LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

SOME IMPORTANT POINTS TO LEARN BEFORE YOU BEGIN
READING THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE
1. In this article, a verb phrase contains the main verbs and all the auxiliary
verbs used together with the main verbs in English. It does not contain the
subjects, the objects or the adverbials. However in Turkish, in addition to
the auxiliary allomorphs, personal allomorphs that bear the meanings of the
pronouns in the beginning of a sentence are attached to the verb phrases as
a grammatical rule. For instance:

Yarn

ben-i

tomorrow

me

gr-e.bil-ir-sin.
can see

you

(Read from right to left.)

If you read the English sentence under the Turkish sentence above starting
from right to left, you can find the English equivalent of the Turkish
sentence above. Additionally, in place of the English pronoun you, the
Turkish personal allomorph sin is used instead of the pronoun sen of the
Turkish sentence. As a general rule, the personal pronouns are generally
ignored in Turkish sentences if they are not thought dominant.
In order to understand the morphology of the Turkish words, we have to
learn first the morphemes and allomorphs that form the meaningful elements
of languages.
According to English grammars, there are two kinds of morphemes in
English: free morphemes, which are the word roots that cannot be divided
into meaningful units, and bound morphemes, which are the prefixes or
suffixes attached to them. This explanation is true when English is considered because all the auxiliary verbs, including the modal verbs, are free
morphemes. On the other hand, if we consider their functions, we could say
that the auxiliary verbs are syntactically related to main verbs.
For instance, when we ask someone what can means, he cannot explain
the meaning of this word without using a verb following it, such as: can
work, can remember, can understand, can be. Therefore, the auxiliary
verbs of the English language may be considered as bound morphemes as
they do not convey sense without being followed by verbs.
On the contrary, all the corresponding auxiliary verbs of the English language are expressed in allomorphs attached to one another in Turkish. The
Turkish allomorphs that correspond to the English auxiliary verbs are
showed in the following Turkish verb phrases:
Gr - me - di - ik
see

not

did

we (Read from right to left.)

LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

Different from English verb phrases, Turkish verb phrases contain subject
allomorphs attached to the ends of the verb phrases. Additionally, there may
also be a personal pronoun in the beginning of a Turkish sentence, and a
personal allomorph conveying the same meaning of the personal pronoun in
the beginning of a sentence. The personal allomorphs at the ends of the
verb phrases are compulsory elements, but the pronouns used in the
beginning of the sentences are optional elements because the personal
allomorphs used at the ends of the verb phrases are enough to express the
pronouns used in the beginning of the sentences. Therefore, these pronouns
are generally ignored unless they are intentionally emphasized, such as:
(Ben)

yarn

sen-i

tomorrow

you

Yarn
tomorrow

-in-i

see

can

sen-i gr - e.bil.ir - im. (ya*rn / se*ni / g*re*bi*li*rim)

you

see

yap -

your work

gr - e.bil-ir - im. (ben can be ignored.)

do

can

(Read from right to left.)

ma.l - sn. (i*i*ni / yap*ma*l*sn)

must

you

(Read from right to left.)

Contrary to the English verb phrases, Turkish verb phrases start with the
main verbs and the auxiliary allomorphs follow the main verbs in succession
attached to one another. The succession of a Turkish verb phrase is as follows:
Main verb- modal allomorph- time allomorph- personal allomorph
In place of the auxiliary verbs of the English language, there are different
auxiliary allomorphs carrying the same meaning of the morphemes in Turkish. For instance, the corresponding present continuous suffix ing of the
English language is expressed in Turkish by the morpheme i.yor, which
has four allomorphs i.yor, .yor, .yor, u.yor produced by the sound system.
These allomorphs change following the last vowels of the main verbs, such
as:
Gel-i.yor-um. al-.yor-um. Gl-.yor-um. Otur-u.yor-um.

TURKISH PHONEMES and LETTERS

Turkish has 29 letters in its alphabet that represent the phonemes. Some of
these letters / o, u, a, / and / , , e, i / are vowels (nller), and the others
/ b, c, , d, f, g, , h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, , t, v, y, z / are consonants
(nszler).
All the letters above represent phonemes, that is why they are shown between / / signs. Phonemics is not interested in detailed phonetic differences. Some of the vowels / , , / do not exist in English. They are pro-

LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

nounced: // as in English again; // as in German schn; and // as in
German htte respectively.
Among the consonants, there are the / , , / phonemes, which are pronounced as ch as in church, sh as in fish; and to produce the //
phoneme, which does not exist in English, first produce /g/ phoneme, and
make it longer by letting your breath pass between your tongue and the hard
palate of your mouth while vibrating your vocal cords.

THE TURKISH VOWEL AND CONSONANT HARMONY

Turkish is said to be an agglutinative language, which means that suffixes
are attached to word roots, stems and frames one following the other in
sequence to arrange words. To understand how these syllable and suffix
chains are arranged, one should understand the vowel and consonant
harmony rules of the Turkish language before one begins to attach suffixes
to roots or stems, and to the suffixes following them.

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

2. The thin (front) vowel harmony chain is e i

In both chains, the first vowels /o/ and // 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 // do the same. Furthermore,
besides the arrows, the letters r are put under repeatable vowels to
complete our diagrams:
1. The hard (back) vowel harmony chain: o

ur ar r

2. The thin (front) vowel harmony chain: r er ir

LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

As one could see, the two diagrams above 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 vowels 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**a*, o*a**a, **e*e*i, *e*i*e, "***", "o*a"
For instance:
kom*u*ya (o*u*a); kom*u*lar*dan (o*u*a*a); ge*le*cek*ler (e*e*e*e);
o*lu*tur*duk*la*r*mz*dan (o*u*u*u*a***a); u*nu*ta*lm (u*u*a*);
o*ku*la (o*u*a); ten*ce*re*ye (e*e*e*e); ka*a*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, and repeat them loudly again and again. When they do so, they 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
harmony 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/ (man*da*li*
na*y) the tangerine; sigara-/y/ (si*ga*ra*y) the cigarette.
The /y/ phonemes used above are glides (semivowels) inserted 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
sequences. For instance:
kahverengi (kahve + rengi) brown; buzdolab (buz + dolab) refrigerator; bilgisayar (bilgi + sayar) computer; tavanaras (tavan + aras)
attic.

LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

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 [.YOR]. These vowels are double underlined. Besides the
double underlined vowels, there are some consonants that are single underlined which show that they detach from their syllables and attach to the
first vowels of the following allomorphs to produce new syllables. In Turkish,
morphemic sequences, which are loaded with meaning, are transformed into
different syllables and phonemes by the Turkish sound system to be
produced by the speech organs easily and harmoniously. In the following
examples, the morphemic sequences of some verbal phrases are given first,
and then their forms are separated into syllables by asterisks given between
parentheses:
Bekle-i.yor (bek*li*yor); bala-.yor (ba*l*yor); anla-.yor (an*l*yor);
gizle-i.yor (giz*li*yor); oku-u.yor (o*ku*yor); atla-.yor (at*l*yor)
ye-i.yor (yi*yor); gzle-.yor (gz*l*yor); gizle-i.yor (giz*li*yor)
Gel-i.yor-um (ge*li*yo*rum); yz-.yor-uz (y*z*yo*ruz); i-er-im
(i*e*rim); yaz-a.cak-m (ya*za*ca*m); yakalan-a.cak-z (ya*ka*la*na*ca*z); gl-er-im (g*le*rim); kork-ar-z (kor*ka*rz)
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
articulated together, they combine and verbalize as a single vowel: anneem (an*nem). For instance:
anne-en (an*nen); tarla-am (tar*lam); araba-an.z (a*ra*ba*nz);
kafa-an (ka*fan); git-ti-in (git*tin); bekle-di-ik (bek*le*dik); gl-dk (gl*dk); yakala-d-m (ya*ka*la*dm); git-me-em (git*mem);
al-ma-am (a*l*mam); temizle-en-mek (te*miz*len*mek); Dinle-er
mi-sin? (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/z (o*ku*ma*yz); gel-me-/y/iz (gel*me*yiz); tava-/y/
(ta*va*y), salata-/y/ (sa*la*ta*y), uyku-/y/a (uy*ku*ya).

LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

TURKISH CONSONANT HARMONY SEQUENCE
Consonants are grouped under two subdivisions:
voiced consonants: / b, c, d, g, , j, y, l, m, n, r, v, z /
unvoiced consonants: / , f, k, p, s, , t /
The voiced consonants are the phonemes that are produced by vibrating
the vocal cords while the breath is passing through the throat. To understand the voiced and unvoiced difference, first produce the /v/ phoneme,
which vibrates the vocal cords in your throat, and then, without changing the
position of your teeth and lips, produce the same sound without vibrating the
vocal cords to produce the unvoiced /f/ phoneme. When you do this, you feel
no vibration in your throat. The consonants that vibrate the vocal cords are
named voiced consonants; the consonants that do not vibrate them are
called unvoiced consonants. By the way, one should keep in mind that all
vowels and voiced consonants vibrate the vocal cords. The vowels and
the voiced consonants, which vibrate the vocal cords, are both called
vocals. Only the unvoiced consonants do not vibrate them. In Turkish, the
voiced consonants are called "yumuak (sedal) nszler", and the
unvoiced consonants are called "sert nszler".
The /p/, //, /k/, /t/ unvoiced consonants change into their voiced counterparts /b/, /c/, //, /d/ when they detach from their syllables and attach to the
first vowels of the [i, , , u], or [e, a] allomorphs:
/p/ changes into /b/: kitap-, kitap-a (ki*ta*b, ki*ta*ba), sebep-i, sebep-e
(se*be*bi, se*be*be), kebap-, kebap-a (ke*ba*b, ke*ba*ba), orap-,
orap-a (o*ra*b, o*ra*ba), dolap- (do*la*b, do*la*ba), arap-, arap-a
(a*ra*b, a*ra*ba), hesap-, hesap-a (he*sa:*b, he*sa:*ba).
// changes into /c/: aa-, aa-a (a*a*c, a*a*ca), saya-, saya-a
(sa*ya*c, sa*ya*ca), ama-, ama-a (a*ma*c, a*ma*ca), ayra-, ayra-a
(ay*ra*c, ay*ra*ca), deme-i, deme-e (de*me*ci, de*me*ce).
/k/ changes into //: sokak-, sokak-a (so*ka*, so*ka*a), tabak-, tabak-a
(ta*ba*, ta*ba*a), krek-i, krek-e (k*re*i, k*re*e), bebek-i, bebek-e
(be*be*i, be*be*e), kpek-i, kpek-e (k*pe*i, k*pe*e), ayak-, ayak-a
(a*ya*, a*ya*a), bardak-, bardak-a (bar*da*, bar*da*a).
/t/ changes into /d/: adet-i, adet-e (a*de*di, a*de*de), kanat-, kanat-a (ka*na*d, ka*na*da), umut-u, umut-a (u*mu:*du, u*mu:*da), yourt-u, yourt-a

LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

(yo*ur*du, yo*ur*da). As an exception: sepet-i, sepet-e (se*pe*ti, se*pe*te), nbet-i, nbet-e (n*be*ti, n*be*te).
When the nouns or pronouns ending with /p, t, k, / consonants detach from
their syllables and attach to the first vowels of the [in, n, n, un] allomorphs,
their last consonants /p, t, k, / change into their voiced counterparts
/b, d, , c/ respectively.
kitap-n (ki*ta*bn), sebep-in (se*be*bin), kebap-n (ke*ba*bn), orap-n
(o*ra*bn), aa-n (a*a*cn), ama-n (a*ma*cn), sokak-n (so*ka*n),
krek-in (k*re*in), bebek-in (be*be*in), ayak-n (a*ya*n), kanat-n
(ka*na*dn), yourt-un (yo*ur*dun).
Some /t/ phonemes, however, do not change:
hayat (ha*ya:*t), (ha*ya:*ta), (ha*ya:*tn); sanat (san*a*t), (san*a*ta),
(san*a*tn); sfat (s*fa*t), (s*fa*ta), (s*fa*tn); saat (sa*a*ti), (sa*a*te),
sa*a*tin); sepet (se*pe*ti), (se*pe*te), (se*pe*tin); glet (g*le*ti),
(g*le*te), (g*le*tin); demet (de*me*ti), (de*me*te), (de*me*tin).
The monosyllabic noun roots ending with unvoiced consonants do not
change when they get the [], [E], [DE], [DEN] and the personal allomorphs:
ek (eki, eke, ekte, ekten, ekin); sap (sap, sapa, sapta, saptan, sapn); ip
(ipi, ipe, ipte, ipten, ipin); hap (hap, hapa, hapta, haptan, hapn); tp (tp,
tpe, tpte, tpten, tpn); top (topu, topa, topta, toptan, topun); sa (sa,
saa, sata, atan, san); i (ii, ie, ite, iten, iin); g (g, ge,
gte, gten, gn); ma (ma, maa, mata, matan, man); kk
(kk, kke, kkte, kkten, kkn); ok (oku, oka, okta, oktan, okun ), yk
(yk, yke, ykte, ykten, ykn); krk (krk, krke, krkte, krkn); Trk
(Trk, Trke, Trkte, Trkten, Trkn); at (at, ata, atta, attan, atn); et
(eti, ete, ette, etten, etin); st (st, ste, stte, stten, stn); ot (otu, ota,
otta, ottan, otun); kart (kart, karta, kartta, karttan, kartn.
However, the final consonants of some monosyllabic nouns do change
when they are attached only to [i, , , u], [e, a] and [in, n, n, un] allomorphs. They do not change when they are attached to the allomorphs of
the morphemes of [DE] and [DEN]:
but (bu*du), (bu*da), (bu*dun), (but-ta, but-tan); dip (di*bi), (di*be), (di*bin),
(dip*te), (dip*ten); ok (ou, oa, oun, okta, oktan); gk (g,
ge, gn, gkte, gkten); kap (kab, kaba, kabn, kapta, kaptan); u

LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

(ucu, uca, ucun, uta, utan); yurt (yurdu, yurda, yurdun, yurtta, yurttan);
kurt (kurdu, kurda, kurdun, kurtta, kurttan); tat (tad, tada, tadn, tatta,
tattan).
When [] or [E] morphemes come after the nouns ending with vowels, the /y/
linking semivowels (glides) are inserted between these two vowels to provide harmonious links:
Testi (tes*ti*/y/i, tes*ti*/y/e); araba (a*ra*ba*/y/, a*ra*ba*/y/a); tarla (tar*la*/y/, tar*la*/y/a); salata (sa*la*ta*/y/, sa*la*ta*/y/a); mart (mar*t*/y/,
mar*t*/y/a); tava (ta*va*/y/, ta*va*/y/a); teneke (te*ne*ke*/y/i, te*ne*ke*/y/e); makara (ma*ka*ra*/y/, ma*ka*ra*/y/a); kundura (kun*du*ra*/y/,
kun*du*ra*/y/a); kafa (ka*fa*/y/, ka*fa*/y/a); su (su*/y/u, su*/y/a).
When the nouns ending with vowels are attached to the possessive personal allomorphs of [N], [in, n, n, un], which are used in the possessive parts of the noun compounds, the /n/ glides are inserted between
the two vowels, such as:
araba-/n/n

(a*ra*ba*nn)

testi-/n/in

(tes*ti*nin)

ordu-/n/un

(or*du*nun)

yk-/n/n

(y*k*nn)

sergi-/n/in

(ser*gi*nin)

kafa-/n/n

(ka*fa*nn)

makara-/n/n (ma*ka*ra*nn)
The syllables written in bold face above are stressed.
However, when pronouns are used in the possessive position, they are
surffixed by the possessive [im, in, un, im, in, n] allomorphs:
ben-im (be*nim) my, sen-in (se*nin) your, o/n/-un (o*/n/un) his, her, its,
biz-im (bi*zim) our, siz-in (si*zin) your, o/n/-lar-n (on*la*rn) their.
Note: The single underlined consonants in the examples above show the
consonants that detach from their syllables, and attach to the first vowels of
the following allomorphs to change the morphemes into syllables.
Exception su (su*/y/un). Example: (a*ra*ba*/n/n / h*z), (su*/y/un / h*z)

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LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

ENGLISH AND TURKISH SENTENCES
In English and Turkish, tenses generally carry the same meanings, but the
structure of their verb phrases is reverse. In English, a sentence starts with a
pronoun or a noun which is followed by a main verb. If the main verb is
transitive, an object follows it. However, a Turkish sentence is in reverse
order. As it has been explained before, there may be two subjects in a
Turkish sentence, an optional pronoun in the beginning of a sentence and a
personal allomorph carrying the same meaning at the end. As a personal
allomorph is enough to express the pronoun, this pronoun is not used if it is
not thought to be important. Therefore, we will not use the pronouns in our
example sentences unless they are emphasized. For instance:
Her hafta araba-am- yka-ar-m. (Ar is the time allomorph.)
every week

my car

wash

(Read the English sentence from right to left.)

The Turkish sentence above contains morphemes and allomorphs, which

carry meaning. This sentence is a raw sentence because it has not been
transposed into an oral sequence by the Turkish sound system yet. Now let
us see how this raw sequence is transformed into an oral sequence to be
uttered by the speech organs.
All free morphemes have their own syllables separated by the sound
system. For instance, in the example sentence above, the word her has a
single syllable, but haf*ta has two syllables, which have already been
arranged by the Turkish sound system. However, in the word araba-am-,
there are two identical a-a vowels, which should be combined by the sound
system to be uttered as a single vowel a. In Turkish verb phrases, a-a, ee, i-i, -, u-u, - identical vowels always combine and verbalize as
single vowels as a, e, i, , u, to be uttered by the speech organs
fluently.
In the same word araba-am-, the consonant m is single underlined. This
single underlined consonant detach from its allomorph and attached to the
following vowel in accordance with the sound system, and our raw word
araba-am- turns into (a*ra*ba*m) oral sequence. All the single underlined
consonants in this article detach from their morphemes and attach to the
following vowels. Such underlines are not showed in normal writing.
In the word yka-ar-m, there are also two a-a identical vowels that have
to be combined, and there is a single underlined r phoneme that has to be
detached from its morpheme and attached to the following vowel .
Consequently, our raw sentence above changes into an oral sequence as
follows:
Her hafta araba-am- yka-ar-m. (her / haf*ta / a*ra*ba*m / y*ka*rm)

