Tips and notes 1HOŞ GELDINIZ! WELCOME!

Turkish, unlike many Indo-European languages, contains no articles at all! Surprisingly simple, right? Turkish does have its own little quirks that will make it a challenge.

Word OrderTurkish is a Subject-Object-Verb language, meaning that sentences take on a different word order than that of English, French, German, or most other languages that English speakers most commonly study. That being said, a background in Japanese, Korean, or Hungarian will prove very useful. The verb always comes at the end of the sentence in written Turkish (spoken Turkish allows for some flexibility).For example: Ben gazete okurum. Literally “I newspaper read.”, meaning, “I read newspapers.”

Verb TensesThe Turkish language does distinguish between a “present continuous” and a “simple present” tense. In this lesson, we have included the “simple present” form of a few verbs, but this will be taught later in greater detail. This means that there is a difference in the sentences:I eat a sandwich. (present simple) I am eating a sandwich. (present continuous)Be careful while you are translating, because this does make a difference, just like in English!

PronounsThe Turkish pronouns are as follows:

Singular Plural

1st Person Ben Biz

2nd Person Sen Siz

3rd Person O Onlar

Siz behaves just like vous in French, serving both as you (plural) and you (formal).

ArticlesThere are no articles in Turkish! The number one (bir) is sometimes used to distinguish between the/a(n). However, if a noun is in the subject position, there is no way to tell! Cool, right? This being said, if the noun is in the object position, Turkish does distinguish between the/a(n). In this lesson, we will only use a(n) in the object position, but we will teach you in the Accusative skill how to do it the other way.

CommandsForming the informal imperative form in Turkish is extremely simple. All you have to do is use the root form of the verb. More information about the formal imperative can be found in the skill “to be.” Here are the two verb in this lesson in their dictionary (infinitive) and informal imperative forms:

Infinitive English Inf. Imp. English

yemek to eat Ye! Eat!

içmek to drink İç! Drink!

Tips and notes 2Adjectives and all modifiers in Turkish must always come before the nouns that they modify when they

operate as modifiers. This does not stand true if it is used as a predicate adjective with the verb “to be” in English (e.g. The dog is happy). If you use the number bir as an article, this will come directly before the noun. For example:

soğuk elma --The cold applesoğuk bir elma -- A cold appleElma soğuk -- The apple is cold.

Adjectives are also not declined according to gender and number like what is common to many European languages. This means that adjectives behave pretty close to their English counterparts and shouldn’t pose too big of a challenge.

Tips and notes 3General Direct Objects

Selam!In Turkish, if you have a general direct object, there is no need to put any case or suffix on the object itself. A general direct object is one that uses “a/an” or the plural without “the.” If you want to be extra specific, you can add the numeral bir to makes sure that the meaning “a/an” is given. For example:

Turkish English

O portakal yer. He/She/It eats oranges or He/She/It eats an orange.

O bir portakal yer. He/She/It eats an orange.

Just keep in mind, "O portakallar yer" is simply wrong in Turkish.Happy Learning!

Tips and notes 4

Welcome to your second of the 7 cases in Turkish. You have already been using the nominative case to describe subjects and some objects. The accusative case in Turkish is used to mark specific direct objects. What does this mean exactly? A specific direct object is one that uses the article the. For example:

Turkish English

Ben gazete okurum. I read newspapers. or I read a newspaper.

Ben gazeteyi okurum. I read the newspaper.

Ben bir gazete okurum. I read a newspaper.

As you can see above, the accusative is only used when referring to the newspaper. Now, how do we form the accusative case? This is will bring you to one of the funnest aspects of the Turkish language, vowel harmony.

Vowel HarmonyIn Turkish, vowels within a (native) word and any suffixes that are attached to said word must obey vowel harmony rules. This means that vowels tend to either be the same or similar, making words easier to pronounce than they may look. There are two types of vowel harmony in Turkish, 4-way and 2-way. The accusative case uses 4-way vowel harmony. In order to figure out what may go on the end, you will have to look at the final vowel in the word.

