Turkish Object Participles
Turkish Object Participles
This participle is used for both present and past Tenses.
A participle is an adjective which is formed from a verb.
It precedes the noun which it describes.
Being a relative participle it can also serve as a noun.
It can have the personal suffixes and the suffixes of declension added to forming a relative adjectival description.
It is used for both the present and past tenses.
The context of the situation pertaining will tell which tense to use in English.
Turkish Object Participle Formation
- Verbs drop the infinitive sign -mek/-mak whıch is replaced with:
‑dik / ‑tik ‑dık / ‑tık ‑dük / ‑tük ‑duk / ‑tuk - gelmekto come → geldikthat came / that which is coming
- gülmekto laugh → güldükthat laughed / that which laughs
- bakmakto look → baktıkthat looked at / that which looks at
- çıkmakto exit → çıktıkthat went out / that which is exiting
Recognition of the Turkish -dik Participle
The -dik suffix is often difficult to recognize.
It has so many forms:
(1) Vowel Harmony operates on its internal vowel i i u ü
(2) Consonant Change operates on both the initial -d ↔ -t and the terminal -k ↔ -ğ
(3) If a further suffix with a vowel is added the the final -k
Consequently the suffix -dik can take any of these forms:
‑diği ‑duğu ‑dığı ‑düğü
OR ‑tiği ‑tuğu ‑tığı ‑tüğü
Generally this participle is not used in its pure form.
geldiğim zaman
[gel-diğ-im zaman]the time that / when I came.
It is always personalized.
This participle just happens to be the same as the 1st Person Plural -dik of the Simple Past Definite Tense.
Being a verbal adjective, it precedes and describes an objective noun.
It cannot stand in the final position in the sentence.
It look like a verb but is an adjective.
[Be careful in translation!]
It is recognized as an adjective by its position sentences.
Turkish Object Participle Personalised
- The Posssessive Pronouns
-im -in -i -imiz -iniz -lerimy your his our their are suffixed to the participle. - Present Tense
Oturduğum ev budur.[Otur-duğ-um]
This is the house in which I live. - Past Tense
Oturduğum ev budu.
This is the house in which I lived. - En çok sevdiğin yemek nedir?
Which is the food that you like best? - En çok sevdiğin yemek nedi?
Which was the food that you liked best? - Yazdığı mektubu aldım.
I have received the letter that he wrote. - Geldiğimiz araba çalınmış.
The car in which we came has been stolen, they say. - Beğendiğiniz kumaşı bulamadım.
I could not find the material that you liked. - Yaptıkları iyiliği unutamayacağım.
I shall not be able to forget the kindness that they have shown.
This participle is used for present as well as past time.
It is identical with the first person plural of the past definite tense.
The possessive suffix for person is vowel harmonised and forms a relative pronoun.
The final -k changes to -ğ before the possessive suffix, except in the plural.
Turkish Relative Pariciples Examples
| Verb | Relative Adjective | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| bulmak | to find | Bulduğum şapka | The hat which I found. |
| seçmek | to choose | Seçtiğin kitap | The book that you are choosing/chose |
| görmek | to see | Gördüğü araba | The car that he sees/saw |
| yazmak | to write | Yazdığımız mektup | The letter that we are writing/that we wrote |
| demek | to say | Dediğiniz gibi | Like (what) you say/said |
| sevmek | to like | Sevdikleri dondurma | The ice cream that they liked. |
| Bulduğum mendil beyazdır | The handkerchief that I found is white. | ||
| Yazdığımız mektuplar buradadır | The letters that we wrote are here. | ||
| Çalıştığım büro (ofis) kapalı | The office where I work/worked is closed.. | ||
| Söyledikleri mantıklıdır | What they are saying/said is/was sensible. | ||
| Doğduğum şehri ziyaret ettim | I visited the city where I was born. | ||
| Bana verdiğin parayı kaybettim | I have lost the money that you gave me. | ||
| İlk karşılaştığımız yeri hatırlıyor musun? | Do you remember the place where we first met? | ||
| Bu masanın üstüne bıraktığım parayı kim çaldı? | Who stole the money (which/that) I left on this table? | ||
| Kaldığım otel budur. | This is the hotel in which I stayed. | ||
| Seni gördüğüm zaman konuştuğun kadın kimdi? | Who was the woman who you were talking to when I saw you? | ||
Turkish Objective Participle used as a Noun
Adjectives can stand in place of nouns in Turkish:
- Mehmet, söylediğim cevabı beğenmemiş
Mehmet seemed not to like the answer that I spoke. - söylediğim that which I spoke →
is an adjective to describe cevapanswer - The relative adjective can be a relative pronoun in the objective case: →
- Mehmet, söylediğimi beğenmemiş
[söyle-diğ-im-i]
Mehmet seemed not to like what I said.