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LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

In the oral sentence above, the / slash marks separate words, and the
asterisks * separate syllables. The syllables written in bold face indicate
the stressed syllables in speech.
The sound system of a language transposes the morphemic sequences into
oral sequences to produce proper sequences to be used by the speech
organs. As soon as we hear these transposed sequences, we understand
the morphemic sequences. How then do we understand the morphemes
when we hear an oral utterance? We understand it because the morphemes
and allomorphs are heard in vocalized utterances together although their
structures are transposed into a different mode. In other words, when we
hear the transposed vocalized sequences, we simultaneously realize the underlying morphemes. The morphemes and the sound system of a language
work together interactively to produce oral sentences.
Morphemes and their allomorphs are basic elements of languages because
the aim of a language activity is to transfer these meaningful elements to
other people with our speech organs so that they may be able to hear them
through their ears. Although morphemes have meanings by themselves, the
syllables do not have meaning on their own.
The following example sentences contain three different lines. The first line
is a sentence made up of only morphemes following each other. These
morphemes cannot be articulated unless they are transposed by the Turkish
sound system. The Turkish sound system transposes the morphemic sequence in such a way that the morphemes may be easily articulated by the
speech organs of a person and heard through his ears. Therefore we can
name the first line as a raw sentence line.
The second line between parentheses is a line transposed by the sound system. In this line, the morphemes are transformed into pronounceable
syllables separated by the star symbols * to be uttered by the speech
organs. In this line, you can also see the consonants that are detached from
their syllables and attached to the following vowels, which are single
underlined in the raw sentence line. The line under the verbalized line shows
the English equivalent of the Turkish lines.
1. You can see some single underlined consonants m which indicate that
they should be detached from their syllables and attached to the following
vowels.
2. The double underlined vowels e indicate that these vowels drop and
overlooked by the Turkish sound system.
3. The identical vowels following each other a-a, e-e, i-i, -, -
combine and verbalize as single vowels, such as a, e, i, ,

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LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH
Linking verbs are the verbs that carry information about the subject
describing who, what, how, and where the subject is, was, can be, etc.
The following are all linking verbs: is, are, was, were, has been, have
been, will be, had been, must be, may be, etc. The information that the
linking verbs carry to the subjects are called subject complements.

Present Positive:
The compulsory personal allomorphs used with present be are as follows:
(ben): [im, m, m, um]; (sen): [sin, sn, sn, sun]; (o): []; (biz): [iz, z, z,
uz]; (siz): [sin.iz, sn.z, sn.z, sun.uz]; (onlar): [() (ler, lar)]
The subject complements that give information about the subjects may be
nouns, pronouns, adjectives or prepositional phrases. They are as
follows:
1. Noun: (Ben) retmen-im (*ret*me*nim) I am a teacher. (Sen)
doktor-sun (dok*tor*sun) You are a doctor. O bir doktor (dok*tor).
She is a doctor. Biz doktor-uz (dok*to*ruz) We are doctors. Siz bir
retmen-sin.iz (siz / *ret*men*si*niz) You are a teacher. Onlar
asker (on*lar / as*ker) They are soldiers.
(No time allomorphs are used when the linking verbs are present in
Turkish.)
2. Adjective: (Ben) tembel-im (tem*be*lim) I am lazy. Sen alkan-sn
(a*l*kan*sn) You are hardworking. O mutlu(dur) (o / mut*lu).
She is happy. Biz iyi-/y/iz (biz / i*yi*yiz) We are all right. Yorgunsun.uz (yor*gun*su*nuz) You are tired. Onlar isteksiz. They are
unwilling.
3. Postpositional phrases (adverbial): The allomorphs [de, da, te, ta]
are expressed in English in the prepositions of in, at, on; and
nn-de, arkasn-da, yann-da, yaknn-da, altn-da
Turkish adverbials are used as subject complements. For example:
ev-de (at home); okul-da (at school, in school); masa-da (on the
table, at the table); kap-da (at the door); kutu-da (in the box); bahede (in the garden); hastane-de (in hospital, in the hospital); uak-ta
(on the plane), kap-/n/n n-/n/-de (in front of the door).

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LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

The other [e, a] and [den, dan, ten, tan] allomorphs, which turn nouns into
adverbials, are not used with the linking verbs be; they are used together
with action verbs like go, come, wait, sleep, jump, etc.
When the subject complements above end with vowels, they are linked to
the personal allomorphs by the /y/ glides:
Postac kap-da. The postman is at the door. Onlar imdi uak-ta. They
are on the plane now. Ben kap-da-/y/m. I am at the door. Sen okul-dasn. You are at school. O mutfak-ta. She is in the kitchen. Biz hakl-/y/z.
We are right. iek-ler vazo-da. The flowers are in the vase.
The [E], [DE] and [DEN] morphemes are also used attached to n, arka,
yan, st, kar, sol, sa, alt, bitiik nouns, such as n-e, arka/y/a, yan-a, st-e, kar-/y/a, yukar-/y/a, n-de, arka-da, yan-da,
alt-ta, st-te, kar-da, sa-da, sol-da, bitiik-te, n-den, arkadan, yan-dan, st-ten, kar-dan, sa-dan, yakn-dan.
These words are all nouns when they are without suffixes; if they were not,
the [E], [DE] and [DEN] morphemes would not be attached to them. When
they are together with these suffixes, they function either as adverbials, or
when the [de, da, te, ta] allomorphs are used with the verbs be they are
used as subject complements in sentences.
Consequently, as these words are all nouns, they are also used in noun
compounds like the simple noun compounds such as oda-/n/n kap-/s/;
perde-/n/in arka-/s/; ayna-/n/n n-; vazo-/n/un yan-; yatak-n alt-
(ya*ta*n / al*t); bakkal-n bitiik-i (bak*ka*ln / bi*ti*i*i); koltuk-un
sa- (kol*tu*un / sa*); bakkal-n kar-/s/; ev-in arka-/s/.
When the [de, da] allomorphs are attached to the noun compounds above,
they take the /n/ glides attached to the noun compounds to maintain a harmonious link between the noun compounds and the [de, da] allomorphs. The
noun compounds attached to the [de, da] allomorphs function as subject
complements when be verbs are used. Compare and consider the following sentences:
Kedi perde-/n/in arka-/s//n/-da. (per*de*nin / ar*ka*s)
subj

noun compound - /n/da

(subj complement) predicate

(ke*di / per*de*nin / ar*ka*sn*da ).

