Turkish Auxiliary Verbs
Turkish Auxiliary Verbs
There are two main auxiliary verbs in Turkish:
(1) etmekto do, to make, to perform
etmek is used to make Active Tenses.
- Babamı mutlu ettimI made my father happy.
- Dört üç daha yedi eder.Four plus three makes seven
- Toplam sekiz dolar ediyor.The total amounts to 8 dollars
(2) olmakto be, to become to happen to occur.
olmak is used to make Passive Tenses.
- Seni görünce mutlu oldum.I became happy on seeing you.
etmekto do/to perform
etmek is not usually used alone as a verb.
etmek is used with many Arabic and Persian words to form verbs where none exist in modern Turkish:
teşekkür[arb.]a thanking →
teşekkür etmek
to thank somebody
teşekkür ederim
I thank you
Many Arabic words do not follow the rules of vowel harmony within themselves
However, any Turkish suffixes added will always be governed by the final vowel in the word.
Sometimes in Turkish there are two words in general use for the same meaning.
The old Ottoman Arabic using etmek to form its verb: →
tamir etmek[arb.]
to repair
The New Turkish rooted word will follow normal Turkisk rules of conjugation: →
onarmak[turk]
to repair
Both words are in daily use.
| Turkish Verbs with | auxiliary etmek |
|---|---|
| etmek | to do / perform / make / act |
| acele etmek | to hurry |
| affetmek | to pardon |
| akıl etmek | to think of / contrive |
| alay etmek | to make fun of |
| alış veriş etmek | to shop |
| arzu etmek | to want / desire |
| bahane etmek | to pretend / make excuse |
| bahse girmek | to bet / wager |
| belli etmek | to reveal / show |
| cesaret etmek | to dare to |
| davet etmek | to invite |
| devam etmek | to continue |
| endişe etmek | to worry / be anxious |
| farketmek | to notice / realize |
| halletmek | to solve / settle up |
| hareket etmek | to move off / pull out (car) |
| hasretmek (-e) | to confine (to) / limit |
| hissetmek | to feel / sense |
| hitap etmek | to make a speech |
| ısrar etmek | to insist / persist |
| icabetmek | to comply / acccept as |
| icap etmek | to be necessary |
| idare etmek | to manage / administer |
| ihmal etmek | to neglect |
| iki lâf etmek | to chat about nothing |
| ikna etmek | to persuade / convince |
| ikram etmek | to offer hospitality |
| intibak etmek | to adapt (to) |
| itham etmek | to accuse |
| itiraz etmek | to object / disapprove |
| istirahat etmek | to relax |
| iyi etmek | to make good |
| izah etmek | to explain |
| kabul etmek | to approve / settle for |
| kastetmek | to imply / mean |
| kavga etmek | to quarrel / fall out with |
| kaybetmek | to lose |
| laf/lâf etmek | to gossip / chat |
| merak etmek | to wonder |
| mutlu etmek | to make sb. happy |
| münakaşa etmek | to quarrrel / row |
| müracaat etmek | to appeal / re-apply |
| müsaade etmek | to permit / allow |
| nakletmek | to transport / transfer |
| nankörlük etmek | to show ingratitude |
| nefret etmek (-dan) | to hate |
| perişan etmek | to dismay sb. / to bungle so. |
| rahat etmek | to make comfortable |
| rahatsız etmek | to disturb / upset |
| rica etmek | to request |
| sabretmek | to be patient |
| seyretmek | to watch |
| söz etmek | to promise |
| şikâyet etmek | to complain |
| tahammül etmek | to put up with / endure |
| tahmin etmek | to guess / surmise |
| tarif etmek | to describe / define |
| tasnif etmek | to classify |
| tebrik etmek | to congratulate |
| teklif etmek | to propose / suggest |
| telefon etmek | to call on the telephone |
| tembih etmek | to reccommend |
| tenkit etmek | to criticise |
| terketmek | to abandon / leave |
| tereddüt etmek | to hesitate |
| teselli etmek | to console |
| teşekkür etmek | to thenk |
| vefatetmek | to pass away (die) |
| yaramazlık etmek | to be naughty / act up |
| yardım etmek (-a) | to help |
| yok etmek | to get rid of |
| yolcu etmek | to see a traveller off |
| zahmet etmek | to touble sb. |
| zannetmek | to suppose |
etmek is directly joined to single syllable word stems otherwise it is written separately.
etmek being a verb in its own right does undergo vowel harmony when suffixed to other words.
etmek is also used to make verbs from nouns of foreign import into Turkish:
- izole etmekto isolate, to insulate
- Fişi izole ettim.I isolated the plug.
- dans etmek to dance
- telefon etmekto telephone
- park etmekto park
Single Syllable Verb Roots with etmek
If verbs are formed with a single syllable root then etmek is affixed directly to that root
If the word ends in a consonant will generally double that consonant.
- afpardon[Arb.]
- The arabic root takes a doubled "-ff" when adding a verb form:
affetmekto beg pardon
affedersiniz!Pardon! - reta refusal[Arb.]
- Takes a doubled "-dd" when adding a verb form.
reddetmekto refuse
reddederim!I refuse!
These single syllable verbs can be written separately:
There in doubling of the final consonant.
- red etmek → red ederim
- af etmek → af ederim
etmek as a verb of completion
etmek is used like an auxiliary verb in English:
- English Question:
- Are you coming to the party tonight?
- English Answer:
- Yes I am.
