Turkish Language and Grammar FAQs

The FAQ's - Sıkça Sorulan Sorular (SSS)

FAQ (01) How many Vowels are there in Turkish?: There are eight vowels in Turkish A E I İ O Ö U Ü; For Vowel Harmony purposes they are divided into two groups.; A-UnDotted Group AIOU; E-Dotted Group EİÖÜ

FAQ (02) Why is a buffer letter sometimes -y- and at other times -n- is used?: Buffer letter -y- for the Object Condition, -yi as in kediyi the cat
Also Motion Towards Condition, -ye as in kediye to the cat when these words are not already extended by a suffix.; Buffer -y- is only used suffixed to a bare noun stem in the first suffix position.; It becomes -n- when it is the second suffix which is added to the word, kedisini his cat and kedisine to his cat.; Buffer Letter -n- is only used when the Objective or Motion Towards suffixes are in second suffix position.; This is to alert the listener that a suffix is already preceding.; The Rule is:
Buffer letter -n- is used on nouns which have already been extended by the addition of a suffix.

FAQ (03) Why are some words repeated in Turkish for no apparent reason?: yavaş slow. As an adjective it describes a noun "A slow car"; But repeated it is used as an adverb yavaş yavaş means slowly; As an adverb this describes a manner of doing something. "He drove the car slowly"; Adjectives when repeated become adverbs in Turkish.; This is a normal part of the Grammar.

FAQ (04) What are the main differences in Turkish and English pronunciation: The letter C changes in Turkish. It is pronounced as an English "J"; English name John is spelt Con in Turkish.; The Turkish word cam "glass material" is pronounced jam in English; The rule is see a "C" and say a "J"; Listen to: cep, cacık, cimri; Letter C is pronounced as English "J" See cam and say jam "glass (the material)"; Letter Ş is pronounced as English "SH" See şef and say shef "chief"; Letter Ç is pronounced as English "CH" See çek and say chek "pull"

FAQ (05) Turkish has a funny letter Ğ with a hat on What does it do?: This is the Turkish "soft g" (yumaşak g); This letter is not pronounced at all, it merely lengthens the preceding vowel.; It is very like the silent "gh" in the English words light, freight, ought..; The rule is see a ğ with a hat on then keep it silent.; Listen to: ağa, dağ, iğne

FAQ (06) Why does gitmek to go change its letter -t to a -d in gidiyor?: Verb Root Spelling Exceptions:; Only four verbs change their root spelling from -t to -d when adding a vowel:; gitmek to go → gidiyorum I am going; ditmek to shred this verb is often used in recipes becomes didiyor he shreds; tatmak to taste (of) → tadıyor it tastes (of..); etmek to do/perform → ediyorum I am doing etc.; This verb etmek includes all verbs containing etmek; kaybetmek to lose and affetmek to pardon, to excuse which soften the -etmek part of the verb:; kaybediyorum I am losing/I lose; affediyorum I am pardoning/I pardon; All other verbs retain their original spelling, for instance:; bitmek to end bitiyor it is finishing NOT bidiyor; batmak - to sink batıyor it is sinking NOT badıyor

FAQ (07) When do I use sağ olun instead of teşekkür ederim for saying thank you?: sağ olun be healthy, be strong is used as thank you for a service which was not necessarily needed to be performed or for which someone has gone out of his way to help you.; teşekkür ederim thank you [Lit: a thanking perform I [arb.] is used in normal circumstances and receiving.; The rule is: If in doubt then use teşekkür ederim.

FAQ (08) What happened to the letter -e- in demek to say as it becomes diyorum I say?: The present tense sign is -iyor; If a verb stem ends in a vowel it loses this vowel when the present tense sign is added.; Turkish abhors two vowels together as there are no native diphthongs.; So demek must also lose this final vowel.; This leaves a bare verb stem as the letter d- only.; Hence demek becomes d-iyorum, d-iyorsun.; The same applies to all other two letter verb stems yemek becomes yiyorum.; The Future Tense also changes.; demek diyeceğim and yemek yiyeceksin you will eat.; (-(y)ecek is added to the verb root of ye-mek thus producing producing ye-y-ecek which has historically abraded to becomeyiyecek).; The Subject Participle demek becomes diyen, diyenler who says, yemek becomes yiyen, yiyenler who eats.; There are exceptions to this group:; The verbal Nouns deyince on saying deyip also saying and yeyince on eating and yeyip also eating. do not abrade →

