TURKISH

INFINITIVES
and
ENGLISH
INFINITIVES
or
GERUNDS
Yksel Gknel
2015

WWW.YUKSELGOKNEL.COM

INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
TURKISH INFINITIVES and ENGLISH INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
Before we begin with the English and Turkish grammars, it may be useful to
start with the Turkish infinitives, and English infinitives or gerunds.
In Turkish, there are only infinitives that are formed of a verb and various
noun-making allomorphs attached to the verb, such as:
verb-[mek, mak]
verb-[me, ma]
verb-[i, , , u]
verb-[dik, dk, dk, duk, tik, tk, tk, tuk]
The allomorphs written black are the noun making allomorphs that turn
verbs into infinitives when they are attached to them. Turkish infinitives
generally function as nouns in Turkish sentences.
However, the English infinitives may function as nouns, as adverbs or as
adjectives in sentences, but gerunds may function as either nouns or adjectives.
To verb is an infinitive, and verb-ing is a gerund.
The ing noun-making suffix may turn the verb into a nominal gerund,
but the same ing may also change the verb into an adjective verb-ing.
Nominal gerunds may be used as subjects, objects, objects of
prepositions or as subject complements in sentences. English gerunds
and their Turkish infinitive equivalents are underlined as follows:
Read-ing helps us improve our knowledge. (Nominal gerund is subject)
Oku-mak bilgi-im-iz-i gelitir-me-/y/e yardm et-er. (Nominal infinitive)
Jack enjoys listen-ing to pop music. (Listen-ing is nominal gerund.)
Jack pop mzik dinle-mek-ten holan-r. (Infinitive-ten is adverbial.)
My sister is interested in annoy-ing me. (Nominal gerund is object of in.)
Kz karde-im can-m- sk-mak-la ilgilen-ir. (Sk-mak-la is adverbial.)
See-ing is believ-ing. Gr-mek inan-mak-tr.
gerund

verb

gerund

infinitive

infinitive verb

Gerunds used after be verbs are called subject noun complements.

Some English gerunds can be used as adjectives in sentences whose
Turkish equivalents are formed by attaching [en, an] adjective making
allomorphs to verbs. For instance:

INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
fly-ing u-an, talk-ing konu-an, shin-ing lda-/y/an,
smil-ing glmse-/y/en, rise-ing yksel-en, cry-ing ala-/y/an,
sing-ing t-en, fall-ing d-en, roar-ing kkre-/y/en.
fly-ing birds U-an kular; talk-ing parrots konu-an papaanlar;
shin-ing lights lda-/y/an klar; smil-ing baby glmse-/y/en
bebek; ris-ing prices ysel-en fiyatlar; fall-ing leaves d-en
yapraklar; roar-ing lions kkre-/y/en arslanlar.
Turkish infinitives verb-[mek, mak], verb-[me, ma] and the others are
always nominal infinitives. They always function as nouns in sentences.
However, the English to verb infinitives either function as nouns, as
adjectives or adverbs without changing their forms. For instance:
Mary Trke ren-mek iste-i.yor. (The infinitive is nominal.)
Mary wants to learn Turkish. (The infinitive is nominal.)
Mary benim-le konu-ma-/y/ reddet-ti. (The infinitive is nominal.)
Mary refused to talk to me. (The infinitive is nominal.)
Mary bir araba al-mak iin para biriktir-i.yor. (Infinitive + iin is adverbial.)
Mary is saving money to buy a car. (The infinitive is adverbial.)
Balk tut-mak iin gl-e git-ti-im. (Infinitive + postposition) (Adverbial)
I went to the lake to fish. (The infinitive is adverbial.)
Jack okul-dan k-an ilk ocuk-tu. (k-an is an adjective.)
Jack was the first boy to leave the school. (To leave is an adjective.)
(The infinitive modifies the noun boy, so it is an adjective.)
Yr-/y/e.cek uzun bir yol-um-uz var. (Yr-/y/e.cek is an adjective.)
We have a long way to walk. (To walk is an adjective.)
ren-e.cek ok ey-in.iz var. (ren-e.cek is an adjective.)
You have a lot of things to learn. (To learn is an adjective.)
Bitir-e.cek bir i-im var. (Bitir-e.cek is an adjective.)
I have a work to finish. (To finish is an adjective.)
Note:
The blue underlines show the subjects.
The black underlines show the objects, noun clauses, and nouns.
The red underlines show the verbs.
The green underlines show the adverbs, adverbial phrases or clauses.
The purple underlines show the adjectives and the noun modifiers.

INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
TURKISH INFINITIVES (MASTARLAR)
In Turkish, the grammar term infinitive (mastar) covers both the gerunds
and the infinitives of the English language. Therefore, we will talk about
only infinitives. When you see a verb-mek, mak, a verb-me, me, a
verb-i, , , u or a verb-dik, dk, dk, duk, tik, tk, tk, tuk
inflectional allomorphs attached to verbs, they turn them into infinitives. All
infinitives are nouns, and they are timeless.
There are four kinds of infinitives in Turkish:
1. The [mek, mak] allomorphs attached to verb roots, stems or frames:
oku-mak (reding, to read); yz-mek (swimming, to swim); yardm et-mek
(helping, to help); konu-mak (talking, to talk); temizle-mek (cleaning, to
clean); oyna-mak (playing, to play); tart-mak; tart-l-mak (tar*tl*mak); tart-mak (tar*t*mak); ka-mak; ka-n-mak (ka*n*mak); ka--mak (ka**mak); srt-mek; srt-l-mek (sr*tl*mek); srt-n-mek (sr*tn*mek); srt--mek (sr*t*mek); dv-mek; dv-l-mek (d*vl*mek);
dv-n-mek (d*vn*mek); dv--mek; ek-mek; ek-il-mek; ek-inmek; ek-i-mek; at-mak; at-l-mak; at--mak; sev-mek; sev-il-mek;
sev-in-mek; sev-i-mek; de-mek; de-in-mek; de-il-mek.
2. The [me, ma] allomorphs attached to verb roots, stems and frames:
git-me (going, to go); gel-me (coming, to come); al-ma (working, to
work); eletir-me (criticizing, to criticize); anla-ma (understanding, to understand); ezberle-me (memorizing, to memorize); tart-ma, tart-l-ma (tar*tl*ma), tart--ma (tar*t*ma); gr-me, gr-l-me (g*rl*me), gr-n-me
(g*rn*me), gr--me; ka-ma; ka-n-ma; ka--ma.
3. The [i, , , u, e, a] allomorphs attached to verb roots or stems:
gl- (g*l) (way of smiling); bak- (ba*k) (way of looking); anla/y/ (an*la*y) (ability of understanding), gel-i (ge*li) (way of) coming);
dav-ran- (dav*ra*nu) (way of behaving).
4. The [dik. dk, dk, duk, tik, tk, tk, tuk] allomorphs attached to verb
roots, stems and frames:
yz-dk, gel-dik, oku-duk, temizle-dik, bekle-dik, al-tk; soy-un-duk
(so*yun*duk), anla-a-tk (an*la*tk), kes-i-tik, sev-il-dik, yz-le-tik,
bek-le-e-tik (bek*le*tik) tart--tk (tar*t*tk).

INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
The Nr. 4 infinitives are used in transforming sentences into possessive
+ owned (noun + infinitive) compounds such as: ben-im gr-dk-m
(be*nim / gr*d*m); Hasann al-tk- (ha*sa*nn / a*l*t*);
biz-im bekle-e-tik-im.iz (bi*zim / bek*le*ti*i*miz).
In the examples above, the [dik, dk, dk, duk, tik, tk, tk, tuk ]
allomorphs are not the allomorphs used in "Futbol oyna-d-k." For instance,
when the sentence "O futbol oynuyor" is transformed into a nominal phrase
(noun + infinitive compound), it becomes "onun futbol oyna-dk-". This
transformed phrase can be used as the object of "gryorum". "Onun futbol
oyna-dk-/n/ (oynuyor olduunu) gryorum." In this sentence, the
allomorph [dk] does not convey a past time concept as the other infinitives.
Consequently, "oynuyor, oynar, oynard, oynad, oynuyordu" tenses
are all transformed into a noun + infinitive compound as "oyna-dk-"
(oy*na*d*):
O futbol oynuyor. onun futbol oyna-dk- (oy*na*d*)
O futbol oynar. onun futbol oyna-dk-
O futbol oynad. onun futbol oyna-dk-
O futbol oynuyordu. onun futbol oyna-dk-
When all the four sentences above are transformed and nominalized, they
can be used in the following sentences as definite objects:
Onun futbol oyna-dk--/n/ gryor-um. I can see that he is playing football.
Onun her gn futbol oyna-dk--/n/ biliyor-um. I know that he plays football every
day. Onun dn futbol oyna-dk--/n/ grd-m. I saw that he was playing football
yesterday.
These examples clearly prove that the [DK] morpheme is not the past time
[di-ik] morpheme. It is a morpheme attached to a verb to produce an
infinitive:
Onun araba-/y/ al-dk- is a noun + infinitive compound like onun
araba-/y/ al-ma-/s/.
Generally speaking, "ben-im al-ma-am", "ben-im al--m", "ben-im al-dk-m"
expressions are all possessive + owned noun compounds like "ben-im
kap-m". The "verb-[mek, mak]" infinitives are timeless as the other
infinitives are, but they are not used in compounds. For instance *onun gitmek-i is not used in Turkish; the verb-[me, ma] infinitives are used
instead.

INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
WHERE TURKISH INFINITIVES AND ENGLISH INFINITIVES OR GERUNDS ARE USED

Watch carefully where infinitives or gerunds are used in place of Turkish

infinitives in the following sentences:
1 (a). The [mek, mak] allomorphs, which turn verbs into infinitives (nouns),
can be used in the subject position in a sentence. They are timeless and
have no personal possessive allomorphs attached to them .
Yr-mek salk iin yararl-dr. (Yr-mek is an infinitive noun.)
(y*r*mek / sa*lk / i*in / ya*rar*l*dr )
Walk-ing is good for health. (A gerund is used instead of Turkish infinitive.)
(Walk-ing is a gerund. Walk is a verb, but when the ing suffix
attaches to the verb, this suffix turns the verb into a gerund noun.)
Sigara i-mek zararl-dr. (Infinitive)
(si*ga*ra / i*mek / za*rar*l*dr )
Smok-ing is harmful. (Gerund)
Gn-de sekiz saat uyu-mak salkl bir kii iin yeterli-dir. (Infinitive)
(gn*de / se*kiz / sa*at / u*yu*mak / sa*lk*l / bir / ki*i / i*in /
ye*ter*li*dir)
Sleep-ing eight hours a day is enough for a healthy person. (Gerund)
Btn gn televizyon seyret-mek zaman kayb-dr. (Infinitive)
(b*tn / gn / te*le*viz*yon / sey*ret*mek / za*man / kay*b*dr )
Watch-ing television all day long is a waste of time. (Gerund)
O-/n/u ikna et-mek kolay-dr.
(o*nu / ik*na: / et*mek / ko*lay*dr )
To convince him is easy. It is easy to convince him. He is easy to convince

1 (b).The same [mek, mak] infinitives are used before yerine and
iin postpositions:
Televizyon seyret-mek yerine i-in-i yap.
(te*le*viz*yon / sey*ret*mek / ye*ri*ne / i*i*ni / yap )
Do your work instead of watch-ing television. (The gerunds watch-ing,
work-ing, and go-ing are the objects of the preposition instead of.)