The cat is behind the curtain.

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LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

Gzlk-ler-im ayna-/n/n n-/n/-de. (ay*na*nn / *n)
(gz*lk*le*rim / ay*na*nn / *nn*de )
My glasses are in front of the mirror. (The im, m, m, um, em, am Turkish possessive personal allomorphs all mean ben-im: my.)
Terlikler-in karyola-/n/n alt-/n/-da.
(ter*lik*le*rin / kar*yo*la*nn / al*tn*da )
Your slippers are under the bed. (The in, n, n, un, en, an allomorphs
mean sen-in: your.)
Ben-im ev-im bakkal-n bitiik-i/n/-de. (bak*ka*ln / bi*ti*i*i)
(be*nim / e*vim / bak*ka*ln / bi*ti*i*in*de )
My house is next to the grocer.
Sen-in dkkn-n bakkal-n kar-/s//n/-da. (bak*ka*ln / kar**s)
(se*nin / dk*k*nn / bak*ka*ln / kar**sn*da )
Your shop is opposite (to) the grocer.
stasyon sol-da.
(is*tas*yon / sol*da )
The station is on the left.
stasyon bakkal-n sol-u/n/-da. (bak*ka*ln / so*lu)
(is*tas*yon / bak*ka*ln / so*lun*da )
The station is on the left of the grocer.
Kar-m ev-de.
(ka*rm / ev*de )
My wife is at home.
Postane-/n/in n-/n/-de-/y/im. (The im means ben: I.)
(ben / pos*ta:*ne*nin / *nn*de*yim )
I am in front of the post office.
In the sentences above, there are no time morphemes attached to the
words arkasn-da, nn-de, karsn-da, ev-de, etc. The absence of
these time morphemes in the sentences above ( zero morphemes) imply
that the time is present.

Present Negative:
To change the positive be linking verbs into negative forms, the negative
making adverb deil is used after a subject complement, such as:

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LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

Mutlu deil-im.
(mut*lu / de*i*lim)
I am not happy.
stekli deil-sin.iz. (is*tek*li / de*il*si*niz)
You are not willing. (The sin.iz, sn.z, sn.z, sun.uz personal allomorphs
all mean plural siz: you.)
Yakkl deil-sin. (The sin, sn, sn, sun personal allomorphs all mean
singular sen: you)
/ya*k*k*l / de*il*sin)
You are not handsome.
Ev-de deil-ler. (The ler, lar personal allomorphs mean onlar: they.)
(ev*de / de*il*ler)
They are not at home.
Baba-am ev-de deil. (
(ba*bam / ev*de / de*il)
My father is not at home.

Present Positive Question:

To turn the positive linking verbs into the positive question forms, the [mi, m]
interrogative allomorphs are attached to the personal allomorphs, which are
uses followed by the subject complements:
Deli mi-/y/im?
(de*li / mi*yim)
Am I crazy?
Ev-de mi-sin?
(ev*de / mi*sin)
Are you at home?
Fatma-/n/n gz-ler-i mavi mi?
(fat*ma*nn / gz*le*ri / ma*vi / mi)
Are Fatmas eyes blue?
Dikkatsiz mi-/y/iz? (The iz, z, z, uz personal allomorphs mean biz: we.)
(dik*kat*siz / mi*yiz)
Are we careless?

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LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

Hazr m-sn.z?
(ha*zr / m*s*nz)
Are you ready?
yi-ler mi?
(i*yi*ler / mi)
Are they all right?

Present Negative Question:

To turn a positive linking verb form into a negative linking verb form, the
negative making adverb deil is used after the subject complement:
alkan deil mi-/y/im?
(a*l*kan / de*il / mi*yim)
Am I not hardworking?
Sorumlu deil mi-sin.iz?
(so*rum*lu / de*il / mi*si*niz)
Are you not responsible?
Anne-en ev-de deil mi?
(an*nen / ev*de / de*il / mi)
Is your mother not at home?
steksiz degil-ler mi?
(is*tek*siz / de*il*ler / mi)
Arent they unwilling?
Hazr deil mi-/y/iz?
(ha*zr / de*il / mi*yiz)
Arent we ready?
Gzel deil mi-/y/im?
(g*zel / de*il / mi*yim)
Am I not beautiful?
The Question Words Used With the Linking Verbs:
Nerede-sin.iz? Ev-de-/y/im.
(ne*re*de*si*niz)
Where are you? I am at home.
Nasl-sn.z? yi-/y/im.
(na*sl*s*nz)
How are you? I am quite well.

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LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

Niin hazr deil-/s/in?
(ni*in / ha*zr / de*il*sin)
Why arent you ready?
Kim-sin? (Ben) Ahmet-im.
(kim*sin)
Who are you? I am Ahmet.
Nerede-/y/iz? stanbul-da-/y/z.

(ne*re*de*yiz)
Where are we? We are in stanbul.
English does not have any suffxes or prefixes to turn adjectives into verbs.
Therefore, this deficiency is fulfilled by some linking verbs such as get,
grow, look, turn, smell, sound, become, which are followed by nouns or
adjectives (subject complements). As some Turkish adjectives can be
turned into verbs by attaching some suffixes to adjectives, some English
linking verbs are not used in Turkish. Therefore, verbs are used instead. In
the following examples, you can see how Turkish adjectives turn into verbs
by attaching some suffixes to adjectives:
Gzel gzel-le, yal ya-lan, soguk sou, uzun uza, ksa
ksal, yorgun yorul, hazr hazr-lan, sar sarar, sinirli
sinir-len, scak sn, phe phe-len, sakin sakin-le, krmz
kzar, g g-le, koku kok, sar sarar.