FAQ (09) I do not understand the Infinitive please explain about it.: The Infinitive is the name of a verb such as swim (verb); Its name is "to swim" but in English we often substitute a verbal noun "(the) swimming"; He is going for a swim.
We are going swimming.
She went to swim in the sea.; In all these cases anything with "swim" in it is a noun.; The different tenses are supplied by the verb in the sentence.; The possessives can also be added -im -in -i.. etc my, your his; My swimming is good.
Mother is taking Mehmet for a swim.
I want you to swim every day.; The -k of -mek/-mak is dropped to make the Verbal Noun yüzme swim, swimming, to swim:; yüzmem my swimming
yüzmen your swimming
yüzmesi his swimming
yüzmeniz your swimming (plural)
yüzmeleri their swimming; Further suffixes can be added:; yüzmemden from my swimming
yüzmende in your swimming
yüzmesini his swimming (suffixed as an object); Yüzmem iyidir. My swimming is good.; Geçen yıl yüzmem iyiydi. My swimming was good last year. Past tense.; Yarın yüzmeleri iyi olacak . Tomorrow, their swimming will be good. Future Tense.; Ali'nin yüzmesi, Mehmet'in yüzmesinden daha iyidir.
Ali's swimming is better than Mehmet's swimming.; Ahmet'in gelmemesini istedim.
I wanted Ahmet NOT to come.
[lit: Ahmet's-his-not-coming wanted-I]; Ahmet'in gelebilmesini istedim.
I wanted Ahmet to be able to come.; Ahmet'in gelebilmesini istemedim.
I did not want Ahmet to be able to come.

FAQ (10) Please list the common question words what? why? when?: where? nerede?; where to? nereye?; where from? nereden?; how? nasıl?; how much? ne kadar?; when? ne zaman?; what? ne?; why? neden?; why? niye?
[only used when: indignant/angry/disbelieving]; what for? niçin?; who? kim?; which? hangisi?

FAQ (11) I am having difficulty recognizing the Object Participle -dik. Please explain.: The -dik, -duk, -dık, -dük Participle; This Participle is subject to both Vowel Harmony and Consonant Mutation Rules.; So you can find -tik, -tuk, -tık, -tük; If a further suffix with a vowel is added the the final -k is also subject to Consonant Mutation: -diği, -duğu, -dığı, -düğü or -tiği, -tuğu, -tığı, -tüğü; geldiğim zaman
When I came, When I come
[gel + -diğ + -im); uçtuğun halde
Although you fly, Although you flew
[uç + -tuğ + -un]; yürüdüğü yol
The road that he walks, The road that he walked
[yürü + -düğ + -ü]; bakmadığımız zaman
When we didn't/don't look,
[bak + -ma + -dığ + -ımız]; içtiğiniz için
because you (plural polite) drink/drank
[iç + -tiğ + -iniz]; öpüştükleri zaman
When they kiss/kissed
[öpüş + -tük + -leri]; The -dik Participle is used both in the Present or Past tenses according to the sentence main verb context.; Examples of Tense influenced by the Main Verb; Ali'nin geldiği zaman, çarşıya gidiyoruz.
When Ali comes we are going to the shops.; Ali'nin geldiği zaman, çarşıya gittik.
When Ali came we went to the shops.; both ideas "Ali" and his "coming" become a compound participle (verbal adjective) to describe zaman time.; This Turkish point of view is different to the "relative when" construction used in English.

