or an English word, that word together with the black allo-morph is a noun. When you see a green allomorph attached to a word, this word together with the green allomorph is an adverb, and when you see a purple allomorph attached to a word, this word to-gether with the purple allomorph is an adjective or a noun modifi-er. In Turkish, the last allomorphs attached to the last parts of the words are the allomorphs that identify whether a word is a verb, an adjectve, an adverb, a preposition, or a noun.

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    INFINITIVES AND GERUNDS

    Before we begin with the English and Turkish grammars, it may be useful to

    start with the Turkish infinitives, and English infinitives or gerunds.

    In Turkish, there are only infinitives that are formed of a verb and various

    noun-making allomorphs attached to the verb, such as:

    verb-[mek, mak]

    verb-[me, ma]

    verb-[i, , , u]

    verb-[dik, dk, dk, duk, tik, tk, tk, tuk]

    The allomorphs written black are the noun making allomorphs that turn

    verbs into Turkish infinitives when they are attached to them. Infinitives

    generally function as nouns in Turkish sentences.

    In English, there are both infinitives and gerunds that may function as

    nouns in sentences:

    To verb is an infinitive, and verb-ing is a gerund.

    The ing noun-making suffix may turn a verb into a nominal gerund, but

    the same ing may also change the verb into an adjective verb-ing.

    Nominal gerunds may be used as subjects, objects, objects of preposi-

    tions or as subject complements in sentences. English gerunds and their

    Turkish infinitive equivalents are underlined as follows:

    Read-ing helps us improve our knowledge. (Nominal gerund subject)

    Oku-mak bilgi-im.iz-i gelitir-me-/y/e yardm et-er. (Subject)

    Jack enjoys listen-ing to pop music. (Listen-ing is nominal gerund.)

    Jack pop mzik dinle-mek-ten holan-r. (Infinitive-ten is adverbial.)

    My sister is interested in annoy-ing me. (Nominal gerund object of in.)

    Kz karde-im can-m- sk-mak-la ilgilen-ir. (Sk-mak-la is adverbial.)

    See-ing is believ-ing. Gr-mek inan-mak-tr. gerund verb gerund infinitive infinitive verb

    Gerunds used after be verbs are called subject noun complements.

    Some present participles verb-ing can be used as adjectives in sen-

    tences whose Turkish equivalents are formed by attaching [en, an] adjec-

    tive making allomorphs to verbs. For instance:

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    fly-ing u-an, talk-ing konu-an, shin-ing lda-/y/an,

    smil-ing glmse-/y/en, rise-ing yksel-en, cry-ing ala-/y/an,

    sing-ing t-en, fall-ing d-en, roar-ing kkre-/y/en.

    fly-ing birds U-an kular, talk-ing parrots konu-an papaanlar,

    shin-ing lights lda-/y/an klar, smil-ing baby glmse-/y/en

    bebek, ris-ing prices ysel-en fiyatlar, fall-ing leaves d-en ya-

    praklar, roar-ing lions kkre-/y/en arslanlar.

    Turkish infinitives verb-[mek, mak], verb-[me, ma] and the others are

    always nominal infinitives. They always function as nouns in sentences.

    However, the English to verb infinitives either function as nouns, as ad-

    jectives or adverbs without changing their forms. For instance:

    Mary Trke ren-mek iste-i.yor. (The infinitive is nominal.)

    Mary wants to learn Turkish. (The infinitive is nominal.)

    Mary benim-le konu-ma-/y/ reddet-ti. (The infinitive is nominal.)

    Mary refused to talk to me. (The infinitive is nominal.)

    Mary bir araba al-mak iin para biriktir-i.yor. (Infinitive + iin is adverbial.)

    Mary is saving money to buy a car. (The infinitive is adverbial.)

    Balk tut-mak iin gl-e git-ti-im. (Infinitive + postposition) (Adverbial)

    I went to the lake to fish. (The infinitive is adverbial.)

    Jack okul-dan k-an ilk ocuk-tu. (k-an is an adjective.)

    Jack was the first boy to leave the school. (To leave is an adjective.)

    (The infinitve modifies the noun boy, so it is an adjective.)

    Yr-/y/e.cek uzun bir yol-um.uz var. (Yr-/y/e.cek is an adjective.)

    We have a long way to walk. (To walk is an adjective.)

    ren-e.cek ok ey-in.iz var. (ren-e.cek is an adjective.)

    You have a lot of things to learn. (To learn is an adjective.) Bitir-e.cek bir i-im var. (Bitir-e.cek is an adjective.)

    I have a work to finish. (To finish is an adjective.)

    Note:

    The blue underlines show the subjects.

    The black underlines show the objects, noun clauses, and nouns.

    The red underlines show the verbs.

    The green underlines show the adverbs, adverb clauses or preopositions.

    The purple underlines show the adjectives and the noun modifiers.

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    LOGICAL, MORPHEMIC, AND ORAL SEQUENCING

    Noam Chomsky and Steven Pinker in their books assert that the human

    mind has an inborn logical ability which seperates a body of thought (a

    sentence) into two parts to produce sentences. A person logically thinks that

    a sentence should be about something or someone, and uses them as

    subjects, and uses all the information given about the subjects as predi-

    cates.

    Chomsky calls them Nominal Phrase and Verbal Phrase, in short "NP +

    VP". Additionally, the predicate part (VP) is also logically seperated into two

    parts as a verb, and an object 'V + NP'. These logical storages are empty

    before one starts learning his/her native language. When someone starts

    hearing the sounds of his language, he loads these sounds with meaning,

    and inserts them into these empty logical storages. Arranging these storages

    in succession is also learned while someone is being exposed to his native

    language. Therefore, the order of these logical storages change from

    language to language. These logical storages, and their learned succession

    are called the logical sequence of a sentence. The so called storages are

    also flexible enough to hold the shortest and the longest language units.

    The word verb "V" covers a verb root, a verb stem, or a verb frame, and

    all the inflectional suffixes attached to them such as "ed", "ing", "s", and

    auxiliary verbs such as "must", "may", "might", "can", "could", etc. preceded

    by them. The verbs together with these inflectional suffixes and auxiliary

    verbs constitude a verb composition concept and called a verb "V".

    All subjects and objects, whether long or short, are Nominal Phrases. If a

    verb is intransitive, it does not need an object (NP), so the predicate part

    has only a verb, and some adverbs or adverbials. The predicates that have

    "be" verbs are also considered Verbal Phrases.

    The sentences described above are of three kinds:

    1. A subject, a transitive verb, and an object: Jack killed a mouse.

    subject verb object

    predicate

    2. A subject and an intransitive verb: Jack sleeps.

    subject verb

    predicate

    3. A subject, a verb and a subject complement: Jack is brave.

    subj verb subj complement

    predicate

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    Although these logical storages are inborn, their sequencing is learned

    through the experiences of an individual. Therefore, the sequencing of the

    subject and predicate, and that of the subject, verb, and object change

    from language to language. For instance, in English: I am coming. subject predicate

    (There are no subject allomorphs attached to main verbs in English.)