Example Sentences:
Herkes yalan-r. (Yalan is an intransitive verb which means grow old.)

(her*kes / ya*la*nr)
Everybody grows old. (Grow is a linking verb, old is an adjective.)
Hava sou-u.yor. (Sou is an intransitive verb which means get cold)

(ha*va / so*u*yor)
It is getting colder. (Get is a linking verb, cold is an adjective.)
Yorgun grn-.yor-sun. (Grn is a reflexive verb, yorgun is an adj.)

(yor*gun / g*r*n*yor*sun)
You look tired. (Look is a linking verb; tired is an adjective.)
Yaprak-lar sonbahar-da sarar-r. (Sarar means turn yellow.)

(yap*rak*lar / son*ba*har*da / sa*ra*rr)

Leaves turn yellow in the autumn.

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LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

orba nefis kok-u.yor. (Kok is an intransitive verb; nefis is an adverb.)
(o*ba / ne*fis / ko*ku*yor)
The soup smells delicious. (Smell is a linking verb; delicious is an adj.)
renci-ler sessiz kal-d-lar. (Kal is an intransitive verb; sessiz is an adverb.)
(*ren*ci*ler / ses*siz / kal*d*lar)
The students remained silent. (Remain is a linking verb; silent is an adjective.
Kendim-i iyi hisset-i.yor-um. (Hisset is a transitive verb; iyi is an adverb.)
(ken*di*mi / i*yi / his*se*di*yo*rum)
I feel good. (Feel is a linking verb; good is an adjective.)
Aptallk et-i.yor-sun. (Et is a transitive verb; aptallk is its indefinite object.)

(ap*tal*lk / e*di*yor*sun)
You are being foolish. (Are being is a linking verb; foolish is an adjective.)
-d/y/-se-en ceket-in-i giy. ( is intransitive; it means feel cold)
(**dy*sen / ce*ke*ti*ni / giy)
If you feel cold, put your coat on. (Feel is a linking verb; cold is an adj,)
Fatma gn-den gn-e gzel-le-i.yor. (Gzel-le means get beautiful.)

(fat*ma / gn*den / g*ne / g*zel*le*i*yor)

Fatma is getting more beautiful day by day.
Bu yumurtalar pis kok-u.yor. (pis is an adverb because kok is an action verb.)
(bu / yu*mur*ta*lar / pis / ko*ku*yor)
These eggs smell nasty.
Proje-en ilgin gr-n-.yor. (lgin is used as an adverb in Turkish.)
(pro*jen / il*gin / g*r*n*yor)
Your project seems (sounds) interesting.
Note: Nearly all adjectives in Turkish can be used as adverbs without
changing their forms. For instance:
O iyi bir kz-dr. (adjective) She is a good girl. (adjective)
O iyi yz-er. (adverb) She swims well. (adverb)
Bu yava bir araba-dr. (adjective) This is a slow car. (adjective)
Bu araba yava gider. (adverb) This car goes slowly. (adverb)
O gzel bir kz-dr. (adjective) She is a beautiful girl. (adjective)
O gzel ark syler. (adverb) She sings beautifully. (adverb)

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LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

LINKING VERBS
Simple Past
The simple past tense allomorphs of the verb be are [di, d, d, du, ti, t, t,
tu], which are attached to the personal allomorphs below:
(ben) [im, m, m, um], (sen) [in, n, n, un], (o) [], (biz) [ik, k, k, uk], (siz)
[in.iz, n.z, n.z, un.uz], (onlar) [ler, lar]

Positive:
Ev-de/y/-di-im.
(ev*dey*dim)
I was at home.
Hazr-d-n.z.
(ha*zr*d*nz)
You were ready
.
Mutlu/y/-du-uk.
(mut*luy*duk)
We were happy.
Sarho-tu-lar.
(sar*ho*tu*lar)
They were drunk.
renci-ler neeli/y/-di.
(*ren*ci*ler / ne*e*liy*di)
The students were cheerful.
Araba-am kap-/n/n n-/n/-de/y/-di.
(a*ra*bam / ka*p*nn / *nn*dey*di)
My car was in front of the door.

Negative:
To turn a positive linking verb into a negative statement, the negative
making adverb deil is used after the subject complement, which is
attached to past time and personal allomorphs:
Yorgun deil-di-im.
(yor*gun / de*il*dim)
I was not tired. (I wasnt tired.)

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LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

Sorumlu deil-di-in.iz.
(so*rum*lu / de*il*di*niz)
You were not responsible. (You werent responsible.)
Ev-de deil-ler-di.
(ev*de / de*il*ler*di)
They were not at home. (They werent at home.)
Megul deil-di-ik.
(me*gul / de*il*dik)
We were not busy. (We werent busy.)

Positive Question:
To turn a positive linking verb into a positive question form, one of the [mi,
m, m, mu] question allomorphs is attached to time and personal allomorphs separately:
Dn okul-da m/y/-d-n?
(dn / o*kul*da / my*dn)
Were you at school yesterday?
Miting kalabalk m/y/-d?
(mi*ting / ka*la*ba*lk / my*d)
Was the meeting crowded?
Yorgun mu/y/-du-un.uz?
(yor*gun / muy*du*nuz)
Were you tired?
Sorular zor mu/y/-du?
(so*ru*lar / zor / muy*du)
Were the questions difficult?

Negative Question:
In negative question forms, the negative making adverb deil follows the
subject complement as they are in the following examples:
Dn okul-da deil mi/y/-di-in?
(dn / o*kul*da / de*il / miy*din)
Were you not at school yesterday? (Werent you at school?)

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LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

Masal ilgin deil mi/y/-di?
(ma*sal / il*gin / de*il / miy*di)
Was the story not interesting? (Wasnt the story interesting?
renci-ler ren-mek iin istekli deil mi/y-di-ler?
(*ren*ci*ler / *ren*mek / i*in / is*tek*li / de*il / miy*di*ler)
Werent the students eager to learn?
Hazr deil mi/y/-di-in.iz?
(ha*zr / de*il / miy*di*niz)
Weret you ready?
Have been, has been, had been, will be
Kz karde-im on yl-dr retmen.
(kz / kar*de*im / on / yl*dr / *ret*men)
My sister has been a teacher for ten years.
Hava gn-dr ok souk.
(ha*va / / gn*dr / ok / so*uk)
It has been very cold for three days.
Olum yaknda doctor ol-a.cak.
(o*lum / ya*kn*da / dok*tor / o*la*cak)
My son will be a doctor soon.