FAQ (11A) Please tell me more about the -dik/-tik -dık/-tık -dük/-tuk -duk/-tük participle.: A participle is actually and adjective made from a verb form.; As an adjective in Turkish it must precede the noun which it qualifies.; It is easily recognised as an adjective by its position in the sentence.; It looks like a verb. But it is not a verb.; The verb always comes last in a sentence.; Hence it is easy to recognize verbs by their terminal position.; If it is not last in the sentence then generally speaking it will be an adjective.; Formation: Participle + Possessive Suffix - Noun - Verb; Oturduğum [Otur-duğ-um] ev budur.
This is the house in which I live.; En çok sevdiğin [sev-diğ-in yemek nedir?
What is the food that you like best?; Yazdığı [Yaz-dığ-ı] mektubu aldım.
I have received the letter that he wrote.; Geldiğimiz [Gel-diğ-imiz] araba çalınmış.
The car in which we came has been stolen, they say.; Beğendiğiniz [Beğen-diğ-iniz] kumaşı bulamadım.
I could not find the material that you liked.; Yaptıkları [Yap-tık-ları] iyiliği unutamayacağım.
I shall not be able to forget the kindness that they have shown.; This participle used for present as well as past time.; It is identical with the first person plural of the past definite tense.; A possessive suffix (for person) is added to make it equivalent to a relative pronoun.; The final -k changes to -ğ before the possessive suffix, except in the plural.; Oturduğum ev budur.
This is the house in which I live.; Oturduğun ev budur.
This is the house in which you live.; Oturduğu ev budur.
This is the house in which he lives.; Oturduğumuz ev budur.
This is the house in which we live.; Oturduğunuz ev budur.
This is the house in which you live.; Oturdukları ev budur.
This is the house in which they live.; Participles can be used as adjectives:; Mehmet, söylediğim cevabı beğenmemiş.
Mehmet seemed not to like the answer that I spoke.; Participles can be used as nouns:; Mehmet, söylediğimi beğenmemiş
Mehmet seemed not to like what I said.; Mehmet, söylediğimi beğenmemiş.
Mehmet did not like what I said.; Mehmet, söylediğini beğenmemiş.
Mehmet did not like what you said.; Mehmet, söylediğini beğenmemiş.
Mehmet did not like what he said.; Mehmet, söylediğimizi beğenmemiş.
Mehmet did not like what we said.; Mehmet, söylediğinizi beğenmemiş.
Mehmet did not like what you said.; Mehmet, söylediklerini beğenmemiş.
Mehmet did not like what they said.

FAQ (12) Please explain about The Adjective of Location Suffix. -deki/-teki, -daki/-taki: The Suffix -deki is an Adjective of Location which descibes where a thing actually is.; The cat which is on the mat is black
Kilimdeki kedi kara renklidir.
[Lit: Mat-on-which-is cat-the black colour-is.]; In English: it is a Relative pronouns which is, who is; The cat "which is on the mat" is black coloured.; English can omit the "which" relative pronoun: The cat on the mat is black.; Turkish must describe where the cat is sitting by means of an adjective Kilimdeki kedi

FAQ (13) Please explain about -ip/-ıp/-up/-üp The Verbal suffix of Apposition meaning and, also.: Pazara gidip her şey satmak istiyorum.
I want to go to the market and sell everything.; This is the normal way of saying:
Pazara gidiyorum her şey satmak istiyorum.
I want to go to the market and I want to sell everything.
-ip does not take any other suffixes after it is used.; If the two verbs are in negative apposition
[i.e. One is positive and the other negative]
the particle de also, and is used to show the apposition.; Pazara gidip de hiçbir şey satmak istemiyorum. = I want to go to the market and not sell anything.; The -ip suffix takes the tense, mood and person of the final verb.; We would like to go and see Rome.
Romaya gidip görmek isteriz.; Odanın içinde yer bulup oturdu.
He found a place in the room and sat down.; Çünkü, onlar her zaman bir yolunu bulup istedikleri kadar sigara içiyorlar.
Because they always find a way and smoke as much as they wish.; Eczaneye gidip bir ilaç almak istemiş.
He wanted to go to the chemist and buy some medicine.; Bilgisayardaki hataları bulup onaracak program var mı?
Is there a programme to find errors and to repair them on the computer?; Gelip de halimi gördün mü?
When you came [On coming] did you see the condition that I was in?; Bilip de anlatmamak.
Knowing and not explaining.; Bilip de anlatamamak.
To know but not to be able to explain.; Bilip de bilmemezlikten gelmek
To know and/but to pretend not to know.

