Morphemes, Allomorphs and Syllables in Turkish and English

[Metni yazın]
2016
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MORPHEMES, ALLOMORPHS
and
SYLLABLES
in
TURKISH
and
ENGLISH
YÜKSEL GÖKNEL
Y G O K N E L @ O U T L O O K . C O M

MORPHEMES, ALLOMORPHS and SYLLABLES in TURKISH and ENGLISH
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ENGLISH MORPHEMES
Note: In the following examples, the red morphemes show the verbs, the
purple morphemes show the adjectives, articles and possessive allo-
morphs, the black morphemes show nouns, the green morphemes show
adverbs and prepositions, and the blue morphemes show subjects and
subject allomorphs.The slides are /s/, /ş/, /n/ and /y/.
All human beings in the world possess the same kind of brains. Therefore,
the function of their brains does not function differently from each other. All
of the languages spoken by people in the world have somewhat common
characteristics:
Free morphemes:
The first aim of using a language is to convey thought and meaning to
other people. People express what they think using meaningful language
units to other people. These meaningful units are called morphemes in
linguistics.
Morphemes are defined as the smallest meaningful units in linguistics.
There are two kinds of morphemes in languages: free morphemes and
bound morphemes.
Free morphemes are the morphemes that carry meanings by themselves.
They are the verb roots, such as “go”, “run”, “eat”, “consult”, “follow”; they
are the noun roots, such as “table”, “house”, “garden”, “boy”; they are the
adjective roots, such as “easy”, “calm”, “brave”, “sudden”, “clever”, and
“willing”. However, although the demonstrative adjectives or demons-
trative pronouns, such as “these”, “those”, “this”, and “that” and adverbs
without “ly” suffixes, such as “always, never, often, seldom, sometimes,
soon, now, again” are free morphemes, they cannot be attached to deriva-
tional or inflectional suffixes like other free morphemes.
All verb roots, noun roots, and most adjective roots can be turned into
other forms by being attached to various derivational morphemes. There-
fore, some free morphemes may be defined as productive free
morphemes, but some others that are not affixed by derivational mor-
phemes may be defined as unproductive free morphemes.
Among the unproductive free morphemes, there are prepositions, such
as “in”, “on”, “by”, “under”, “near”, which are also free morphemes, but
they carry meaning only when they are used followed by their objects.
Therefore, they may be defined as unproductive free morphemes. Ad-
ditionally, there are the articles, such as “a”, “an”, “the”, “some”, and “any”,
which are used before nouns to modify them are also unproductive free
morphemes. All conjunctions, such as “and”, “but”, “so”, “or”, “as”, “be-

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cause”, “until”, “before”, etc, and pronouns “I”, “you”, “he”, “she” “it”, “we”,
“they” are all unproductive free morphemes. Although all these words are
called free morphemes, they cannot be attached to any derivational or inflec-
tional morphemes. Only productive noun, verb, and adjective free mor-
phemes can be attached to derivational or inflectional morphemes.
Bound morphemes:
Bound morphemes are the affixes (prefixes, infixes or suffixes). These
bound morphemes carry meanings only when they are attached to free pro-
ductive morphemes. They are divided into two main parts according to
their functions. Some of them change the meaning and the part of speech of
a free productive morpheme when they are attached to them, which are
named as derivational morphemes; the other kind does not change the
meanings of the free productive morphemes, but they only add gram-
metical senses to free productive morphemes; they do not change the
meanings of the free productive morphemes.
As the demonstrative adjectives or pronouns, the prepositions, and the
articles are not productive free morphemes, they are not affixed by any
inflectional or derivational morphemes.
Some common derivational morphemes are as follows:
Nouns:
Productive nouns may be attached by “ful” and “less” derivational mor-
phemes to produce adjectives:
beauti-ful, care-ful, pain-ful, wonder-ful, use-ful, help-ful, color-ful,
harm ful, joy-ful, fear-ful, power-ful, skil-ful, plenty-ful, shame-ful
-
child-less, sense-less, home-less, care-less, use-less, hope-less, mer-
cy-less, harm-less, end-less, heart-less, pain-less, shame-less, sleep-
less
Some nouns may be attached by “able” derivational morpheme to pro-
duce adjectives:
comfort-able, profit-able, market-able
Some nouns may be attached by the suffix “hood” to produce other
nouns:
child-hood, boy-hood, man-hood, mother-hood…

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Some verbs may be attached by “ment” derivational morpheme to pro-
duce nouns:
agree-ment, argue-ment, develop-ment, commit-ment, govern-ment.
move-ment
Some verbs may be attached by “sion, tion” morphemes to produce
nouns:
education, discussion, action, duration, solution, repetition, connec-
tion, reception, interruption, description, collection, deception, etc.
Some verbs may be attached by the derivational allomorphs “able,
ible” to produce adjectives:
eat-able, understand-able, read-able, predict-able, reason-able, un-
think-able, wash-able, avail-able, depend-able, reliable, avoid-able,
count-able
sensible, irresistible, reducible, convertible, digestible
Some verbs may be attached by the “er” derivational morpheme to
produce nouns:
drive-er, paint-er, speak-er, box-er, teach-er, writ-er, train-er, walk-er,
read-er, conduct-er, kill-er, do-er
Some verbs may be attached by the “able” derivational morpheme to
produce adjectives:
eat-able, drink-able, read-able, wash-able, understand-able, convert-
able
Some nouns may be attached by the “ful” derivational morpheme to
produce adjectives:
beauty-ful, care-ful, wonder-ful, pain-ful, use-ful, meaning-ful, harm-ful,
dread-ful, thank-ful, mercy-ful, doubt-ful
Some adjectives may be attached to the “en” derivational morpheme to
produce verbs:
wide-en, ripe-en, sharp-en, short-en, dark-en
Some nouns may be attached to the “ize” derivational morpheme to
produce verbs:

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memory → memorize, apology → apologize, summery → summarize
Some adjectives may be attached to the “ness” derivational morpheme
to produce nouns:
bright-ness, happy-ness, lonely-ness, sad-ness, hard-ness
Some adjectives may be attached to “ify” derivational morpheme to
produce verbs:
clearify, purify, specify
Some nouns may be attached to “ize” derivational allomorphs to pro-
duce verbs: apology → apologize, memory → memorize, victim →
victimize
Some adjectives may be attached to “ize” derivational morphemes to
produce verbs:
local-ize, real-ize, mobil-ize, vocal-ize, sivil-ize
Some adjectives may be attached by “ly” derivational morphemes to
produce adverbs:
happy-ly, glad-ly, sad-ly, thankful-ly, perfect-ly, high-ly, slow-ly, sud-
den-ly, prompt-ly, angry-ly, quiet-ly, loud-ly, soft-ly, beautiful-ly, grace-
ful-ly, generous-ly, general-ly, certain-ly, hungry-ly, necessary-ly,
sharp-ly, rough-ly, smooth-ly, separate-ly, bad-ly, dangerous-ly, bold-
ly, sudden-ly, automatical-ly, normal-ly, short-ly, wrong-ly, breathless-
ly, proud-ly, great-ly, correct-ly, careful-ly, partial-ly, quick-ly
Some prefixes turn words into negative forms. They do not change the
lexical meanings of the words. They are as follows:
“a”, “dis”, “il”, “im”, “in”, ”ir”, “non”, “un”
Example words:
apolitical, atheist, asexual
disagree, discomfort, dismount
illegal, illiterate, illogical, illegible
impossible, imperfect, immoral, immobile, impolite
inaccurate, inorganic, ineligible, insane, indecent, incredible
irrational, irresponsible, irregular, irresistible
uncomfortable, unnecessary, unimportant, uncountable, unable,
nonsense, nonfiction, nonessent

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Inflectional morphemes:
Inflectional morphemes are bound morphemes (suffixes) that alter the
grammatical state of nouns, verbs, and adjectives. There are eight in-
flectional morphemes that express tense, number, gender, case, and
aspect.
Nouns:
Plural allomorphs: “s”(book-s, dog-s, monkey-s); “es” (box-es, church-
es) Possessor morpheme: “s” (Jack’s, boy’s, teacher’s)
Adjectives:
Comparison morpheme: “er” (swift-er, short-er, calm-er, hard-er)
Superlative morpheme: “est” (short-est, swift-est, calm-est, bold-est)
Verbs:
Third person singular allomorphs: “s” and “es”: (walk-s, run-s, sleep-s)
(go-es, do-es)
Past tense and past participle morpheme “ed” (work-ed, open-ed, start-
ed, clean-ed)
Present participle morpheme “ing”: go-ing, sleep-ing, do-ing, work-ing
Note: English words are divided into syllables as in other languages,
but their syllabication rules are very complicated. Therefore, when you
syllable them you should consult an English dictionary.
TURKISH FREE and BOUND MORPHEMES
Although Turkish free morphemes are like English free morphemes,
nearly all English unproductive free morphemes, such as the preposi-
tions “in”, “on”,” at” “from”, “to”, “without”, etc. are all expressed with
bound allomorphs attached to free morphemes in Turkish. For ins-
tance:
English: Jack is at school. (“At” is a preposition, and “at school” is a
prepositional phrase)
Turkish: Jack okul-da. (“Da” is a bound morpheme that has four allo-
morphs: (“de, da, te, ta).
The allomorphs of a morpheme are any one of the different phonolo-
gical representations of a morpheme that follows the Turkish vowel

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and consonant harmony sequences. All Turkish free morphemes and
bound allomorphs fallow the vowel sequences below:
TURKISH VOWEL HARMONY SEQUENCE
A Turkish speaker follows two certain harmony chains to produce a vowel
harmony sequence:
1. The hard vowel harmony chain. 2. The thin vowel harmony chain.
1. The hard (back) vowel harmony chain is “o ⟶ u ⟶ a ⇄ ı”
2. The thin (front) vowel harmony chain is “ö ⟶ ü ⟶ e ⇄ i”
In both chains, the first vowels /o/ and /ö/ never repeat themselves. The
other vowels can be repeated as many times as necessary. The arrow (→)
points to the vowel that should follow the previous one. The arrows (⇄),
pointing to both directions, show that /i/ may follow /e/, or /e/ may follow /i/.
In the hard vowel harmony chain, /a/ and /ı/ do the same. Furthermore, be-
sides the arrows, the letters “r” are put under repeatable vowels to com-
plete our diagrams:
1. The hard (back) vowel harmony chain: “o ⟶ ur ⟶ ar ⇄ ır”
2. The thin (front) vowel harmony chain: “ö ⟶ ür ⟶ er ⇄ ir”
As one could see, the two diagrams look exactly like one another. All the
words in the Turkish language follow either the first or the second harmony
sequences. The words borrowed from other languages do not follow these
sequences as expected, but the suffixes that attach to them follow the vow-
els of the last syllables of such words. Consequently, one could build up
meaningless vowel chains made up of only vowels following the two vowel
chains:
“o*u*u*a*ı*a*ı”, “o*a*ı*a”, “ü*ü*e*e*i”, “ö*e*i*e”, "ö*ü*ü*ü", "o*a"
For instance:
“kom*şu*ya” (o*u*a); “kom*şu*lar*dan” (o*u*a*a); “ge*le*cek*ler” (e*e*e*e);
“o*luş*tur*duk*la*rı*mız*dan” (o*u*u*u*a*ı*ı*a); “u*nu*ta*lım” (u*u*a*ı);
“o*ku*la” (o*u*a); “ten*ce*re*ye” (e*e*e*e); “ka*ça*ma*ya*cak” (a*a*a*a*a)
One could make up Turkish meaningless vowel chains as many as one
wishes using the vowel chains above. I advise those who are interested in
learning Turkish to make up meaningless vowel chains like the chains
above, they should repeat them loudly again and again. If they do so, they

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can memorize the Turkish vowel harmony sequences easily and soundly as
they learn a piece of music. When they repeat them, they may even feel and
sound as if they were speaking Turkish.
As it has already been stated, borrowed words do not follow the vowel har-
mony sequences, but the last syllables of such words attach to suffixes in
accordance with the vowel and consonant harmony rules:
patates-ler-i (pa*ta*tes*le*ri) “the potatoes”; televizyon-u
(te*le*viz*yo*nu) “the television”; mandalina-/y/ı (man*da*li*
na*yı) “the tangerine”; sigara-/y/ı (si*ga*ra*yı) “the cigarette”.
The /y/ phonemes used above are glides (semivowels) (consonants) insert-
ed between two vowels to help them pass the voice from one vowel to the
following one smoothly and harmoniously. They do not carry meaning.
One more thing to add to the explanation above is that the words that are
formed of two separate words do not follow the above vowel harmony se-
quences, For instance:
kahverengi (kahve + rengi) “brown”; buzdolabı (buz + dolabı) “refrige-
rator”; bilgisayar (bilgi + sayar) “computer”; tavanarası (tavan + arası)
“attic”.
Besides the vowel harmony rules above, there are three more essential
vowel rules to consider:
1.The verbs ending with vowels drop these vowels when they attach to
the allomorphs of [İYOR]. These vowels are double underlined. Besides the
double underlined vowels, there are some consonants that are single un-
derlined which show that they detach from their syllables and attach to the
first vowels of the following allomorphs to produce new syllables:
bekle-iyor → (bek*li*yor); başla-ıyor → (baş*lı*yor); anla-ıyor → (an*lı*yor);
gizle-iyor → (giz*li*yor); oku-uyor → (o*ku*yor); atla-ıyor → (at*lı*yor)
ye-iyor → (yi*yor); gözle-üyor → (göz*lü*yor); gizle-iyor → (giz*li*yor)
gel-iyor-um → (ge*li*yo*rum); yüz-üyor-uz → (yü*zü*yo*ruz); iç-er-im →
(i*çe*rim); yaz-acak-ım → (ya*za*ca*ğım); yakalan-acak-ız → (ya*ka*la*-
na*ca*ğız); gül-er-im → (gü*le*rim); kork-ar-ız → (kor*ka*rız)
2.When the last syllables of the nouns (including the infinitives), the verbs,
and the inflectional morphemes end with vowels, and the first vowels of the
following allomorphs start with the same vowels, these two vowels combine
and verbalize as single vowels. For example, when the last vowel of the
word “anne” and the first vowel of the allomorph “em” happen to be arti-

