Each example below has three parts: the original text, a literal gloss describing how every word works, and a natural translation. The glosses use a few shorthand labels so they stay short. Don't worry about memorising them — this is a reference you can come back to.
Person and number · 1sg / 2sg / 3sg — first / second / third person singular (I, you, he/she/it) · 1pl / 2pl / 3pl — first / second / third person plural (we, you-all, they)
Gender and case · m / f / n — masculine / feminine / neuter · sg / pl — singular / plural · m.sg — combined: masculine singular (and similarly f.pl, n.sg, etc.) · NOM / ACC / GEN / DAT / INS / LOC — grammatical cases (nominative/accusative/genitive/dative/instrumental/locative) — which role the word plays in the sentence
Tense and aspect · PRES — present · PRET — preterite (a finished past event) · IMPF — imperfect (an ongoing or habitual past situation) · FUT — future · PERF — perfect (an action completed with present relevance) · PROG — progressive (action in progress, e.g. am eating) · COND — conditional (would…)
Mood · IND — indicative (regular statement) · SUBJ — subjunctive (uncertainty, wishes, doubts) · IMP — imperative (commands) · INF — infinitive (dictionary form: to go, to eat)
Other · REFL — reflexive (action on oneself: myself, yourself) · PERS — personal a (Spanish only — marks a human direct object) · HON — honorific (extra-polite form, common in Japanese/Korean) · TOP / SUB / OBJ — topic / subject / object markers (Japanese, Korean) · CL — classifier (Chinese, Japanese, Korean — a counter word for nouns) · NEG — negation
Turkish is a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) language. The verb almost always comes at the end of the sentence, and everything else (subject, object, adverbs, place expressions) precedes it. Modifiers come before the words they modify: adjectives before nouns, possessors before possessed. Because the verb ending already encodes the person and number of the subject, the subject pronoun is usually omitted unless the speaker wants to emphasize or contrast it. Word order inside the sentence is fairly flexible for emphasis — what you place immediately before the verb tends to receive focus — but the verb itself stays final in neutral statements.
Turkish builds words by stacking suffixes onto a root in a strict, predictable order. A single word can carry information that English needs a whole phrase for: number, possession, case, tense, person, negation, question, and more. Each suffix has one job and is added in a fixed slot, so once you know the order you can parse very long words. For nouns the order is roughly root + plural + possessive + case. For verbs it is roughly root + (negation) + tense/aspect + person + (question). Because suffixes attach so cleanly, learning Turkish is largely a matter of learning which suffix to add and in what order.
Vowel harmony is the single most important sound rule in Turkish: the vowels of suffixes change to match the vowels of the root. There are two axes. (1) Front/back: front vowels (e, i, ö, ü) take front suffix vowels; back vowels (a, ı, o, u) take back suffix vowels. (2) Rounded/unrounded: applies to high-vowel suffixes (the four-way I, written as ı/i/u/ü), which copy both the front/back and rounded/unrounded quality of the last vowel of the root. Low-vowel suffixes (the two-way A, written as a/e) only follow the front/back axis. Once you internalize these patterns, most suffix choices become automatic.
Turkish has no grammatical gender: nouns, pronouns, and adjectives are the same regardless of whether they refer to a man, a woman, or a thing. The third-person pronoun "o" covers he, she, and it. There is also no definite article equivalent to "the." Definiteness is expressed in other ways: by the accusative case suffix on a direct object (marking it as specific), by possessive suffixes, by demonstratives (bu "this," şu "that," o "that"), or simply by context. A bare noun can mean "a book," "the book," or just "book" in general, depending on the surrounding sentence.
The word "bir" literally means "one" and also functions as the indefinite article "a/an." Place it directly before the noun (after any adjective): "bir kitap" (a book), "güzel bir kitap" (a nice book). Use "bir" when you introduce something new or non-specific. It is often omitted when the noun is general or plural, and it is not used with proper names or with nouns that already carry possessive suffixes. To insist on the numeric meaning "one," stress "bir" or place it after the adjective: "bir tane" (one piece, exactly one). Without "bir," a bare singular noun typically refers to the category in general.
The personal pronouns are: ben (I), sen (you, singular informal), o (he/she/it), biz (we), siz (you, plural or formal singular), onlar (they). Because every conjugated verb ends in a person suffix, subject pronouns are usually omitted in neutral speech and added only for emphasis, contrast, or clarity. Pronouns decline through the same case system as nouns, with some irregular forms in the genitive and accusative: benim (my, of me), beni (me), bana (to me), bende (at me), benden (from me); senin, seni, sana; onun, onu, ona. "Siz" doubles as the polite singular "you," similar to French "vous."
