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Expressing Yourself in Turkish

"...a completely new garb."
G.L. Lewis. 1953

Turkish Sentence Structure
Var and Yok...
Proverbs -- with Var and Yok...
Saying When, and When Not...The Charts
Other Ways of Saying When
Devrik Cümle -- the Transposed or Inverted Sentence

Turkish Sentence Structure

You have to re-sequence the word order of an English sentence in order to create a correctly structured, meaningful Turkish sentence . For example, consider the following...

The restaurant where we are going to eat is
at the corner of this street.

In Spanish and French, the shape of that sentence remains the same when it's translated. And we've read that the same would be true if you translated it to Russian, Greek, and even Arabic. But in Turkish, the shape is quite different...

Yemek yiyecegimiz restoran bu sokagIn kösesindedir.
Eat-future-our-restaurant, this-street's corner-its-at-is.

Jump to the Reverse English page for a more thorough treatment of this phenomenon. Or, check out the Standard Rules of Word Order...

Var and Yok

But it's not just the unusual Turkish word order -- that English speakers need to adjust for... It's also the basic method of expression.

To illustrate what we mean, let's take a look at some examples using var and yok -- two very stand up Turkish words that every student of Turkish must understand, if not master. The meanings for var and yok are revealed in the examples...

For instance, here's the way in English that we express personal possession,
I have a forty-foot yacht. [yeah. right.]

In Turkish, you don't express it the same way. Instead, you say,
KIrk-ayak yatIm var,
which literally means,
My forty-foot yacht exists...

The negative expression,
I don't have a forty foot yacht [the truth is out],
would be,
KIrk-ayak yatIm yok,
which literally means,
My forty-foot yacht doesn't exist...

And in English, when we want to express the pure presence
[or absence] of a person, place, or thing -- we say, for example,
There is a scorpion on the wall!
[hey, i don't like'm either -- but they like the climate where I live. And that's what counts.]

However, in Turkish it's,
Duvarda akrep var;
which literally means,
On the wall, a scorpion exists.
[Negative example: There isn't any bread in the basket;
Sepette ekmek yok.]

Also, var/yok is used on those occasions when a strictly literal translation is needed -- as in,
The evidence against my client does not even exist!
And the resulting Turkish sentence is an exact literal word-for-word translation [except for the 'unusual' word order, of course],
Müvekkilimin aleyhine kanIt bile yok!

So there you have the three most basic forms of var and yok -- which are used to say:
1) have/don't have,
2) there is/there isn't,
3) it exists/it does not exist.

And many of our visitors are
probably already familiar with these forms.

But these most basic forms are not the only forms that var and yok take. Shall we look at some other forms -- with a few more illustrative examples?

Use in the Aorist (wide-time) verbal sense

Istanbul'da çok hotel vardIr;
There are a lot of hotels in Istanbul.
(Literally... In Istanbul, a lot of hotels exist.)

Please note that the -dir suffix is seen/heard mostly in written Turkish, or when the speaker wishes to express more certainty in his meaning -- as in the previous and next example...

YarIn parti yoktur;
There isn't going to be a party tomorrow.
(Literally... Tomorrow, a party won't exist.)

Also,
Bugün varIm, yarIn yokum;
I am here today, gone tomorrow.
(Literally... I exist today, I don't exist tomorrow.)

And one more use for this construction... If you're in a card game and the betting gets around to you -- you should say, VarIm, if you want to bet along with the others or Yokum, if you want to paasssss...

Use in the Present Perfect

Dünkü partide sen de varmIssIn;
You too have been (You have existed) at the party yesterday.

Bodrum gezisinde sizler yokmussunuz;
You haven't been (You haven't existed) on the Bodrum tour.

Use in the Definite Past

Ben dün toplantIda vardIm;
I was (I existed) at the meeting yesterday.

Important note:
In the above case, vardIm; I existed, could be confused with vardIm; I arrived -- one of possible cases of ambiguity in the Turkish language...
[Click here to explore that ambiguity a little further...]

Gece yarIsI sehirde kimseler yoktu;
There wasn't (There didn't exist) anyone in the city at midnight.

Use in the conditional mood

AklInIz varsa, bu ise para yatIrmazsInIz.
If you are smart, you won't pay [good] money for this [bad] job;
(Literally... If your intelligence exists, you won't pay [good] money for this [bad] job.)

Cuma günü evde yoksanIz, Pazar günü geliriz.
If you (all) won't be at home on Friday, we'll come [to see you (all)] on Sunday.
(On Friday, if you all won't exist at home, we'll come [to see you all] on Sunday.)