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culated together, they combine and verbalize as a single vowel: “anne-
em” → (an*nem). For instance:
anne-en  (an*nen); tarla-am  (tar*lam); araba-anız  (a*ra*ba*nız);
kafa-an  (ka*fan); git-ti-in  (git*tin); bekle-di-ik  (bek*le*dik); gül-dü-
ük  (gül*dük); yakala-dı-ım  (ya*ka*la*dım); git-me-em  (git*mem);
çalış-ma-am  (ça*lış*mam); temizle-en-mek  (te*miz*len*mek); Dinle-er
mi-/s/in?  (din*ler / mi*sin); ol-sa-am  (ol*sam), bil-se-em (bil*sem)
If the last vowel of a word and the first vowel of an allomorph happen to be
different, these two vowels are generally linked by the /y/ glides:
oku-ma-/y/ız  (o*ku*ma*yız); gel-me-/y/iz  (gel*me*yiz); tava-/y/ı →
(ta*va*yı), salata-/y/ı (sa*la*ta*yı), uyku-/y/a → (uy*ku*ya).
How should we choose which allomorph we must use to attach to a free mor-
pheme?
The “de” bound morpheme has four allomorphs “de, da, te, ta”. You cannot
choose any one of them you like. You have to choose the allomorph that can
follow the last vowel of a free morpheme following the vowel and consonant
harmony rules of the Turksh sound system. These allomrphs are generally
used to produce subject complements, therefore they are underlined brown.
Consider the following:
Jack ev-de. (“ev-de” is an adverbial subject complement.)
Jack is at home. (“at home” is an adverbial subject complement.)
Jack okul-da. (“okul-da” is an adverbial subject complement.)
Jack is at school. (“at school” is an adverbial subject complement.)
Elmalar sepet-te,
The apples are in the basket.
Jack butfak- ta.
Jack is in the kitchen.
If you check the Turkish vowel harmony sequences, you can see that they
are following the vowel and consonant harmony rules given in the diagrams
having straight and curved arrows above:
ev-de → e-e, okul-da → u-a, sepet-te →e-e, mutfak-ta → a-a
The bound allomorphs that are attached to free morphemes:
The Turkish bound allomorphs and their English corresponding articles and
prepositions are as follows:

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“i, ı, ü, u” = “the”
sepet-i = the basket, tavşan-ı = the rabbit, göz-ü = the eye, okul-u = the
school, adam-ı = the man; top-u = the ball, kuş-u = the bird
When the following Turkish bound allomorphs are attached to nouns, they
produce adverbials, but when some English prepostions are used before
nouns they produce adverbial phrases. Consider the following:
“e, a”. “/y/e, /y/a” = “to, at”
ev-e = to the house, pencere-/y/e = to the window, İngiltere-/y/e = to
England, market-e = to the market, Londra-/y/a = to London, Adam-a
bağırdı. = He shouted at the man. Biz-e baktılar. They looked at us.
“de, da, te, ta” = “in, on, at”
ev-de = in the house, okul-da = at school, sepet-te = in the basket,
uçak-ta = on the plane, İstanbul-da = in İstanbul, bahçe-de = in the
garden, Onun başı dert-te = He is in trouble.
“den, dan, ten, tan” = “from, through, out of”
market-ten = from the market, okul-dan = from school, sepet-ten = out
of the basket, bakkal-dan = from the grocer, Tren tünel-den geç-iyor =
The train is passing through the tunnel, Pencere-den sark-ma = Don’t
lean out of the window. Jack anahtar deliği/n/-den bakıyor. Jack is
look-ing through the key hole.
“le, la” “ile” = “with, by, on”
Jack-le ders çalışıyor. He is studying with Jack. Otobüs-le gittik = We
went by bus. At-la seyahat ediyorlar = They are traveling on hors-back.
Güçlük-le taşıdı. He carried with difficulty.
As you can see above, some English prepositions are expressed by allo-
morphs attached to nouns in Turkish.
There are “/s/, /ş/, /n/, /y/ consonants called slides in Turkish that help to
pass a phoname to the fallowing one.smoothly and harmoniously.
TURKISH DERIVATIONAL MORPHEMES AND THEIR ENGLISH
EQUIVALENTS
Derivational morphemes (suffixes) are bound morphemes that change the
lexical meaning or the part of speech of a word used in a sentence. As a
rule, the last syllables of all derivational morphemes are stresses in Turkish.
MORPHEMES ATTACHED TO NOUNS THAT PRODUCE OTHER NOUNS
[Cİ] allomorphs: ♫ [ci, cı, cü, cu, çi, çı, çü, çu] XXX

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When the nouns ending with vocals (vowels or voiced consonants) are at-
tached to the morpheme [Cİ], the /i/ vowel in this morpheme changes into /i,
ı, ü, u/ in accordance with the vowel harmony rules. However, if a noun ends
with an unvoiced consonant, the /c/ voiced consonants also change into the
/ç/ unvoiced consonants in agreement with the consonant harmony rules:
peynir-ci (cheese seller), posta-cı (postman), üzüm-cü (grapes seller), tur-
şu-cu (pickles seller), sepet-çi (basket maker), balık-çı (fisherman), süt-çü
(milkman), ok-çu (archer), aş-çı (cook), kale-ci (goal-keeper), kahve-ci (cof-
fee seller), saat-çi (watch repairer or seller), mobilya-cı (furniture seller), ka-
çak-çı (smuggler), musluk-çu (plumber), yaban-cı (foreigner), çiçek-çi (flo-
rist), yol-cu (traveler), sanat-çı (artist), göz-cü (watch, watchman), söz-cü
(spokesman), politika-cı (politician), milliyet-çi (nationalist), diş-çi (den-tist),
kira-cı (tenant), şarkı-cı (singer), börek-çi (someone who sells pies), boya-
cı (painter), demir-ci (blacksmith), halter-ci (weight lifter).
[LİK] allomorphs: ♫ [lik, lık, lük, luk]
meyve-lik (a bowl where fruit is kept), kitap-lık (bookcase), göz-lük (eye
glasses), odun-luk (a place where firewood is kept), ağız-lık (cigarette
holder), kulak-lık (headphones), çaydan-lık (tea pot), mezar-lık (grave-
yard), şeker-lik (a bowl in which candies are kept), çokevli-lik (polygamy),
tuz-luk (saltshaker), çocuk-luk (childhood), maskara-lık (farce, foolery),
soytarı-lık (clowning), dost-luk (friendship), düşman-lık (enmity), gece-lik
(pajamas, nightgown), ön-lük (apron), güven-lik (safety), anne-lik (moth-
erhood), evlat-lık (adopted child), kahraman-lık (heroism).
[CİLİK] allomorphs: ♫ [cilik, cılık, cülük, culuk, çilik, çılık, çülük, çuluk]
av-cılık (hunting), meyve-cilik (selling fruit), ön-cülük (leadership), yol-cu-
luk (traveling), aş-çılık (cooking), fal-cılık (fortune telling), tefe-cilik (usury),
çiçek-çilik (selling flowers), çifçi-lik (farming), hava-cılık (aviation), balık-çılık
(fishing), kaçak-çılık (smuggling), çöp-çülük (scavenge)
[CİK] allomorphs: ♫ [cik, cık, cük, cuk, çik, çık, çük, çuk] (diminutive)
ev-cik (small house), kapı-cık (small door), köprü-cük (small bridge), kutu-
cuk (small box), eşek-çik (small donkey), ağaç-çık (small tree), kadın-cık
(little woman), tosun-cuk (big and healthy newborn baby).
[CEĞİZ] allomorphs: ♫ [ceğiz, cağız, çeğiz, çağız] (innocence)
kedi-ceğiz (innocent cat), kız-cağız (innocent girl), hayvan-cağız (innocent
animal), köpek-çeğiz (innocent dog), kuş-çağız (innocent bird).
[CE] allomorphs: ♫ [ce, ca, çe, ça]

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İngiliz-ce (English), Alman-ca (German), Türk-çe (Turkish), Rus-ça (Rus-
sian), İspanyol-ca (Spanish), Japon-ca (Japanese), Çin-ce (Chinese), Arap-
ça (Arabic), Fransız-ca (French), İtalyan-ca (Italian), Rum-ca (Greek).
MORPHEMES ATTACHED TO NOUNS THAT PRODUCE ADJECTIVES
[CİL] allomorphs: ♫ [cil, cıl, cül, cul, çil, çıl, çül, çul]
ev-cil (domestic), insan-cıl (humane), ben-cil (selfish), ot-çul (herbivorous)
[Lİ] allomorphs: ♫ [li, lı, lü, lu]
ev-li (married), çocuk-lu (with children), şemsiye-li (with an umbrella), bah-
çe-li ev (house with a garden), şiyah ceket-li adam (the man in a black
coat), kırmızı-lı kadın (the woman in red), görgü-lü (having good manners,
polite), çiçek-li ağaç (a tree in blossom), yağmur-lu (rainy), kar-lı (snowy),
sis-li (foggy, misty), güneş-li (sunny), bulut-lu (cloudy), tuz-lu (salty), at-lı
(man on horseback), istek-li (willing), becerik-li (skillful), çamur-lu (muddy),
hesap-lı (economical), saygı-lı (respectful), suç-lu (criminal), hata:-lı
(faulty), tat-lı (sweet), mayo-lu (in a bathing suit), süt-lü (with milk, milky),
paha-lı (expensive), taş kafa-lı (stone headed), Adana-lı (from Adana),
sürek-li (continuous), hiddet-li (outrageous), kıl-lı (hairy), bilinç-li (inten-
tional, conscious), zarar-lı (harmful), tehlike-li (dangerous), şüphe-li (suspi-
cious, suspect), yer-li (native), iki bacak-lı (two legged), kanat-lı (winged),
kaygı-lı (anxious), umut-lu (hopeful), gerek-li (necessary), yetenek-li (tal-
ented), bağım-lı (addicted, dependent), silah-lı (armed), renk-li (colored),
kâr-lı (profitable), zehir-li (poisonous), denge-li (balanced), neşe-li (joyful),
kusur-lu (faulty), gürültü-lü (noisy), değer-li (precious), gerek-li (neces-
sary), düşünce-li (thoughtful), yürek-li (brave), ayrıntı-lı (detailed, in detail),
sorum-lu (responsible), mantık-lı (rational), güç-lü (strong), örtü-lü (cov-
ered), his-li (sensitive), hırs-lı (ambitious), hız-lı (fast), tertip-li (tidy), tuz-lu
(salty), buz-lu (icy), çamur-lu (muddy), kir-li (dirty), pasak-lı (untidy), kor-
ku-lu (frightening, scary), hak-lı (right, fair), kasıt-lı (intentional), hesap-lı
(economical), meme-li (mammal), tecrübe-li, deneyim-li (experienced),
falso-lu (erroneous), kasvet-li (gloomy, doleful), kuşku-lu (dubious, sus-
picious), onur-lu, gurur-lu (proud), dayanık-lı (durable), dikkat-li (care-
ful), becerik-li (skillful), yama-lı (patchy), dokunak-lı (pungent), görev-li
(on duty), yarar-lı (useful), karar-lı (firm, determined), görkem-li (magnif-
icent), şatafat-lı (pompous), akıl-lı (intelligent), rahmet-li (deceased), yaş-lı
(aged) dert-li (in trouble, miserable), şeker-li (sweet), su-lu (saucy), fayda-
lı (useful), gizem-li (mysterious), korku-lu (frightening, horrifying), duygu-lu
(emotional, sensitive), heyecan-lı (exciting, nervous), tertip-li (tidy), ileri
görüş-lü (foreseeing), huzur-lu (peaceful), keyif-li (cheerful), yetki-li (au-
thorized), bağlantı-lı (related, agglutinative), boya-lı (painted), cila-lı (ci*-
lâ:*lı) (finished, varnished), cilt-li (hardback), yay-lı (with springs), ayrıntı-lı
(detailed, in detail), ölçü-lü (restrained), güç-lü (strong), tür-lü tür-lü (all

13
sorts of), besbel-li (obvious), isabet-li (i*sa:*bet*li) (right, to the purpose),
geçer-li (valid), başarı-lı (successful), inanç-lı (believer), direnç-li (resis-
tive), kanıt-lı (proven, supported by evidence), yün-lü (woollen), pamuk-lu
(cotton), ateş-li (fiery, zealous), çizgi-li (lined, striped), yıldız-lı (starry, star-
lit), boya-lı (painted), kıyma-lı börek (mince pie), güneş-li (sunny), toz-lu
(dusty), ağaç-lı (wooded), çiçek-li (flowered), desen-li (patterned, figured),
yaldız-lı (gilded), süs-lü (ornamented), kıymet-li (precious, valuable), kuy-
ruk-lu (tailed), zahmet-li (difficult, hard), temkin-li (cautious).
[SİZ] allomorphs: ♫ [siz, sız, süz, suz]
korku-suz (fearless), istek-siz (unwilling), yağmur-suz (rainless), ağaç-sız
(treeless), defo-suz (flawless), uyku-suz (sleepless), bilinç-siz (unconscious),
karar-sız (hesitant), sorum-suz (irresponsible), dikkat-siz (careless), amaç-
sız (aimless), kalp-siz (heartless), yürek-siz (timid), neşe-siz (neş*e*siz)
(sad), ümit-siz, umut-suz (desperate, hopeless), taban-sız (timid), saygı-sız
(disrespectful), mantık-sız (irrational), temel-siz (unsound, baseless), renk-
siz (colorless), gerek-siz (unnecessary), bağım-sız (independent), perva:-sız
(reckless), kafa-sız (stupid), sevgi-siz (loveless), terbiye-siz (impolite, rude),
görgü-süz (impolite), becerik-siz (incompe-tent), imkân-sız (impossible), de-
ğer-siz (worthless), ses-siz (silent), şeker-siz (without sugar), gerek-siz (un-
necessary), düşünce-siz (thoughtless), sorum-suz (irresponsible), mesnet-
siz (baseless), tasa-sız (carefree), ahlâk-sız (immoral), yüz-süz (impudent),
huy-suz (perverse), akıl-sız (foolish), dayanak-sız (baseless), dayanık-sız
(not durable), duygu-suz (senseless), kusur-suz (faultless), ta:lih-siz (un-
fortunate), kıymet-siz (worthless), tehlike-siz (safe), tat-sız (tasteless), haya-
sız (shameless, impudent), tertip-siz (untidy), yarar-sız (useless), tutar-sız.
(inconsistent), amaç-sız (aimless), değer-siz (worthless), zarar-sız (harm-
less), koku-suz (odorless), neden-siz (causeless), acıma-sız (merciless),
taraf-sız (impar-tial), yetenek-siz (incompetent), suç-suz (innocent), denge-
siz (unbal-anced), keyif-siz (low-spirited), kaygı-sız (indifferent), tasa-sız
(carefree), deneyim-siz (inexperienced), kuşku-suz (without doubt), uygun-
suz (inappropriate), surat-sız (sour faced), denge-siz (unbalanced), kontrol-
suz (uncontrolled), kıymet-siz (worthless), anlam-sız (insignificant, non-
sense), eğitim-siz (uneducated), bilgi-siz (ignorant), inanç-sız (faithless),
huzur-suz (fidgety), annes-siz (motherless), leke-siz (stainless), kaygı-sız
(without anxiety), denge-siz (unbalanced), uyum-suz (unharmonious).
[SEL] allomorphs: ♫ [sel, sal]
bilim-sel (scientific), evren-sel (universal), deney-sel (experimental, empir-
ical), yüzey-sel (superficial), duygu-sal (emotional, sensational), sanat-sal
(artistic), yapı-sal (structural), gelenek-sel (traditional), düşün-sel (mental),
tarih-sel (historical), tarihî (historic), kavram-sal (conceptual), kimya-sal (che-
mical), fizik-sel (physical), anıt-sal (monumental), yaşam-sal (vital), din-sel
(religious), ulus-sal (u*lu*sal) (national), çevre-sel (environmental), kalıt-sal