Turkish nouns take case suffixes that show their role in the sentence. The six core cases are: Nominative (no suffix, used for subjects and indefinite objects); Accusative -ı/-i/-u/-ü, marking specific/definite direct objects; Dative -a/-e, meaning "to" or "toward"; Locative -da/-de (or -ta/-te after a voiceless consonant), meaning "in/at/on"; Ablative -dan/-den (or -tan/-ten), meaning "from"; and Genitive -ın/-in/-un/-ün, marking possessors. All these suffixes obey vowel harmony, so the form you pick depends on the last vowel of the noun. A buffer -n- appears before case suffixes on possessed nouns (evi-n-de = in his/her house).
Every Turkish verb is built as: root + (negation) + tense/aspect suffix + person ending. The dictionary form ends in -mek or -mak (gelmek "to come," almak "to take"); drop -mek/-mak to get the root. Tense and aspect are expressed by specific suffixes (-iyor, -ir/-er, -di, -miş, -ecek, etc.), and a separate set of personal endings (different for each tense) shows who the subject is. Because both tense and person are encoded in the verb, a one-word sentence like "geliyorum" already means "I am coming." Negation slips in between the root and the tense suffix; question and other particles attach further out.
The suffix -iyor expresses an action happening right now or generally going on these days. Despite the four high vowels written as -ı/-i/-u/-ü in the form -Iyor, the -yor part itself does not harmonize — only the linking vowel before it does. The full pattern is: verb root (drop final vowel if any) + linking vowel chosen by harmony + -yor + personal ending. Person endings for this tense are -um, -sun, — (no suffix), -uz, -sunuz, -lar. So "gel-iyor-um" (I am coming), "yap-ıyor-sun" (you are doing), "oku-yor" (he/she is reading). It is the workhorse present tense and is also used for near-future plans.
The aorist suffix (-ir/-ır/-ur/-ür or -er/-ar, with several stem-dependent shapes) expresses habits, general truths, predictable behavior, willingness, and polite offers — not actions happening right now. Roughly: most multi-syllable stems take -ir family; many one-syllable stems take -er/-ar; a small set is irregular. Person endings are the same as the copula endings: -im, -sin, —, -iz, -siniz, -ler. Negative aorist uses -mez/-maz instead. Compare with the continuous -iyor, which describes ongoing action. "Çay içerim" = I drink tea (in general); "Çay içiyorum" = I am drinking tea (right now). The aorist is also common in proverbs, polite requests, and offers.
Turkish has two main past tenses. The definite past -di/-dı/-du/-dü (or -ti/-tı/-tu/-tü after a voiceless consonant) describes events the speaker witnessed or knows for sure: "geldim" (I came), "yaptın" (you did). Person endings: -m, -n, —, -k, -niz, -ler. The reportive or evidential past -miş/-mış/-muş/-müş describes events the speaker did not directly witness — hearsay, inference, surprise, dreams, stories: "gelmiş" (he came, apparently / I hear that he came). Same set of person endings as the aorist (-im, -sin…). The choice between -di and -miş is a meaningful evidential distinction that English usually expresses with words like "apparently" or "it seems."
The future tense uses -ecek (after front-vowel stems) or -acak (after back-vowel stems), followed by personal endings of the copula type. The final -k of -ecek/-acak softens to -ğ- before a vowel, so "geleceğim" (I will come), "alacağım" (I will take). Full paradigm with "gel-": geleceğim, geleceksin, gelecek, geleceğiz, geleceksiniz, gelecekler. Negation slots in between root and -ecek: "gel-me-yeceğim" (I will not come). Use the future for plans, promises, and predictions. For very near-future or already-planned actions, Turkish often prefers the present continuous ("yarın geliyorum" = I'm coming tomorrow), much like English.
Verbs are negated with the infix -me-/-ma- inserted between the root and the tense suffix: gel-iyor-um (I am coming) → gel-mi-yor-um (I am not coming), where -me- is shortened before -iyor. Examples: yap-ma-dı-m (I did not do), gel-me-yeceğim (I will not come), iç-mez (he does not drink, aorist negative is irregular: -mez/-maz). For nouns, adjectives, and the equivalent of "to be," Turkish uses the separate word "değil" (not), which takes copula endings: "öğrenci değilim" (I am not a student), "güzel değil" (it is not beautiful). "Yok" means "there is not / does not exist," the negative of "var" (there is).