Modal Verbs with Liking Verbs

Modal verbs can be used both with action verbs and liking verbs in English
and Turkish. We will show only the modal verbs that are used with linking
verbs in the following example sentences.

Present Modals
Positive:
ol-[a.bil-ir]-[personal allomorph] = can be or may be (Possibility)
Turkish modal verbs are used followed by subject complements attached by
one of the personal allomorphs: (ben) [im], (sen) [sin], (o) [], (biz) [iz], (siz)
[sin-iz], [onlar) [ler]:
Yorgun ol-a.bil-ir-im.
(yor*gun / o*la*bi*li*rim)
I may be tired.

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LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

Sorumlu ol-a.bil-ir-sin.
(so*rum*lu / o*la*bi*lir*sin)
You may be responsible.
Jack bahe-de ol-a.bil-ir.
(jack / bah*e*de / o*la*bi*lir)
Jack may be in the garden.
Megul ol-a.bil-ir-iz.
(me*gul / o*la*bi*li*riz)
We may be busy.
steksiz ol-a.bil-ir-sin.iz.
(is*tek*siz / o*la*bi*lir*si*niz)
You may be unwilling.
Turist ol-a.bil-ir-ler.
(tu*rist / o*la*bi*lir*ler)
They may be tourists.

Negative:
ol-ma-/y/a.bil-ir-[personal allomorph] = may not be (Negative possibility)
Ev-de ol-ma-/y/a.bil-ir-im.
(ev*de / ol*ma*ya*bi*li*rim)
I may not be at home.
Mutlu ol-ma-/y/a.bil-ir-sin.
(mut*lu / ol*ma*ya*bi*lir*sin)
You may not be happy.
Ankara-da hava gneli ol-ma-/y/a.bil-ir.
(an*ka*ra*da / ha*va / g*ne*li / ol*ma*ya*bi*lir)
The weather may not be sunny in Ankara.
Okul-un n-/n/-de ol-ma-/y/a.bil-ir-iz.
(o*ku*lun / *nn*de / ol*ma*ya*bi*li*riz)
We may not be in front of the school.
Hakl ol-ma-/y/a.bil-ir-sin.iz.
(hak*l / ol*ma*ya*bi*lir*si*niz)
You may not be right.

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LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

Holanm ol-ma-/y/a.bil-ir-ler.
(ho*lan*m / ol*ma*ya*bi*lir*ler)
They may not be pleased.

Positive Question:
Can is used in question forms in English In place of may:
Baarl ol-a.bil-ir mi-/y/im?
(ba*a*r*l / o*la*bi*lir / mi*yim)
Can I be successful?
Yarn brom-da ol-a.bil-ir mi-sin?
(ya*rn / b*rom*da / o*la*bi*lir / mi*sin)
Can you be in my office tomorrow?
Anne-en fkeli ol-a.bil-ir mi?
(an*nen / f*ke*li / o*la*bi*lir / mi)
Can your mother be angry?
Saat be-te hazr ol-a.bil-ir mi-/y/iz?
(sa*at / be*te / ha*zr / o*la*bi*lir / mi*yiz)
Can we be ready at five?
Dikkatli ol-a.bil-ir mi-sin.iz?
(dik*kat*li / o*la*bi*lir / mi*si*niz)
Can you be careful?
Birazdan hazr ol-a.bil-ir-ler mi?
(bi*raz*dan / ha*zr / o*la*bi*lir*ler / mi)
Can they be ready soon?

Negative Question:
To turn the ol-a.bil-r modal form into negative, ol-a.maz modal form is
used:
Hakl ol-a.maz m-/y/m?
(hak*l / o*la*maz / m*ym)
Cant I be right?
Drst ol-a.maz m-sn?
(d*rust / o*la*maz / m*sn)
Cant you be honest?

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LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

Jack futbol oynuyor ol-a.maz m?
(jack / fut*bol / oy*nu*yor / o*la*maz / m)
Cant Jack be playing football?
Susuz ol-a.maz m-/y/z?
(su*suz / o*la*maz / m*yz)
Cant we be innocent?
Dikkatli ol-a.maz m-sn.z?
(k*e*de / de*il / mi*si*niz)
Cant you be careful?
Sabrl ol-a.maz-lar m?
(sa*br*l / o*la*maz*lar / m)
Cant they be patient?

Ol-ma.l = must be
Positive:
To arrange a must be model form in Turkish, a subject complement +
ol-ma.l-[personal allomorph] verb phrase should be used, which expresses
either certainty or necessity or both. Here are some example sentences:
Hazr ol-ma.l-sn. (Certainty or necessity)
(ha*zr / ol*ma*l*sn)
You must be ready. (Certainty or necessity)
The Turkish and English sentences above are ambiguous because they may
both mean I am certain that you are ready or It is necessary for you to be
ready.
O-/n/a inan-dk-im iin aptal ol-ma.l-/y/m.
(o*na / i*nan*d*m / i*in / ap*tal / ol*ma*l*ym)
I must be stupid to believe him. (I am sure that I am stupid.) (Certainty)
Sinirli ol-ma.l-sn.
(si*nir*li / ol*ma*l*sn)
You must be nervous. (I am sure that you are nervous.) (Certainty)
Baba-an dahi ol-ma.l.
(ba*ban / da*hi / ol*ma*l)
Your father must be genius. (I am sure your father is genius.) (Certainty)

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LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

Dikkatli ol-ma.l-/y/z.
(dik*kat*li / ol*ma*l*yz)
We must be careful. (It is necessary for us to be careful.) (Necessity)
Cesur ol-ma.l-sn.z.
(ce*sur / ol*ma*l*s*nz)
You must be brave. (I am sure you are brave, or I want you to be brave.)
Sabrsz ol-ma.l-lar.
(sa*br*sz / ol*ma*l*lar)
They must be impatient. (I am sure that they are impatient.) (Certainty)