Questions with var/yok

Buralarda iyi bir lokanta var mI?
Is there a good restaurant around here?
(Around here, does a good restaurant exist?)

Evimizde yemek yok mu?
Isn't there any food at our house?
(At our house, doesn't any food exist?)

Proverbial Use

AskIn var ise (varsa) daglara düs;
If you're in love, flee to the mountains.
(If your love exists, fall [back] to the mountains.)

KadIn var ev yapar, kadIn var ev yIkar;
Women...Ya' can't live with 'em and ya' can't live without 'em.
( [Where] woman exists, the home is created; [where] woman exists, the home is destroyed.)

EvladIn varsa bin derdin var, evladIn yoksa bir derdin var;
If you have children, you have one-thousand worries;
if you don't have children, you have one worry.
(If your children exist, one-thousand worries exist ; if your children don't exist, one worry exists.)

This last example usage of var/yok in a proverb has the potential to throw you for a small loop, so try to stay awake just a leetle longer...

Vara "var", yoka "yok" denir...;
To a rich man they say, "Yes, we have what you want."
To a poor man they say, "No, we're out of what you want."
(To the 'haves', "It exists." To the 'have nots', "It doesn't exist," they say...)

The point here is that sometimes, as in the above case, var and yok can be used as nouns -- indicating a person's financial status or even his/her own personal essence, as in...
Bütün varInI yogunu o ise harcadI;
He put his whole heart and soul [and wealth] into that job.
(He expended his complete-being to that job)

Saying When and When Not...
"When I go to the market, I'll buy a newspaper."

How to handle When clauses in Turkish was one of the first things that confused us about the language. And, frankly it can still give us fits -- when it has a mind to. On a bad-language day, it is pretty uninspiring to hear us stumble through a sentence with a When clause in it.

So as a language study aid, we prepared ourselves a little reference chart of typical When clauses -- similar to our verb conjugation charts -- if you remember how they look...starting with first person singular (When I go...), second person singular (When you go...), and so on down the line, all the way to When they go (the third person plural)...

Here's the chart for your Turkish language-learning arsenal -- just in case you too suffer from 'wheningitis'...

"When I go to the market..."
For Present, Past, and Future Tense usage
(Note: In the following kind of Turkish When clause, there is no distinction between Present and Past Tense, but there is a distinction between Present/Past and Future Tense, as indicated...)

For Present and Past Tense usage Affirmative	For Present and Past Tense usage Negative	For Future Tense usage Affirmative	For Future Tense usage Negative
Either When I go to the market or When I went to the market -- Either Markete gittigim zaman or Markete gittigimde [all the above may be used interchangeably]	Either When I don't go to the market or When I didn't go to the market -- Either Markete gitmedigim zaman or Markete gitmedigimde [used interchangeably]	When I will go to the market -- Either Markete gidecegim zaman or Markete gidecegimde [used interchangeably]	When I will not go to the market -- Either Markete gitmeyecegim zaman or Markete gitmeyecegimde [used interchangeably]
Either When you go to the market or When you went to the market -- Either Markete gittigin zaman or Markete gittiginde (note below table entry) [used interchangeably]	Either When you don't go to the market or When you didn't go to the market -- Either Markete gitmedigin zaman or Markete gitmediginde (note below table entry) [used interchangeably]	When you will go to the market -- Either Markete gidecegin zaman or Markete gideceginde (note below table entry) [used interchangeably]	When you will not go to the market -- Either Markete gitmeyecegin zaman or Markete gitmeyeceginde (note below table entry) [used interchangeably]
Either When he/she/it goes to the market or When he/she/it went to the market -- Either Markete gittigi zaman or Markete gittiginde (note above table entry) [used interchangeably]	Either When he/she/it doesn't go to the market or When he/she/it didn't go to the market -- Either Markete gitmedigi zaman or Markete gitmediginde (note above table entry) [used interchangeably]	When he/she/it will go to the market -- Either Markete gidecegi zaman or Markete gideceginde (note above table entry) [used interchangeably]	When he/she/it will not go to the market -- Either Markete gitmeyecegi zaman or Markete gitmeyeceginde (note above table entry) [used interchangeably]
Either When we go to the market or When we went to the market -- Either Markete gittigimiz zaman or Markete gittigimizde [used interchangeably]	Either When we don't go to the market or When we didn't go to the market -- Either Markete gitmedigimiz zaman or Markete gitmedigimizde [used interchangeably]	When we will go to the market -- Either Markete gidecegimiz zaman or Markete gidecegimizde [used interchangeably]	When we will not go to the market -- Either Markete gitmeyecegimiz zaman or Markete gitmeyecegimizde [used interchangeably]
Either When you [plural] go to the market or When you went to the market -- Either Markete gittiginiz zaman or Markete gittiginizde [used interchangeably]	Either When you [plural] don't go to the market or When you didn't go to the market -- Either Markete gitmediginiz zaman or Markete gitmediginizde [used interchangeably]	When you [plural] will go to the market -- Either Markete gideceginiz zaman or Markete gideceginizde [used interchangeably]	When you [plural] will not go to the market -- Either Markete gitmeyeceginiz zaman or Markete gitmeyeceginizde [used interchangeably]
Either When they go to the market or When they went to the market -- Either Markete gittikleri zaman or Markete gittiklerinde [used interchangeably]	Either When they don't go to the market or When they didn't go to the market -- Either Markete gitmedikleri zaman or Markete gitmediklerinde [used interchangeably]	When they will go to the market -- Either Markete gidecekleri zaman or Markete gideceklerinde [used interchangeably]	When they will not go to the market -- Either Markete gitmeyecekleri zaman or Markete gitmeyeceklerinde [used interchangeably]