Yes/no questions use the unstressed particle mı/mi/mu/mü, written as a separate word but harmonizing with the preceding word. It usually comes right after the element being questioned and carries the person ending in verb questions: "Geliyor musun?" (Are you coming?), "Türk müsün?" (Are you Turkish?). For past tense, the particle follows the whole verb: "Geldin mi?" (Did you come?). Wh-questions use question words placed where the answer would go, without changing word order: kim (who), ne (what), nerede (where), ne zaman (when), niçin/neden (why), nasıl (how), kaç (how many), hangi (which). Intonation rises slightly, but no extra particle is needed with wh-words.
The plural suffix is -lar (after back vowels: a, ı, o, u) or -ler (after front vowels: e, i, ö, ü), again obeying vowel harmony. It attaches directly to the noun root, before possessive and case suffixes: ev-ler-im-de (in my houses), kitap-lar-ı (his/her books / the books, accusative). Importantly, Turkish does NOT use the plural after a number or quantifier: "iki kitap" (two books), "çok ev" (many houses), not "iki kitaplar." The plural is used when the noun stands alone and refers to multiple specific items, or for general categories of people. With a plural subject, the verb may also take -lar, but this is often dropped when the subject is inanimate.
Turkish does not use separate possessive words like "my" or "your" in front of the noun — possession is built into the noun itself with a suffix. The endings are: -(i)m (my), -(i)n (your sg), -(s)i (his/her/its), -(i)miz (our), -(i)niz (your pl), -leri (their). The optional initial vowel appears when the noun ends in a consonant; the optional -s- appears when the noun ends in a vowel and the suffix is 3rd person. All forms harmonize. A full possessive construction also marks the possessor with the genitive: "benim ev-im" (my house), "Ali-nin ev-i" (Ali's house). The possessor word is often dropped because the suffix already shows whose it is.
Because Turkish is agglutinative, once you know the six person endings for each tense, every verb conjugates the same way (modulo vowel harmony). Below is the verb gelmek "to come" (a front-vowel stem) shown across the main tenses. For each tense the personal endings are the same regardless of stem; only the linking vowels change. After every table, the vowel-harmony variant column shows what the corresponding form would look like on the back-vowel stem almak "to take."
Present continuous (-Iyor)
| Person | gelmek (front) | almak (back) |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg ben | geliyorum | alıyorum |
| 2sg sen | geliyorsun | alıyorsun |
| 3sg o | geliyor | alıyor |
| 1pl biz | geliyoruz | alıyoruz |
| 2pl siz | geliyorsunuz | alıyorsunuz |
| 3pl onlar | geliyorlar | alıyorlar |
Note: the -yor part never harmonizes; the linking vowel (i/ı/u/ü) does. The personal endings are -um/-sun/-(zero)/-uz/-sunuz/-lar, fixed for this tense.
Aorist / simple present (-Ir / -Er)
| Person | gelmek (front, irregular -ir) | almak (back) | yapmak (back, -ar) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | gelirim | alırım | yaparım |
| 2sg | gelirsin | alırsın | yaparsın |
| 3sg | gelir | alır | yapar |
| 1pl | geliriz | alırız | yaparız |
| 2pl | gelirsiniz | alırsınız | yaparsınız |
| 3pl | gelirler | alırlar | yaparlar |
Note: many one-syllable stems take -ir/-ır/-ur/-ür (gelir, alır, bilir, durur); others take -er/-ar (yapar, gider, eder). The personal endings are -im/-sin/-(zero)/-iz/-siniz/-ler with full four-way harmony.
Definite past (-DI, witnessed)
| Person | gelmek | almak |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | geldim | aldım |
| 2sg | geldin | aldın |
| 3sg | geldi | aldı |
| 1pl | geldik | aldık |
| 2pl | geldiniz | aldınız |
| 3pl | geldiler | aldılar |
Note: the suffix surfaces as -di/-dı/-du/-dü after voiced consonants and as -ti/-tı/-tu/-tü after voiceless ones (gitti "he went," yaptı "he did"). Personal endings: -m/-n/-(zero)/-k/-niz/-ler.