14
(hereditary), onur-sal (honorary), bitki-sel (herbal), hayvan-sal (zoolo-
gical), tarım-sal (agricultural), us-sal (us*sal) (mental, rational), tanrı-sal
(divine, celestial), yörünge-sel (orbital), kurum-sal (institutional, corporate),
kamu-sal (public), küre-sel (global, spherical), kır-sal (rural), örgüt-sel (orga-
nizational), toplum-sal (social, common), belge-sel (documental), kurgu-sal
(fictional), ruh-sal (psychological), beden-sel (corporal), birey-sel (indivi-
dual), algı-sal (perceptual), sayı-sal (numerical, digital), simge-sel (symbo-
lic).
MORPHEMES ATTACHED TO ADJECTIVES THAT PRODUCE NOUNS
[LİK] allomorphs: ♫ [lik, lık, lük, luk] (iyi-lik = iyilik), (sıcak-lık= sıcaklık)
iyi-lik (favor), sıcak-lık (temperature), özgür-lük (freedom), uzun-luk (length),
geniş-lik (width), güzel-lik (beauty), çirkin-lik (ugliness), dürüst-lük (honesty),
aptal-lık (stupidity), sessiz-lik (silence), evli-lik (marriage), bayağı-lık (mean-
ness), iyimser-lik (optimism), kötümser-lik (pessimism), uşak-lık (servitude),
yalnız-lık (loneliness), misafirsever-lik (hospitality), kahraman-lık (heroism),
vatansever-lik (patriotism), kaba-lık (rudeness), duygusal-lık (sensitivity),
dost-luk (frienship), kepaze-lik (scandal), üret-ken-lik (productivity), küresel-
lik (globalism), aşağılık kompleksi (inferiority complex), arsız-lık (impu-
dence), geveze-lik (chattering), düşüncesiz-lik (inconsiderateness), mutsuz-
luk (unhappiness), aç-lık (hunger, starvation), güç-lük (difficulty), saydam-lık
(transparency), utangaç-lık (shyness), uzak-lık (distance), yakın-lık (close-
ness, sympathy), küstah-lık (insolence), kurak-lık (drought), ürkek-lik (shy-
ness), sersem-lik (dizziness), hovarda-lık (debauchery), alışkan-lık (addic-
tion), yüksek-lik (height), derin-lik (depth), kırmızı-lık (redness), kötü-lük
(wickedness, evil), kurnaz-lık (craftiness), dürüst-lük (honesty), karamsar-lık
(moodiness), kolay-lık(ease, facility), tembel-lik (lazyness), kira-lık ((to let,
for hire) özel-lik (speciality), özgün-lük (originality, genuineness), kararsız-lık
(hesitation, uncertainty, instability, inconsistency), bol-luk (abundance),
sürekli-lik (continuity), kararlı-lık (determination), avare-lik (a:*va:*re*lik) (idle-
ness), yüzeysel-lik (shallowness, superficiality), kıt-lık (famine), sarkın-tı-lık
(molestation), kibar-lık (kindness, politeness), dayanıklı-lık (durability), boş-
luk (emptiness), yok-luk (poverty, absence, nonexistence), yaşlı-lık (aged-
ness), sorumlu-luk (responsibility), sorumsuz-luk (irresponsibility), gayretkeş-
lik (zeal), vurdumduymaz-lık (callousness), tutarsız-lık (inconsistency), deli-
lik (madness), bilgisiz-lik (cahil-lik) (ignorance), benzer-lik (resemblance),
karamsar-lık (moodiness), güzel-lik (beauty), kızgın-lık (anger), bağışık-lık
(immunity), düşman-lık (enmity, hostility), budala-lık, ahmak-lık (stupidity,
idiocy).
MORPHEMES ATTACHED TO VERBS THAT PRODUCE NOUNS
In agreement with the oral sequence of the Turkish sound system, the last
consonants of the last syllables of the verbs detach from their syllables, and

15
attach to the first vowels of the following derivational allomorphs while form-
ing new syllables. These consonants are single underlined.
[İ] allomorphs: ♫ [i, ı, ü, u] (diz-i = dizi), (yaz-ı = yazı)
diz-i (di*zi) (string, chain, serial, sequence ), yaz-ı (ya*zı) (script, text), ölç-
ü(öl*çü) (measurement, size), koş-u (ko*şu) (run), duy-u (du*yu) (sense),
gez-i (ge*zi) (trip), aç-ı (a*çı) (angle), yap-ı (ya*pı) (building), tak-ı (ta*kı)
(jewelry, jewels), dürt-ü (dür*tü) (stimulus), tart-ı (tar*tı) (scales), art-ı (ar*tı)
(plus), başar-ı (ba*şa*rı) (success), kork-u (kor*ku) (fear), sor-u (so*ru)
(question), ört-ü (ör*tü) (any cloth covering), çat-ı (ça*tı) (framework), yet-i
(ye*ti) (mental power, faculty), yat-ı (ya*tı) (overnight stay), öl-ü (ö*lü),
(corpse), göm-ü (gö*mü) (treasure), kok-u (ko-ku) (scent, smell, aroma,
perfume), böl-ü (bö*lü) (slash mark), dinlet-i (concert), güldür-ü (comedy)
doğ-u (do*ğu) (east), bat-ı (ba*tı) (west), çarp-ı (cross, times), böl-ü (bö*lü)
[İM] allomorphs: ♫ [im, ım, üm, um, em, am]
seç-im (se*çim) (election), al-ım (a*lım) (purchase), öl-üm (ö*lüm) (death),
yık-ım (yı*kım) (disaster, demolition), yut-um (yu*dum) (gulp), ek-im (e*kim)
(October), ak-ım (a*kım) (current), üret-im (ü*re*tim) (production), geliş-im
(ge*li*şim) (improvement), karış-ım (ka*rı*şım) (mixture), dönüş-üm (dö*nü*-
şüm) (transformation), çek-im (çe*kim) (attraction), geril-im (ge*ri*lim) (tens-
ion), tasar-ım (ta*sa*rım) (plan, design), kavra-am (kav-*ram) (concept),
denkle-em (denk*lem) (equation), ekle-em (ek*lem) (joint), tüket-im (tü*ke*-
tim) (consumption), yaklaş-ım (yak*la*şım) (approach), benzeş-im (ben*ze*-
şim) (similarity, resemblance), iletiş-im (i*le*ti*şim) (communication), biliş-im
(bi*li*şim) (informatics), de/y/-im (de*yim) (expression, idiom), say-ım (sa*-
yım) (census), giy-im (gi*yim) (clothing), çöz-üm (çö*züm) (solution), kıy-ım
(kı*yım) (massacre), açıl-ım (a*çı*lım) (expansion), yatır-ım (ya*tı*rım) (in-
vestment), al-ım, sat-ım (a*lım, sa*tım) (buying and selling, trade, com-
merce), giy-im (gi*yim) (attire), salk-ım (sal*-kım) (bunch), bir salkım üzüm (a
bunch of grapes), uy-um (u*yum) (ac-cordance). dön-em (dö*nem) (period),
yaşa-am (ya*şam) (life), anla-am (an*lam) (meaning), devin-im (de*vi*nim)
(movement), dene-/y/im (de*ne*-yim) (experience), gözle-em (göz*lem) (ob-
servation), söyle-em (söy*lem) (expression), geç-im (ge*çim) (living), çiz-im
(çi*zim) (drawing, design), çal-ım (ça*lım) (feint), al-ım (a*lım) (purchase),
sür-üm (sale), yatır-ım (ya*tı*rım) (investment), yalıt-ım (ya*lı*tım) (insu-
lation).
When the identical vowels written in bold face follow one another, they com-
bine and are pronounced as single vowels; and the single underlined conso-
nants detach from their syllables and attach to the first vowels of the follow-
ing allomorphs in agreement with the oral sequence of the Turkish sound
system.

16
[İK] allomorphs: ♫ [ik, ık, ük, uk, ek, ak]
del-ik (de*lik) (hole), art-ık (ar*tık) (left over), öksür-ük (ök*sü*rük)
(cough), tükür-ük (tü*kü*rük) (spit, saliva), aksır-ık (ak*sı*rık) (sneeze)
bulaş-ık (bu*la*şık) (dirty dishes), kayna-ak (kay*nak) (source, spring, ori--
gin), belle-ek (bel*lek) (memory), tara-ak (ta*rak) (comb), yama-ak (ya*-
mak) (apprentice), döşe-ek (dö*şek) (mattress), kapa-ak (ka*pak) (lid), eş-
ik (e*şik) (threshold), dene-ek (de*nek) (experimental subject, object, or
animal), tekerle-ek (te*ker*lek) (wheel), kay-ık (ka*yık) (boat), bat-ık (ba*-
tık) (submerged), çiz-ik (çi*zik) (scratch), çatla-ak (çat*lak) (crack).
[EK] allomorphs: ♫ [ek, ak]
Tapın-ak (ta*pı*nak) (temple), kay-ak (ka*yak) (ski), saç-ak (sa*çak)
(fringe), uç-ak (u*çak) (airplane), yat-ak (ya*tak) (bed), kaç-ak (ka*çak)
(escaped), dayan-ak (da*ya*nak) (support), kes-ek (ke*sek) (a lump of
earth), ölç-ek (öl*çek) (scale), ben-ek (be*nek) (spot), dön-ek (dö*nek)
(someone whom you cannot trust), yan-ak (ya*nak) (cheek), düzen-ek
(dü*ze*nek) (mechanism), gevşe-ek (gev*şek)(loose), kayna-ak (source).
[Gİ] allomorphs: ♫ [gi, gı, gü, gu, ki, kı, kü, ku]
sev-gi (love, affection); çal-gı (music instrument); sür-gü (bolt); sor-gu (in-
terrogation); bas-kı (pressure); as-kı (hanger); ör-gü (knitting); gör-gü (good
manners); dol-gu (filling); ver-gi (tax); et-ki (impression); sar-gı (ban-dage);
ser-gi (exhibition); ez-gi (melody); say-gı (respect); yanıl-gı (mis-take); vur-
gu (accent, stress); kur-gu (abstract thought, speculation); yer-gi (satire);
der-gi (periodical, magazine); yar-gı (judgment); yaz-gı (fate, destiny); ol-gu
(fact); duy-gu (sensation); iç-ki (alcoholic beverage, drink); at-kı (scarf); et-ki
(impression, stimulus); kat-kı (aid, help, additive); gör-gü (ex-perience, good
manners); kork-ku (fright) (The double underlined "k" drops.); yet-ki (auth-
ority); coş-ku (excitement); tep-ki (response, rea-ction); al-gı (perception);
sal-gı (secretion); kes-ki (chisel); tut-ku (ambi-tion, passion); sez-gi (intui-
tion); çiz-gi (line); diz-gi (composition, string); bit-ki (plant); bul-gu (discovery,
finding).
[EÇ] allomorphs: ♫ [eç, aç]
sür-eç (sü*reç) (process, procedure), tık-aç (tı*kaç) (plug, wag, stoppage),
deme-eç (de*meç) (statement), sark-aç (sar*kaç) (pendulum), ayır-aç (ay*-
raç) (bracket).
[EY] allomorphs: ♫ [ey, ay]
dene-ey (de*ney) (experiment), yap-ay (ya*pay) (artificial), ol-ay (o*lay)
(event), düş-ey (dü*şey) (vertical), yat-ay (ya*tay) (horizontal), yüz-ey (yü*-
zey) (surface), uza-ay (u*zay) (space).

