Turkish grammar · A1 · Lesson 7 of 29
The Verb To Be in Turkish: -im, -sin, -dir
Ek Fiil (-im, -sin, -dir)
"I am / you are" with no verb: doktorum, Türksün
Turkish has no word for am, is, are. To say I am a doctor, you put an ending on doktor: doktorum. The ending is the person; the noun or adjective before it is what they are.
There are six endings, one per pronoun: -im, -sin, nothing, -iz, -siniz, -ler. Their vowel follows four-way harmony (doktorum, öğretmenim, Türküm), except -ler, which follows two-way harmony: -ler or -lar. After a vowel a y bridges: öğrenciyim, iyiyiz.
He, she, it takes no ending at all: O doktor. The pronoun is optional everywhere else, because the ending already says who: Yorgunum means I am tired.
The rule
The six endings
- ben-(y)im
doktorum, öğrenciyim
- sen-sin
doktorsun
- o∅
doktor: no ending
- biz-(y)iz
doktoruz, öğrenciyiz
- siz-siniz
doktorsunuz
- onlar-ler
doktorlar
Form
The six persons
Person
I am a doctor
you are a doctor
he is a doctor
we are doctors
you are doctors
they are doctors
Harmony on the "I am" ending
Last vowel
I am German
I am a teacher
I am a doctor
I am Turkish
After a vowel: the y bridge
Ends in
I am a student
I am ill
we are happy
I am fine
Affirmative
doktorum
Negative
doktor değilim
Question
doktor muyum?
Watch out
Third person takes nothing; -dır is for formal writing
O doktor needs no ending at all. The form doktordur belongs to formal texts and definitions, not to everyday speech.
Good to know
Adjectives take the same endings
Anything a person can be takes the ending: yorgunum (I am tired), hastasın (you are ill), mutluyuz (we are happy). Noun or adjective makes no difference.
Good to know
siz covers polite and plural, as with the pronoun
doktorsunuz addresses one person politely or several people, the same split as in Kişi Zamirleri.
Examples
Ben mutluyum.
I am happy.
Sen Türksün.
You are Turkish.
O doktor.
She is a doctor.
Biz öğrenciyiz.
We are students.
Siz çok naziksiniz.
You are very kind.
Onlar İstanbullu.
They are from İstanbul.
First speaker:Nasılsın?
Second speaker:Yorgunum ama iyiyim.
How are you? Tired, but fine.
Cheat sheet
- ben-(y)im
- sen-sin
- o∅
- biz-(y)iz
- siz-siniz
- onlar-ler