FAQ (14) Tell me about the Direct 0bject Suffix (-i/-ı/-u/ü): In English we make both the subject and object of a sentence substantive by the use of the same definite article "the"; "The" man closed "the" door.; The subject is understood as substantive in Turkish so it does not need a definite article.; "The" does not exist in Turkish there is no "the man" is it merely translated as "adam"; Turkish DOES have a definite article "the"; It is the object suffix -(y)i -(y)ı -(y)u -(y)ü when added to bare nouns:; Adam kapıyı [kapı-yı] kapattı
"The" man closed "the" door; Turkish DOES have a definite article "the" as an object suffix -ni -nı -nu -nü when added to already extended nouns:; Adam kapısını [kapı-sı-nı] kapattı.
"The" man closed "his" door.; The -ni suffix makes the extended [already suffixed] noun "his door" substantive as a direct object.

Direct Object pointer -i for Simple Noun: Evi boyuyorum. [ev-i] I am painting the house.

Direct Object pointer -ni for Extended Noun: Evini boyuyorum. [ev-i-ni] I am painting his house.

Direct Object pointer -yi for Simple Noun.: Arabayı boyuyorum. [araba-y-ı] I am painting the car.

Possessive Pronoun -sı plus Direct object pointer -nı for Extended Noun.: Arabasını boyuyorum. [araba-sı-nı] I am painting his car.

Possessive Pronoun -ları plus Object Pointer -nı for Extended Noun.: Arabalarını boyuyoruz. [araba-ları-n-ı] we are painting their car.

Possessive Pronoun -sı plus Direct object pointer -nı for Extended Noun: Arabasını boyuyor musunuz? [araba-s-ı-n-ı] Are you painting his car?

Possessive Pronoun -ınız plus Direct object pointer -ı for Extended Noun.: Mehmet, arabanızı boyamıyor mu? [araba-nız-ı] Isn't Mehmet painting your car?

Possessive Pronoun -si plus Direct object pointer -ni for Extended Noun.: Kedisini aramıyor muyum? [kedi-s-i-n-i] Aren't I looking for his cat?

Direct Object Pointer -i: Beni istiyor musun? [ben -i] Do you want me?

Direct Object Pointer -i: Seni istemiyor muyum? [sen -i] Don't I want you?

The Direct Object Suffix makes the object substantive.: It is one of the most difficult hurdles for English speakers to surmount when speaking, reading and understanding the Turkish Language.

FAQ (15) Please describe The Turkish Language in a nutshell for me.: A Mini Nutshell Overview of The Turkish Language.; In Turkish words are changed by fixing other words on to them.; These suffixes show motion towards, location and motion from.; They change their spelling according to set rules.; They must follow the same vowel pattern (Vowel Harmony) as the suffixed word.; They also have a consonant change (Consonant Mutation) for ease of pronunciation.; The suffixes added to the stem of a verb may indicate its positive or negative form.; Further suffixes are added for tense and person.; Further mood meanings to verbs such as "may, might, can, can't" are also in suffix form, thus producing a new word.; Nouns are suffixed with possessor and the motion or location words are then added.; There is no word for "the" and also there are no gender forms (no "le" or "la" as in French).; Adjectives precede their noun and always remain in their basic form no gender thus no agreement.; The sentence form is SOV Subject, Object, Verb.

FAQ (16) Tell me about the Position of the Question Particle mi? mı? mu? mü? in sentences.: The question particle mi? mı? mu? mü? is placed after the item being questioned.; It is not always the verb that is in question.; This is the same for English.; Mehmet, is he going home? Mehmet, eve gidiyor MU?
[Question on the verb: gidiyor mu?]; Is it home that Mehmet is going to? Mehmet, eve Mİ gidiyor?
[Question on the object: eve mi?]; It it Mehmet who is going home? Mehmet Mİ, eve gidiyor?
[Question on the subject Mehmet mi?]

FAQ (17) I hear buyurun everywhere. What does it mean?: Buyurun, Buyrun, Buyurunuz has many meanings in different situatuions:; Said to a visitor: Buyurun!
The speaker is happy to welcome you to their home.; Shopkeepers say : Buyurun
May I help you?; When offering refreshments to guests: Buyurun!
Please accept this! Please help yourself.; Entering buildings, lifts (elevators): Buyurun!
After you!; When permission is asked, assent is given with the word buyurun!
Please come in! Please enter! Please do!; When answering a telephone Buyurun! is used.