Turkish Accusative Suffix

ö, ü -(y)ü

o,u -(y)u

e,i -(y)i

a,ı -(y)ı

If the noun ends in a vowel, you have to insert the buffer letter y. Here are some examples:

Turkish, Nominative Turkish, Accusative English

elma elmayı apple

gazete gazeteyi newspaper

süt sütü milk

limon limonu lemon

Consonant MutationsThere is one final thing to talk about in terms of the accusative case. That would be your first taste of consonant mutations, often called consonant harmony. Consonants often change at the end of words depending on if it is followed by a vowel or a consonant. If they are followed by a vowel, they will generally change into voiced consonants. For example:

Turkish, Nominative Turkish, Accusative English

kitap kitabı book

ağaç ağacı tree

köpek köpeği dog

This means:p → bt → dk → ğç → c

This rule in general does not affect single syllable words, but there are exceptions of course. You will even come across exceptions to vowel harmony in loanwords from Arabic, Farsi, and French. These must be learned as you encounter them. In the meantime, happy learning and kolay gelsin.

Tips and notes 5Plural SuffixForming the plural in Turkish is simple compared to the Accusative case. It is formed using the suffix -lAr. Now you might be thinking, “what is that capital A doing there?” to which we respond with 2-way vowel harmony.This is the other form of vowel harmony found in Turkey suffixes. Basically if the final vowel is front (i, e, ü, ö) use -ler. If it is back (a, ı, o, u), use the suffix -lar. This rule along with the rule for 4-way vowel harmony will be used in several suffixes across Turkish grammar, so try to get used to it now.Here are some examples:

Turkish, Nominative English Turkish, Plural English

ayı bear ayılar bears

kuş bird kuşlar birds

kurbağa frog kurbağalar frogs

köpek dog köpekler dogs

hindi turkey hindiler turkeys

menü menu menüler menus

Tips and notes 6CopulaThere are a few ways to say “to be” in Turkish depending on what you are saying. This is shocking since there is not actual verb “to be.” A suffix is used to form “to be” in the present tense. The suffixes are as follows:

Suffix Person/Number Example English

-(y)Im 1st sing. (Ben) mutluyum. I am happy.

-sIn 2nd sing. (Sen) mutlusun. You are happy.

∅, -DIr 3rd sing O mutlu. He/She/It is happy.

-(y)Iz 1st pl. (Biz) mutluyuz. We are happy.

-sInIz 2nd pl. (Siz) mutlusunuz. You are happy.

∅, -DIr 3rd pl. Onlar mutlu/mutludur. They are happy.

-lAr, -DIrlAr 3rd pl. (Onlar) mutlular/mutludurlar. They are happy.

There are a few points to talk about in the above chart.1) All except the 3rd person pl. suffix follow 4-way vowel harmony.2) In the 1st person, you will see a buffer “-y-” be used if the adjective or noun ends in a vowel.3) The suffix -DIr is used to clarify any ambiguity, emphasize, or state facts. This both follows 4-way vowel harmony and has consonant harmony; ‘d’ changes to ‘t’ after the following consonants (p ç t k s ş h f).4) The suffix -lAr is optional in the 3rd person pl. However, it is only optional when referring to people. This suffix may not be used for items and animals. Only humans!

Be as a CommandTo for “be” as a command in Turkish, the stem of the verb olmak, which means “to become.” All you have to do is take off the -mak and you have the command for “ol.” To make it formal, add the ending -In, which according to 4-way vowel harmony, comes out as “olun.” This same sufix gets added to all verbs to make formal commands.Tips and notes 7

Possessive SuffixesPossessive Determiners ( my, your, his, her, its, our, and their) are represented by a set of suffixes, all of which follow 4-way vowel harmony, where applicable. These suffixes are as follows:

Sing. Plural

1st Person -(I)m -(I)mIz

2nd Person -(I)n -(I)nIz

3rd Person -(s)I -(s)I

Some of the suffixes have buffer vowels (or in the case of the 3rd person, a buffer consonant). These means that the suffixes gain the buffer vowel when the root ends in consonant and do not have it when the root ends in a vowel. For the 3rd person suffix, the buffer s will be added when the root ends in a vowel and will be omitted when it ends in a consonant. This may seem a little confusing, but it is extremely simple with practice. The same consonant harmony that we talked about in the accusative skill will occur with the possessive suffixes as well Now let’s see these in real use. This chart will give an example of a word that ends in a vowel:

