TC - Turkish Language Lessons 26.pdf - beginner lessons - jasminmariusz

TC Turkish Language Lessons

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To be

The verb to be (for the ªisª in English) is handled in a special way, it is different from the other verbs. This is also the case

in Turkish, the use of the verb to be is very unique. Unlike all the other verbs, to be is expressed with suffixes. It can be in

one of present tense or past tense. Let´s see it in present tense and past tense for different cases of personal pronouns.

English

Turkish

Suffix

Present tense to be

i am xxx

ben xxx im

you are xxx

sen xxx sin

sin

he \

- (none)

she | is xxx

o xxx

it /

dir

we are xxx

biz xxx iz

you are xxx

siz xxx siniz

siniz

onlar xxx

none

they are xxx

onlar xxx ler

ler

Past tense to be

i was xxx

ben xxx dim

dim

you were xxx sen xxx din

din

he \

she | was xxx

o xxx- di

- di

it /

we were xxx biz xxx dik

dik

you were xxx siz xxx diniz

diniz

they were xxx onlar xxx(-y) diler

(y)diler

NOTE 1

For the third person of the present tense to be, there are two cases. One with no suffix and one with dir . If you are

making a personal statement or you are talking in a casual way, you use the no suffix case. However, if you want to make

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20090719 23:16

TC Turkish Language Lessons

http://www.turkishclass.com/turkish/lessons/lesson_print.php?lesson_id=67

a definitive or informative statement like one in an encyclopedia, you use the suffix dir . Both have the same meaning,

and sometimes can be used interchangeably. Let´s see examples to this.

This house is very big. > Bu ev çok büyük.

That is my house. > O benim evim.

He is a student. > O bir öğrenci.

Spider is an animal. > Örümcek bir hayvandır. (The dir case is used since this is an informative statement)

Sun is larger than earth. > Güne dünyadan daha büyüktür. (Again, this is an informative statement)

NOTE 2

When constructing the third person plural past tense form of to be, the suffix -ler can be ommitted in some

cases. These are explained below:

a. Humans or objects that have no individuality take singular conjugation for third person plural. But if the

speaker wants to give objects individuality then he can use plural. This would be a poetic sentence.

b. Humans and other things that have individuality (for instance animals that have names) can take either

singular or plural conjugation. Usually if the subject is defined (if we known them) then we use plural

conjugation. If the subject is undefined then we use singular conjugation.

NOTE 3

Since the verb to be is different for each personal pronoun, personal pronouns can be omitted in speech or writing. The

meaning of person is given with this verb. To say " I am beautiful. " you can use one of:

" Ben gzelim ."

" Gzelim. ".

Using the personal pronoun adds the meaning of stressing person. We will use the personal pronoun in parenthesis to

indicate that it is optional.

Now, let´s see where to be is used:

To construct a sentence with a noun or adjective instead of a verb, like in English. The verb to be is the implicit verb

here.

You are beautiful. > (Sen) güzelsin.

You were beautiful. > (Sen) güzeldin.

This is a house. > Bu bir ev.

That was a house. > O bir evdi.

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20090719 23:16

TC Turkish Language Lessons

http://www.turkishclass.com/turkish/lessons/lesson_print.php?lesson_id=67

To construct verbs in different tenses, the suffix for each tense is used with either present tense of to be or past

tense of to be . Actually, it is present tense of to be in all cases except the regular past tense .

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TC - Turkish Language Lessons 26.pdf

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