Evidential past (-mIş, hearsay / inference)
| Person | gelmek | almak |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | gelmişim | almışım |
| 2sg | gelmişsin | almışsın |
| 3sg | gelmiş | almış |
| 1pl | gelmişiz | almışız |
| 2pl | gelmişsiniz | almışsınız |
| 3pl | gelmişler | almışlar |
Note: same person endings as the aorist (copula endings). Use -mIş when you didn't witness the event, when you infer it, or when you're surprised by it.
Future (-EcEk)
| Person | gelmek | almak |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | geleceğim | alacağım |
| 2sg | geleceksin | alacaksın |
| 3sg | gelecek | alacak |
| 1pl | geleceğiz | alacağız |
| 2pl | geleceksiniz | alacaksınız |
| 3pl | gelecekler | alacaklar |
Note: the final -k softens to -ğ- between two vowels (geleceğim, not *gelecekim). The suffix is -ecek after a front-vowel stem and -acak after a back-vowel stem.
To say "want to do X" in Turkish, use the bare infinitive of the main verb (ending in -mek or -mak) followed by the conjugated form of istemek "to want." The infinitive does not change. Only istemek is conjugated, normally in the present continuous ("is wanting" = currently wants) or in the aorist ("wants" as a stable preference).
istemek in the present continuous (most common for current desires)
| Person | form |
|---|---|
| 1sg ben | istiyorum |
| 2sg sen | istiyorsun |
| 3sg o | istiyor |
| 1pl biz | istiyoruz |
| 2pl siz | istiyorsunuz |
| 3pl onlar | istiyorlar |
Full pattern: gitmek istiyorum (I want to go), yemek yemek istiyorsun (you want to eat food), uyumak istiyor (he/she wants to sleep). The infinitive comes first; istemek comes last, as the main verb of the sentence.
Negation: negate istemek, not the infinitive: gitmek istemiyorum (I don't want to go). For "don't want X to happen," Turkish typically uses a subjunctive subordinate clause, not the bare infinitive.
For a stable, characteristic want ("I always want to…") use the aorist: isterim, istersin, ister, isteriz, istersiniz, isterler. So çay içmek isterim = "I (generally) want to drink tea / I'd like some tea." To ask a polite "would you like…?" use the aorist with the question particle: çay ister misiniz? (would you like tea?).
Turkish has no separate "going to" construction like English. There are two ways to express a planned future:
1. The future suffix -EcEk (-ecek after front-vowel stems, -acak after back-vowel stems) is the all-purpose future. It covers "will," "shall," and "going to." Use it for predictions, promises, and clearly-future plans. Personal endings are the copula endings, and the -k softens to -ğ- before a vowel (geleceğim). 2. The present continuous (-Iyor) used for planned future is extremely common when the plan is already arranged and reasonably near. "Yarın geliyorum" (I'm coming tomorrow) feels more concrete and committed than "yarın geleceğim" (I will come tomorrow), much like the English contrast between "I'm coming" and "I will come."
Future of gelmek (to come)
| Person | future (-EcEk) | present continuous as future |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | geleceğim | geliyorum (yarın) |
| 2sg | geleceksin | geliyorsun |
| 3sg | gelecek | geliyor |
| 1pl | geleceğiz | geliyoruz |
| 2pl | geleceksiniz | geliyorsunuz |
| 3pl | gelecekler | geliyorlar |
Vowel-harmony variant with almak (to take, back vowels): alacağım, alacaksın, alacak, alacağız, alacaksınız, alacaklar.
Negation goes between the root and the future suffix, with a buffer -y-: gel-me-yeceğim (I will not come), al-ma-yacaksın (you will not take). Yes/no questions use mi placed after the future stem and before the personal ending: gelecek misin? (will you come?), alacak mısınız? (will you take it?).
Polite "would like" in Turkish is built on the same -mek istemek pattern, but istemek is conjugated in one of two polite shapes.
1. isterdim (aorist past of istemek): a hypothetical, slightly more polite "I would like." Conjugation: isterdim, isterdin, isterdi, isterdik, isterdiniz, isterdiler. This sounds tentative and is excellent for restaurant orders, requests, and wishes one doesn't expect to be fulfilled. 2. istiyorum / istiyoruz with intonational softening and the words lütfen (please) or rica ederim: the everyday polite request style. "Bir çay istiyorum, lütfen" is perfectly polite in a cafe.