Turkish English

(Benim) kedim My cat

(Senin) kedin Your cat

(Onun) kedisi His/Her/Its cat

(Bizim) kedimiz Our cat

(Sizin) kediniz Your cat

(Onların) kedisi Their cat

This chart gives an example of a word that ends in a consonant:

Turkish English

(Benim) aslanım My lion

(Senin) aslanın Your lion

(Onun) aslanı His/Her/Its lion

(Bizim) aslanımız Our lion

(Sizin) aslanınız Your lion

(Onların) aslanı Their lion

When you own multiples of the same thing, you will use the plural suffix. The plural suffix comes before the possessive suffixes. For example:

Turkish English

(Benim) pastalarım My cakes

(Onun) limonları His/Her/Its lemons

(Sizin) portakallarınız Your oranges

If you attach any other case suffix to a noun with a possessive suffix, it will always come after the possessive suffix. They will also obey vowel harmony according to the last vowel in the whole word. If you add a case to a noun with the 3rd person possessive suffix, it will always have a buffer -n-. This buffer -n- can lead to ambiguities with the second person possessive suffix. Here are some examples of nouns in the accusative case with a possessive suffix:

Turkish w/o Accusative Turkish w/ Accusative English

(Benim) adım (Benim) adımı My name

(Onun) kahveleri (Onun) kahvelerini His/Her/Its coffees

(Senin) kahvelerin (Senin) kahvelerini Your coffees

Genitive Case

The genitive case is expressed with the suffix -(n)In in Turkish. This case is used to show possession. The buffer -n- must be added to roots that end in a vowel. For example:

Selcen’s dog: Selcen’in köpeğiÖzge’s cats: Özge’nin kedileri

Notice: Possessors get the genitive case ending. Possesees get the possessive suffixes. Pay attention to this! Look at the above tables to get a full list of the pronouns in the genitive case.If you want to say something like “your cats’ food,” this would have both the personal suffix and the genitive case. The translation to this is “kedilerinin yemeği.” This is ambiguous (remember, it can be your cats or his/her/its cats.

To HaveTurkish has a verb for "to have" (sahip olmak) but that's rarely used and will be taught in a future skill. We mostly use just possessive + var to say "X has Y" and possessive + yok to say "X does not have Y".

For example:Selcen has a dog: Selcen’in köpeği varÖzge has cats: Özge’nin kedileri varI do not have water: Benim suyum yokYou do not have milk: Senin sütün yok

Tips and notes 8

The dative case in Turkish is normally used to describe indirect objects and motions towards a place. The dative pronouns in Turkish are as follows:

Sing. Plural

1st Person bana bize

2nd Person sana size

3rd Person ona onlara

They generally have the meaning of “to me,” “to you,” etc. If you “are reading to me,” “speaking to me,” or “coming to me” Turkish would use the dative pronoun.For example: O bize gazeteyi okur. “He/She/It reads the newspaper to us” OR “He/She/It reads us the newspaper.”

These pronouns and this case are used for more things in Turkish, but we will cover that when we get to the Dative skill. Until then, kolay gelsin!

Tips and notes 9

QuestionsTurkish question words do not undergo the same movement that they do in English (notice...questions words almost always are at the beginning of questions in English). Instead, they keep put in the place that naturally occur in the sentence-form of the question. For example, imagine that you are surprised while asking the question “Where did you buy the present?” You might exclaim, “You bought the present WHERE?!” Turkish maintains this position in sentences.

Do not forget Turkish is a SOV language. This means that verbs are always at the end if the sentence contains a verb.Good luck and happy learning!

Tips and notes 10

The locative case in Turkish is used to describe location in, at, or on a place. It is formed with the suffix -DA. Now, you may be asking, what is that capital D doing there…

...to which we respond with the answer “consonant harmony.” Turkish employs both vowel and consonant harmony in its grammar. What does consonant harmony mean exactly? Basically, unvoiced consonants like to be next to unvoiced consonants and voiced consonants like to be next to voiced consonants. For example, things about how we pronounce the plural marker -s in “cats” and “dogs” (one should sound like an ‘s’ and the other should sound like a ‘z’). With the locative (and later the ablative), you will see a similar phenomenon. The suffix -DA will become -TA after the letters ‘p, ç, t, k, f, h, s, and ş’ (We use “Fıstıkçı Şahap” or "Efe Paşa çok hasta" as mnemonics to remember these). These are unsurprisingly all of the unvoiced consonants in Turkish. The suffix remains as -DA in all other instances (after following any other consonant or a vowel). Remember, this suffix will also employ 2-way vowel harmony.

