Spotting Turkish verbal nouns...
What are their tell-tale signs?

A) They start with a verb stem,
like ögren (from ögrenmek -- to learn)
or
agla (from aglamak -- to cry)...

B) After the verb stem, comes a special Turkish verbal-noun suffix,
selected from one the following categories
that are consistent with the Rules of Vowel Harmony...

Category 1) -(y)Is, -(y)is, -(y)us, -(y)üs
Category 2) -mak, -mek
Category 3) -ma, -me

We're sticking to basics for now,
but, in subsequent parts of this article,
we'll examine the details of all
the verbal-noun suffix-categories
(including a few more exotic ones).

So, for example, you might see a verbal noun like
aglayIs
which, standing alone like that, means
(a way of) crying...

C) They frequently end with a final case suffix that depends on their purpose in the sentence.
That's right.
The verbal noun is like any other Turkish noun.
And you often append case suffixes to it -- like any other Turkish noun.

So, as shown in an earlier example above...

Ögrenmeyi son derece zor buluyorum.
I find the learning extremely difficult.

...the verbal noun, ögrenmeyi, is used as
the direct object of the sentence.
It ends, therefore,
with the Direct Object Case suffix yi.
Click here to learn more about the Direct Object Case suffix yi.

More Examples that illustrate
the tell-tale signs
of Turkish verbal nouns

Example A: In the following sentence, the verbal noun functions as the sentence's direct object -- so it has an attached Direct Object Case suffix.

O ördegin olaganüstü bir yürüyüsü var.
That duck has an extraordinary way of walking.

(26k bytes)

Here, we first add the Category 1 verbal-noun suffix yüs to the
verbal stem yürü (from yürümek -- to walk).
After that, we add the final Direct Object Case suffix ü.
Click here to learn more about the Direct Object Case suffix ü.

Example B: In the following sentence, the verbal noun has a directional quality about it -- so it has an attached
To/For Case suffix.

Ördek biraz yürümege çIktI.
The duck went out for a little walk(ing).

(22k bytes)

Note how the Category 2 verbal-noun suffix mek must change
to meg -- before the final To/For Case suffix e is appended.
Click here to learn more about the To/For Case suffix e.

Example C: In the following sentence, the verbal noun has a possessive quality about it -- so it has an attached Possessive Case suffix.

Öyle hareket etmesinin
nedeni nedir, acaba?
I wonder what's the reason of its moving like that?
(I wonder why it moves like that?)

(26k bytes)

Note how the Category 3 verbal-noun suffix me is added to the
verbal stem hareket et (from hareket etmek -- to move).

After that come the Personal Possessive Ending letters si which,
in this instance,
refer to the [waddling] duck -- specifically to 'its moving'.
Click here to learn more about the Personal Possessive Ending letters si.

Reminder:
Try not to confuse the purpose of a Personal Possessive Ending with the purpose of a Possessive Case suffix
(see two paragraphs below)...

  Then comes the buffer-letter n --
which is required to avoid the presence of consecutive vowels...
Click here to learn more about the buffer-letter n.

And finally comes the Possessive Case suffix in --
which translates to English as of.
Click here to learn more about the Possessive Case suffix in.

This question arises because, in fact,
Turkish verbal nouns do sometimes look a lot like
(and in some cases exactly like)
negative Turkish verbs.
But Turkish verbal nouns have
no inherent negative meaning.
Still... If you want to...
You may create negative verbal nouns too...
Such nouns often resemble double negative verbs!
But, we'll talk about that later...

Example:
Take yüzmek -- to swim...
Clip it off at the root giving
yüz.
Add the me suffix giving yüzme
and what have we got?

Hmmm... What exactly do we have?

Is it a verbal noun meaning swimming
or is it the negative verbal command meaning don't swim?
Well...standing alone in written-form like that,
it's impossible to know.

You have to see yüzme in comparative sentences
(such as in the two following)
to be sure of its meaning....

Verbal Noun Example:
Okyanusda köpek balIgI vardI.
O yüzden ben yüzme havuzunda yüzdüm.
There were sharks in the ocean.
So, I swam in the swimming pool.

Only on CD...

Negative Verb Example:
Okyanusda köpek balIgI var. O yüzden orada yüzme.
There are sharks in the ocean. For that reason, don't swim there.

Only on CD...

Note:
The out-loud pronunciation of these
ambiguous-looking words helps us strugglers to understand them –
even if they're spoken solo.
Because, if we hear YÜZ-me (with the accent on the first syllable) then
we know the meaning is Don't swim.
But if we hear yüz-ME (with the accent on the second syllable) then
we know the meaning is swimming.

Before proceeding into deeper waters
on the subject of Turkish verbal nouns,
let's gather round and take a whack at a few more examples that
(taken together with LPT's useful, subterranean Mini-Notes)
may serve to summarize our understanding of the subject so far...

1) Verbal Nouns used in phrases
Examples:
a) Pamela ile Tommy Lee türkçe ögrenmek istiyorlar.
Pamela and Tommy Lee want to learn Turkish.

Only on CD...

Mini-Note -- ögren (verb root), mek (Category 2 verbal-noun suffix).

b) Pamela lisanI anlamaya ugrasIyor.
Pamela is struggling to understand the language.

Only on CD...

Mini-Note -- anla (verb root), ma (Category 3 verbal-noun suffix),
ya (To/For Case suffix).

c) BasarmasI gerekli sanIyor.
She feels her succeeding [is] necessary.
(She feels she has to succeed.)

Only on CD...

Mini-Note -- Basar (verb root), ma (Category 3 verbal-noun suffix),
sI (Personal Possessive Ending).

Mini-Note -- Ezberle (verb root), me (Category 3 verbal-noun suffix),
yi (Direct Object Case suffix).

b) Pamela, ona vurmasIndan önce, "Övünüsünden nefret ediyorum,"
diye anlatIyor.
Before she smacks him, Pamela says, "I hate the way you brag."

Only on CD...

Mini-Note -- vur (verb root), ma (Category 3 verbal-noun suffix),
sI (Personal Possessive Ending), n (buffer letter),
dan (From/Than Case suffix).
Mini-Note -- övün (verb root),üs (Category 1 verbal-noun suffix),
ü (Direct Object Case suffix), n (buffer letter),
den (From/Than Case suffix).
Mini-Note -- We've smoothed the translation above of
'ona vurmasIndan önce'...
Its literal translation would be 'Before her hitting him. '

Mini-Note -- bekle (verb root), me (Category3 verbal-noun suffix).

b) Pamela, ona vurmasIndan sonra,
"Defol git ve geri dönme," dedi.
After Pamela punched him, she said, "Get out and don't come back."

Only on CD...

Mini-Note -- vur (verb root), ma (Category 3 verbal-noun suffix),
sI (Personal Possessive Ending),
n (buffer letter), dan (From/Than Case suffix).
Mini-Note -- dön (verb root), me (Negative Command suffix).
Mini-Note -- We've smoothed the translation above of
'ona vurmasIndan sonra'...
Its literal translation would be 'After her hitting him. '

c) Ama simdi üzülüp alIsveris merkezi dIsInda onu bekliyor.
But, she's sorry now and awaits him outside the Özdere shopping center.

Only on CD...

Mini-Note -- al (verb root), Is (Category 1 verbal-noun suffix).
Mini-Note -- ver (verb root), is (Category 1 verbal-noun suffix).