So, now you can print out this chart and all your problems using and understanding When clauses will be over, right?
You didn't think you were going to get away that easily, now did you?

Firstly, the chart above only addresses Turkish verbs with infinitives ending in 'mek' -- like gitmek; go and gelmek; come.
(Did you remember that there are two Turkish verb types -- one with it's infinitive ending in 'mek' and the other ending in 'mak'?)
Well, for verbs ending in 'mak' -- like satmak; sell and kosmak; run, you need a separate When clause chart. It is very similar to the one above, with just a few spelling modifications to reflect the appropriate vowel harmony.

"When I run to the market..."
For Present, Past, and Future Tense usage
(Note: In the following kind of Turkish When clause, there is no distinction between Present and Past Tense, but there is a distinction between Present/Past and Future Tense, as indicated...)

For Present and Past Tense usage Affirmative	For Present and Past Tense usage Negative	For Future Tense usage Affirmative	For Future Tense usage Negative
Either When I run to the market or When I ran to the market -- Either Markete kostugum zaman or Markete kostugumda [all the above may be used interchangeably]	Either When I don't run to the market or When I didn't run to the market -- Either Markete kosmadIgIm zaman or Markete kosmadIgImda [used interchangeably]	When I will run to the market -- Either Markete kosacagIm zaman or Markete kosacagImda [used interchangeably]	When I will not run to the market -- Either Markete kosmayacagIm zaman or Markete kosmayacagImda [used interchangeably]
Either When you run to the market or When you ran to the market -- Either Markete kostugun zaman or Markete kostugunda (note below table entry) [used interchangeably]	Either When you don't run to the market or When you didn't run to the market -- Either Markete kosmadIgIn zaman or Markete kosmadIgInda (note below table entry) [used interchangeably]	When you will run to the market -- Either Markete kosacagIn zaman or Markete kosacagInda (note below table entry) [used interchangeably]	When you will not run to the market -- Either Markete kosmayacagIn zaman or Markete kosmayacagInda (note below table entry) [used interchangeably]
Either When he/she/it runs to the market or When he/she/it ran to the market -- Either Markete kostugu zaman or Markete kostugunda (note above table entry) [used interchangeably]	Either When he/she/it doesn't run to the market or When he/she/it didn't run to the market -- Either Markete kosmadIgI zaman or Markete kosmadIgInda (note above table entry) [used interchangeably]	When he/she/it will run to the market -- Either Markete kosacagI zaman or Markete kosacagInda (note above table entry) [used interchangeably]	When he/she/it will not run to the market -- Either Markete kosmayacagI zaman or Markete kosmayacagInda (note above table entry) [used interchangeably]
Either When we run to the market or When we ran to the market -- Either Markete kostugumuz zaman or Markete kostugumuzda [used interchangeably]	Either When we don't run to the market or When we didn't run to the market -- Either Markete kosmadIgImIz zaman or Markete kosmadIgImIzda [used interchangeably]	When we will run to the market -- Either Markete kosacagImIz zaman or Markete kosacagImIzda [used interchangeably]	When we will not run to the market -- Either Markete kosmayacagImIz zaman or Markete kosmayacagImIzda [used interchangeably]
Either When you [plural] run to the market or When you ran to the market -- Either Markete kostugunuz zaman or Markete kostugunuzda [used interchangeably]	Either When you [plural] don't run to the market or When you didn't run to the market -- Either Markete kosmadIgInIz zaman or Markete kosmadIgInIzda [used interchangeably]	When you [plural] will run to the market -- Either Markete kosacagInIz zaman or Markete kosacagInIzda [used interchangeably]	When you [plural] will not run to the market -- Either Markete kosmayacagInIz zaman or Markete kosmayacagInIzda [used interchangeably]
Either When they run to the market or When they ran to the market -- Either Markete kostuklarI zaman or Markete kostuklarInda [used interchangeably]	Either When they don't run to the market or When they didn't run to the market -- Either Markete kosmadIklarI zaman or Markete kosmadIklarInda [used interchangeably]	When they will run to the market -- Either Markete kosacaklarI zaman or Markete kosacaklarInda [used interchangeably]	When they will not run to the market -- Either Markete kosmayacaklarI zaman or Markete kosmayacaklarInda [used interchangeably]