Here are some examples:

Turkish, Nominative English Turkish, Locative English

park park parkta in/at the park

otel hotel otelde in/at the hotel

banyo bathroom banyoda in/at the bathroom

bakkal store bakkalda in/at the store

köpek dog köpekte on/at the dog

Tips and notes 11Forming numbers in Turkish is very simple after you know the core vocabulary. The numbers are as follows:

Turkish Number Digit Turkish Number Digit

bir 1 on bir 11

iki 2 on iki 12

üç 3 yirmi 20

dört 4 otuz 30

beş 5 kırk 40

altı 6 elli 50

yedi 7 altmış 60

sekiz 8 yetmiş 70

dokuz 9 seksen 80

on 10 doksan 90

When you use a digit with a noun, you should NEVER use the plural suffix on the end of the noun. This is redundant and grammatically incorrect in Turkish. That means you should say “iki kedi” and not “iki kediler.” The larger numbers are as follows:

Turkish Number Digit

yüz 100

bin 1000

milyon 1000000

Now, have fun!

Tips and notes 12

The tense sign of the present continuous tense in Turkish is -iyor, -ıyor, -üyor, -uyor, which is added to the verb root. These suffixes are added according to 4-way Vowel Harmony.Just how does one find the verb root in Turkish? Infinitives in Turkish end in -mAk, for example: istemek.

You must simply remove the -mek off of "istemek" to get the root "iste-"The tense endings are completed by adding the following personal suffixes:

Sing. Plural

1st Person -um -uz

2nd Person -sun -sunuz

3rd Person -∅ -∅ / -lar

*If the nominative pronoun "onlar," is used in the sentence, you are not required to include '-lAr’ as a suffix, since it is already clear that the verb is plural from context. You can only use -lAr if the subject is human. Sorry cat, trees, and cars!When the verb root itself ends in a vowel, as in bekle-mek (to wait, expect), then this vowel is also dropped as the head vowel of the "-iyor" tense sign replaces it, becoming bekl-iyor.The first letter "-i" of "-iyor" is subject to 4-way vowel harmony with the verb stem's final vowel. The tense sign "-iyor" can be likened to the English Tense sign "-ing".

Some examples:geliyorum [geliyor-um] (I am coming)alıyorsun [alıyor-sun] (you are taking)ödüyorlar [ödüyor-lar] (they are paying)

Tips and notes 13Noun CompoundsIn this skill, you will encounter your first Turkish noun compounds. A noun compound is when you combine two nouns to create something with a new meaning (i.e. birth+day=birthday). Forming these in Turkish will be easy using the knowledge that you already have up to this point.

All you have to do is put two nouns next to each other and add the possessive suffix on the second noun. There is no suffix on the first word. For example:

Word 1 Word 2 Noun Compound English

doğum gün doğum günü birthday

tavuk su tavuk suyu chicken broth

balık çorba balık çorbası fish soup

kuzu et kuzu eti lamb (meat)

Tips and notes 14Ablative CaseYou have learned 4 of the 7 Turkish cases so far (Nominative, Accusative, Genitive/Possessive, Locative). Tebrikler! In this lesson you will get closer to learning all of them. In this lesson we will cover the Ablative case, which is used in Turkish to convey motion from a place. After learning the Locative case, the Ablative will be extremely easy. In fact, it is almost the exact same! The suffix that you will have to use is -DAn. This suffix follows the exact same consonant and vowel harmony rules as the Locative. In fact the only difference is the letter “n” at the end of the suffix. Here are some examples:

Turkish Nominative Turkish Ablative English

park parktan from the park

köy köyden from the village

saray saraydan from the palace

ofis ofisten from the office

Tips and notes 14

Dative CaseIt is time for case 6 out of 7. How are you feeling? Overwhelmed? Don’t be! You are doing great so far! Just remember that Turkish isn’t as complicated as you think, and it will be easy. It is different from English, but it much more regular and isn’t too complicated. The Dative case in Turkish is used to describe movement towards something and for indirect objects. An indirect object tells “to whom or for whom” an action is being done. It always tells the recipient of the direct object.I gave her a hug.I told him about the event.We showed them the cake.

