VERB TO BE IN TURKISH
1
Pronoun
Personal Ending Suffixes
Ben (I)
(y)ım/im/um/üm
am
sın/sin/sun/sün
are
...
is
(y)ız/iz/uz/üz
are
Siz (You)
sınız/siniz/sunuz/sünüz
are
Onlar (They)
(lar/ler)
are
Sen (You)
noun
adjective
O (He/She/It)
Biz (We)
English
FOUR-WAY VOWEL HARMONY
If the preceding vowel is
FRONT VOWELS
BACK VOWELS
The following suffix vowel is
UNROUNDED
e-i
i
ROUNDED
ö-ü
ü
UNROUNDED
a-ı
ı
ROUNDED
o-u
u
If the vowel is ‘e’ or ‘i’ in the last syllable of a noun or an adjective, then ‘i’ is used as the following
vowel with personal ending suffixes.
Examples
öğretmen: teacher (n.)
Ben öğretmenim.
Sen öğretmensin.
O öğretmen.
Biz öğretmeniz.
Siz öğretmensiniz.
Onlar öğretmen(ler).
I am a teacher.
You are a teacher.
He/She is a teacher.
We are teachers.
You are a teacher. (formal & plural)
They are teachers.
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VERB TO BE IN TURKISH
Examples
2
sakin: calm (adj.)
Ben sakinim.
Sen sakinsin.
O sakin.
Biz sakiniz.
Siz sakinsiniz.
Onlar sakin(ler).
I am calm.
You are calm.
He/She/It is calm.
We are calm.
You are calm. (formal & plural)
They are calm.
If the vowel is ‘ö’ or ‘ü’ in the last syllable of a noun or an adjective, then ‘ü’ is used as the following
vowel with personal ending suffixes.
Examples
aktör: actor (n.)
Ben aktörüm.
Sen aktörsün.
O aktör.
Biz aktörüz.
Siz aktörsünüz.
Onlar aktör(ler).
I am an actor.
You are an actor.
He/She is an actor.
We are actors.
You are an actor. (formal & plural)
They are actors.
In Turkish, you can drop personal pronouns. They are usually only used for emphasis as the person is
evident from personal ending suffixes.
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VERB TO BE IN TURKISH
Examples
3
üzgün: sad, upset (adj.)
Ben üzgünüm.
Sen üzgünsün.
O üzgün.
Biz üzgünüz.
Siz üzgünsünüz.
Onlar üzgün(ler).
I am sad.
You are sad.
He/She/It is sad.
We are sad.
You are sad. (formal & plural)
They are sad.
In Turkish, ‘-ler’ and ‘-lar’ suffixes are used to make nouns plural. ‘-ler’ is used with front
vowels (e, i, ö, ü) and ‘-lar’ is used with back vowels (a, ı, o, u) depending on the vowel in the
last syllable of a noun.
If the vowel is ‘a or ‘ı’ in the last syllable of a noun or an adjective, then ‘ı’ is used as the following
vowel with personal ending suffixes.
Examples
avukat: lawyer (n.)
Ben avukatım.
Sen avukatsın.
O avukat.
Biz avukatız.
Siz avukatsınız.
Onlar avukat(lar).
I am a lawyer.
You are a lawyer.
He/She is a lawyer.
We are lawyers.
You are a lawyer. (formal & plural)
They are lawyers.
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VERB TO BE IN TURKISH
Examples
4
yalnız: alone (adj.)
Ben yalnızım.
Sen yalnızsın.
O yalnız.
Biz yalnızız.
Siz yalnızsınız.
Onlar yalnız(lar).
I am alone.
You are alone.
He/She/It is alone.
We are alone.
You are alone. (formal & plural)
They are alone.
If the vowel is ‘o’ or ‘u’ in the last syllable of a noun or an adjective, then ‘u’ is used as the following
vowel with personal ending suffixes.
Examples
doktor: doctor (n.)
Ben doktorum.
Sen doktorsun.
O doktor.
Biz doktoruz.
Siz doktorsunuz.
Onlar doktor(lar).
I am a doctor.
You are a doctor.
He/She is a doctor.
We are doctors.
You are a doctor. (formal & plural)
They are doctors.
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VERB TO BE IN TURKISH
Examples
5
mutsuz: unhappy (adj.)
Ben mutsuzum.
Sen mutsuzsun.
O mutsuz.
Biz mutsuzuz.
Siz mutsuzsunuz.
Onlar mutsuz(lar).
I am unhappy.
You are unhappy.
He/She/It is unhappy.
We are unhappy.
You are unhappy. (formal & plural)
They are unhappy.
If the last syllable of a noun or an adjective ends with a vowel, we use ‘y’ as a buffer letter to keep
vowels apart. You can see this example in ‘I’ and ‘We’ pronouns because their personal ending
suffixes already start with a vowel.
Examples
mutlu: happy (adj.)
Ben mutluyum.
Sen mutlusun.
O mutlu.
Biz mutluyuz.
Siz mutlusunuz.
Onlar mutlu(lar).
I am happy.
You are happy.
He/She/It is happy.
We are happy.
You are happy. (formal & plural)
They are happy.
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