For native English speakers, the verb to be in Turkish can be a tricky concept to grasp at the beginning stages of learning grammar. In some cases, you construct a sentence similar to English grammar using the Turkish verb olmak (to be). However, most of the time, you do not use that separate verb and instead use a suffix. If you are familiar with Turkish basics, then using a suffix in this language should come as no surprise! However, the trick is knowing when and how to use each version of the Turkish to be verb. So, let’s learn how to properly form sentences like “I am…” or “You are…” with confidence by learning the grammar rules and explaining plenty of example sentences!
Turkish “To Be” Verb Basics
Trying to form a “to be” sentence in Turkish is the perfect example of why you cannot simply use a dictionary when learning a new language. If you look up “to be” in the dictionary, you will get the Turkish verb olmak. So, you might think that forming a sentence like “I am happy” would be the adjective “happy” plus a present-tense conjugation of olmak (something like mutlu oluyorum). However, to form a sentence like I am in Turkish, you generally will not use a separate verb but instead use a specific suffix that conveys the “being” meaning.
You will still use olmak plenty of times, especially in more complex sentence constructions—I’ll go over some of those examples at the end of this lesson. However, the Turkish personal suffix is what all beginner Turkish learners need to master first. Even though my post on learning Turkish fast generally recommended avoiding complex Turkish grammar in the beginning, understanding how to form “to be” sentences is worth the investment because of how common they are and how different they are from English.
Turkish Personal Suffix
Since Turkish is an agglutinative language, you should get used to learning more and more suffixes as you learn the grammar. Turkish uses the personal suffix in most sentence constructions to add the “being” meaning to nouns and adjectives. Beginner learners often get confused because simple Turkish sentences can appear to have no verb (especially in third-person constructions). For example, “O güzel” is a complete sentence in Turkish, meaning “She is beautiful.” To say “I am beautiful”, you would have to change the pronoun and the personal suffix into “Ben güzelim.“
Like normal verbs in Turkish sentence construction, the personal suffix will appear last since it stands in for a verb. If you are ever confused with a complicated Turkish sentence, work backward from the end—you will often find the personal suffix giving the sentence its primary meaning.
“To Be” Conjugations in Turkish
Here are the conjugations for the six personal suffixes in Turkish, along with basic example sentences for each. Note that, except for -ler which follows two-part vowel harmony (-ler/-lar), the personal suffixes follow four-part vowel harmony rules (-i, -ı, -u, -ü ). So, be prepared to change these endings to match the final vowel of the word to which you attach it. Also, be ready to use a buffer letter y if the word ends in a vowel to avoid two vowels colliding.
| Turkish Pronoun | Personal Suffix | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ben | -im (I am) | Ben mutluyum. (I am happy.) |
| Sen | -sin (You are) (informal) | Sen üzgünsün. = (You are sad.) |
| O | – (usually blank, sometimes uses -dir) | O mutlu. (She/He/It is happy.) |
| Biz | -iz (We are) | Biz yaşlıyız. (We are old.) |
| Siz | -siniz (You are) (formal) | Siz güzelsiniz (You are beautiful.) |
| Onlar | -ler (They are) | Mutlular (They are happy.) |
Rules For Saying “I am”, “You are”, and Similar Constructions
Some of these rules are crucial, and others are just suggestions that will help you sound more natural like a native speaker. As with all language learning advice, practicing with repetition, listening, and example sentences will convert these grammar rules into natural instincts over time.
- No Pronouns: Almost always, you can leave out the pronoun since the personal suffix contains that information. Occasionally, you will hear it left in if the person is trying to create more emphasis.
- Omitting Plural Suffix: If the context makes it clear that the subject is plural, Turks often leave out the third-person plural suffix (-ler).
- Attach to Other Suffixes: You can attach the personal suffix to other suffixes, such as locative and instrumental (-le/-la). For example, buradayım means ‘I am here‘, and benimleler means ‘they are with me‘.
- Attach to Question Words: Besides other suffixes, you can also attach the personal suffix directly to question words to create a state of being question. For example, kimsin means ‘who are you’, and neredeyim means ‘where am I’.
- Changing Whispered Consonants: If you didn’t know, there is a Turkish grammar rule called consonant mutation that changes whispered consonants (p,ç,t,k) into voiced consonants (b,c,d,ğ) when followed by a vowel. This rule would only apply to the I am/We are personal suffixes since those two begin with a vowel. For example, köpek means dog, and Ben bir köpeğim means ‘I am a dog‘.
- First-Person Possessive: The first-person personal suffix (-im) is the same as the first-person possessive suffix (the ending that goes on the possessed word). For example, güzelim could mean ‘I am beautiful’ or ‘my beauty’. In that case, putting the pronoun can clear up the meaning (Ben vs Benim). If the word ends in a vowel, the y buffer letter will make it clear that it is a personal to-be suffix, since the possessive suffix drops the first vowel to avoid vowel collision. For example, ‘my car‘ is arabam whereas ‘I am a car‘ would be arabayım. However, even without these situations, the context will almost always make the distinction clear.
Past Tense
Beginner Turkish learners may not have learned about past tense verb conjugations yet, and this lesson is not about covering that in detail. However, since it is a minor adjustment to learn how to use the past tense form of the personal suffix, I figured it is worth covering here. The forms are irregular compared to the usual personal suffixes, however, they will feel natural later on when you learn about the past tense.