Forming the Dative case is very simple, considering the amount of knowledge you have under your belt now. The suffix is “-(y)A.” The suffix obeys 2-way vowel harmony and uses a buffer -y- when attached to a word that ends in a vowel. Consonant harmony will often happen at the end of words that end with /p t k ç/. Simple, right? It is a great way to review concepts while still learning something new.

Here are some examples:

Turkish Nominative Turkish Dative English

park parka to the park

şapka şapkaya to the hat

domates domatese to the tomato

fare fareye to the mouse

fareler farelere to the mice

köpek köpeğe to the dog

Good job and see you in the next lesson!

Tips and notes 15

This skill, unlike the last Time skill is only dedicated to telling time in Turkish. There will be a lot of information below, so read carefully.

Saat kaç?1) The phrase “Saat kaç?” is used to ask “What time is it?” in Turkish. The response is Saat… followed by the number of the hour. This is really simple when you are at the full hour. When at the full hour,

saat is optional.

Turkish English

Saat kaç? What time is it?

Saat beş. It is 5 o'clock.

Beş It is 5.

2) The word buçuk is used to describe time at the half hour.

Turkish English

Saat kaç? What time is it?

Saat beş buçuk. It is 5:30.

3) For telling time before the half hour, you will use the word geçiyor and the accusative case. The word denoting the hour gets the accusative case ending which is then followed by the minute number. Then you add geçiyor to the end.

Turkish English

Saat kaç? What time is it?

Saat beşi on geçiyor. It is 5:10.

Saat dördü on dört geçiyor. It is 4:14.

4) For telling time after the half hour, you will use the word var and the dative case. The word denoting the next hour gets the dative and the remaining minutes until the next hour follows. Then add var to the end.

Turkish English

Saat kaç? What time is it?

Saat yediye üç var. It is 6:57.

Saat altıya on var. It is 5:50.

5) When you are unsure, you can just say “saat+ the hour number + the minute number”. This construction is used for trains, buses, and television.

Turkish English

Saat kaç? What time is it?

Saat on kırk. It is 10:40.

Saat dokuz elli. It is 9:50.

6) To describe things at the quarter hour, use the word çeyrek using the same grammar from above.

Turkish English

Saat kaç? What time is it?

Saat onu çeyrek geçiyor. It is 10:15.

Saat sekize çeyrek var. It is 7:45.

Saat kaçta?Now that you have taken in how to tell the time, we have to explain how to explain “At what time?”. This uses a similar, but not identical system.

7) If it is the full or half hour, you will use the described system above along with the locative case (-DA).

Turkish English

Saat kaçta? At what time?

Saat onda. At 10.

Saat iki buçukta. At 2:30.

8) If it is before the half hour, you will use the same construction as above, but will use geçe instead of geçiyor.

Turkish English

Saat kaçta? At what time?

Saat onu beş geçe. At 10:05.

Saat biri çeyrek geçe. At 1:15.

9) If it is after the half hour, you will use the same construction above, but with kala instead of var.

Turkish English

Saat kaçta? At what time?

Saat on bire çeyrek kala. At 10:45.

Saat dokuza beş kala. At 8:55.

Ok...I know this was a lot to take in, but with some practice, it will be very easy! Good luck in the skill and please feel free to repeat it several times until you have the hang of it. Until then, kolay gelsin!