These relative pronouns are in the objective case.
They are a direct object of the verb beğenmemiş
- Mehmet, seçtiğimi beğenmemiş
Mehmet did not like what I chose. - Mehmet, yaptığını beğenmemiş
Mehmet did not like what you did. - Mehmet, söylediğini beğenmemiş
Mehmet did not like what he said. - Mehmet, bulduğumuzu beğenmemiş
Mehmet did not like what we found. - Mehmet, aldığınızı beğenmemiş
Mehmet did not like what you bought. - Mehmet, değiştirdiklerini beğenmemiş
Mehmet did not like what they changed.
The Difference of Turkish Subject and Object Participles
The Subject Participle is an adjective.
It describes and always precedes the noun / noun phrase.
It signifies the person/thing who is doing something.
It is the subject of the sentence.
The -an / -en Subject Participle being an adjective does not show the tense.
The tense is taken from the main verb at the end of the sentence.
- The Subject Pariciple signifies the person / thing who is doing something.
- Çalan zil
The bell which is ringing. - This description itself can be an Object of another verb:
- Çalan zili duyabiliyorum
[zil-i]
I can hear the bell (obj.) which is ringing. - Çalan zili duyabildim
I could hear the bell which was ringing. - The passive of çalmak is çalınmak
- Çalınan zili duyabiliyorum
I can hear the bell that is being rung. - Çalınan zili duydum
I heard the bell that was being rung. - The object participle signifies the person / thing that is actioned by something as an object.
- Mehmet'in çaldığı zili duyabiliyorum
I can hear the bell that Mehmet is / was ringing. - Mehmet is actioning the "ringing"
- Similarly in the Passive: Mehmet tarafından çalınan zili duyabiliyorum
I can hear the bell that is / was being rung by Mehmet. - In Turkish if a participle is put between the nouns:
the "possessive construction" at the end of the second noun IS NOT NECESSARY. - WRONG:Mehmet'in çaldığı zili(ni)
[objective -ni is not used.] - CORRECT:Mehmet'in çaldığı zili
The bell that mehmet pulled. - WRONG:Ayşe'nin okuduğu kitabını sen de okumak istiyor musun?
[objective -ni is not used.] - CORRECT:Ayşe'nin okuduğu kitabı sen de okumak istiyor musun?
Do you also want read the book that Ayshe has read? - HOWEVER:
If a normal adjective is between the nouns: IT IS NECESSARY to use an objective on the possessed noun. - Ayşe'nin kalın kitabını
[kitabı-nı]bulamıyorum.
I cannot find Ayshe's thick book. - Annesi, evin küçük odasını
[odası-nı]ailenin en küçük çocuğuna verdi.
The mother gave the house's small room to the smallest child.
Lack of Relative Pronouns in Turkish
As there is NO Relative Participle in Turkish that, who, which, when
[No question marks so they are relative pronouns]
- "Turkishified" English will say for these participles:
- çalan zilthe ringing bell [the bell which is / was ringing]
- çaldığı zilthe bell that he is ringing / that he rung rung
[-dik object participle - active verb] - çalındığı zilthe bell that is / was being rung
[-dik object participle - passive verb] - The Object Participle:
geldiğim zamanWhen I came → ["time" is the object of my coming] - The Subject participle:
gelen zaman → [ "time" itself is coming] [i.e. The future or next time] - Tense taken from main verb.
- Ali'nin geldiği zaman, çarşıya GİDİYORUZ
When Ali COMES we ARE GOING to the shops. - Ali'nin geldiği zaman, çarşıya GİTTİK
When Ali CAME we WENT to the shops.
Both ideas "Ali" and his "coming" both become a compound participle (verbal adjective) to describe zamantime
This is more suitable to the Turkish point of view than the relative English constuction "when"
Turkish use of kithat
The Persian ki can be used to produce a relative clause in Turkish
It is alien to the Turkish language.
this method should be avoided or you will be marked as a foreigner.