FAQ (18) Please explain the -sin/-sın/-sun/-sün suffix; I always thought it meant "you"?: When -sin is used WITHOUT a tense sign it signifies let him do..; Positive Verb Stem: olmak to become/happen/occur becomes Olsun! Let it be!; Negarive Verb Stem: olmamak not to become becomes Olmasın! Let it not be!; koşmak to run →
Koşsun Let him run; The plural Koşsunlar →
Let them run!; The negative is koşmasın →
let him not run!; Negative plural is Koşmasınlar! →
Let them not run!; At the Hamam Turkish Bath you might say:
Keseci gelsin!
[Lit: Let the masseur come.]
I am ready for the masseur!; Don't get mixed up.!
The 3rd ierson imperative ending is added directly to the verb stem:
yazsın Let him write; If there is NO TENSE SIGN before the -sin or -sinlar then it should be translated as "Let him. (not)" or "Let them (not)"; If is added to a tense sign as in yazıyorsun then it is the 2nd Person tense sign You are writing

FAQ (19) What is the difference between her kez, her zaman, daima when talking about instances of time?.: Zaman (Noun) time is the universally used word for time when:
Doğum günün ne zaman?
When is your birthday?; Daima (adverb) means always, every time, forever, evermore, ever, forever and ever, forevermore; It usually is placed first in a sentence:
Daima seni seviyorum.
I will love you forever.; Turkish uses the Present Continuous seviyorum as it is more vivid than the Simple Present used in English = I love you severim; kez (noun) means particular (single) occasion(s); defa (noun) means occasion
her defasinda = each time; sefer (noun) means journey
her seferinde = every time [used as an idiom]; There are other words in general use in Turkish which mean time(s) or occasion(s); vakit (noun) is used for the right time for doing something.; Boş vaktim yok.
I haven't got time to spare; Vaktin varsa?
If you have time?; kere (noun) time, times, occasion, instance:; 1 bir kere once.; 2 iki kere twice; 3 uç kere three tımes; İki kere iki dört eder.
Two times two makes four.; "her kez" and "her kere" are never used to mean "every time"

FAQ (20) Why is ile with, and, also sometimes in its full form and sometimes a harmonized suffix -le/-la?: The word for with, and, also in Turkish is ile; This is one word which can stand on its own after the word it modifies.; It does not follow Vowel Harmony Rules but is always written and spoken ile; Mehmet ile with Mehmet; domuz ile with the pig; arkadaşın ile with your friend; It can also be suffixed to the word as -le -la or -yle/-yla after vowels.; As a suffix does follow vowel harmony rules.; Mehmet'le with Mehmet; arkadaşınla with your friend; paltosuyla with his overcoat; bir arabayla with a car; Suffixed to vowels it becomes -yle -yla; kediyle, kedi ile with the cat; kedisiyle, kedisi ile with his cat; iskemleyle, iskemle ile with the chair; eli ile, eliyle with his hand; paltosuyla, paltosu ile with his overcoat; babayla, baba ile with father; babasıyla, babası ile with his father; Whether to use ile as stand alone or as a suffix is a free choice of the speaker or writer ; there is no hard and fast rule.

FAQ (21) I thought that istemek to want did not govern a direct object, but I have seen it do so. Why is this?: The verb istemek to want is a special case as it causes no modification of the verb it governs:; Yazmak istiyorum. I want to write.; Içmek isterler. They want to drink.; Kalmak istemedin. You didn't want to stay.; Çalışmak istemeyecekler. They will not want to work.; This also applies in English we also cannot say I want writing or they want drinking.; The object pointer is not required by istemek to want as the concept of "wanting.." does not affect the verb being governed in any way.; When istemek governs anything other that a verb then the objective case must be used.; The followıng examples show that istemek is not governing the verb kalmak directly,; It governs "a person".; The direct object pointer is required.; Kalmanızı istiyoruz.
We want you to stay.
[Kalma-nız-ı]; Kalmanızı istemiyoruz.
We do not want you to stay.
[Kalma-nız-ı]; Kalmasını istemiyorlar.
They don't want him to stay.
[Kalma-sı-nı]; Kalmamalarını istemiyorum.
I don't want them not to stay.
[Kalmama-ları-nı]

FAQ (22) How do I say too much, too many?: This a common difficulty for the student of Turkish.; The dictionary equivalent is fazla in excess or çok fazla very excess or gereğinden fazla more than is required; Old style Turkish will say lüzumdan fazla in excess of its necessity.; (1) "Too" meaning "very"; In daily conversational Turkish çok very is used to convey the meaning too much, too many; I didn't buy it, it was too expensive. the "too" is translated by çok very.; Onu almadım, çok pahalıydı
I didn't buy it, it was too expensive.; 2. "Too" meaning "overly, excessively"; fazla in excess should be used where the context does not make sense by using çok very; Baban, seninle fazla sabırlıdır.
Your father is too patient with you.