- The English short answer includes only I am without the verb coming.
- Turkish Question:
- Bu aksamki partiye geliyor musun?
- Turkish Answer:
- Evet geliyorum. Turkish has to include the geliyorum verb.
- English:
- Did you accept this after all? - Yes I did.
- The short answer in English is I did without the verb accept
- Turkish:
- Herşeye rağmen kabul ettin mi onu?Evet ettim.
- The short answer in Turkish is ettim without kabul.
etmek is used like an auxiliary.
Turkish Transitive Verbs formed with etmek
- Onun için Mehmet bana ayıp etti.
Because of it/that Mehmet shamed me.
- Mektubu teslim ettim.I delivered the letter.
- Koliyi teslim ettirdiniz.you had the the parcel delivered.
- Onu tamir edebilsek.If we can repair it/that.
- Onu tamir edemem.I can't repair it/that.
- Onu kontrol ettiler.They checked it/that.
- Onu kontrol edebilir misiniz?Would you check it/that?
- Onu reddedeceğiz.We shall refuse it/that.
- Onu reddedelim.Let's refuse it/that.
- Ahmet, onu takdir etti.Ahmet appreciated it/that.
- Ali, onu takdir edememiş.Ali couldn't have appreciated it/that
Passive of etmek becomes edilmek
The passive mood is discussed in detail on "passive.htm" web page.
The passive can be formed with edilmek, the passive of etmek
- Mektup teslim edildi.
The letter has been delivered. - Yarın arabanız tamir edilecek.
Your car will be repaired tomorrow. - O kontrol edildi.
It has been checked. - Onu kontrol edilebilcek mi?
Can it be repaired? - Ali, takdir edilecek.
Ali will be appreciated.
Turkish auxiliary verb olmakto be / become
It is used as an auxiliary with foreign loan words.
It attaches directly to single syllable roots.
It is written separately when used with a multi-syllable verb.
Being verb in its own right it does not obey Vowel Harmony.
It is used as an auxilary with the future tense and potential mood of the verb to be
- HazırımI am ready.
- Hazır olacağım.I shall be ready.
- Zenginsiniz.You are rich.
- Zengin olsaydınız.If you had been rich.
- O yoksul.he is poor.
- O yoksul olabilir.He may be poor.
The past of olmak gives the sense of "being in a state of"
- Pişman oldum.I regret/I was sorry.
- Memnun oldum.I'm pleased.
Other Turkish Auxiliary Verbs
- yapmakto do as an action
- gelmekto come
- kalmakto remain / stay
- bulunmakto be found / to be[Passive of "bulmak"]
- demekto say
- dilemekto wish
- söylemekto speak
- durmakto stop
eylemekto carry out[equates with etmek but not common.]
eylemek can be used as a substitute for etmek and serves the same purpose.
It is usually restricted to the written word and is seldom used in conversation.
Auxiliary Verb: -ayazmak "almost to"
yazmakto write used as an auxiliary: →
[means "almost to.." ]- Düşüyazdım!
I almost fell down!
Turkish Continuative Verbs
- -akalmak "continue, keep on doing"
- -adurmak "continue, keep on doing:
Only the first vowel follows the vowel harmony rules.
Hence "-ekalmak -adurmak -eyazmak -ıvermek -uvermek -üvermek etc".
As these are verbs in their own right they retain their spelling.
This is similar to the Potential Verb Suffix "-abilmek / -ebilmek"
kalmak and durmak are used to form a continuing action of the main verb.
They give the sense "to keep on doing" or to "remain in a condition of."
To form the continuative verb the infinitive of kalmak or durmak is added directly to the "Wish & Desire" root of the main verb.
The "Wish & Desire" root is formed by suffixing -e or -a to the basic verb stem:
yüzmek to swim → yüze- "Wish & Desire" stem.
Examples of the direct addition of kalmakto remain:
- yüzekalmak
to keep on swimming - Yüzekaldı.
He kept on swimming. - alakalmak
to keep on taking - Alakalacağım.
I will keep on taking. - durakalmak
to keep on stopping - Durakalıyorsun.
You're keeping on stopping. - bekleyedurmak
to keep on waiting - Bekleyedurabilecek misiniz?
Will you be able to keep on waiting? - uyuyakalmak
to oversleep - Uyuyakaldım!
I overlept. - kalakalmak
to stand aghast, to be astounded - Kalakaldım!
I was astounded - donakalmak
to petrify - Donakaldım!
I was petrified!, I was scared stiff!
Turkish Accelerative Verb
The Auxiliary verb vermekto give gives a sense of urgency and speed of action to the main verb.
It loses its meaning to give.
The direct addition of vermek means to "get a move on…"
- Çarşıyaya koşuver!Run quickly to the shops!
The "Wish & Desire" mood sign -(y)a/-(y)e is added to the basic verb stem:
The -a / -e suffix abrades to -i -ı -ü -u according to vowel harmony rules.
koşakoşa run abrades to koşuvermek
- güle → gülüveringive a laugh!
- kese → kesiverinCut it!, shut up!
[idiom] - baka → bakıverinLook now! Look out!
- tuta → tutuverinGrab it! Snatch it!
- koşmakto run →
koşuvermekto hurry up and run - yazmakto write →
yazıvermekto scribble / scrawl - Koşuverin!Hurry up and run!
[imperative] - İçkisini içiverdi.He gulped his drink down.
- Gelivereceğim!I'll dash along and come!