Tips and notes 16Adjective FormationIn order to form adjectives from nouns in Turkish that describe “with” or “without,” you must use the suffixes -lI and -sIz, respectively. For example:

Turkish Nominative With English Without English

süt sütlü with milk sütsüz wıthout milk

peynir peynirli with cheese peynirsiz without cheese

tuz tuzlu with salt tuzsuz without salt

elma elmalı with apple(s) elmasız without apple(s)

Instrumental CaseAre you ready for this? This is the last case in Turkish! Calm down from all of your excitement. Everything is going to be alright! The name of the seventh case in Turkish is the Instrumental. This is actually a hotly debated topic in the Turkic linguistic community...is this a case or is it not a case? It is a shortened version of the postposition ile (with also means with)and kind of acts strange to be a case proper. You are able to decide for yourself. The Instrumental, like most other cases in Turkish, is surprisingly simple to form. All you have to do is add the suffix -(y)lA. Use the buffer -y- if the noun ends in a vowel. The Instrumental denotes the meaning “with “ or “by means of.” Here are some examples:

Turkish Nominative Turkish Instrumental English

babam babamla with my father

kedi kediyle with the cat

öğretmenimiz öğretmenimizle with our teacher

And now that you have learned every case in Turkish, we will put three chart below showing the full declensions of two nouns.

Singular English Plural English

Nominative anne mother anneler mothers

Genitive annenin "of the mother" "mother's"

annelerin "of the mothers" "mothers'"

Dative anneye to the mother annelere to the mothers

Accusative anneyi mother (direct object) anneleri mothers (direct object)

Ablative anneden from the mother annelerden from the mothers

Locative annede in/on/at the mother annelerde in/on/at the mothers

Instrumental anneyle with the mother annelerle with the mothers

Singular English Plural English

Nominative kuş bird kuşlar birds

Genitive kuşun "of the bird" "bird's" kuşların "of the birds" "birds'"

Dative kuşa to the bird kuşlara to the birds

Accusative kuşu bird (direct object) kuşları birds (direct object)

Ablative kuştan from the bird kuşlardan from the birds

Locative kuşta in/on/at the bird kuşlarda in/on/at the birds

Instrumental kuşla with the bird kuşlarla with the birds

Instrumental Pronounsbenimleseninleonunlabizimlesizinleonlarla (why this is not ONLARINLA is a big mystery)

Tips and notes 17

Yes/No QuestionsForming Yes/No questions in Turkish is done by using a particle attached to the end of sentences. This particle is mI-. It obeys 4-way vowel harmony. The personal endings for the to be copula are always attached to this particle. They are never kept on the end of the verb or noun that they would normally attach to in declarative sentences. For example:

Declarative Turkish Declarative English Turkish Question English Question

Bir kedisin. You are a cat. Bir kedi misin? Are you a cat?

Alex öğretmendir. Alex is a teacher. Alex öğretmen midir?

Is Alex a teacher?

Mutluyum. I am happy. Mutlu muyum? Am I happy?

Arkamdasın. You are behind me. Arkamda mısın? Are you behind me?

If this particle is attached to a verb in the present continuous, you will never have to worry about vowel harmony. Since the suffix for the present continuous is -(I)yor, the question particle will always be mu- followed by the appropriate personal suffixes.

Declarative Turkish Declarative English Turkish Question English Question

Parka gidiyorum. I am going to the park. Parka gidiyor muyum? Am I going to the park?

Beni seviyorsun. You love me. Beni seviyor musun? Do you love me?

Emel evime koşuyor.

Emel is running to my house.

Emel evime koşuyor mu?

Is Emel running to my house?

Yoksa or VeyaVeya is used when you have multiple options that may exist outside of the two things you are asking.Nur Türkçe veya İngilizce biliyor.Nur knows Turkish or English. (she may know other languages)Yoksa is used when where are only two options. It is normally optional and is always accompanied with the question particle following both possible options in question.

Evim büyük mü yoksa küçük mü?

Evim büyük mü, küçük mü?Is my house big or small?

Tips and notes 18Kinship TermsTurkish divides kinship terms in a slightly different way than English. A lot of terms on the maternal and paternal side are different. Turks occasionally get confused by the more obscure ones, but this skill teaches all of the ones used on a daily basis by all Turkish people. The extra ones are in a bonus skill.

English Turkish, Maternal Turkish, Paternal

Aunt teyze (also used to refer to old women in general)

hala

Uncle dayı amca (also used to refer to old men in general)

Grandmother

anneanne (literally 'mother mother') babaanne (literally 'father mother')