FAQ (23) evin means your house and also of the house or the house's. How can I tell which -in suffix to use?: This is a famous Turkish Language ambiguity.; It must be translated in context.; It is genitive and it possesses something else evin penceresi the window of the house; The "something else" will have the "possessed" specifier suffixed. ev-in duvar-ı; The wall of the house evin duvarı.; The wall of your house becomes evinin duvarı [ev-in-in duvar-ı]; If there is a problem with it being personalized evin your house the you can add the Personal Pronoun as well senin evin your house.; Senin evin temiz. or Evin temiz. both mean Your house is clean.; If the word your house needs to be further suffixed (ie.) from your house evinden then the original form is correct [senin is not required]

FAQ (24) When forming Simple Present Tense, how do I choose the suffix from -ar -er -ir -ır -ur -ür?: This is the only tense which shows some irregularity in formation.; The actual tense sign is -r in the positive and -mez in the negative.; The positive does not seem to have regularity and these 13 irregularities have to be learned.; Simple Present irregularities; The 13 verbs that add -ir -ır -ur -ür.; almak to take
alırım I take; bilmek to know
bilir he knows; bulmak to find
bulur he finds; durmak to stop, halt
dururuz we stop; gelmek to come
gelirsiniz you come; görmek to see
görürler they see; kalmak to stay
kalırım I stay; olmak to become
olursun you become; ölmek to die
ölür it dies; sanmak to suppose
sanırız we suppose; vermek to give
verirsiniz you give; varmak to arrive
varırlar they arrive; vurmak to hit
vururum I hit

FAQ (25) Please explain about -ince On doing… and -inceye kadar until…: How to say On doing, When I do -yınca/-yince -yunca/- yünce; bakınca on looking
bakmayınca on not looking; arayınca on lookıng for
aramayınca on not looking for; kesince on cutting
kesmeyince on not cutting; çıkınca on going out
çıkmayınca on not going out; gidince on coming
gitmeyince on not coming; gülünce on laughing,
gülmeyince on not laughing; görünce on seeing
görmeyince on not seeing; The person is taken from the subject of the sentence and the tense is taken from the main verb in the sntence; Kasap, eti kesince bıçağını düşürdü
On (while) cutting the meat the butcher dropped his knife.; Mehmet, bana vurunca bizden kaçtı; Mehmet escaped from us as he hit me.; Examples in other verb moods:; Bu işi yapamayınca, ondan vazgeçtim
On not being able to do thıs job, I gave up; Kapı vurulunca biri/birisi hemen onu açtı.
On the door being knocked, someone immediately opened it.; Seni görebilince çok mutluyum.
On being able to see you, I am very happy; Seni görebilince çok mutluydum.
On being able to see you, I was very happy.; Seni görebilince çok mutlu olacaklar.
On being able to see you,they will be very happy; Seni görmeyince çok mutsuzdum.
On not seeing you, I was very unhappy.; Seni göremeyince çok mutsuzdum.
On not being able to see you, I was very unhappy.; How to Say until… -(y)inceye kadar -(y)ünceye kadar -(y)ıncaya kadar -(y)uncaya kadar; Formation -ince + ye is in the movement toward condition [dative]; -inceye is used with the postposition kadar amount; - e kadar = to the amount of doing.; Biz telefon edinceye kadar bekleyecek.
[ed-ince-ye from "etmek"]
She is going to wait until we telephone.; Çocuk uyuyuncaya kadar yanında oturunuz.
[uyu-yunca-ya from "uyumak"]
Stay with the child until she sleeps.; Hırsız hava kararıncaya kadar bekledi
[karar-ınca-ya from "kararmak"]
The thief waited until dark.; Güneş çıkıncaya kadar evde kalalım.
[çık-ınca-ya from "çıkmak"]
Let's stay at home until the sun rises.; Acıkıncaya kadar yürüyelim
[acık-ınca-ya from "acıkmak" - "to be hungry"]
Let's walk until we are hungry