    In Turkish: Gel-i.yor um (ge*li*yo*rum) verb subject allomorph

    In Turkish, a personal concept is expressed by a subject allomorph either

    attached to a verb at the end of a sentence, or expressed by both a pro-

    noun or a noun in the beginning and a subject allomorph at the end of a

    sentence. Using subject allomorphs attached to the ends of the Turkish

    main verbs (except for the third person singular) is a grammatical necessity. Furthermore, the subject + verb + object sequence of the English lan-

    guage differs in Turkish as (subject) + object + verb-subject allomorph

    or object + main verb-subject allomorph: English: We are picking flowers. subj (pron) verb object

    Turkish 1: (Biz) iek topluyor-uz. = We are picking flowers. subj (pron) object verb-subject allomorph

    Turkish 2: iek topluyor-uz. = We are picking flowers. object verb-subject allomorph

    The reason why there may be two identical alternative sentences in Turkish

    is that one should compulsorily use a subject allomorph attached to the

    verb in a sentence. However, if he wants to emphasize the subject, he could

    also use a pronoun in the beginning of a sentence as well as a subject

    allomorph representing the pronoun used in the beginning of the sentence. If we use a sentence without a subject allomorph attached to the main

    verb, the sentence becomes ungrammatical although it is understandable: *Ben yarn Ankara'/y/a gidiyor. (ungrammatical)

    (Ben) yarn Ankara'/y/a gidiyor-um. (grammatical) (Ben could be ignored.)

    *Ben sen-i seviyor. (ungrammatical)

    (Ben) sen-i seviyor-um. (grammatical) (Ben could be ignored.) As a general syllabication rule in Turkish, the single underlined consonants

    of the words or allomorphs detach from their syllables, and attach to the first

    vowels of the following morphemes as in the examples above. This opera-

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    tion of the oral sequence of the Turkish language transposes the mor-

    phemic sequence to produce harmonic syllable sequences. The lines that

    are put under the consonants in this book are not used in writing.

    One could estimate that there exist empty inborn logical subject + verb,

    subject + verb + object or subject + linking verb + subject comple-

    ment storages in one's mind ready to be filled with the learned sequences

    of phonemes and morphemes in a newborn baby. A newborn baby hears the

    sounds of his/her native language, learns which sounds convey which words

    and morphemes. He/she also hears the sequences of subject + verb, and

    subjec + verb + object, and the syllables of his/her native language. All

    these sounds and information gather in its memory, and are inserted into the

    inborn storages to produce sensible sentences. All human beings are born eager to learn. Learning his/her language is an

    inherent instinct in everybody, which Steven Pinker calls it "Language Ins-

    tinct". Children do not know what a subject, or an object is, but as soon as

    they learn the interrogative concepts who?, what?, when?, where?,

    why?, how?, etc., they start asking questions. In all languages, question

    words ask for the functional parts of a sentence such as subject, object,

    verb, and adverbs of time, place, reason, etc. So, he logically knows that

    who and what asks for the subject, and whom and what asks for the

    object, and he also understands that all the answers to the questions who,

    and what are subjects, and whom, and what are objects: Jack found a watch. who? what?

    Jacks sister found a watch. who? what?

    The boy who was walking along the street found a watch. who? what?

    The boy who was walking along the street found the watch that I lost. who? what?

    Jack saw a rabbit in the garden yesterday. who? what? where? when?

    The house that Jack built collapsed suddenly last night. what? how? when?

    Jack found a watch while he was walking down the streed. who? what? when? Jack passed his examination with difficulty because he was lazy. who? what? how? why?

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    Jack saw Mary among the crowd. who? whom? where?

    Jack bought some flowers for his mother. who? what? for whom?

    Jack was coming from school. who? from where?

    The parts that are not underlined in the sentences above are verbs. If

    someone wants to ask about these verbs he says, What did Jack do?, and

    for the underlined green parts he says, From where was Jack coming?,

    Where was Jack coming from?, Whom did Jack see?, etc. Consequently, it is possible to say that a person fills the subject and predi-

    cate logical storages using interrogative instruments in all languages. As in all natural languages, the Turkish language production system governs

    three groups of sequences. The first sequence is the logical sequence

    which governs the basic network of a sentence in which all sentences take

    form. The second sequence is the morphemic sequence which arranges the

    sequence of the morphemes and allomorphs in Turkish sentences. The third sequence is the oral or phonological sequence, which arranges

    the syllables and the overall harmony of the words in a sentence.

    TURKISH GRAMMAR

    After the above short survey of the universal Transformational Generative

    Grammar (with some interpretations of my own), we can begin with the

    sound system of The Turkish language.

    Turkish has 29 letters in its alphabet. Some of these letters / o, u, a, / and /

    , , e, i / are vowels (nller), and the others / b, c, , d, f, g, , h, j, k, l,

    m, n, p, r, s, , t, v, y, z / are consonants (nszler).

    All the letters above represent phonemes, that is why they are shown be-

    tween / / signs. Phonemics is not interested in detailed phonetic differ-

    ences. Some of the vowels / , , / do not exist in English. They are pro-

    nounced: // as in English again; // as in German schn; and // as in

    German htte respectively.

    Among the consonants, there are the / , , / phonemes, which are pro-

    nounced as ch as in church, sh as in fish; and to produce the //

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    phoneme, which does not exist in English, first produce /g/ phoneme, and

    make it longer by letting your breath pass between your tongue and the hard

    palate of your mouth while vibrating your vocal cords.

    TURKISH VOWEL AND CONSONANT HARMONY

    Turkish is said to be an agglutinative language, which means that suffixes

    are attached to word roots, stems and frames one following the other in a

    sequence to arrange words. To understand how these syllable and suffix

    chains are arranged, one should understand the vowel and consonant

    harmony rules of the Turkish language before one begins to attach suffixes

    to roots or stems, and to the suffixes following them.

    VOWEL HARMONY SEQUENCE A Turkish speaker follows two certain harmony chains to produce a vowel

    harmony sequence:

    1. The hard vowel harmony chain. 2. The thin vowel harmony chain.

    1. The hard (back) vowel harmony chain is o u a

    2. The thin (front) vowel harmony chain is e i In both chains, the first vowels /o/ and // never repeat themselves. The

    other vowels can be repeated as many times as necessary. The arrow ()

    points to the vowel that should follow the previous one. The arrows (), pointing to both directions, show that /i/ may follow /e/, or /e/ may follow /i/.