For maximum politeness, especially in formal letters or to strangers, you can also use arzu etmek "to desire" or istirham etmek "to request," but isterdim is the standard polite equivalent of English "I would like."
Full conjugation of isterdim
| Person | form | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | isterdim | I would like |
| 2sg | isterdin | you would like |
| 3sg | isterdi | he/she would like |
| 1pl | isterdik | we would like |
| 2pl | isterdiniz | you (pl/polite) would like |
| 3pl | isterdiler | they would like |
Use it with the bare -mek infinitive in front: gitmek isterdim (I would like to go), bilmek isterdik (we would like to know), bir kahve isterdim (I would like a coffee, no main verb because the noun is the object of istemek directly).
The form is also used to express regret: gelmek isterdim ama vaktim yoktu (I would have liked to come, but I had no time).
Ability and permission are expressed with the suffix -ebil- (after front-vowel stems) or -abil- (after back-vowel stems), inserted between the verb root and the tense/person endings. The suffix is followed by whatever tense you want (present continuous, aorist, future, past). The combined dictionary form is -ebilmek / -abilmek ("to be able to").
gelmek (front) in the aorist of ability
| Person | form | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | gelebilirim | I can come |
| 2sg | gelebilirsin | you can come |
| 3sg | gelebilir | he/she can come |
| 1pl | gelebiliriz | we can come |
| 2pl | gelebilirsiniz | you (pl) can come |
| 3pl | gelebilirler | they can come |
Vowel-harmony variant with almak (back): alabilirim, alabilirsin, alabilir, alabiliriz, alabilirsiniz, alabilirler.
Negative "cannot" is irregular: it uses -eme-/-ama- (not *-emebil-), and in the aorist becomes -emez/-amaz. So gelemem (I cannot come), gelemezsin (you can't come, more emphatic), alamam (I can't take). In the present continuous: gelemiyorum (I can't come right now).
Use the aorist gelebilirim for general ability or permission ("I can come / I'm allowed to come / I might come"). Use the present continuous gelebiliyorum for current ability ("I'm able to come at the moment"). For past ability use gelebildim (I was able to come, and did) vs gelebilirdim (I could have come, but didn't necessarily).
The same suffix is also used for polite requests and possibility: "Pencereyi açabilir misiniz?" (Could you open the window?), "Yağmur yağabilir" (It might rain).
Turkish imperatives are short and direct. The form depends on whom you are addressing:
| Addressee | suffix on verb root | example (gelmek) | example (almak) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2sg sen (informal) | bare root | gel! (come!) | al! (take!) |
| 2pl siz (formal / plural) | -(y)In | gelin! / geliniz! | alın! / alınız! |
| 2pl very formal / written | -(y)InIz | geliniz! | alınız! |
| 3sg o (let him/her…) | -sIn | gelsin (let him come) | alsın (let him take) |
| 3pl onlar (let them…) | -sInler | gelsinler | alsınlar |
There is no 1sg or 1pl imperative; for "let me / let us" Turkish uses the optative suffix -(y)EyIm / -(y)ElIm (geleyim "let me come," gidelim "let's go").
Vowel-harmony variants affect all the I-vowel suffixes: front-vowel stems use -in/-iniz/-sin/-sinler (gelin, gelsin), back-vowel stems use -ın/-ınız/-sın/-sınlar (alın, alsın). Rounded stems use -ün/-üniz/-sün/-sünler (görün) or -un/-unuz/-sun/-sunlar (durun).
Negation uses the regular -me-/-ma- infix: gelme! (don't come!), almayın! (don't take, pl/formal!), gitmesin (don't let him go). For very polite requests, prefer the aorist question form (gelir misiniz? = would you come?) or the ability form (gelebilir misiniz? = could you come?) rather than the bare imperative.
Turkish has no full verb meaning "to be" in the present tense. Instead, the predicate noun, adjective, or location simply takes a small set of personal copula endings: -(y)im, -sin, — (zero for 3sg), -(y)iz, -siniz, -ler. The -y- appears after a vowel. So "öğrenciyim" (I am a student), "yorgunsun" (you are tired), "o doktor" (he/she is a doctor — no ending at all in 3sg). For "there is/exists" Turkish uses the standalone word "var," and for "there is not / does not exist" it uses "yok." In past and future, the verb idi/-ydi (was) and olacak (will be) are used; the no-verb pattern is strictly a present-tense feature.