17
[İCİ] allomorphs: ♫ [ici, ıcı, ücü, ucu]
dinle-/y/ici (din*le*yi*ci) (listener), sat-ıcı (sa*tı*cı) (seller), yüz-ücü (yü*zü*-
cü) (swimmer), koş-ucu (ko*şu*cu) (runner), böl-ücü (bö*lü*cü) (separa-
tist), tara-/y/ıcı (ta*ra*yı*cı) (scanner), al-ıcı (a*lı*cı) (receiver), bak-ıcı
(ba*kı*cı) (companion), bebek bakıcısı (baby sitter), tut-ucu (tu*tu*cu)
(conservative), kal-ıcı (ka*lı*cı) (lasting, durable) (adj), yaz-ıcı (ya*zı*cı)
(printer), doyur-ucu (do*yu*ru*cu) (satisfactory) (adj), inandır-ıcı (i*nan*-
dı*rı*cı) (persuasive) (adj), öldür-ücü (öl*dü*rü*cü) (adj) (deadly, fatal).
If a verb ends with vowel, and the allomorph starts with a different vow-
el, the /y/ glide is inserted between these vowels by the oral sequence.
[ECEK] allomorphs: ♫ [ecek, acak]
sil-ecek (si*le*cek) (wiper), gel-ecek (ge*le*cek) (future), aç-acak (a*ça*-
cak) (opener), çek-ecek (çe*ke*cek) (shoehorn), yak-acak (ya*ka*cak)
(fuel).
All the Turkish syllabications are showed in parenthesis.
[MEK] allomorphs: ♫ [mek, mak]
ye-mek (meal), çak-mak (lighter), ek-mek (bread), kay-mak (cream)
[ME] allomorphs: ♫ [me, ma]
dondur-ma (ice cream), dol-ma (green peppers, eggplants or marrows
stuffed with mince, rice, etc.), kavur-ma (fried pieces of meat), haşla-ma
(boiled meat), dene-me (essay), döv-me (tattoo), as-ma (vine), kaz-ma
(pickax), aydınlan-ma (enlightenment). kıy-ma (kıy*ma) (minced meat), in-
me (in*me) (stroke), bas-ma (bas*ma) (printed cloth), yüz-me (yüz*me)
kes-ik (ke*sik) (cut), çık-ık (çı*kık) (dislocated joint), yar-ık (ya*rık) (slash),
çiz-ik (çi*zik) (scratch), çürü-ük (çü*rük) (decay), sar-ık (sa*rık) (turban),
kaz-ık (ka*zık) (stake, unreasonably expensive), yırt-ık (yır*tık) (tear), del-ik
(de*lik) (hole) ele-ek (e*lek) (sieve), ada-ak (a*dak) (oblation), kay-ak (ka*-
yak) (ski)
.
[CE] allomorphs: ♫ [ce, ca]
düşün-ce (dü*şün*ce) (thought), eğlen-ce (eğ*len*ce) (entertainment), bil-
me-ce (bil*me*ce) (riddle, word puzzle), düzme-ce (düz*me*ce) (lie, fake),
çekme-ce (çek*me*ce) (drawer), gülme-ce (gül*me*ce) (comedy).

18
[İNTİ] allomorphs: ♫ [inti, ıntı, üntü, untu, enti, antı]
ak-ıntı (a*kın*tı) (current), al-ıntı (a*lın*tı) (quotation), bağla-antı (bağ*lan*tı)
(connection, link), bekle-enti (bek*len*ti) (expectation), bula-antı (bu*lan*tı)
(qualm), bul-untu (bu*lun*tu), (antique), çarp-ıntı (çar*pın*tı) (palpitation),
çık-ıntı (çı*kın*tı) (bulge) çök-üntü (çö*kün*tü) (collapse), dök-üntü (dö*kün*-
tü) (rubbish, rash), ekle-enti (ek*len*ti) (addition), es-inti (e*sin*ti) (breeze),
gez-inti (ge*zin*ti) (tour, walk), gir-inti (gi*rin*ti) (dent), gör-üntü (gö*rün*tü)
(image), il-inti (i*lin*ti) (relation), kal-ıntı (ka*lın*tı) (remnant), kaşı-ıntı (ka*-
şın*tı) (itching), kaz-ıntı (ka*zın*tı) (scrapings), kes-inti (ke*sin*ti) (subtrac-
tion, stoppage, interruption), kır-ıntı (kı*rın*tı) (crumb), kur-untu (ku*run*tu)
(unfounded suspicion), rastla-antı (ras*lan*tı) (coincidence), salla-antı (sal*-
lan*tı) (quake), sık-ıntı (sı*kın*tı) (boredom), sız-ıntı (sı*zın*tı) (leakage), tak-
ıntı (ta*kın*tı) (fixation, obsession), söyle-enti (söy*len*ti) (rumor), topla-antı
(top*lan*tı) (meeting), sapla-antı(sap*lan*tı) (obsession), bağla-antı
(bağ*lan*tı) (connection, link).
[İŞ] allomorphs: ♫ [iş, ış, üş, uş]
ak-ış (a*kış) (fluency), al-ış ver-iş (a*lış / ve*riş) (shopping), anla-/y/ış
(an*la*yış) (understanding, sympathy), bak-ış (ba*kış) (look, looking) , at-ış
(a*tış), (gunfire, throw, round), bekle-/y/iş (bek*le*yiş) (waiting), benze-
/y/iş (ben*ze*yiş) (resemblance), bul-uş (bu*luş) (discovery), çık-ış (çı*kış)
(exit, outlet), çök-üş (çö*küş) (collapse, fall), davran-ış (dav*ra*nış) (be-
havior), diren-iş (di*re*niş) (resistance, disobedience), diril-iş (di*ri*liş) (re-
surrection, revival), dizil-iş (di*zi*liş) (sequence), dokun-uş (do*ku*nuş)
(touch), dön-üş (dö*nüş) (return), dur-uş (du*ruş) (position), düş-üş (dü*-
şüş) (decline, downfall), gel-iş (ge*liş) (arrival, coming), gir-iş (gi*riş)
(entry, entrance), git-iş (gi*diş) (going, departure), görün-üş (gö*rü*nüş)
(appearance), gör-üş (gö*rüş) (view, opinion), gör-üş bir-lik-i (gö*rüş /
bir*li*ği) (agreement, consensus), haykır-ış (hay*kı*rış) (scream), kaç-ış
(ka*çış) (escape), kapan-ış (ka*pa*nış) (closing, closure), kurtul-uş (kur*-
tu*luş) (liberation), kurul-uş (ku*ru*luş) (foundation), sat-ış (sa*tış) (sale),
sür-üş (sü*rüş) (drive, driving), tüken-iş (tü*ke*niş) (exhaustion), yakar-ış
(ya*ka*rış) (appeal), yalvar-ış (yal*va*rış) (beseeching), yüksel-iş (yük*-
se*liş) (rise, growth), yürü-/y/üş (yü*rü*yüş) (walk).
MORPHEMES ATTACHED TO VERBS THAT PRODUCE ADJECTIVES
[İCİ] allomorphs: ♫ [ici, ıcı, ücü, ucu]
Note: All the last syllables of all derivational morphemes are stressed.
del-ici (de*li*ci) (piercing), kal-ıcı (ka*lı*cı) (lasting), sars-ıcı (sar*sı*cı)
(shocking), yarat-ıcı (ya*ra*tı*cı) (creative), bulaş-ıcı (bu*la*şı*cı) (con-
tagious), şaşırt-ıcı (şa*şır*tı*cı) (confusing), yak-ıcı (ya*kı*cı) (burning),
öğüt-ücü (ö*ğü*tü*cü) (grinding), tazele-/y/ici (ta*ze*le*yi*ci) (refreshing), it-
ici (i*ti*ci) (repulsive), aldat-ıcı (al*da*tı*cı) (deceptive), üz-ücü (ü*zü*cü) XX

19
(saddening), doyur-ucu (do*yu*ru*cu) (satisfying), geç-ici (ge*çi*ci)
(temporary), ez-ici çoğunluk (overwhelming majority), sık-ıcı (sı*kı*cı)
(boring), yık-ıcı (yı*kı*cı) (destructive, devastating), koru-/y/ucu (ko*ru*-
yu*cu) (protective), kır-ıcı (kı*rı*cı) (injurious, unkind), yan-ıcı (ya*nı*cı)
(inflammable), üz-ücü (ü*zü*cü) (painful)
.
aç-ık (a*çık) (open), kır-ık (kı*rık) (broken), bat-ık (ba*tık) (sunken), göç-ük
(gö*çük) (collapsed), del-ik (de*lik) (pierced, hole), ez-ik (e*zik) (mashed),
eğ-ik (e*ğik) (bent), çürü-ük (çü*rük) (decayed), art-ık (ar*tık) (left over),
kaç-ık (ka*çık) (silly), çatla-ak (çat*lak) (crack), kaç-ak (ka*çak) (escaped)
çek-ik (çe*kik) (slanting), çık-ık (çı*kık) (dislocated), ürk-ek (ür*kek) (timid,
shy), kork-ak (kor*kak) (coward(ly), gevşe-ek (gev*şek) (loose).
[KİN] allomorphs: ♫ [gin, gın, gün, gun, kin, kın, kün, kun]
seç-kin (seç*kin) (exclusive, choice), kes-kin (sharp), şaş-kın (astonished),
iliş-kin (concerning, connected), sus-kun (silent), piş-kin (well done, impu-
dent), et-kin (functional), ger-gin (tight), az-gın (fierce), düz-gün (smooth), ol-
gun (ripe, mature), sol-gun (faded), yay-gın (common), bit-kin (discour-
aged, depressed, exhausted), yor-gun (tired), bas-kın (unexpected attack
(noun), dominant), küs-kün (offended), geç-kin (overripe), dur-gun (stag-
nant), dol-gun (plump), öz-gün (original), say-gın (honorable), yay-gın (com-
mon, widespread), kız-gın (angry), bez-gin (wretched), uy-gun (suitable,
convenient), üz-gün (sorry), et-kin (effective), yat-kın (inclined to do).
[ER] allomorphs: ♫ [er, ar]
çal-ar saat (ça*lar) (alarm clock), ak-ar su (running water), gül-er yüz
(smiling face), koş-ar adım (running pace), uyu-ur gez-er (sleep walker).
[EN] allomorphs: ♫ [en, an]
koş-an (ko*şan) (running), sol-an (so*lan) (fading), çalş-an (ça*lı*şan)
(working), yürü-/y/en (yü*rü*yen) (walking), konuş-an (ko*nu*şan) (talking),
dilimle-/y/en (di*lim*le*yen) (slicing), kes-en (ke*sen) (cutting), öpüş-en
(ö*pü*şen) (kissing), bekle-/y/en (bek*le*yen) (waiting), art-an (ar*tan)
(increasing), geliş-en (ge*li*şen) (developing), dön-en (dö*nen) (turning,
circling), gülümse-/y/en (gü*lüm*se*yen) (smiling), bağla-/y/an (bağ*la*yan)
(tying, connecting), bitme-/y/en (bit*me*yen) (unending).
Note: The morpheme above and its allomorphs are also used in transform-
ing simple sentences into “modifier + noun” compounds. Therefore, they are
also inflectional suffixes.
[MİŞ] allomorphs: ♫ [miş, mış, müş, muş]

20
sol-muş (faded), değiş-miş (changed), karış-mış (mixed), beyazlaş-mış
(whitened), bağlan-mış (tied, connected), ertelen-miş (postponed), kızartıl-
mış (fried), tasarlan-mış (planned), yıkan-mış (washed), geliştiril-miş (im-
proved), düğüm-len-miş (knotted), aydınlan-mış (enlightened), zorlan-mış
(forced), boşan-mış (divorced), unutul-muş (forgotten), örül-müş (knitted),
kızar-mış (fried, reddened), üretil-miş (produced), bayıl-mış, (fainted), unutul-
ma-mış (unforgotten), kayna-mış (boiled), don-muş (fro-zen), geliş-miş (de-
veloped), değiş-miş (modified), kokuş-muş (foul).
Note: The allomorphs of the morpheme [MIŞ] are stressed. This morpheme
is also used as an inflectional morpheme.
[SEL] allomorphs: ♫ [sel, sal]
gör-sel (visual), uy-sal (complaisant), düşün-sel (mental), işit-sel (audial)
MORPHEMES ATTACHED TO NOUNS THAT PRODUCE VERBS
[LE] allomorphs: ♫ [le, la]
el-le (el*le) (touch), bağ-la (bağ*la) (tie), baş-la (baş*la) (beğin, start), teker-
le (te*ker*le) (roll), göz-le (göz*le) (observe), kutu-la (ku*tu*la) (put in box-
es), damga-la (dam*ga*la) (stamp), tuz-la (tuz*la) (salt), leke-le (le*ke*-le)
(stain), tekme-le (tek*me*le) (kick), sürgü-le (sür*gü*le) (bolt), düzen-le (dü*-
zen*le) (arrange), yağ-la (yağ*la) (lubricate, oil), taş-la (taş*la) (throw
stones), yel-le (yel*le) (fan), denge-le (den*ge*le) (balance), sergi-le (ser*-
gi*le) (exhibit), bağış-la (forgive), su-la (water), kaşık-la (spoon into greed-
ily), kazık-la (cheat), yargı-la (judge), kalbur-la (sift), ilaç-la (apply pesticide),
ak-la (acquit), köstek-le (hamper), bes-le (feed), algı-la (perceive), fırça-la
(brush up), orta-la (centre), ezber-le (memorize), uygu-la (apply), ağır-la
(show hospitality), av-la (hunt), bağ-la (tie, connect), suç-la (condemn), yol-la
(send), ateş-le (fire), belge-le (certify), kilit-le (lock), ter-le (perspire), çimdik-
le (pinch), göz-le (observe), fiş-le (blacklist someone), iş-le (work), çaba-la
(strive). ek-le (add), yük-le (load), iz-le (follow), giz-le (hide), ezber-le (me-
morize), mühür-le (seal), yargı-la (judge), sıra-la (put in order), gür-le (thun-
der, roll), çın-la (ring), ot-la (graze), kol-la (watch, protect), sol-la (overtake),
oy-la (vote), omuz-la (shoulder), hiza-la (hi*za:*la) (align), parça-la (tear up),
gaga-la (peck), düz-le (flatten), giz-le (hide).
MORPHEMES ATTACHED TO ADJECTIVES THAT PRODUCE VERBS
[İR] allomorphs: ♫ [ir, ır, er, ar]
deli-ir (de*lir) (consnants (get mad), sarı-ar (sa*rar) (turn yellow), kara-ar
(ka*rar)
(blacken, darken, or get dark), mor-ar (mo*rar) (get, turn purple).