    In the hard vowel harmony chain, /a/ and // do the same. Furthermore,

    besides the arrows, the letters r are put under repeatable vowels to

    complete our diagrams:

    1. The hard (back) vowel harmony chain: o ur ar r

    2. The thin (front) vowel harmony chain: r er ir As one could see, the two diagrams look exactly like one another. All the

    words in the Turkish language follow either the first or the second harmony

    sequences. The words borrowed from other languages do not follow these

    sequences as expected, but the suffixes that attach to them follow the

    vowels of the last syllables of such words. Consequently, one could build

  • ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR

    20

    up meaningless vowel chains made up of only vowels following the two

    vowel chains: o*u*u*a**a*, o*a**a, **e*e*i, *e*i*e, "***", "o*a" For instance: kom*u*ya (o*u*a); kom*u*lar*dan (o*u*a*a); ge*le*cek*ler (e*e*e*e);

    o*lu*tur*duk*la*r*mz*dan (o*u*u*u*a***a); u*nu*ta*lm (u*u*a*);

    o*ku*la (o*u*a); ten*ce*re*ye (e*e*e*e); ka*a*ma*ya*cak (a*a*a*a*a)

    One could make up Turkish meaningless vowel chains as many as one

    wishes using the vowel chains above. I advise those who are interested in

    learning Turkish to make up meaningles vowel chains like the chains above,

    they should repeat them loudly again and again. In doing so, they can

    memorize the Turkish vowel harmony sequences easily and soundly as they

    learn a piece of music. When they repeat them, they may even feel and

    sound as if they were speaking Turkish.

    As it has already been stated, borrowed words do not follow the vowel

    harmony sequences, but the last syllables of such words attach to suffixes

    in accordance with the vowel and consonant harmony rules:

    patates-ler-i (pa*ta*tes*le*ri) the potatoes; televizyon-u

    (te*le*viz*yo*nu) the television; mandalina-/y/ (man*da*li*

    na*y) the tangerine; sigara-/y/ (si*ga*ra*y) the cigarette.

    The /y/ phonemes used above are glides (semivowels) (consonants) insert-

    ed between two vowels to help them pass the voice from one vowel to the

    following one smoothly and harmoniously. They do not carry meaning.

    One more thing to add to the explanation above is that the words that are

    formed of two separate words do not follow the above vowel harmony se-

    quences, For instance:

    kahverengi (kahve + rengi) brown; buzdolab (buz + dolab) refrige-

    rator; bilgisayar (bilgi + sayar) computer; tavanaras (tavan + aras)

    attic.

    Besides the vowel harmony rules above, there are three more essential

    vowel rules to consider:

    1. The verbs ending with vowels drop these vowels when they attach to

    the allomorphs of [.YOR]. These vowels are double underlined. Besides the

    double underlimed vowels, there are some consonants that are single un-

  • ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR

    21

    derlined which show that they detach from their syllables and attach to the

    first vowels of the following allomorphs to produce new syllables:

    Bekle-i.yor (bek*li*yor); bala-.yor (ba*l*yor); anla-.yor (an*l*yor);

    gizle-i.yor (giz*li*yor); oku-u.yor (o*ku*yor); atla-.yor (at*l*yor)

    ye-i.yor (yi*yor); gzle-.yor (gz*l*yor); gizle-i.yor (giz*li*yor) Gel-i.yor-um (ge*li*yo*rum); yz-.yor-uz (y*z*yo*ruz); i-er-im

    (i*e*rim); yaz-a.cak-m (ya*za*ca*m); yakalan-a.cak-z (ya*ka*la*-

    na*ca*z); gl-er-im (g*le*rim); kork-ar-z (kor*ka*rz) 2. When the last syllables of the nouns (including the infinitives), the verbs,

    and the inflectional morphemes end with vowels, and the first vowels of the

    following allomorphs start with the same vowels, these two vowels combine

    and verbalize as single vowels. For example, when the last vowel of the

    word anne and the first vowel of the allomorph em happen to be

    articulated together, they combine and verbalize as a single vowel: anne-

    em (an*nem). For instance: anne-en (an*nen); tarla-am (tar*lam); araba-an.z (a*ra*ba*nz);

    kafa-an (ka*fan); git-ti-in (git*tin); bekle-di-ik (bek*le*dik); gl-d-

    k (gl*dk); yakala-d-m (ya*ka*la*dm); git-me-em (git*mem);

    al-ma-am (a*l*mam); temizle-en-mek (te*miz*len*mek); Dinle-er

    mi-sin? (din*ler / mi*sin); ol-sa-am (ol*sam), bil-se-em (bil*sem) If the last vowel of a word and the first vowel of an allomorph happen to be

    different, these two vowels are generally linked by the /y/ glides:

    oku-ma-/y/z (o*ku*ma*yz); gel-me-/y/iz (gel*me*yiz); tava-/y/ (ta*va*y), salata-/y/ (sa*la*ta*y), uyku-/y/a (uy*ku*ya).

    CONSONANT HARMONY SEQUENCE Consonants are grouped under two subdivisions: voiced consonants: / b, c, d, g, , j, y, l, m, n, r, v, z /

    unvoiced consonants: / , f, k, p, s, , t / The voiced consonants are the phonemes that are produced by vibrating

    the vocal cords while the breath is passing through the throat. To under-

    stand the voiced and unvoiced difference, first produce the /v/ phoneme,

    which vibrates the vocal cords in your throat, and then, without changing the

    position of your teeth and lips, produce the same sound without vibrating the

    vocal cords to produce the unvoiced /f/ phoneme. In doing this, you feel no

    vibration in your throat. The consonants that vibrate the vocal cords are

    named voiced consonants; the unvoiced consonants do not vibrate

  • ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR

    22

    them. By the way, one should keep in mind that all vowels and voiced con-

    sonants vibrate the vocal cords. The vowels and the voiced consonants,

    which vibrate the vocal cords, are called vocals. Only the unvoiced con-

    sonants do not vibrate them. In Turkish, the voiced consonants are called

    "yumuak (sedal) nszler", and the unvoiced consonants are called

    "sert nszler".