This method is based on Persian Grammar and is more suitable to European thinking.
- Biliyorum ki beni seviyorsun.
I know that you love me.
This Persian method understandable and sometimes used, but is INCORRECT.
The "Object Participle" construction shown below is the CORRECT Turkish method:
- Beni sevdiğini biliyorum.I know that you love me
- Beni sevdiğ-in-i biliyorum. [LIT: Me that-love-you know-I.]
This is he CORRECT method according to Turkish Grammar using the object participle:
The correct method uses the -dik Relative Object participle.
Turkish Future Objective Participle
The Future Participle consists of the verb stem with the addition of the Future Tense Sign:
The -mek/-mak is dropped from the infinitive of the Verb and is replaced by the suffix -acak /-ecek
- gelmekto come → gelecekwhich will come
- gülmekto laugh → gülecekwho will laugh
- bakmakto look → bakacakwho will look
- çıkmakto exit → çıkacakthat will go out
The -ecek /-acak future participle can be used in its pure form and also personalized.
This participle just happens to be the same as the 3rd person singular of the Future Tense.
It is not possible to mistake it as a participle.
As an adjective it is never last in the sentence but usually modifies a noun.
- Yarınki yapacağım iş önemli.
The work that I will do tomorrow is (will be) important. - Yapılabilecek bir sey yok.
[yap-il-ebil-ecek]
There is nothing (from a future aspect) that can be done. - oturacak değilim.
I don't intend to sit.
[LIT: I am not about to sit down]
"Hayır" diyemeyceğiniz tek lezzet.
"Hayır" diyemeyceğiniz tek lezzet. | A famous 'nut spead' slogan seen on supermarket shelves: "Hayır" diyemeyceğiniz tek lezzet. |
diyemeyeceğiniz is a negative peronalized future participle.
It precedes and describes the noun lezzettaste / flavour.
di-y-eme-y-eceğ-iniz[from "diy-e-me-mek"]that you will not be able to say
In "Turkish" English:
"No" that-you-will-not-be-able-to-say only taste.
In "English" English:
The only taste to which you will not be able to say "No"
Turkish Future Participle "real life" example
The letter writer is asking advice about his employment and its changes.
It shows many instances of various types of participle.
Ben 14 seneden beri ayni firmada sistem mühendisi olarak çalışmaktaydım. [I had been working]Firmam başka bir firma ile birleşince iş hayatıma bu yeni firma altında devam ettim.
Bu geçiş surecinde istersek işten çıkabileceğimiz [that we will be able to quit] ve tazminat [compensation] alabileceğiz [that we will be able to take] söylendi.
Biz istemedik.
Aradan gecen 16 ayda yönetim tarafında bir çok değişiklik oldu ve biz artık oluşan bu yeni yönetim organizasyonunda olmayacağımızı [That we will not be able to] ve çıkmak istediğimizi [that we wanted] söyledik.
Fakat bize dedikleri "Biz sizi bırakmak istemiyoruz, siz bize lâzımsınız. Bizler, sizlerden memnunuz."
Biz, işe böyle bir yönetim altında devam edemeyeceğimizden [that we will not be able to continue] dolayı, ayrılmakta kararlı olduğumuzu [that we will be in acceptance] söyledik.
Onlarda bize bu şartlarda tazminat ve diğer haklarımızın yanacağını [that will put aside] söylediler.
Ne yapmamız lazım lütfen yardim.
Turkish Future Participle - How to say "instead of"
There is a special construction in Turkish when making a choice between future actions.
This consists of the Future Participle + person + motion toward -a/-e
- oturacağımainstead of me sitting [oturacağ-ım-a → Future Participle + person + dative particle]
- Bahçede oturacağımıza salonda oturalım.
Instead of sitting in the garden let us sit in the salon.
Turkish Future Object Participle Examples
- Uçağın kalkacağı saati bilmiyorum.
I don't know what time the plane will take off. - Evleneceğim kizı görmek isterim.
I would like to see the gırl I'm going to marry. - Bu hafta sonu sahamızda oynayacağımız maçı kazanmamız gerekiyor.
This week end we need to win the match that we will play on our pitch.
Turkish Object Participles Turkish Object Participles