21
[LEŞ] allomorphs: ♫ [leş, laş]
güzel-leş (get beautiful), sık-laş (get oftener, get tighter), ağır-laş (get heav-
ier), sağır-laş (get deaf), derin-leş (deepen, get deeper), kaba-laş (get
ruder), yeşil-leş, yeşil-len (turn green). Some adjectives like “kırmızı” may
be either “kırmızı-laş” or “kızar” (get or turn red). “Kısa” becomes “kısal” (get
shorter). “Uzun” becomes “uza” (get longer).
Examples: Günler kısalıyor. Days are getting shorter. Günler uzuyor. (*not
uzayor”) Days are getting longer.
In Turkish, “make something + adjective” "Make it shorter." is expressed in
an adjective + morpheme mixture which is too long to analyze in detail.
Some examples may explain them easily:
Uzun  uzat (u*zat) “Onu uzat.” (Make it longer.); kısa  kısalt (kı*salt)
“Onu kısalt.” (Make it shorter.); büyük  büyüt (bü*yüt) “Onu büyüt.” (Make
it larger.); Küçük küçült (kü*çült) “Onu küçült.” (Make it smaller.); kara 
karart (ka*rart) “Onu karart.” (Make it darker.); derin  derinleştir (de*rin*-
leş*tir) “Onu derinleştir.” (Make it deeper.)
“I made him work”, “I had him work”, “I had the work done” and “I got him to
do the work” types of sentences will be explained in the following chapters.
INFLECTIONAL MORPHEMES AND THEIR ALLOMORPHS
Inflectional morphemes and their allomorphs are the suffixes in Turkish at-
tached to nouns, pronouns, nominal phrases, verbs, and verb frames
signalling change in such grammatical functions as tense, voice, mood,
person, number, etc.
The inflectional morphemes that are attached to nouns, pronouns, and
nominal phrases are the following:
[İ] allomorphs: ♫ [i, ı, ü, u]
1.These allomorphs are attached to pronouns, common nouns, proper
nouns, and nominal phrases when they are used as definite objects:
O ben-i gör-dü. O sen-i gör-dü. O o-/n/u gör-dü. O biz-i gör-dü.
def obj def obj def obj def obj
O siz-i gör-dü. O o/n/-lar-ı gör-dü.
def obj def obj
In English: He saw me. He saw you. He saw him. He saw us. He saw them.
obj obj obj obj obj

22
Note: The single underlined consonants at the ends of the pronouns "ben-i",
"sen-i", "biz-i", "siz-i", "o/n/-lar-ı" detach from their syllables and attach to the
first vowels of the following morphemes in speech, such as (be*ni), (se*ni),
(bi*zi), (si*zi), (on*la*rı). The /n/ consonant in (o*/n/u) is a glide produced by
the oral system of the Turkish language to maintain the harmonic balance
between the “o-u” vowels. They do not carry meaning.
The proper nouns in Turkish, contrary to English, have to be attached by
one of the "i, ı, ü, u" allomorphs in accordance with the Turkish vowel har-
mony rules when they are used as objects:
Ahmet Ayşe-/y/i gör-dü. Fatma Hasan-ı bul-du. Öğretmen Ahmet-i yakala-dı.
def object def object def object
In English: Ahmet saw Ayşe. Fatma found Hasan. The teacher caught Ahmet.
def object def object def obj
Note: The /y/ meaningless glide, which is a product of the Turkish sound
system, is inserted between two vowels to provide a harmonious linkage.
As a general rule, when a definite noun, pronoun, or a nominal phrase is
used in the object position in a sentence, one of the [i, ı, ü, u] allomorphs is
compulsorily attached to them. If the common nouns are not definite, they
may be preceded by some indefinite modifiers as the ones in English:
Ahmet Hasan-ı gördü. Ahmet ben-i gördü. Ahmet tavşan-ı gördü.
definite obj definite obj definite obj
Ahmet saw Hasan. Ahmet saw me. Ahmet saw the rabbit.
definite obj definite obj definite obj
Ahmet (bir) araba aldı. Ahmet kitap okuyor. Ahmet is reading a book.
indefinite obj indefinite obj indefinite obj
Ahmet bought a car. Ahmet is reading a book.
indefinite obj indefinite obj
Ahmet kitap okumaz. Ahmet does not read books.
any book any books
indefinite obj indefinite obj
Inflectional plural morphemes that are attached to nouns:
Turkish plural allomorphs are “ler, lar“.
English plural allomorphs are “s, es”.
sepet-ler = basket-s, araba-lar = car-s, kız-lar = girl-s, kural-lar = rule-s,
engel-ler = obstacle-s, resim-ler = picture-s, kitap-lar = book-s, kutu-lar
= box-es, saat-ler = watch-es, kilise-ler = church-es, arzu-lar = wish-es,
öpücük-ler = kiss-es. The plural allomorphs are not seperated in
normal writing.

23
Turkish possessor + noun allomorphs
Nouns that end in consonants:
Allomorphs: [in, ın, ün, un]
sepet-in, at-ın, göz-ün, tuz-un.
(se*pe*tin), (a*tın), (gö*zün), (tu*zun)
In the words above, the single underlined consonants detach from their
nouns, and attach to the [in, ın, ün, un] allomorphs when they are turned
into syllables in speech:
Nouns that end in vowels:
Allomorphs: [/n/in, /n/ın, /n/ün, /n/un]
dere-/n/in, oda-/n/ın, ütü-/n/ün, ordu-/n/un.
The /n/ consonants above are glides that are put between two vowels to
maintain a harmonious link between these two vowels. They are produced
by the Turkish sound system, and they are meaningless. When the words
above are turned into syllable sequences, they become as follows:
(de*re*nin), (o*da*nın), (ü*tü*nün), (or*du*nun)
Turkish possessor pronouns:
Turkish possessor pronouns are quite different from English possessor
pronouns. Turkish possessor pronouns are rule governed, whereas Eng-
lish possessor pronouns are irregular. For instance:
ben-im = my, sen-in = your, o-/n/un = his, her, its, biz-im = our, siz-in =
your, onlar-ın = their
In Turkish, possessor pronouns start with personal pronouns, such as
“ben”, “sen”, “o”, “biz”, “siz”, “onlar”, and they are attached by possessor
allomorphs, such as “im”, “in”, “/n/un”, “im”, “in”, “ın”, respectively.
The single underlined consonants above detach from their pronouns, and
attach to the possessor allomorphs. When these possessor pronouns are
changed into syllable sequences, they become as follows:
(be*nim), (se*nin), (o*nun), (bi*zim), (si*zin), (on*la*rın)
Possessor pronouns are modifiers (adjectives) when they modify the fol-
lowing nouns in English and Turkish. In English, a noun follows the pos-
sessive pronoun, such as, “my book”, “your friend”, “her brother”, “his girl-
friend”, “its tail”, “our teacher” and “their house”. These two words together
produce noun phrases.

24
Such Turkish nominal phrases are different from the English ones. In Turk-
ish, the modified nouns must be suffixed by compulsory possessor allo-
morphs, such as:
ben-im okul-um = my school, sen-in gözler-in = your eyes, o-/n/un ev-i = his
house, biz-im ev-imiz = our house, onlar-ın öğretmen-i = their teacher
When these nominal phrases are turned into syllable sequences, they are
uttered as follows:
(be*nim / o*ku*lum), (se*nin / göz*le*rin), (o*nun / e*vi), (bi*zim / e*vi*miz),
(on*la*rın / öğ*ret*me*ni)
If you follow the underlined consonants and detach them from the pronouns,
and attach them to the possessor allomorphs, you can produce the syllable
sequences written between the parentheses above.
As the possessor allomorphs attached to the pronouns and nouns have
the same meanings, only the nouns having the same meanings can be used
in sentences. Such as, instead of saying “ben-im okul-um” you can say
only “okul-um” because “okul-um” means “ben-im okul-um”. Therefore:
okul-um = my school, gözler-in = your eyes, ev-i = his or her house, ev-
imiz = our house, evler-i = their houses, arkadaşlar-ımız = our friends.
Subject allomorphs in Turkish sentences:
Likewise, there may be two subjects in Turkish sentences. One of them
may be in the beginning of a sentence as a subject pronoun, the other one
must be attached to the main verb as a subject allomorph. The meanings
of these subjects are the same. If a speaker or writer wants to emphasize
the subject of a sentence, he may use a subject pronoun in the beginning
of a sentence as well as a compulsory subject allomorph attached to the
main verb at the end of the same sentence. In short, using subject allo-
morphs are compulsory, but using subject pronouns are optional.
Consider the following example sentences:
Ben dün futbol oyna-dı-ım. = I played football yesterday.
(“Ben” is a subject pronoun; “ım” is a subject allomorph.)
In the sentence above, the “ı” vowel of “dı” and the “ı” vowel of “ım” are
identical vowels. Therefore they combine and verbalize as a single vowel “ı”:
(oy*na*dım)
Dün futbol oyna-dı-ım. = I played football yesterday.

25
As it is seen in the sentence above, although the subject pronoun “Ben” is
not used, the English corresponding sentence is the same. Consider the fol-
lowing sentences:
Çalış-ıyor-um. = I am working. Çalış-ıyor-/s/un. = You are working.
Çalış-ıyor. = He, she, it is working. Çalış-ıyor-uz. = We are working.
Çalış-ıyor-lar. = They are working.
In Turkish sentences, when a main verb is not suffixed by a compulsory
subject allomorph, this shows us that the sentence is the third person
singular.
In English, sentences are divided into two main parts; subject and predicate.
A subject is a nominal that a predicate gives information about. For instance:
I am going to Ankara by bus tomorrow.
In Turkish, there are two alternative sentences to express the English sen-
tence above:
Ben yarın otobüs-le Ankara-ya gidiyor-um.
As you see there are two subjects in the sentence above; “ben” and “um”.
“Ben” is a subject pronoun; “um” is a subject allomorph.
Yarın otobüs-le Ankara-ya gidiyor-um.
However, in the sentence above, there is only the “um” subject allomorph,
which means the pronoun “ben”. In Turkish, if someone wants to emphasize
the pronoun “ben”, he may use it in the beginning of a sentence as well as
the “um” subject allomorph in the end of the sentence attached to the main
verb. If he does not want to emphasize the pronoun “ben”, he can only use
the subject allomorph “um” in his sentence. In other words, using subject
allomorphs in all Turkish sentences is compulsory, but using a subject
pronoun is optional.
When we consider the rule above, we can say that the subject allomorphs
are unavoidable parts of verbal phrases. One can build up a sentence only
in one word in Turkish.
Bekle-iyor-um (bek*li*yo*rum) is one word in Turkish, and its subject is in
the end. However, “I am waiting” has three words in English.
As a result, the subject of a sentence may be both in the beginning and in
the end of a sentence, or one should use only a subject allomorph in the
end of a sentence.

26
There may be adverbs and adjectives in sentences. These words support
sentences with optional information. As the aim of this article is to give infor-
mation about verbal phrases, we generally ignore adjectives and adverbs in
our sentences to concentrate on verbal phrases. The verbal phrases are the
most complicated parts of Turkish sentences.
Subject allomorphs used in Turkish sentences:
Simple present tense subject allomorphs; positive:
(Ben): [im, ım, üm, um] = I
(Sen): [/s/in, /s/ın, /s/ün, /s/un] = you
(O): [Ø] no subject allomorphs are used.
(Biz): [iz, ız, üz, uz] = we
(Siz): [/s/iniz, /s/ınız, /s/ünüz, /s/unuz] = you
(Onlar): [Ø] or [ler, lar] = they
gel-ir-im = I come, al-ır-ım = I buy, gör-ür-üm = I see, otur-ur-um = I sit
When the underlined consonants detach from their verb roots and time allo-
morphs, and attach to the allomorphs following them, their syllable sequen-
ces become as follows:
(ge*li*rim), (a*lı*rım) (gö*rü*rim) (o*tu*ru*rum)
gel-ir-/s/in = you come, al-ır-/s/ın = you buy, gör-ür-/s/ün=you see, oku-
ur-/s/un = you read.
When you follow the underlined syllables, you can produce the following
syllable sequences:
(ge*lir*sin) (a*lır*sın) (gö*rür*sün) (o*kur*sun)
gel-ir = he comes, al-ır = he buys, gör-ür = he sees, oku-ur = he reads
When you follow the underlined consonants, you can produce the following
syllable sequences:
(ge*lir) (a*lır) (gö*rür) (o*kur)
gel-ir-iz = we come, al-ır-ız = we buy, gör-ür-üz = we see, oku-ur-uz = we
read.
(ge*li*riz) (a*lı*rız) (gö*rü*rüz) (o*ku*ruz)
gel-ir-/s/iniz = you come. al-ır-/s/ınız = you buy, gör-ür-/s/ünüz = you
see, aç-ar-/s/ınız = you open
(ge*lir*si*niz) (a*lır*sı*nız) (gö*rür*sü*nüz) (a*çar*sı*nız)

27
gel-ir-ler = they come, al-ır-lar = they buy, gör-ür-ler = they see, aç-ar-
lar = they open.
Negative: (Ben and biz take “me” or “ma”; the others take “mez” or “maz”.)
(Ben) [me-em, ma-am ], (Sen) [mez-/s/in, maz-/s/ın],
(O) [mez, maz], (Biz) [me-/y/iz, ma-/y/ız],
(Siz) [mez-/s/iniz, maz-/s/ınız], (Onlar) [mez-ler, maz-lar]
gel-me-em, oku-ma-am, yüz-me-em, al-ma-am, sat-ma-am
(gel*mem) (o*ku*mam) (yüz*mem) (al*mam) (sat*mam)
gel-mez-/s/in, oku-maz-/s/ın, yüz-mez-/s/in, al-maz-/s/ın, sat-maz-/s/ın
(gel*mez*sin) (o*ku*maz*sın) (yüz*mez*sin) (al*maz*sın) (sat*maz*sın)
gel-mez, oku-maz, yüz-mez, al-maz, sat-maz, gör-mez, uyu-maz
(gel*mez) (o*ku*maz) (yüz*mez) (al*maz) (sat*maz) (gör*mez) (u*yu*maz)
gel-me-/y/iz, oku-ma-/y/ız, yüz-me-/y/iz, sat-ma-/y/ız, gör-me-/y/iz, anla-
ma-/y/ız (gel*me*yiz) (o*ku*ma*yız) (yüz*me*yiz) (sat*ma*yız) (gör*me*yiz)
gel-mez-/s/iniz, oku-maz-/s/ınız, yüz-mez-/s/iniz, sat-maz-/s/ınız, al-maz-
/s/ınız (gel*mez*si*niz) (o*ku*maz*sı*nız) (yüz*mez*si*niz) (sat*maz*sı*nız)
gel-mez-ler, oku-maz-lar, yüz-mez-ler, kaç-maz-lar, dokun-maz-lar
(gel*mez*ler) (o*ku*maz*lar) (yüz*mez*ler) (kaç*maz*lar) (do*kun*maz*lar)
In the examples above, the underlined identical vowels combine and be-
come single vowels, such as “e-e” = “e”, “a-a” = “a”, and the underlined con-
sonants detach from their allomorphs and attach to the following allomorphs.
So, they produce the syllable sequences between parentheses under the
examples. Turkish slides are “s, ş, n, y” showed between slash “/ /” lines.
Positive question: (The /y/ phonemes are glides that help harmonic ba-
lances between vowels.
(Ben) [mi-/y/im, mı-/y/ım, mü-/y/üm, mu-/y/um]
(Sen) [mi-/s/in, mı-/s/ın, mü-/s/ün, mu-/s/un]
(O) [mi, mı, mü, mu]
(Biz) [mi-/y/iz, mı-/y/ız, mü-/y/üz, mu-/y/uz]
(Siz) [mi-/s/iniz, mı-/s/ınız, mü-/s/ünüz, mu-/s/unuz]
(Onlar) [ler mi, lar mı]
In the examples above, the underlined consonants detach from their places
and attach to the following vowels as in the other examples. The green [mi,
mı, mü, mu] allomorphs are question allomorphs that are used in all interro-
gative sentences whose answers are “yes” or “no” in Turkish. There are no