    The /p/, //, /k/, /t/ unvoiced phonemes change into their voiced counter-

    parts /b/, /c/, //, /d/ allophones when they detach from their syllables and

    attach to the first vowels of the [i, , , u], or [e, a] allomorphs: /p/ changes into /b/: kitap-, kitap-a (ki*ta*b, ki*ta*ba), sebep-i, sebep-e

    (se*be*bi, se*be*be), kebap-, kebap-a (ke*ba*b, ke*ba*ba), orap-,

    orap-a (o*ra*b, o*ra*ba), dolap- (do*la*b, do*la*ba), arap-, arap-a

    (a*ra*b, a*ra*ba), hesap-, hesap-a (he*sa:*b, he*sa:*ba). // changes into /c/: aa-, aa-a (a*a*c, a*a*ca), saya-, saya-a

    (sa*ya*c, sa*ya*ca), ama-, ama-a (a*ma*c, a*ma*ca), ayra-, ayra-a

    (ay*ra*c, ay*ra*ca), deme-i, deme-e (de*me*ci, de*me*ce). /k/ changes into //: sokak-, sokak-a (so*ka*, so*ka*a), tabak-, tabak-a

    (ta*ba*, ta*ba*a), krek-i, krek-e (k*re*i, k*re*e), bebek-i, bebek-e

    (be*be*i, be*be*e), kpek-i, kpek-e (k*pe*i, k*pe*e), ayak-, ayak-a

    (a*ya*, a*ya*a), bardak-, bardak-a (bar*da*, bar*da*a). /t/ changes into /d/: adet-i, adet-e (a*de*di, a*de*de), kanat-, kanat-a (ka*-

    na*d, ka*na*da), umut-u, umut-a (u*mu:*du, u*mu:*da), yourt-u, yourt-a

    (yo*ur*du, yo*ur*da). As an exception: sepet-i, sepet-e (se*pe*ti, se*pe*-

    te), nbet-i, nbet-e (n*be*ti, n*be*te). When the nouns or pronouns ending with /p, t, k, / consonants detach from

    their syllables and attach to the first vowels of the [in, n, n, un] allomorphs,

    their last consonants /p, t, k, / change into their voiced counterparts

    /b, d, , c/ respectively. kitap-n (ki*ta*bn), sebep-in (se*be*bin), kebap-n (ke*ba*bn), orap-n

    (o*ra*bn), aa-n (a*a*cn), ama-n (a*ma*cn), sokak-n (so*ka*n),

    krek-in (k*re*in), bebek-in (be*be*in), ayak-n (a*ya*n), kanat-n

    (ka*na*dn), yourt-un (yo*ur*dun). Some /t/ phonemes, however, do not change: hayat (ha*ya:*t), (ha*ya:*ta), (ha*ya:*tn); sanat (san*a*t), (san*a*ta),

    (san*a*tn); sfat (s*fa*t), (s*fa*ta), (s*fa*tn); saat (sa*a*ti), (sa*a*te),

    sa*a*tin); sepet (se*pe*ti), (se*pe*te), (se*pe*tin); glet (g*le*ti),

    (g*le*te), (g*le*tin); demet (de*me*ti), (de*me*te), (de*me*tin).

  • ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR

    23

    The monosyllabic noun roots ending with unvoiced consonants do not

    change when they get the [], [E], [DE], [DEN] and the subject allomorphs:

    ek (eki, eke, ekte, ekten, ekin); sap (sap, sapa, sapta, saptan, sapn); ip

    (ipi, ipe, ipte, ipten, ipin); hap (hap, hapa, hapta, haptan, hapn); tp (tp,

    tpe, tpte, tpten, tpn); top (topu, topa, topta, toptan, topun); sa (sa,

    saa, sata, atan, san); i (ii, ie, ite, iten, iin); g (g, ge,

    gte, gten, gn); ma (ma, maa, mata, matan, man); kk

    (kk, kke, kkte, kkten, kkn); ok (oku, oka, okta, oktan, okun ), yk

    (yk, yke, ykte, ykten, ykn); krk (krk, krke, krkte, krkn); Trk

    (Trk, Trke, Trkte, Trkten, Trkn); at (at, ata, atta, attan, atn); et

    (eti, ete, ette, etten, etin); st (st, ste, stte, stten, stn); ot (otu, ota,

    otta, ottan, otun); kart (kart, karta, kartta, karttan, kartn). However, the final consonants of some monosyllabic nouns do change

    when they are attached only to [i, , , u], [e, a] and [in, n, n, un] allo-

    morphs. They do not change when they are attached to the allomorphs of

    the morphemes of [DE] and [DEN]: but (bu*du), (bu*da), (bu*dun), (but-ta, but-tan); dip (di*bi), (di*be), (di*bin),

    (dip*te), (dip*ten); ok (ou, oa, oun, okta, oktan); gk (g,

    ge, gn, gkte, gkten); kap (kab, kaba, kabn, kapta, kaptan); u

    (ucu, uca, ucun, uta, utan); yurt (yurdu, yurda, yurdun, yurtta, yurttan);

    kurt (kurdu, kurda, kurdun, kurtta, kurttan); tat (tad, tada, tadn, tatta,

    tattan). When [] or [E] morphemes come after the nouns ending with vowels, the /y/

    linking semivowels (glides) are inserted between these two vowels to pro-

    vide harmonious links:

    Testi (tes*ti*/y/i, tes*ti*/y/e); araba (a*ra*ba*/y/, a*ra*ba*/y/a); tarla (tar*-

    la*/y/, tar*la*/y/a); salata (sa*la*ta*/y/, sa*la*ta*/y/a); mart (mar*t*/y/,

    mar*t*/y/a); tava (ta*va*/y/, ta*va*/y/a); teneke (te*ne*ke*/y/i, te*ne*ke-

    */y/e); makara (ma*ka*ra*/y/, ma*ka*ra*/y/a); kundura (kun*du*ra*/y/,

    kun*du*ra*/y/a); kafa (ka*fa*/y/, ka*fa*/y/a); su (su*/y/u, su*/y/a).

    When the nouns ending with vowels are attached to the possesive per-

    sonal allomorphs of [N], [in, n, n, un], which are used in the pos-

    sessive parts of the noun compounds, the /n/ glides are inserted between

    the two vowels, such as:

    araba-/n/n (a*ra*ba*nn)

    testi-/n/in (tes*ti*nin)

    ordu-/n/un (or*du*nun)

  • ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR

    24

    yk-/n/n (y*k*nn)

    sergi-/n/in (ser*gi*nin)

    kafa-/n/n (ka*fa*nn)

    makara-/n/n (ma*ka*ra*nn)

    mart-/n/n (mar*t*nn) However, when pronouns are used in the possessive position, they are suf-

    fixed by the possessive [im, in, un, im, in, n] allomorphs:

    ben-im (be*nim), sen-in (se*nin), o/n/-un (o*/n/un), biz-im (bi*zim), siz-in (si*zin), o/n/-lar-n (o/n/*la*rn) Note: The single underlined consonants in the examples above show the consonants that detach from their syllables, and attach to the first vowels of the following allomorphs to change the morphemes into syllables.

    Exception: su (su*/y/un). Example: (a*ra*ba*/n/n / h*z), (su*/y/un / h*z)

    MORPHEMES AND THEIR ALLOMORPHS

    Morphemes are defined as the smallest meaningful language units in lan-

    guages. For instance, the word um*brel*la has three syllables. None of

    these three syllables are significant units on their own; they have sense only

    when they are articulated or heard together. So, these three syllables form

    a single shortest meaningful unit together, and consequently, umbrella is

    both a morpheme and a word. Such words are called free morphemes.

    However, although the suffixes are also the smallest meaningful units, they

    do not convey any sense unless they are attached to word roots or stems.

    Such morphemes are called bound morphemes.