As you might guess, Turkish has a specific suffix for the past tense, which is -di (or -ti if attaching to a whispered consonant). This suffix attaches directly to the noun or adjective and follows four-part vowel harmony (-di, -dı, -du, -dü). From there, attach the following personal suffixes to the past tense suffix:
| Turkish Pronoun | Past Tense Personal Suffix | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ben | -dim | Ben mutluydum. (I was happy.) |
| Sen | -din | Sen üzgündün. = (You were sad.) |
| O | -di | O mutluydu. (She/He/It was happy.) |
| Biz | -dik | Biz gençtik (We were young.) |
| Siz | -diniz | Siz güzeldiniz (You were beautiful.) |
| Onlar | -diler | Mutluydular (They were happy.) |
Note that, unlike the present tense, you do not use a buffer letter to prevent vowel collision. For example, you would not write mutluduyum to say ‘I was happy’. However, you probably noticed that there is still a y buffer letter before the past tense -di suffix when it attaches to words that end in a vowel, even though it is not technically avoiding any vowel collision. As with much of grammar, many aspects do not follow the rules and require memorization.
In Question Form
Besides forming questions by attaching the personal suffix directly to question words such as neredesin (where are you), you can also form state-of-being questions by attaching the personal suffix to the question article (-mi). Put the question article directly after the word that you are asking about and remember that this article and the personal suffixes must follow four-part vowel harmony rules to match the last vowel of the word to which they attach. If that sounds confusing, these examples should clear things up:
| Turkish Pronoun | Personal Suffix In Question Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ben | -miyim (Am I) | Ben mutlu muyum? (Am I happy?) |
| Sen | -misin (Are you) (informal) | Sen üzgün müsün? = (Are you sad?) |
| O | -mi (Is he) | O mutlu mu? (Is She/He/It happy?) |
| Biz | -miyiz (Are we) | Yaşlı mıyız? (Are we old?) |
| Siz | -misiniz (Are you) (formal) | Güzel misiniz? (Are you beautiful?) |
| Onlar | -ler mi (Are they) | Mutlular mı? (Are they happy?) |
By now, you might have noticed that the third-person plural rules are often irregular in Turkish grammar, and that is the case for forming questions with the personal suffix. As you can see, you attach the personal suffix to the adjective or noun as you would in a positive sentence and simply add the question article at the end. You can also use the onlar pronoun and use the question article alone since the plural meaning is obvious:
- Never:
Mutlu mular? - Instead: Mutlular mı? (Are they happy?)
- Or: Onlar mutlu mu? (Are they happy?)
Saying “Not To Be” With Değil
Luckily, negative-to-be sentences in Turkish are super easy to form: you simply attach the personal suffix to the word değil (not).
| Pronoun | Negative To Be Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ben | değilim | Mutlu değilim. (I am not happy.) |
| Sen | değilsin | Üzgün değilsin. (You are not sad.) |
| O | değil | Mutlu değil. (He is not happy.) |
| Biz | değiliz | Yaşlı değiliz. (We are not old.) |
| Siz | değilsiniz | Güzel değilsiniz. (You are not beautiful.) |
| Onlar | değiller | Mutlu değiller. (They are not happy.) |
To form negative questions, use the personal suffix question forms attached to değil. Like all negative state-of-being constructions in Turkish, you do not have to worry about four-part vowel harmony since you are always harmonizing with the same word (değil). Here are some examples:
| Pronoun | Negative Question | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ben | değil miyim | Mutlu değil miyim? (Am I not happy?) |
| Sen | değil misin | Üzgün değil misin? (Are you not sad?) |
| O | değil mi | O mutlu değil mi? (Is he not happy?) |
| Biz | değil miyiz | Yaşlı değil miyiz? (Are we not old?) |
| Siz | değil misiniz | Güzel değil misiniz? (Are you not beautiful?) |
| Onlar | değiller mi | Mutlu değiller mi? (Are they not happy?) |
Turkish Verb “Olmak” Meaning in English
Hopefully, you now understand why you cannot simply use the Turkish verb olmak (to be) in the same way we use it in English. However, there are plenty of situations where you should use it in Turkish. Some of them will go into advanced grammar past the scope of this lesson, but I will still mention those uses with some example sentences for anyone interested.
Firstly, some Turkish verb constructions use olmak preceded by a noun. Here are a few examples in infinitive form, although there are many more:
- tıraş olmak = to shave
- pişman olmak = to regret
- mezun olmak = to graduate
- razı olmak = to settle for
Besides those, let’s examine when you should use olmak for state-of-being constructions like those in this lesson. For past tense, using olmak versus the personal pronoun change subtly changes the meaning from being to becoming. For example:
- Mutluydum. = I was happy.
- Mutlu oldum = I became happy.
Finally, you will almost always use the future tense conjugation of olmak to form state-of-being sentences about the future. These can be general statements about the future or the completion clause of a conditional sentence. Both the simple present (geniş zaman) and future (gelecek zaman) tenses can fit this situation:
- Mutlu olacağım. = I will be happy.
- Üzgün olacaksın. = You will be sad.
- Mutlu olmayacak. = He will not be happy.
- Gidersem pişman olurum. = If I go, I’ll be regretful.
Conclusion
I hope you now have a much clearer understanding of how to correctly use the verb to be in Turkish grammar! I remember how tricky it was at the beginning stages of learning, but trust me with time, it will become natural. Besides studying these grammar examples, the best way to use these phrases naturally is to encounter them in the wild. Listen to podcasts or watch YouTube videos and TV shows to hear Turkish people speaking naturally.
In my opinion, unless you want to be a Turkish teacher, these grammar rules are just a helpful way to absorb the rhythm and patterns of the language more quickly. So, don’t get too obsessed with the rules and exceptions, and learn through natural patterns as often as possible. Lastly, feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions, or reach out through email to: [email protected]
Kolay gelsin!!!