Negative:
In the negative form, the negative making allomorph [ma] attaches to the
verb ol:
Sabrsz ol-ma-ma.l-/y/m.
(sa*br*sz / ol*ma*ma*l*ym)
I mustnt be impatient. (Necessity)
zgn ol-ma-ma.l-sn. (I want you not to be sorry.) (Necessity)
(z*gn / ol*ma*ma*l*sn)
You mustnt be sorry.
zl-me-me.li-sin. (I advise you not to be sorry.) (Necessity)
(*zl*me*me*li*sin)
You mustnt feel sad.
Tertipsiz ol-ma-ma.l. (Necessity)
(ter*tip*siz / ol*ma*ma*l)
He mustnt be untidy.
Dikkatsiz ol-ma-ma.l-/y/z. (Necessity)
(dik*kat*siz / ol*ma*ma*l*yz)
We mustnt be careless.
Kaytsz ol-ma-ma.l-sn.z. (Necessity)
(ka*yt*sz / ol*ma*ma*l*s*nz)
You mustnt be indifferent.
Ge kal-ma-ma.l-lar. (Necessity)
(ge / kal*ma*ma*l*lar)
They mustnt be late.

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LINKING VERBS IN ENGLISH AND TURKISH

Positive Question:
In question forms, the [m] interrogative allomorph attaches to the personal
allomorphs, and they follow the [ol-ma.l] verb together as a separate word:
Hazr ol-ma.l m-/y/m? (Is it necessary?)
(ha*zr / ol*ma*l / m*ym)
Must I be ready?
Sabah-leyin okul-da ol-ma.l m-sn? (Is it necessary?)
(sa*bah*le*yin / o*kul*da / ol*ma*l / m*sn)
Must you be at school in the morning?
Balklar kzarm m ol-ma.l? (Is it necessary?)
(ba*lk*lar / k*zar*m / m / ol*ma*l)
Must the fish be fried?
Sabrl m ol-ma.l-/y/z? (Is it necessary?)
(sa*br*l / m / ol*ma*l*yz)
Must we be patient?
Kukulu ol-ma.l m-sn.z? (Is it necessary?)
(ku*ku*lu / ol*ma*l / m*s*nz)
Must you be doubtful?
Uak-ta ol-ma.l-lar m? (Is it necessary?)
(u*ak*ta / ol*ma*l*lar / m)
Must they be on the plane?

Interrogative Words Used with Linking Verbs:

Question words can be put in the beginning of all interrogative sentences
using linking verbs in Turkish and English. Additionally, the modal verbs
change their places and they are put before the subjects in English. In
Turkish, the rest of the sentences are either in positive or negative form as
they are in the example sentences below:
Ne zaman hazr ol-ma.l-/y/z?
(ne / za*man / ha*zr / ol*ma*l*yz)
When must we be ready?
Nere-de ol-ma.l-lar?
(ne*re*de / ol*ma*l*lar)
Where must they be?

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ol-a.ma(z) = cant be (Impossibility)
When the personal allomorphs attach to the ol-a.ma(z) modal verbs, they
change as follows:
(ben) ol-a.ma-am (o*la*mam), (sen) ol-a.maz-sn (o*la*maz*sn), (o) ola.maz (o*la*maz), (biz) ol-a.ma-/y/z (o*la*ma*yz), (siz) ol-a.maz-sn.z
(o*la*maz*s*nz), (onlar) ol-a.maz-lar (o*la*maz*lar).
(Ben) sen-siz ol-a.ma-am.
(sen*siz / o*la*mam)
I cant be without you.
Ciddi ol-a.maz-sn; aka yap-.yor ol-ma.l-sn.
(cid*di / o*la*maz*sn / a*ka / ya*p*yor / ol*ma*l*sn)
You cant be serious; you must be joking.
Jack ders al-.yor ol-a.maz; futbol oyna-u.yor ol-ma.l.
(jack / ders / a*li*i*yor / o*la*maz / a*ka / ya*p*yor / ol*ma*l)
Jack cant be studying; he must be playing football.
Hatal ol-a.ma-/y/z.
(ha*ta*l / o*la*ma*yz)
We cant be wrong.
Sabrl ol-a.maz-sn.z.
(sa*br*l / o*la*maz*s*nz)
You cant be patient.
steksiz ol-a.maz-lar.
(is*tek*siz / o*la*maz*lar)
They cant be unwilling.

Question:
yi bir yzc ol-a.maz m-/y/m?
(i*yi / bir / y*z*c / o*la*maz / m*ym)
Cant I be a good swimmer?
Yardmc ol-a.maz m-sn.z?
(yar*dm*c / o*la*maz / m*s*nz)
Cant you be helpful?

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Syle-dik-i doru ol-a.maz m?
(sy*le*di*i / do*ru / o*la*maz / m)
Cant what he said be true?
Baarl ol-a.maz m-/y/z?
(ba*a*r*l / o*la*maz / m*yz)
Cant we be successful?
Bro-da ol-a.maz m-sn.z?
(b*ro* da / o*la*maz / m*s*nz)
Cant you be in the office?
Sorumlu ol-a.maz-lar m?
(so*rum*lu / o*la*maz*lar / m)
Cant they be responsible?

Perfect Modals
should have been
Although past modals are used with action verbs, they are not much used
with linking verbs. However, perfect modals may be used with linking verbs
as follows.

Positive:
(Sen) daha dikkatli ol-ma.l/y/-d-n.
subj subj complement

verb

(da*ha / dik*kat*li / ol*ma*ly*dn)

You should have been more careful.
Saat sekiz-de okul-da ol-ma.l/y/-d-n.
(sa*at / se*kiz*de / o*kul*da / ol*ma*ly*dn)
You should have been at scool at eight.
Ge kal-a.bil-ir-di-in.
(ge / ka*la*bi*lir*din)
You might have been late.

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Note: The colors used in this article are as follows:
1. Subjects and personal allomorphs are blue.
2. Verbs are red.
2. Objects, nouns, prepositions and coordinating conjunctions
are black.
3. Adverbs, adverbials, adverbial phrases and subordinating
conjunctions are green.
4. Adjectives and noun modifiers are purple.
5. Subject complements are brown.

Yksel Gknel

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