    All the words have roots or stems like open, soft-en, clean, beauty,

    success, book, etc. Some morphemes (suffixes or prefixes) are attached

    to these roots or stems. For instance, open-ed, clean-ed, success-ful,

    beauti-ful, "whiten-ed" teach-er, ir-respons-ible, un-count-able, un-

    necessari-ly, go-ing, etc. Look at page 396 for roots, stems and verb

    frames.

    As one could see, there are two kinds of suffxes and prefixes in the given

    examples above. Some of these morphemes change the meaning and the

    part of speech they belong with when they are attached to different roots or

    stems. Some others, however, add certain inflectional meanings to verb

    and noun roots or stems such as tense, voice, person, mood, number,

    direction or state without changing their root or stem meanings.

  • ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR

    25

    A morpheme that changes the meaning of a root or stem is called a

    derivational morpheme (yapm eki); the other one, which does not

    change the meaning of a root or stem, is called an inflectional morpheme

    (ekim eki). Both the derivational and inflectional morphemes are bound

    morphemes. Some bound morphemes (suffixes in Turkish) have different pronunciation

    variants that bear the same meanings as the morphemes. For instance, in

    English, when the plural [S] morpheme is attached to the noun book, it is

    pronounced as /s/; in boy-s as /z/; and in box-es as /iz/. As they are the

    different pronunciation variants of the same morpheme [S], they are named

    as the allomorphs of the morpheme [S].

    There are a lot more allomorphs in Turkish than there are in English. This

    is because bound morphemes go through some vowel and consonant

    changes according to the vowel and consonant rules of the Turkish lan-

    guage when they are attached to roots or stems and to one another, and this

    process causes different allomorphs to arise. All the allomorphs of a certain

    morpheme carry the same meaning vocalizing differently, and therefore

    they do not change the meaning of the morphemes because the Turkish

    sound system functions independently of the Turkish morphemic system.

    THE DERIVATIONAL MORPHEMES AND THEIR ALLOMORPHS

    Anlaml Yapm Ekleri Ve Onlarn Altbiimbirimleri Derivational morphemes (suffixes) are bound morphemes that change the

    lexical meaning or the part of speech of a word used in a sentence: MORPHEMES ATTACHED TO NOUNS THAT PRODUCE OTHER NOUNS [C] allomorphs: [ci, c, c, cu, i, , , u] When the nouns ending with vocals (vowels or voiced consonants) are at-

    tached to the morpheme [C], the /i/ vowel in this morpheme changes into /i,

    , , u/ in accordance with the vowel harmony rules. However, if a noun ends

    with an unvoiced consonant, the /c/ voiced consonants also change into the

    // unvoiced consonants in agreement with the consonant harmony rules: peynir-ci (cheese seller), posta-c (postman), zm-c (grapes seller), tur-

    u-cu (pickles seller), sepet-i (basket maker), balk- (fisherman), st-

    (milkman), ok-u (archer), a- (cook), kale-ci (goal-keeper), kahve-ci (cof-

    fee seller), saat-i (watch repairer or seller), mobilya-c (furniture seller), ka-

    ak- (smuggler), musluk-u (plumber), yaban-c (foreigner), iek-i

    (florist), yol-cu (traveler), sanat- (artist), gz-c (watch, watchman), sz-

    c (spokesman), politika-c (politician), milliyet-i (nationalist), di-i (den-

  • ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR

    26

    tist), kira-c (tenant), ark-c (singer), brek-i (someone who sells pies),

    boya-c (painter), demir-ci (blacksmith), halter-ci (weight lifter). [LK] allomorphs: [lik, lk, lk, luk]

    meyve-lik (a bowl where fruit is kept), kitap-lk (bookcase), gz-lk (eye-

    glasses), odun-luk (a place where firewood is kept), az-lk (cigarette

    holder), kulak-lk (headphones), aydan-lk (tea pot), mezar-lk (grave-

    yard), eker-lik (a bowl in which candies are kept), okevli-lik (polygamy),

    tuz-luk (saltshaker), ocuk-luk (childhood), maskara-lk (farce, foolery),

    soytar-lk (clowning), dost-luk (friendship), dman-lk (enmity), gece-lik

    (pajamas, nightgown), n-lk (apron), gven-lik (safety), anne-lik (moth-

    erhood), evlat-lk (adopted child), kahraman-lk (heroism).

    [C-LK] allomorphs: [ci.lik, c.lk, c.lk, cu.luk, i.lik, .lk, .lk, u.luk]

    av-c.lk (hunting), meyve-ci.lik (selling fruit), n-c.lk (leadership), yol-cu-

    luk (traveling), a-.lk (cooking), fal-c.lk (fortune telling), tefe-ci.lik

    (usury), iek-i.lik (selling flowers), if-i.lik (farming), hava-c.lk (aviation),

    balk-.lk (fishing), kaak-.lk (smuggling), p-.lk (scavenge)

    [CK] allomorphs: [cik, ck, ck, cuk, ik, k, k, uk] (diminutive)

    ev-cik (small house), kap-ck (small door), kpr-ck (small bridge), kutu-

    cuk (small box), eek-ik (small donkey), aa-k (small tree), kadn-ck

    (little woman), tosun-cuk (big and healthy newborn baby).

    [CE.IZ] allomorphs: [ce.iz, ca.z, e.iz, a.z] (innocence)

    kedi-ce.iz (innocent cat), kz-ca.z (innocent girl), hayvan-ca.z (inno-

    cent animal), kpek-e.iz (innocent dog), ku-a.z (innocent bird).

    [CE] allomorphs: [ce, ca, e, a]

    ngiliz-ce (English), Alman-ca (German), Trk-e (Turkish), Rus-a (Rus-

    sian), spanyol-ca (Spanish), Japon-ca (Japanese), in-ce (Chinese),

    Arap-a (Arabic), Fransz-ca (French), talyan-ca (Italian), Rum-ca (Greek).