FAQ (26) Why does the last letter -ç of ağaç tree change to -c in ağacın your tree?: This orthographic change is due to Consonant Mutation Rules.; These are the Complete Rules of Consonant Mutation.; 1. If the word ends in one of these Unvoiced Consonants [p ç t k]:; When adding a suffix beginning with a vowel this last letter of the root word changes to its voiced equivaent:; [p → b ç → c t → d k → ğ] form:; kitap book →
kitabı his book; kazanç profit →
kazancı his profit; kilit lock →
kilidi his lock; köpek dog →
köpeğiniz Your dog; 2. If the word ends in an Unvoiced Consonant [p ç t k f h s ş]:; When adding a suffix beginning with a consonant then the suffix consonant changes to its unvoiced Form [d → t]:; kilit lock →
kilitte in the lock; köpek dog →
köpekten from the dog; sabah morning →
sabahtan from the morning; giriş exit →
girişte at the exit

FAQ (27) How do I say I know in Turkish?: The two words meaning to know how to… or to know someone… in Turkish:; bilmek to know how to.…
yüzme biliyorum. I know how to swim.; tanımak to know somebody
Ali, beni tanıyor. Ali knows me.; There can be some differing ways to say the same thing in Turkish for instance:; Do you know how to play football?; To ask Exactly?
Futbol oyamasını biliyor musun?
Do you play football?; Or to ask Particular?
Futbol oynamayı biliyor musun?
Do you know how to play football?; Or to ask Generally speaking?
Futbol oynama biliyor musun?
Do you know about football playing?

FAQ (28) Why has çalışamayan got the -a- after the -ş?: This the Negative Potential "cannot" mood verb sign as a SUBJECT PARTICIPLE.; This mood formed in all tenses just by inserting an -e- or -a- before the negative suffix of any negative verb whether it be active, passive, reflexive, reciprocal,or causative.
[a completely new verb is formed with its own infinitive.]; The Positive Potential
çalışmak = to work →
çalışabilmek = to be able to work→
Hence: çalışabilen =→
who is able to work/who can work; The Negative Potential
çalışmamak = not to work. →
çalışamamak = not to be able to work
Hence: çalışamayan →
who is unable to work/who can not work.; The -ama- -eme- suffix makes a Negative Potential.; It is called a Subject Participle because it DESCRIBES the Subject.; As a participle it is a VERBAL ADJECTIVE (same thing); It PRECEDES or REPLACES the noun which it DESCRIBES.; All Participles are adjectives.; They must always have a noun following to describe.; Recognized by their position in a sentence; Do not mix them up withe verbs.; A Verb is always the last word in that sentence.; Example:; As a SUBJECT DESCRIBING ADJECTIVE:
Bir çalışamayan adam. →
A man who is unable to work.; As a NOUN REPLACEMENT:
Bir çalışamayan.→
One who is unable to work.

FAQ (29) Dünyalarından translates from their world. Shouldn't this be "from their worlds" (plural) ?: The suffix for his is -(s)i
Singular Person: dünyası (dünya-sı) his world
Plural Person: dünyaları (dünya-lar-ı) his worlds; The suffix for their is -leri -ları
dünyaları [dünya-ları] becomes both sıngular or plural their world OR their worlds
dünyalarları is wrong because the -lar suffix cannot be re-duplicated.; It seems that "their worlds" should be dünyalar-ları but suffixes ending in -lar are never doubled.; The context should make the singularity or plurality of the noun in question clear.; If it is necessary to be explicit in the meaning, then the Personal Pronouns are used:; dünyası becomes onun dünyası his world for singular.
dünyaları becomes onun dünyaları his worlds for plural; dünyaları their world/their worlds becomes onların dünyası their world for singular.
onların dünyaları their worlds for plural.; So the question example can be made explicit:; Dünyalarından = onların dünyasından from their world
AND onların dünyalarından from their worlds
OR onun dünyalarından from his worlds