28
question affixes or words in English to take the place of the Turkish question
allomorphs. In English, a positive or a negative sentence transforms into a
question form, such as “You like pop music” → “Do you like pop music?
Gel-ir mi-/y/im? = Do I come? Al-ır mı-/y/ım? = Do I buy? Öksür-ür mü-
/y/üm? = Do I cough? Uyu-ur mu-/y/um? = Do I sleep?
Gel-ir mi-/s/in? Al-ır mı-/s/ın? Öksür-ür mü-/s/ün? Uyu-ur mu-/s/un?
Gel-ir mi? Al-ır mı? Öksür-ür mü? Uyu-ur mu?
Gel-ir mi-/y/iz? Al-ır mı-/y/ız? Öksür-ür mü-/y/üz? Uyu-ur mu-/y/uz?
Gel-ir mi-/s/iniz? Al-ır mı-/s/ınız? Öksür-ür mü-/s/ünüz? Uyu-ur mu-
/s/unuz?
Gel-ir-ler mi? Al-ır-lar mı? Öksür-ür-ler mi? Uyu-ur-lar mı?
When you read the syllables in Turkish between the parentheses below, you
may feel as if an unknown symphony composer composed the Turkish
sound system. The syllables written in bold face letters below are the
stressed syllables.
(ge*lir / mi*yim) (a*lır / mı*yım) (ök*sür*ür / mü*yüm) (u*yur / mu*yum)
The /y/ glides are put between i-i, ı-ı, ü-ü and u-u vowels to produce a har-
monic link between the vowels.
Negative question:
In the following examples the negative allomorphs are red, the question allo-
morphs are green, and the subject allomorphs are blue:
(Ben) [mez mi-/y/im, maz mı-/y/ım]
(Sen) [mez mi-/s/in, maz mı-/s/ın]
(O) [mez mi, maz mı]
(Biz) [mez mi-/y/iz, maz mı-/y/ız]
(Siz) [mez mi-/s/iniz, maz mı-/s/ınız]
(Onlar) [mez-ler mi, maz-lar mı]
Gel-mez mi-/y/im? (Don’t I come?), Al-maz mı-/s/ın? (Don’t you buy?),
Bekle-mez mi? (Doesn’t he wait?), Anla-maz mı-/y/ız? (Don’t we under-
stand?) (Sor-maz mı-/s/ınız?), Don’t you ask? Uyu-maz-lar mı? (Don’t
they sleep?)
Present continuous time and subject allomorphs;
The time morpheme attached to main? verbs in Turkish is [İYOR] mor-
pheme, which has four allomorphs: [iyor, ıyor, üyor, uyor]. The subject
allomorphs attached to them are as follows:

29
(Ben) [um], (Sen) [/s/un], (O) [Ø], (Biz) [uz], (Siz) [/s/unuz], (Onlar) [Ø, or
lar]
Present continuous positive:
Gel-iyor-um. (I am coming), Gül-üyor-/s/un. (You are laughing), Ağla-
ıyor. (She is crying), Bekle-iyor-uz, (We are waiting), Anla-ıyor-/s/unuz.
(You understand), Bekle-iyor-lar. (They are waiting).
In the Turkish sentences above, the single underlined consonants detach
from their verb roots and attach the following vowels as usual; but there are
some double underlined vowels at the ends of verbs that are dropped by
the Turkish sound system. As a rule, all the double underlined vowels at the
ends of verbs drop these vowels when they are attached to [IYOR] allo-
morphs.
(ge*li*yo*rum) (gü*lü*yor*sun) but (ağ*lı*yor) (bek*li*yo*ruz) (an*lı*yor*su*nuz)
Present continuous negative:
The negative allomorphs used in this tense are [me and ma], which are at-
tached to main verbs first, then the time allomorphs and subject allo-
morphs follow them.
Gel-me-iyor-um. (I am not coming), Anla-ma-ıyor-/s/un. (You don’t
understand), Uyu-ma-uyor. (He isn’t sleeping), Bil-me-iyor-uz. (We
don’t know), Çalış-ma-ıyor-/s/unuz. (You aren’t working), Bekle-me-
iyor-lar. (They aren’t waiting).
The double underlined “e” and “a” vowels of the negative allomorphs drop,
and the single underlined consonants preceding the dropped vowels detach
and attach to the “i, ı, ü, u” vowels following them. When the sentences
above turn into syllable sequences they become as follows:
(gel*mi*yo*rum), (an*la*mı*yor*sun), (u*yu*mu*yor), (bil*mi*yo*ruz) (ça*lış*-
mı*yor*su*nuz), (bek*le*mi*yor*lar)
Present continuous positive question:
Ben-i sev-iyor mu-/s/un? (Do you love me?), Türkçe bil-iyor mu-/s/un?
(Do you know Turkish?), Uyu-uyor mu? (Is he sleeping?), Git-iyor mu-
/y/uz? (Are we going?), Bekle-iyor mu-/s/unuz? (Are you waiting?), Gel-
iyor-lar mı? (Are they coming?)
(be*ni / se*vi*yor / mu*sun) (türk*çe / bi*li*yor / mu*sun) (u*yu*yor / mu)
(gi*di*yor / mu*yuz), (bek*li*yor / mu*su*nuz) (ge*li*yor*lar / mı)

30
Present continuous negative question:
Ben-i sev-me-iyor mu-/s/un? (Don’t you love me?), Türkçe bil-me-iyor
mu-/s/un? (Don’t you know Turkish?), Uyu-ma-uyor mu? (Isn’t she
sleeping?) Git-me-iyor mu-yuz? (Aren’t we going?), Bekle-me-iyor mu-
/s/unuz? (Aren’t you waiting?) Gel-me-iyor-lar mı? (Aren’t they coming?)
(be*ni / sev*mi*yor / mu*sun), (türk*çe / bil*mi*yor / mu*sun), (u*yu*mu*yor /
mu) (git*mi*yor / mu*yuz), (bek*le*mi*yor / mu*su*nuz), (gel*mi*yor*lar / mı)
Simple past tense subject allomorphs positive:
Simple past tense time allomorphs are as follows:
In simple past tense, the time allomorphs [di, dı, dü, du, ti, tı, tü, tu] are
used with all persons. The subject allomorphs are as follows:
(Ben) – [im, ım, üm, um]
(Sen) – [in, ın, ün, un]
(O) – Ø
(Biz) – [ik, ık, ük, uk]
(Siz) -- [iniz, ınız, ünüz, unuz]
(Onlar) [ler or lar]
Bekle-di-im. (I waited), Anla-dı-ım. (I understood), Gör-dü-üm. (I saw),
Oku-du-um. (I read)
Bekle-di-in. (You waited), Anla-dı-ın. (You understood), Gör-dü-ün. (You
saw), Oku-du-un. (You read)
Bekle-di. (He waited), Anla-dı. (He understood), Gör-dü. (He saw), Oku-
du. (He read)
Bekle-di-ik. (We waited), Anla-dı-ık. (We understood), Gör-dü-ük. (We
saw), Oku-du-uk. (We read)
Bekle-di-iniz (You waited), Anla-dı-ınız. (You understood), Gör-dü-ünüz.
(You saw), Oku-du-unuz. (You read)
Bekle-di-ler. (They waited), Anla-dı-lar. (They understood), Gör-dü-ler.
(They saw), Oku-du-lar. (They read)
All the identical vowels above that are single underlined combine and be-
come single vowels. In the sentences “bekle-di-iniz”, “anla-dı-ınız”, and the
like, the “i-i” and “ı-ı” identical vowels combine. So, their syllable oral
sequences become as follows:

31
(bek*le*dim) (an*la*dım) (gör*düm) (o*ku*dum)
(bek*le*din) (an*la*dın) (gör*dün) (o*ku*dun)
(bek*le*di) (an*la*dı) (gör*dü) (o*ku*du)
(bek*le*dik) (an*la*dık) (gör*dük) (o*ku*duk)
(bek*le*di*niz) (an*la*dı*nız) (gör*dü*nüz) (o*ku*du*nuz)
(bek*le*di*ler) (an*la*dı*lar) (gör*dü*ler) (o*ku*du*lar)
Simple past tense negative:
The negative allomorphs [me, ma] attach to the main verbs, and the others
follow them as in the positive form:
Bekle-me-di-im. (I didn’t wait), Anla-ma-dı-ım. (I didn’t understand),
Gör-me-di-im. (I didn’t see), Oku-ma-dı-ım. (I didn’t read)
Bekle-me-di-in. (You didn’t wait), Anla-ma-dı-ın. (You didn’t under-
stand), Gör-me-di-in. (You didn’t see), Oku-ma-dı-ın. (You didn’t read)
Bekle-me-di. (He didn’t wait), Anla-ma-dı. (He didn’t understand), Gör-
me-di. (He didn’t see), Oku-ma-dı. (He didn’t read)
Bekle-me-di-ik. (We didn’t wait), Anla-ma-dı-ık. (We didn’t understand),
Gör-me-di-ik. (We didn’t see), Oku-ma-dı-ık. (We didn’t read)
Bekle-me-di-iniz. (You didn’t wait), Anla-ma-dı-ınız. (You didn’t under-
stand), Gör-me-di-iniz. (You didn’t see), Oku-ma-dı-ınız. (You didn’t
read)
Bekle-me-di-ler. (They didn’t wait), Anla-ma-dı-lar. (They didn’t
understand) Gör-me-di-ler. (They didn’t see), Oku-ma-dı-lar. (They
didn’t read)
All the identical vowels in the “di-im”, “dı-ım”, “di-in”, “dı-ın”, “di-ik”,
“dı-ık”, “di-iniz”, “dı-ınız” allomorphs combine.
The “iniz” and “ınız” subject allomorphs, which mean “you”, are shaped by
two different allomorphs: the “in”, which means “you” and “iz”, which adds a
plural concept to “in”.
The oral sequences of the sentences above are as follows:
(bek*le*me*dim) (an*la*ma*dım) (gör*me*dim) (o*ku*ma*dım)
(bek*le*me*din) (an*la*ma*dın) (gör*me*din) (o*ku*ma*dın)
(bek*le*me*di) (an*la*ma*dı) (gör*me*di) (o*ku*ma*dı)
(bek*le*me*dik) (an*la*ma*dık) (gör*me*dik) (o*ku*ma*dık)

32
(bek*le*me*di*niz), (an*la*ma*dı*nız) ( gör*me*di*niz) (o*ku*ma*dı*nız)
(bek*le*me*di*ler) (an*la*ma*dı*lar) (gör*me*di*ler) (o*ku*ma*dı*kar)
Simple past tense positive question:
Bekle-di-im mi? (Did I wait?), Anla-dı-ım mı? (Did I understand?),
Gör-dü-üm mü? (Did I see?) Oku-du-um mu? (Did I read?)
Bekle-di-in mi? (Did you wait?), Anla-dı-ın mı? (Did you understand?),
Gör-dü-ün mü? (Did you see?), Oku-du-un mu? (Did you read?)
Bekle-di mi? (Did he wait?) Anla-dı mı? (Did he understand?),
Gör-dü mü? (Did he see?), Oku-du mu? (Did he read?)
Bekle-di-ik mi? (Did we wait?), Anla-dı-ık mı? (Did we understand?),
Gör-dü-ük mü? (Did we see?), Oku-du-uk mu? (Did we read?)
Bekle-di-iniz mi? (Did you wait?), Anla-dı-ınız mı? (Did you under-
stand?), Gör-dü-ünüz mü? (Did you see), Oku-du-unuz mu? (Did you
read?)
Bekle-di-ler mi? (Did they wait?), Anla-dı-lar mı? (Did they understand?),
Gör-dü-ler mi? (Did they see?), Oku-du-lar mı? (Did they read?)
If you follow the underlined letters, you can produce the following oral syl-
lable sequences:
(bek*le*dim / mi) (an*la*dım / mı) (gör*düm / mü) (o*ku*dum / mu)
(bek*le*din / mi) (an*la*dın / mı) (gör*dün / mü) (o*ku*dun / mu)
(bek*le*di / mi) (an*la*dı / mı) (gör*dü / mü) ( o*ku*du / mu)
(bek*le*dik / mi) (an*la*dık / mı) (gör*dük / mü) (o*ku*duk / mu)
(bek*le*di*niz / mi) (an*la*dı*nız / mı) ( gör*dü*nüz / mü) (o*ku*du*nuz / mu)
(bek*le*di*ler / mi) (an*la*dı*lar / mı) (gör*dü*ler / mi) (o*ku*du*lar / mı)
If you follow the syllable sequences above, you can see that the stressed
syllables are the syllables before the “mi. mı, mü, mu” question allomorphs.
Simple past tense negative question subject allomorphs:
Bekle-me-di-im mi? (Didn’t I wait?), Anla-ma-dı-ım mı? (Didn’t I under-
stand?), Gör-me-di-im mi? (Didn’t I see?), Oku-ma-dı-ım mı? (Didn’t I
read?)
Bekle-me-di-in mi? (Didn’t you wait?), Anla-ma-dı-ın mı? (Didn’t you
understand?), Gör-me-di-in mi? (Didn’t you see?), Oku-ma-dı-ın mı?
(Didn’t you read?)