    MORPHEMES ATTACHED TO NOUNS THAT PRODUCE ADJECTIVES

    [CL] allomorphs: [cil, cl, cl, cul, il, l, l, ul]

    ev-cil (domestic), insan-cl (humane), ben-cil (selfish), ot-ul (herbivorous)

  • ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR

    27

    [L] allomorphs: [li, l, l, lu]

    ev-li (married), ocuk-lu (with children), emsiye-li (with an umbrella), bah-

    e-li ev (house with a garden), iyah ceket-li adam (the man in a black

    coat), krmz-l kadn (the woman in red), grg-l (having good manners,

    polite), iek-li aa (a tree in blossom), yamur-lu (rainy), kar-l (snowy),

    sis-li (foggy, misty), gne-li (sunny), bulut-lu (cloudy), tuz-lu (salty), at-l

    (man on horseback), istek-li (willing), becerik-li (skillful), amur-lu (muddy),

    hesap-l (economical), sayg-l (respectful), su-lu (criminal), hata:-l

    (faulty), tat-l (sweet), mayo-lu (in a bathing suit), st-l (with milk, milky),

    paha-l (expensive), ta kafa-l (stone headed), Adana-l (from Adana),

    srek-li (continuous), hiddet-li (outrageous), kl-l (hairy), bilin-li (inten-

    tional, conscious), zarar-l (harmful), tehlike-li (dangerous), phe-li (suspi-

    cious, suspect), yer-li (native), iki bacak-l (two legged), kanat-l (winged),

    kayg-l (anxious), umut-lu (hopeful), gerek-li (necessary), yetenek-li (tal-

    ented), bam-l (addicted, dependent), silah-l (armed), renk-li (colored),

    kr-l (profitable), zehir-li (poisonous), denge-li (balanced), nee-li (joyful),

    kusur-lu (faulty), grlt-l (noisy), deer-li (precious), gerek-li (neces-

    sary), dnce-li (thoughtful), yrek-li (brave), ayrnt-l (detailed, in detail),

    sorum-lu (responsible), mantk-l (rational), g-l (strong), rt-l (cov-

    ered), his-li (sensitive), hrs-l (ambitious), hz-l (fast), tertip-li (tidy), tuz-lu

    (salty), buz-lu (icy), amur-lu (muddy), kir-li (dirty), pasak-l (untidy), kor-

    ku-lu (frightening, scary), hak-l (right, fair), kast-l (intentional), hesap-l

    (economical), meme-li (mammal), tecrbe-li, deneyim-li (experienced),

    falso-lu (erroneous), kasvet-li (gloomy, doleful), kuku-lu (dubious, sus-

    picious), onur-lu, gurur-lu (proud), dayank-l (durable), dikkat-li (care-

    ful), becerik-li (skillful), yama-l (patchy), dokunak-l (pungent), grev-li

    (on duty), yarar-l (useful), karar-l (firm, determined), grkem-li (magnif-

    icent), atafat-l (pompous), akl-l (intelligent), rahmet-li (deceased), ya-l

    (aged) dert-li (in trouble, miserable), eker-li (sweet), su-lu (saucy), fayda-

    l (useful), gizem-li (mysterious), korku-lu (frightening, horrifying), duygu-lu

    (emotional, sensitive), heyecan-l (exciting, nervous), tertip-li (tidy), ileri

    gr-l (foreseeing), huzur-lu (peaceful), keyif-li (cheerful), yetki-li (au-

    thorized), balant-l (related, agglutinative), boya-l (painted), cila-l (ci*-

    l:*l) (finished, varnished), cilt-li (hardback), yay-l (with springs), ayrnt-l

    (detailed, in detail), l-l (restrained), g-l (strong), tr-l tr-l (all

    sorts of), besbel-li (obvious), isabet-li (i*sa:*bet*li) (right, to the purpose),

    geer-li (valid), baar-l (successful), inan-l (believer), diren-li (resis-

    tive), kant-l (proven, supported by evidence), yn-l (woollen), pamuk-lu

    (cotton), ate-li (fiery, zealous), izgi-li (lined, striped), yldz-l (starry, star-

    lit), boya-l (painted), kyma-l brek (mince pie), gne-li (sunny), toz-lu

  • ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR

    28

    (dusty), aa-l (wooded), iek-li (flowered), desen-li (patterned, figured),

    yaldz-l (gilded), ss-l (ornamented), kymet-li (precious, valuable), kuy-

    ruk-lu (tailed), zahmet-li (difficult, hard), temkin-li (cautious).

    [SZ] allomorphs: [siz, sz, sz, suz]

    korku-suz (fearless), istek-siz (unwilling), yamur-suz (rainless), aa-

    sz (treeless), defo-suz (flawless), uyku-suz (sleepless), bilin-siz

    (unconscious), karar-sz (hesitant), sorum-suz (irresponsible), dikkat-siz

    (careless), ama-sz (aimless), kalp-siz (heartless), yrek-siz (timid), nee-

    siz (ne*e*siz) (sad), mit-siz, umut-suz (desperate, hopeless), taban-sz

    (timid), sayg-sz (disrespectful), mantk-sz (irrational), temel-siz (unsound,

    baseless), renk-siz (colorless), gerek-siz (unnecessary), bam-sz (inde-

    pendent), perva:-sz (reckless), kafa-sz (stupid), sevgi-siz (loveless),

    terbiye-siz (impolite, rude), grg-sz (impolite), becerik-siz (incompe-

    tent), imkn-sz (impossible), deer-siz (worthless), ses-siz (silent), eker-

    siz (without sugar), gerek-siz (unnecessary), dnce-siz (thoughtless),

    sorum-suz (irresponsible), mesnet-siz (baseless), tasa-sz (carefree),

    ahlk-sz (immoral), yz-sz (impudent), huy-suz (perverse), akl-sz

    (foolish), dayanak-sz (baseless), dayank-sz (not durable), duygu-suz

    (senseless), kusur-suz (faultless), ta:lih-siz (unfortunate), kymet-siz

    (worthless), tehlike-siz (safe), tat-sz (tasteless), haya-sz (shameless,

    impudent), tertip-siz (untidy), yarar-sz (useless), tutar-sz. (inconsistent),

    ama-sz (aimless), deer-siz (worthless), zarar-sz (harmless), koku-suz

    (odorless), neden-siz (causeless), acma-sz (merciless), taraf-sz (impar-

    tial), yetenek-siz (incompetent), su-suz (innocent), denge-siz (unbal-

    anced), keyif-siz (low-spirited), kayg-sz (indifferent), tasa-sz (carefree),

    deneyim-siz (inexperienced), kuku-suz (without doubt), uygun-suz

    (inappropriate), surat-sz (sour faced), denge-siz (unbalanced), kontrol-

    suz (uncontrolled), kymet-siz (worthless), anlam-sz (insignificant, non-

    sense), eitim-siz (uneducated), bilgi-siz (ignorant), inan-sz (faithless),

    huzur-suz (fidgety), annes-siz (motherless), leke-siz (stainless), kayg-sz

    (without anxiety), denge-siz (unbalanced), uyum-suz (unharmonious).

    [SEL] allomorphs: [sel, sal]

    bilim-sel (scientific), evren-sel (universal), deney-sel (experimental, empir-

    ical), yzey-sel (superficial), duygu-sal (emotional, sensational), sanat-sal

    (artistic), yap-sal (structural), gelenek-sel (traditional), dn-sel (mental),

    tarih-sel (historical), tarih (historic), kavram-sal (conceptual), kimya-sal

    (chemical), fizik-sel (physical), ant-sal (monumental), yaam-sal (vital),

    din-sel (religious), ulus-sal (u*lu*sal) (national), evre-sel (environmental),

  • ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR

    29

    kalt-sal (hereditary), onur-sal (honorary), bitki-sel (herbal), hayvan-sal

    (zoological), tarm-sal (agricultural), us-sal (us*sal) (mental, rational), tanr-

    sal (divine, celestial), yrnge-sel (orbital), kurum-sal (institutional, corpo-

    rate), kamu-sal (public), kre-sel (global, spherical), kr-sal (rural), rgt-

    sel (organizational), toplum-sal (social, common), belge-sel (documental),

    kurgu-sal (fictional), ruh-sal (psychological), beden-sel (corporal), birey-

    sel (individual), alg-sal (perceptual), say-sal (numerical, digital), simge-

    sel (symbolic).