Secondly, there are two more ways you can make a Turkish When clause. You can do it by adding either the 'ince' or the 'ken' suffixes to Turkish word stems...
You just need to be a little careful, that's all.
Here's how.

Other Ways of Saying When...

These are pretty straight forward actually (if not without controversy), but there are a couple of points you need to consider -- before you put either of these methods into practice.

Point, the first...

When you add 'ince' to the verb stem [sorry, it only works with verbs] you convey the meaning 'on doing' or 'when doing' which is not exactly the same as 'when'.

But it's close. And since all the Turks we know employ it quite matter-of-factly to construct When clauses, then we think it's good enough for us Practical Turkish speakers...

A significant feature of the 'ince' suffix, is that it takes its 'tense' from the closest main verb in the sentence. You'll see what we mean in the following examples.

And another feature of 'ince'-- the worst one, actually -- is that it obeys the Rule of Vowel Harmony. So, you may need to use a spelling varient of it, according to the last vowel in the word it's attached to... Which means that besides the suffix 'ince', you also have to contend with its spelling varients 'ünce', 'Inca', and 'unca' when you want to build a When clause.
(By contrast, the suffix 'ken', discussed in the second point below,
is free from this requirement.)

Examples:
ÇocuklarI okula gidince, Hande HanIm kahvaltIsInI yapar.
When her children have gone to school, Ms. Hande has her breakfast.

Geri dönünce lütfen beni arasIn;
When he returns, please ask him to call me [on the phone].

Hava sIcak olunca, denizde yüzmelisiniz;
When the weather gets hot, you must swim in the sea.

HavasIna alIsInca, LondrayI seveceksin;
When you'll get used to the weather, you will love London.

SorunlarImIz büyüyünce,
iliskimizi bitirmek zorunda kaldIk;
When our problems grew, we had to end the [our] affair.
(When our problems grew, we remained forced to end our affair.)

the second point below

When you add 'ken' ('yken' after vowels') as a suffix to a verb stem or to a noun, it conveys the meaning of, 'while (doing)'.

Again, that's not the same as 'when', but since our Turkish friends use it to construct When Clauses, then why can't we...?

Nonetheless, we have a feeling that the Turkish language police are liable to track us down for this kind of controversial usage -- and thrash us to within a syllable of our interrogatives...
But how bad can that be?

BTW, as mentioned in Point, the first, notice that the 'ken' suffix does not obey the Rule of Vowel Harmony. So, mercifully, its spelling is always 'ken' regardless of the word it's attached to.
Now, iddin tha' nice...

Examples in the Past Tense:
Ben kosarken kar yagmaya basladI;
When (while) I was [out] jogging, it started to snow.

Sen dans ederken, sarhostum;
When (while) you were [off] dancing, I got drunk.

O yemegi yerken, sinemaya gittiler;
When (while) he ate lunch, they ran to the movies.

Biz Izmirdeyken, televizyon seyretti;
When (while) we were in Izmir, she watched television.

Siz Ankaradayken, John markete gitti;
When (while) you all were in Ankara, John went to the market.

Onlar bardayken, uyudum;
When (while) they were at the bar, I slept.

Examples of 'ken' with other verb tenses

Sen konusurken, gülüyorum;
When (while) you are talking, I am laughing.

Sen istanbuldayken, Hillary köye gidecek;
When (while) you are in Istanbul, Hillary will go to the village.

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