33
Bekle-me-di mi? (Didn’t he wait?), Anla-ma-dı mı? (Didn’t he under-
stand?), Gör-me-di mi? (Didn’t he see?), Oku-ma-dı mı? (Didn’t he
read?)
Bekle-me-di-ik mi? (Didn’t we wait?), Anla-ma-dı-ık mı? (Didn’t we
understand?), Gör-me-di-ik mi? (Didn’t we see?), Oku-ma-dı-ık mı?
(Didn’t we read?)
Bekle-me-di-iniz mi? (Didn’t you wait?), Anla-ma-dı-ınız mı? (Didn’t you
understand?), Gö-me-di-iniz mi? (Didn’t you see?), Oku-ma-dı-ınız mı?
(Didn’t you read?
Bekle-me-di-ler mi? (Didn’t they wait?), Anla-ma-dı-lar mı? (Didn’t they
understand?), Gör-me-di-ler mi? (Didn’t they see?), Oku-ma-dı-lar mı?
(Didn’t they read?)
If you follow the single underlines under the identical vowels you can pro-
duce the following oral syllable sequences below:
(bek*le*me*dim / mi) (an*la*ma*dım / mı) (gör*me*dim / mi) (o*ku*ma*dım / mı)
(bek*le*me*din / mi) (an*la*ma*dın / mı) (gör*me*din / mi) (o*ku*ma*dın / mı)
(bek*le me*di / mi) (an*la*ma*dı / mı) (gör*me*di / mi) (o*ku*ma*dı / mı)
(bek*le*me*dik / mi) (an*la*ma*dık / mı) (gör*me*dik / mi) (o*ku*ma*dık / mı)
(bek*le*me*di*niz / mi) (an*la*ma*dı*nız / mı) (gör*me*di*niz / mi) (o*ku*ma*dı*nız / mı)
If you notice, you can see that all the stressed syllables come before the
“me, ma” negative allomorphs.
Past continuous tense positive and their allomorphs:
In this tense, main verbs are followed by one of the “iyor, ıyor, üyor, uyor”
continuity allomorphs as in the present continuous tense followed by a sim-
ple past tense “du” allomorph, and the verb phrase ends in a subject allo-
morph (Ben) “um”, (Sen) “un”, (O) “Ø”, (Biz) “uk”, (Siz) “unuz”, (Onlar)
“lar-di”. The other allomorphs are not used in this tense because of the
“İYOR” morpheme, whose “yor” second syllable never changes. Follow the
examples:
Gel-iyor-du-um. (I was coming), Gel-iyor-du-un. (You were coning).
Gel-iyor-du (He was coming), Gel-iyor-du-uk. (We were coming),
Gel-iyor-du-unuz. (You were coming), Gel-iyor-lar-dı. (They were
coming)
The single underlined consonants detach from their syllables and attach to
the vowels following them, and the identical vowels combine and become
single vowels as in all sentences. You can formulate the syllable sequen-

34
ces yourselves. Therefore, the syllable sequences will not be given from this
point on. Follow the examples below:
Çalış-ıyor-du-um. (I was working), Yürü-üyor-du-un. (You were walking),
Gül-üyor-du. (She was laughing), Bekle-iyor-du-uk. (We were waiting), Sor-
uyor-du-unuz. (You were asking), Oyna-uyor-lar-dı. (They were playing)
Past continuous negative:
Uyu-ma-uyor-du-um. (I wasn’t sleeping) İste-me-iyor-du-un. (You didn’t
want), Bak-ma-ıyor-du. (She wasn’t looking), İste-me-iyor-du-uk. (We didn’t
want), Anla-ma-ıyor-du-unuz. (You didn’t understand), Bekle-me-iyor-lar-dı.
(They weren’t waiting)
As you see in some verbs above, simple past tense is used in English
instead of past continuous tense of the Turkish verbs.
Past continuous positive question:
Çalış-ıyor mu/y/-du-um? (Was I working?), Bekle-iyor mu/y/-du-un? (Were
you waiting?), Dinle-iyor muy-du? (Was he listening?), Koş-uyor muy-du-
uk? (Were we running?), Uyu-uyor mu/y/-du-unuz? (Were you sleeping?),
Gül-üyor mu/y/-du-lar? (Were they laughing?)
In the sentences above, the last phonemes of the “mu/y/” morphemes are
glides. The double underlined black vowels drop, and the single underlined
consonants before them detach and attach to the [İYOR] allomorphs. The
syllable sequences are as follows:
(ça*lı*şı*yor / muy*dum) (bek*li*yor / muy*dun) (din*li*yor / muy*du)
(ko*şu*yor / muy*duk) (u*yu*yor / muy*du*nuz) (gü*lü*yor / muy*du*lar)
Although people pronounce and hear the syllable sequences, they under-
stand the morphemes and allomorphs given in the example sentences
above because there are morphemes and allomorphs in our memory under-
lying in the syllable sequences.
Past continuous negative question:
Çalış-ma-uyor muy-du-um? (Wasn’t I working?), Bekle-me-iyor muy-du-un?
(Weren’t you waiting?), Dinle-me-iyor muy-du? (Wasn’t she listening?), Koş-
ma-uyor muy-du-uk? (Weren’t we running?), Uyu-ma-uyor muy-du-unuz?
(Weren’t you sleeping?) Gül-me-üyor-lar mıy-dı? (Weren’t they laughing?)
If you follow the single underlined, double underlined and identical letters,
you can find the following syllable sequences:

35
(ça*lış*mı*yor / muy*dum) (bek*le*mi*yor / muy*dun) (din*le*mi*yor / muy*-
du) (koş*mu*yor / muy*duk) (u*yu*mu*yor / muy*du*nuz) (gül*mü*yor*lar /
mıy*dı)
As it is seen, if the main verbs are multisyllabic, the stressed syllable is the
last syllable of the main verb. But if the main verbs are monosyllabic, they
are naturally the last syllables, so they are stressed.
Simple future tense positive:
The simple future concept allomorphs of this tense are “ecek” and “acak”
allomorphs. These time allomorphs are followed by the subject allomorphs
as usual; (Ben) “im, ım”, (Sen) “/s/in, /s/ın”, (O) “Ø”, (Biz) “iz, ız”, (Siz)
“/s/iniz, /s/ınız”, (Onlar) “ler, lar”:
Gel-ecek-im. (ge*le*ce*ğim) (I will come), Gör-ecek-/s/in. (gö*re*cek*sin)
(You will see), Sakla-/y/acak-/s/ın. (sak*la*ya*cak*sın) (You will hide), Bul-
acak. (bu*la*cak) (He will find), Sor-acak-ız. (so*ra*ca*ğız) (We will ask),
Gör-ecek-/s/iniz. (gö*re*cek*si*niz) (You will see), Anla-/y/acak-lar. (an*la*-
ya*cak*lar) (They will understand)
In the sentences above, the single underlined syllables detach from their
verb roots and attach to the following vowels, but the /gle underlined “k”
phonemes both detach from their allomorphs and change into the “ğ” pho-
nemes when they attach to the subject allomorphs.
Simple future tense negative:
The negative allomorphs are “me” and “ma” as usual:
Git-me-/y/ecek-im. (git*me*ye*ce*ğim) (I will not go), Sor-ma-/y/acak-/s/ın.
(sor*ma*ya*cak*sın) (You will not ask), Cevap ver-me-/y/ecek. (ce*vap /
ver*me*ye*cek) (She will not answer), Gör-me-/y/ecek-iz. (gör*me*ye*ce*-
ğiz) (We will not see), Anla-ma-/y/acak-/s/ınız. (an*la*ma*ya*cak*sı*nız)
(You will not understand), Unut-ma-/y/acak-lar. (u*nut*ma*ya*cak*lar) (They
will not forget)
Simple future positive question:
The question allomorphs of the simple future are “mi”, “mı”, “mü”, and
“mu”. The other allomorphs are the same:
Gel-ecek mi-/y/im? (ge*le*cek / mi*yim) (Will I come?), Otur-acak mı-/s/ın?
(o*tu*ra*cak / mı*sın) (Will you sit?), Öğren-ecek mi? (öğ*re*ne*cek / mi)
(Will she learn?), Sor-acak mı-/y/ız? (so*ra*cak / mı*yız) (Will we ask?),
Başla-/y/acak mı-sınız? (baş*la*ya*cak / mı*sı*nız) (Will you start?), Dur-
acak-lar mı? (du*ra*cak*lar / mı?) (Will they stop?)

36
The /y/ semivowels are glides, which help the sound pass harmoniously
from one vowel to the other.
Simple future negative question:
Git-me-/y/ecek mi-/y/im? (git*me*ye*cek / mi*yim) (Will I not go?), Gel-me-
/y/ecek mi-/s/in? (gel*me*ye*cek / mi*sin) (Won’t you come?), Bekle-me-
/y/ecek mi? (bek*le*me*ye*cek / mi) (Won’t he wait?), Dinle-me-/y/ecek mi-
/y/iz? (din*le*me*ye*cek / mi*yiz) (Won’t we listen?), Gel-me-/y/ecek mi-
/s/iniz? (gel*me*ye*cek / mi*si*niz), (Won’t you come?). Kaç-ma-/y/acak-lar
mı? (kaç*ma*ya*cak*-lar / mı) (Won’t they escape?)
Future continuous positive:
In this tense, the English main verb “be” is a linking verb followed by a pre-
sent participle. This present participle “verb-ing” functions as an adjective in
this sentence, such as in “singing birds”. The information that the words
may give may be nouns or adjectives.
Similarly, in the Turkish corresponding sentence “Çalış-ıyor ol-acak-ım”
(ça*lı*şı*yor / o*la*ca*ğım), “çalışıyor” is an adjective as in “mutlu ol-acak-
ım”:
Çalış-ıyor ol-acak-ım. (ça*lı*şı*yor / o*la*ca*ğım) (I will be working); uyu-
uyor ol-acak-sın. (u*yu*yor / o*la*cak*sın) (You will be sleeping); Bekle-
iyor ol-acak. (bek*li*yor / o*la*cak) (She will be waiting); Yürü-üyor ol-
acak-ız. (yü*rü*yor / o*la*ca*ğız) (We will be walking); Gel-iyor ol-acak-
sınız. (ge*li*yor / o*la*cak*sı*nız) (You will be coming); Düşün-üyor ol-
acak-lar. (dü*şü*nü*yor / o*la*cak*lar) (They will be thinking).
Future continuous negative:
Bekle-iyor ol-ma-/y/acak-ım. (bek*li*yor / ol*ma*ya*ca*ğım) (I won’t be
waiting); Uyu-uyor ol-ma-/y/acak-/s/ın. (u*yu*yor / ol*ma*ya*cak*sın) (You
won’t be sleeping); Çalış-ıyor ol-ma-/y/acak. (ça*lı*şı*yor / ol*ma*ya*cak)
(He won’t be working); Başla-ıyor ol-ma-/y/acak-ız. (baş*lı*yor / ol*ma*ya*-
ca*ğız) (We won’t be starting); Düşün-üyor ol-ma-/y/acak-/s/ınız. (dü*şü*-
nü*yor / ol*ma*ya*cak*sı*nız) (You won’t be thinking): Yüz-üyor ol-ma-
/y/acak-lar. (yü*zü*yor / ol*ma*ya*cak*lar) (They won’t be swimming)
Future continuous positive question:
Bekle-iyor ol-acak mı-/y/ım? (bek*li*yor / o*la*cak / mı*yım) (Will I be wait-
ing?) Çalış-ıyor ol-acak mı-/s/ın? (ça*lı*şı*yor / o*la*cak / mı*sın) (Will you
be working?); Otur-uyor ol-acak mı? (o*tu*ru*yor / o*la*cak / mı) (Will she
be sitting?); Yüksel-iyor ol-acak mı-/y/ız? (yük*se*li*yor / o*la*cak / mı*yız)

37
(Will we be rising?); Dinle-iyor ol-acak mı-/s/ınız? (din*li*yor / o*la*-cak /
mı*sı*nız) (Will you be listening?); Öğren-iyor ol-acak-lar mı? (öğ*re*ni*yor
/ o*la*cak*lar / mı) (Will they be learning?)
Future continuous negative question:
Çalış-ıyor ol-ma-/y/acak mı-/y/ım? (ça*lı*şı*yor / ol*ma*ya*cak / mı*yım)
(Won’t I be working?); Üşü-üyor ol-ma-/y/acak mı-/s/ın? (ü*şü*yor / ol*ma*-
ya*cak / mı*sın?) (Won’t you be feeling cold?); Ev-i temizle-iyor ol-ma-
/y/acak mı? (e*vi / te*miz*li*yor / ol*ma*ya*cak / mı) (Won’t she be cleaning
the house?); Futbol oyna-uyor ol-ma-/y/acak mı-/y/ız? (fut*bol / oy*nu*yor /
ol*ma*ya*cak / mı*yız) (Won’t we be playing football?); Kaç-ıyor ol-ma-
/y/acak-lar mı? (ka*çı*yor / ol*ma*ya*cak*lar / mı) (Won’t they be escap-
ing?)
Turkish simple past; English simple past or present perfect tenses:
Both simple past and present perfect tenses of the English language are
expressed in simple past tense in Turkish. For instance:
I have done my work. = Görev-im-i yap-tı-ım. (gö*re*vi*mi / yap*tım)
I did my work yesterday. = Dün görev-im-i yap-tı-ım. (dün / gö*re*vi*mi /
yap*tım)
As you see, both the English present perfect and simple past tenses are
expressed in Turkish in simple past tense.
Past perfect tense positive:
In past perfect tenses, there are two kinds of time allomorphs following the
main verbs attached to each other. The past perfect time allomorphs are
[miş, mış, müş, muş], and the simple past time allomorphs are [ti, tı, tü, tu].
The subject allomorphs that are attached to them are: (Ben) [im, ım, üm,
um], (Sen) [in, ın, ün, un], (O) [Ø], (Biz) [ik, ık, ük, uk], (Siz) [iniz, ınız, ünüz,
unuz], and (Onlar) are [ler, lar]:
Görev-im-i yap-mış-tı-ım. (gö*re*vi*mi / yap*mış*tım) (I had done my work);
Ev-den çık-mış-tı-ın. (ev*den / çık*mış*tın) (You had left home); Bana gül-
ümse-miş-ti. (ba*na / gü*lüm*se*miş*ti) (She had smiled at me); Ev-e gel-
miş-ti-ik. (e*ve / gel*miş*tik) (We had come home); Biz-e söz ver-miş-ti-iniz.
(bi*ze / söz / ver*miş*ti*niz) (You had promised us); Pasta-/y/ı ye-miş-ler-di.
(pas*ta*yı / ye*miş*ler*di) (They had eaten the cake)
Past perfect tense negative:

38
Görev-im-i yap-ma-mış-tı-ım. (gö*re*vi*mi / yap*ma*mış*tım) (I hadn’t done
my work); Ödev-in-i bitir-me-miş-ti-in. (ö*de*vi*ni / bi*tir*me*miş*tin) (You
hadn’t finished your homework); Uçak in-me-miş-ti. (u*çak / in*me*miş*ti)
(The plane hadn’t landed); Sen-i gör-me-miş-ti-ik. (se*ni / gör*me*miş*tik)
(We hadn’t seen you); Biz-i anla-ma-mış-tı-ınız. (bi*zi / an*la*ma*mış*tı*nız)
(You hadn’t understood us); Yanlışlar-ı düzelt-me-miş-ler-di. (yan*lış*la*rı /
dü*zelt*me*miş*ler*di) (They hadn’t corrected the mistakes)
Past perfect tense positive question:
If someone uses a simple past tense positive question in Turkish in place of
a past perfect tense positive question, he sounds authoritative and bossy;
but if he uses a past perfect tense positive question, he sounds politer and
hesitant:
A father asks his son: Görev-in-i yap-tı-ın mı?
(gö*re*vi*ni / yap*tı*ın / mı)
A polite person asks his boss: Görev-iniz-i bitir-miş mi/y/-di-iniz?
(gö*re*vi*ni*zi / bi*tir*miş / miy*di*niz)
However, if someone says “Okul-a gel-me-den önce ev odev-in-i yap-mış
mı/y/-dı-ın?”, “yap-mış mı/y/-dı-ın”, he expresses only a past perfect tense
meaning that an action had been done before another action.
These two different concepts given above without adverb clauses are ex-
pressed in English in simple past tenses. When they are used without ad-
verbial clauses or phrases in sentences, they carry different concepts, but
when they are used followed by adverbial clauses or phrases, they only ex-
press an action had been done before another action. Therefore, we will
give examples that are used together with adverbial clauses:
Bura-/y/a gel-me-den önce eller-in-i yıka-mış mı/y/-dı-ın?
(bu*ra*ya / gel*me*den / ön*ce / el*le*ri*ni / yı*ka*mış / mıy*dın)
(Had you washed your hands before you came here?)
Oku-ma-dan önce teklif-i kabul et-miş-ler mi/y/-di?
(o*ku*ma*dan / ön*ce / tek*li*fi / ka*bul / et*miş*ler / miy*di)
(Had they accepted the proposal before they read it?)
Tiyatro-/y/a git-me-den önce piyes-i oku-muş mu/y/-du-unuz?
(ti*yat*ro*ya / git*me*den / ön*ce / pi*ye*si / o*ku*muş / muy*du*nuz)
(Had you read the play before you went to the theatre?)
Past perfect tense negative question:

39
Sana söyle-me-miş mi/y/-di-im? (sa*na / söy*le*me*miş / miy*dim) (Hadn’t I
told you?); Soru-/y/u anla-ma-mış mı/y/-dı-ın? (so*ru*yu / an*la*ma*mış /
mıy*dın) (Hadn’t you understood the question?); Teklif-i kabul et-me-miş
mi/y/-di? (tek*li*fi / ka*bul / et*me*miş / miy*di) (Hadn’t he accepted the pro-
posal?); Onlar-ı bilgilendir-me-miş mi/y/di-ik? (on*la*rı / bil*gi*len*dir*me*miş
/ miy*dik) (Hadn’t we informed them?) İş-iniz-i bitir-me-miş mi/y/di-iniz?
(i*şi*ni*zi / bi*tir*me*miş / miy*di*niz) (Hadn’t you finished your work?),
Hatırla-ma-mış-lar mı/y/-dı? (ha*tır*la*ma*mış*lar / mıy*dı) (Hadn’t they
remembered?
In the example sentences above, the speaker may be either complaining
about something, or he may be asking whether an action had been done
before another action in the past or both.
Future perfect tense positive:
This tense expresses an action that will have been done before a certain
time in future. Although the English and Turkish sentence structures are
different from each other, they convey the same meaning. In the Turkish
sentence structure a linking verb is used, but the English sentence structure
uses an action verb. For instance:
Saat beş-te iş-im-i bitir-miş ol-acak-ım.
(sa*at / beş*te / i*şi*mi / bi*tir*miş / o*la*ca*ğım)
(I will have finished my work at 5)
In the Turkish sentence above, a linking verb “ol” is used to link the adjective
“bitir-miş” to the subject allomorph [ım]. However, in the corresponding
English sentence, an action verb “finished” is used without any linking verbs:
Saat beş-ten önce makale-em-i tamamla-mış ol-acak-ım.
(sa*at / beş*ten / ön*ce / ma*ka*le*mi / ta*mam*la*mış / o*la*ca*ğım)
I will have completed my article by five.
Ev-iniz-den ayrıl-ma-dan önce paket-iniz-i al-mış ol-acak-/s/ınız.
(e*vi*niz*den / ay*rıl*ma*dan / ön*ce / pa*ke*ti*ni*zi / al*mış / o*la*cak*sı*nız)
You will have received your package by the time you leave home.
Sen ev-e var-ma-dan önce uyu-muş ol-acak-lar.
(sen / e*ve / var*ma*dan / ön*ce / u*yu*muş / o*la*cak*lar)
They will have fallen asleep by the time you arrive home.
Future perfect tense negative:
Sen gel-dik-in zaman daha iş-im-i bitir-me-miş ol-acak-ım.
(sen / gel*di*ğin / za*man / i*şi*mi / da*ha / bi*tir*me*miş / o*la*ca*ğım)
I won’t have finished my work yet by the time you arrive.
Future perfect tense positive question:

40
Ben gel-dik-im-de iş-in-i bitir-miş ol-acak mı-/s/ın?
(ben / gel*di*ğim*de / i*şi*ni / bi*tir*miş / o*la*cak / mı*sın)
Will you have finished your work by the time I arrive?
PRESENT MODALS
While English modals are made of auxiliary verbs, Turkish modals are made
either of morphemes, or of words, or of both. They convey nearly the same
concepts as they do in English. Therefore, instead of giving detailed boring
explanations of the Turkish modals, we prefer giving English equivalents of
them, which we think, might be more useful. Moreover, the English
sentences given as the equivalents of the Turkish modals can be considered
more satisfactory and precise than detailed English explanations of them,
which may lead to misunderstanding.
In the following sentences, the subjects and subject allomorphs are blue, the
verbs are red, the adverbials are green, the objects are black, and the brown
underlined words are subject complements.
(can) (may) ♫ [ebil, abil]
The ♫ [ebil, abil] allomorphs convey ability, possibility or permission as
“can” do in English. To form the Simple Present Tense concept of this
modal morpheme, one of its allomorphs "[ebil] or [abil]" is attached to a
main verb followed only by [ir] Simple Present Tense time allomorph. The
other Simple Present Tense allomorphs are not used after [ebil] or [abil]
allomorphs due to the vowel harmony rules. The time allomorphs are natu-
rally followed by suitable personal suject allomorphs:
Yemek piş-ir-ebil-ir-im. (Ability)
(ye*mek / pi*şi*re*bi*li*rim ↷)
I can cook.
Bilgisayar-ım-ı kullan-abil-ir-/s/in. (Permission)
(bil*gi*sa*ya*rı*mı / kul*la*na*bi*lir*sin ↷)
You can (may) use my computer.
Bazı soru-lar zor ol-abil-ir. (Possibility) (“Zor” is subject complement.)
(ba*zı / so*ru*lar / zor / o*la*bi*lir ↷)
Some questions may be difficult. (“Difficult” is subject complement.)
Siz-e yardım et-ebil-ir-iz. (Ability or possibility) (The /t/ changes into /d/.)
(si*ze / yar*dım / e*de*bi*li*riz ↷)
We can help you.
Dışarı-/y/a çık-abil-ir-/s/in. (Permission)
(dı*şa*rı / çı*ka*bi*lir*sin ↷)
You can go out.

41
To change the ♫ [ebil, abil] allomorphs into the negative concept, with the
first person singular “ben” and its plural form “biz” [eme, ama] are
used; and with the other subjects and in the interrogative forms [emez,
amaz] allomorphs are used. They convey the concepts of inability,
impossibility or prohibition:
Piyano çal-ama-am. (Inability)
(pi*ya*no / ça*la*mam ↷).
I can’t play the piano.
Bu küçük harfler-i gözlük-süz gör-eme-em. (Inability)
(bu / kü*çük / harf*le*ri / göz*lük*süz / gö*re*mem ↷).
I can’t see these small letters without glasses.
Bekle-/y/eme-em. (Impossibility or inability)
(bek*le*ye*mem ↷)
I can’t wait.
In the sentences above, the /y/ glide is put between the successive /e/ vow-
els.
Bu leke sabun-la temizlen-emez. (Impossibility) (Passive)
(bu / le*ke / sa*bun*la / te*miz*le*ne*mez ↷)
This stain can’t be cleaned with soap.
Bura-da bekle-/y/emez-/s/in. (Prohibition)
(bur*da / bek*le*ye*mez*sin ↷)
You can’t wait here.
Bakteriler çıplak göz-le görül-emez. (Impossibility) (Passive)
(bak*te*ri*ler / çıp*lak / göz*le / gö*rü*le*mez ↷)
Germs can’t be seen with the naked eye.
Yarın sen-i gör-eme-em. (Impossibility)
(ya*rın / se*ni / gö*re*mem ↷)
I can’t see you tomorrow.
Ev-de ol-amaz. (Impossibility) (“Ev-de” is subject complement.)
(ev*de / o*la*maz↷)
He can’t be at home.
Çocuk-lar bahçe-de oyna-uyor ol-amaz. (Impossibility)
(ço*cuk*lar / bah*çe*de / oy*nu*yor / o*la*maz ↷)
The children can’t be playing in the garden.

42
The same [ebil] modal concept can also be used with The Present Con-
tinuous [İYOR] morpheme. In order to form this modal composition, [ebil] or
[abil] allomorphs are attached to main verbs followed by the [İYOR] and the
personal subject allomorphs:
Kara tahta-/y/ı gör-ebil-iyor-um. Tahta-/y/ı gör-üyor-um. (Ability)
(ka*ra / tah*ta*yı / gö*re*bi*li*yo*rum ↷)
I can see the blackboard.
The Simple Present Tense of this modal form does not express ability. If it
is used, it expresses possibility:
Sen-i yarın gör-ebil-ir-im.
(se*ni / ya*rın / gö*re*bi*li*rim ↷)
I can see you tomorrow. (Possibility)
Kenar-a çekil-ir-se-en karatahta-/y/ı gör-ebil-ir-im. (Possibility)
(ke*na*ra / çe*ki*lir*sen~ / ka*ra*tah*ta*yı / gö*re*bi*li*rim ↷)
If you move aside, I can see the blackboard.
In the negative forms of The Present Continuous modal tenses, the [eme] or
[ama] negative making allomorphs are used followed by the [iyor, ıyor]
progressive allomorphs, and naturally suitable subject allomorphs are at-
tached to them:
Sen-i anla-/y/ama-ıyor-um. (The double underlined vowels drop.)
(se*ni / an*la*ya*mı*yo*rum ↷)
I can’t understand you.
The /y/ glide is placed between the successive /a/ vowels. (Inability) (“Seni
anlayamam” is impossible here. It can be used in conditional sentences):
Daha yüksek ses-le konuş-maz-sa-an sen-i anla-/y/ama-am.
(da*ha / yük*sek / ses*le / ko*nuş*maz*san / se*ni / an*la*ya*mam ↷)
I can't understand you unless you speak louder.
Sen-i işit-eme-iyor-um.
(se*ni / i*şi*te*mi*yo*rum ↷)
I can’t hear you.
(The double underlined /e/ drops as it is in “şimdi zaman”.) (Inability)
Bekle-/y/eme-iyor-um.
(bek*le*ye*mi*yo*rum ↷)
I can’t wait. (Inability)

43
Bekle-/y/me-em.
(bek*le*ye*mem ↷)
I can’t wait. It is impossible for me to wait. (Impossibility)
Sen-i gör-eme-iyor-um. (Inability)
(se*ni / gö*re*mi*yo*rum ↷)
I can’t see you.
Söyle-dik-ler-in anlaşıl-ma-ıyor. (Passive)
(söy*le*dik*le*rin / an*la*şıl*mı*yor ↷)
What you are saying isn't understood.
The [ebil, abil] modal allomorphs followed by the allomorphs of the mor-
pheme [İYOR] are used attached to verbs in question forms, and finally
“mu-/y/um?, mu-/s/un?, mu?, mu-/y/uz?, mu-/s/unuz?, lar mı?, etc” are
separately added:
Gözlük-süz televizyon seyret-ebil-iyor mu-/s/unuz?
(göz*lük*süz / te*le*viz*yon / sey*re*de*bi*li↝ yor / mu*su*nuz ↷)
Can you watch television without glasses?
(The /t/ changes into /d/.) (Ability)
When the intention of request is involved, The Simple Present Tense allo-
morphs of [İR] are used after [ebil or abil] allomorphs, and finally, “mi-
/y/im?”, “mi-/s/in?”, “mi?”, “mi-/y/iz?”, “mi-/s/iniz?”, “ler mi?” question
allomorphs are separately said or written.
Bana yardım et-ebil-ir mi-/s/iniz? (“Yardım et” = “help”) (Intransitive)
(ba*na / yar*dım / e*de*bi*lir ↝ / mi*si*niz ↷)
Can you help me? (Request) (Transitive)
Siz-e yardım et-ebil-ir mi-/y/im?
(si*ze / yar*dım / e*de*bi*lir ↝ / mi*yim ↷)
Can I help you? (Request)
Ben-i gör-mek için yarın büro-um-a gel-ebil-ir mi-/s/iniz)? (Request)
(be*ni / gör*mek / i*çin / ya*rın / bü*ro*ma / ge*le*bi*lir↝ / mi*si*niz ↷)
Can (could) you come to my office to see me tomorrow?
The Turkish equivalents of “wh” question words of English can also be
used with [ebil], [abil] allomorphs:
Bu soru-/y/a kim cevap ver-ebil-ir? (“Cevap ver” = “answer”)
(bu / so*ru*ya / kim ↝/ ce*vap / ve*re*bi*lir ↝)
Who can answer this question? (Ability)

Morphemes, Allomorphs and Syllables in Turkish and English

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