    MORPHEMES ATTACHED TO ADJECTIVES THAT PRODUCE NOUNS

    [LK] allomorphs: [lik, lk, lk, luk] (iyi-lik = iyilik), (scak-lk= scaklk)

    iyi-lik (favor), scak-lk (temperature), zgr-lk (freedom), uzun-luk

    (length), geni-lik (width), gzel-lik (beauty), irkin-lik (ugliness), drst-

    lk (honesty), aptal-lk (stupidity), sessiz-lik (silence), evli-lik (marriage),

    baya-lk (meanness), iyimser-lik (optimism), ktmser-lik (pessimism),

    uak-lk (servitude), yalnz-lk (loneliness), misafirsever-lik (hospitality),

    kahraman-lk (heroism), vatansever-lik (patriotism), kaba-lk (rudeness),

    duygusal-lk (sensitivity), dost-luk (frienship), kepaze-lik (scandal), ret-

    ken-lik (productivity), kresel-lik (globalism), aalk kompleksi (inferiority

    complex), arsz-lk (impudence), geveze-lik (chattering), dncesiz-lik

    (inconsiderateness), mutsuz-luk (unhappiness), a-lk (hunger, starvation),

    g-lk (difficulty), saydam-lk (transparency), utanga-lk (shyness),

    uzak-lk (distance), yakn-lk (closeness, sympathy), kstah-lk (insolence),

    kurak-lk (drought), rkek-lik (shyness), sersem-lik (dizziness), hovarda-

    lk (debauchery), alkan-lk (addiction), yksek-lik (height), derin-lik

    (depth), krmz-lk (redness), kt-lk (wickedness, evil), kurnaz-lk

    (craftiness), drst-lk (honesty), karamsar-lk (moodiness), kolay-lk

    (ease, facility), tembel-lik (lazyness), kira-lk (ki*ra:*lk) (to let, for

    hire) zel-lik (speciality), zgn-lk (originality, genuineness), kararsz-lk

    (hesitation, uncertainty, instability, inconsistency), bol-luk (abundance),

    srekli-lik (continuity), kararl-lk (determination), avare-lik (a:*va:*re*lik)

    (idleness), yzeysel-lik (shallowness, superficiality), kt-lk (famine), sarkn-

    t-lk (molestation), kibar-lk (kindness, politeness), dayankl-lk (durability),

    bo-luk (emptiness), yok-luk (poverty, absence, nonexistence), yal-lk

    (agedness), sorumlu-luk (responsibility), sorumsuz-luk (irresponsibility),

    gayretke-lik (zeal), vurdumduymaz-lk (callousness), tutarsz-lk (incon-

    sistency), deli-lik (madness), bilgisiz-lik (cahil-lik) (ignorance), benzer-lik (resemblance), karamsar-lk (moodiness), gzel-lik (beauty), kzgn-lk

  • ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR

    30

    (anger), bak-lk (immunity), dman-lk (enmity, hostility), budala-lk,

    ahmak-lk (stupidity, idiocy).

    MORPHEMES ATTACHED TO VERBS THAT PRODUCE NOUNS

    In agreement with the oral sequence of the Turkish sound system, the last

    consonants of the last syllables of the verbs detach from their syllables,

    and attach to the first vowels of the following derivational allomorphs while

    forming new syllables. These consonants are single underlined.

    [] allomorphs: [i, , , u] (diz-i = dizi), (yaz- = yaz) diz-i (di*zi) (string, chain, serial, sequence ), yaz- (ya*z) (script, text), l-

    (l*) (measurement, size), ko-u (ko*u) (run), duy-u (du*yu) (sense),

    gez-i (ge*zi) (trip), a- (a*) (angle), yap- (ya*p) (building), tak- (ta*k)

    (jewelry, jewels), drt- (dr*t) (stimulus), tart- (tar*t) (scales), art- (ar*t)

    (plus), baar- (ba*a*r) (success), kork-u (kor*ku) (fear), sor-u (so*ru)

    (question), rt- (r*t) (any cloth covering), at- (a*t) (framework), yet-i

    (ye*ti) (mental power, faculty), yat- (ya*t) (overnight stay), l- (*l),

    (corpse), gm- (g*m) (treasure), kok-u (ko-ku) (scent, smell, aroma,

    perfume), bl- (b*l) (slash mark), dinlet-i (concert), gldr- (comedy)

    do-u (do*u) (east), bat- (ba*t) (west), arp- (cross, times), bl- (b*l)

    [M] allomorphs: [im, m, m, um, em, am] se-im (se*im) (election), al-m (a*lm) (purchase), l-m (*lm) (death),

    yk-m (y*km) (disaster, demolition), yut-um (yu*dum) (gulp), ek-im

    (e*kim) (October), ak-m (a*km) (current), ret-im (*re*tim) (production),

    geli-im (ge*li*im) (improvement), kar-m (ka*r*m) (mixture), dn-

    m (d*n*m) (transformation), ek-im (e*kim) (attraction), geril-im

    (ge*ri*lim) (tension), tasar-m (ta*sa*rm) (plan, design), kavra-am (kav-

    *ram) (concept), denkle-em (denk*lem) (equation), ekle-em (ek*lem) (joint),

    tket-im (t*ke*tim) (consumption), yakla-m (yak*la*m) (approach),

    benze-im (ben*ze*im) (similarity, resemblance), ileti-im (i*le*ti*im)

    (communication), bili-im (bi*li*im) (informatics), de/y/-im (de*yim)

    (expression, idiom), say-m (sa*ym) (census), giy-im (gi*yim) (clothing),

    z-m (*zm) (solution), ky-m (k*ym) (massacre), al-m (a**lm)

    (expansion), yatr-m (ya*t*rm) (investment), al-m, sat-m (a*lm, sa*tm)

    (buying and selling, trade, commerce), giy-im (gi*yim) (attire), salk-m (sal*-

    km) (bunch), bir salkm zm (a bunch of grapes), uy-um (u*yum) (ac-

    cordance). dn-em (d*nem) (period), yaa-am (ya*am) (life), anla-am

    (an*lam) (meaning), devin-im (de*vi*nim) (movement), dene-/y/im (de*ne*-

    yim) (experience), gzle-em (gz*lem) (observation), syle-em (sy*lem)

    (expression), ge-im (ge*im) (living), iz-im (i*zim) (drawing, design),

  • ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR

    31

    al-m (a*lm) (feint), al-m (a*lm) (purchase), sr-m (sale), yatr-m

    (ya*t*rm) (investment), yalt-m (ya*l*tm) (insulation). When the identical vowels written in bold face follow one another, they

    combine and are pronounced as single vowels; and the single underlined

    consonants detach from their syllables and attach to the first vowels of the

    following allomorphs in agreement with the oral sequence of the Turkish

    sound system.

    [K] allomorphs: [ik, k, k, uk, ek, ak] del-ik (de*lik) (hole), art-k (ar*tk) (left over), ksr-k (k*s*rk)

    (cough tkr-k (t*k*rk) (spit, saliva), aksr-k (ak*s*rk) (sneeze),

    bula-k (bu*la*k) (dirty dishes), kayna-ak (kay*nak) (source, spring,

    origin), belle-ek (bel*lek) (memory), tara-ak (ta*rak) (comb), yama-ak

    (ya*mak) (apprentice), de-ek (d*ek) (mattress), kapa-ak (ka*pak) (lid),

    e-ik (e*ik) (threshold), dene-ek (de*nek) (experimental subject, object, or

    animal), tekerle-ek (te*ker*lek) (wheel), kay-k (ka*yk) (boat), bat-k

    (ba*tk) (submerged), iz-ik (i*zik) (scratch), atla-ak (at*lak) (crack).

    [EK] allomorphs: [ek, ak] Tapn-ak (ta*p*nak) (temple), kay-ak (ka*yak) (ski), sa-ak (sa*ak)

    (fringe), u-ak (u*ak) (airplane), yat-ak (ya*tak) (bed), ka-ak (ka*ak)

    (escaped), dayan-ak (da*ya*nak) (support), kes-ek (ke*sek) (a lump of

    earth), l-ek (l*ek) (scale), ben-ek (be*nek) (spot), dn-ek (d*nek)

    (someone whom you cannot trust, incredulous), yan-ak (ya*nak) (cheek),

    dzen-ek (d*ze*nek) (mechanism), geve-ek (loose), kayna-ak (source).

    [G] allomorphs: [gi, g, g, gu, ki, k, k, ku]

    sev-gi (love, affection); al-g (music instrument); sr-g (bolt); sor-gu

    (interrogation); bas-k (pressure); as-k (hanger); r-g (knitting); gr-g

    (good manners); dol-gu (filling); ver-gi (tax); et-ki (impression); sar-g (ban-

    dage); ser-gi (exhibition); ez-gi (melody); say-g (respect); yanl-g (mis-

    take); vur-gu (accent, stress); kur-gu (abstract thought, speculation); yer-gi

    (satire); der-gi (periodical, magazine); yar-g (judgment); yaz-g (fate, des-

    tiny); ol-gu (fact); duy-gu (sensation); i-ki (alcoholic beverage, drink); at-k

    (scarf); et-ki (impression, stimulus); kat-k (aid, help, additive); gr-g (ex-

    perience, good manners); kork-ku (fright) (The double underlined "k"

    drops.); yet-ki (authority); co-ku (excitement); tep-ki (response, rea-

    ction); al-g (perception); sal-g (secretion); kes-ki (chisel); tut-ku (ambi-

    tion, passion); sez-gi (intuition); iz-gi (line); diz-gi (composition, string);

    bit-ki (plant); bul-gu (discovery, finding).

  • ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR

    32

    [E] allomorphs: [e, a]

    sr-e (s*re) (process, procedure), tk-a (t*ka) (plug, wag, stoppage),

    deme-e (de*me) (statement), sark-a (sar*ka) (pendulum), ayr-a

    (ay*ra) (bracket). [EY] allomorphs: [ey, ay] dene-ey (de*ney) (experiment), yap-ay (ya*pay) (artificial), ol-ay (o*lay)

    (event), d-ey (d*ey) (vertical), yat-ay (ya*tay) (horizontal), yz-ey

    (y*zey) (surface), uza-ay (u*zay) (space).

    [.C] allomorphs: [i.ci, .c, .c, u.cu]

    Dinle-/y/i.ci (din*le*yi*ci) (listener), sat-.c (sa*t*c) (seller), yz-.c

    (y*z*c) (swimmer), ko-u.cu (ko*u*cu) (runner), bl-.c (b*l*c)

    (separatist), tara-/y/.c (ta*ra*y*c) (scanner), al-.c (a*l*c) (receiver),

    bak-.c (ba*k*c) (companion), bebek bakcs (baby sitter), tut-u.cu

    (tu*tu*cu) (conservative), kal-.c (ka*l*c) (lasting, durable) (adj), yaz-.c

    (ya*z*c) (printer), doyur-u.cu (do*yu*ru*cu) (satisfactory) (adj), inandr-.c

    (i*nan*d*r*c) (persuasive) (adj), ldr-.c (l*d*r*c) (adj) (deadly,

    fatal). If a verb ends with vowel, and the allomorph starts with a different

    vowel, the /y/ glide is inserted between these vowels by the oral sequence.

    [E.CEK] allomorphs: [e.cek, a.cak]

    sil-e.cek (si*le*cek) (wiper), gel-e.cek (ge*le*cek) (future), a-a.cak

    (a*a*cak) (opener), ek-e.cek (e*ke*cek) (shoehorn), yak-a.cak

    (ya*ka*cak) (fuel).

    [MEK] allomorphs: [mek, mak]

    ye-mek (meal), ak-mak (lighter), ek-mek (bread), kay-mak (cream)

    [ME] allomorphs: [me, ma] dondur-ma (ice cream), dol-ma (green peppers, eggplants or marrows

    stuffed with mince, rice, etc.), kavur-ma (fried pieces of meat), hala-ma

    (boiled meat), dene-me (essay), dv-me (tattoo), as-ma (vine), kaz-ma

    (pickax), aydnlan-ma (enlightenment). ky-ma (ky*ma) (minced meat), in-

    me (in*me) (stroke), bas-ma (bas*ma) (printed cloth), yz-me (yz*me) [K] allomorphs: [ik, k, k, uk, ek, ak] kes-ik (ke*sik) (cut), k-k (*kk) (dislocated joint), yar-k (ya*rk) (slash),

    iz-ik (i*zik) (scratch), r-k (*rk) (decay), sar-k (sa*rk) (turban),

  • ENGLISH TURKISH GRAMMAR

    33

    kaz-k (ka*zk) (stake, unreasonably expensive), yrt-k (yr*tk) (tear), del-

    ik (de*lik) (hole) ele-ek (e*lek) (sieve), ada-ak (a*dak) (oblation), kay-ak

    (ka*yak) (ski). [CE] allomorphs: [ce, ca] dn-ce (d*n*ce) (thought), elen-ce (e*len*ce) (ent