Bahe-de al-mak yerine tenis oyna-d-k.

infinitive (noun)
postp
postp phrs (adverbial)

(bah*e*de / a*l*mak / ye*ri*ne / te*nis / oy*na*dk )

We played tennis in the garden instead of work-ing.

INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
Okul-a git-mek yerine sinema-/y/a git-ti-ler
(o*ku*la / git*mek / ye*ri*ne~/ si*ne*ma*ya / git*ti*ler )
They went to the cinema instead of go-ing to school.
The same [mek, mak] allomorphs are also used before iin postpositions
to express purpose:
Ev dev-im-i tamamla-mak iin sabah-le.yin erken kalk-t-m. (Liaison)
(e*v*de*vi*mi / ta*mam*la*mak / i*in~/ sa*bah*le*yin / er*ken / kalk* tm
)
I got up early to complete my homework. (To complete is an infinitive that
functions as an adverb.)

(The functions of English infinitives are of three kinds; some of them are
adverbal, some others are nominal, and some others are adjectival.)
Yepyeni bir araba al-mak iin para biriktir-i.yor-uz. (Adverbial)
(yep*ye*ni / bir / a*ra*ba / al*mak / i*in / pa*ra / bi*rik*ti*ri*yo*ruz )
We are saving money to buy a brand new car. (Adverbial)
Onlar- gr-mek iin pencere-den bak-t-m. (Adverbial)
(on*la*r / gr*mek / i*in ~/ pen*ce*re*den / bak*tm )
I looked out of the window to see them. (Adverbial)
O/n/u bitir-mek iin zaman-a ihtiya-m.z var. (Adverbial)
(o*nu / bi*tir*mek / i*in ~/ za*ma:*na / ih*ti*ya:*c*mz / var )
We need time to finish it. (Adverbial)
Cumhurbakan-/n/ gr-mek iin herkes ayak-a kalk-t. (a*ya*a)
Everybody stood up to see the president. (Adverbial)
Yabanc dil ren-mek iin ok al-mak zorunda-sn. (Adverbial, nominal)
(ya*ban*c / dil / *ren*mek / i*in~ / ok / a*l*mak / zo*run*da*sn )
You have to study hard to learn a foreign language. (Nominal and adverbial)
Ben-i anla-mak iin dikkat-le dinle. (Adverbial)
(be*ni / an*la*mak / i*in ~/ dik*kat*le / din*le )
Listen carefully to understand me. (Adverbial)
Islan-ma-mak iin emsiye-/s/i-/n/i al-d. (Negative infinitive)
(s*lan*ma*mak / i*in / em*si*ye*si*ni / al*d )
She took her umbrella not to get wet. (Adverbial)
Ben-i daha iyi gr-mek iin gzlk-ler-i-/n/i tak-t. (Adverbial)
(be*ni / da*ha / i*yi / gr*mek / i*in / gz*lk*le*ri*ni / tak*t )
She put her glasses on to see me better. (Adverbial)

INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
Biz-e yardm et-mek iin israr et-ti. (Liaison)
(bi*ze / yar*dm / et*mek / i*in / is*ra:r / et*ti ) (is*ra:*ret*ti)
He insisted on help-ing us. (Help-ing is the object of the preposition on)
Otobs-e yeti-mek iin ko-tu-uk. (Adverbial)
(o*to*b*se / ye*ti*mek / i*in / ko*tuk)
We ran to catch the bus. (Adverbial)

1 (c). The infinitives with [mek, mak] are used as objects of the
verb iste" and "zorunda" ("want, wish" and "have to")
Trke ren-mek iste-i.yor-um. (Nominal)
(trk*e / *ren*mek / is*ti*yo*rum )
I want to learn Turkish. (Nominal)
Trke ren-mek zorunda-/y/m. (Nominal)
(trk*e / *ren*mek / zo*run*da*ym )
I have to learn Turkish. (Nominal)
Bulak-lar- yka-mak iste-me-i.yor-um. (Nominal)
(bu*la*k*la*r / y*ka*mak / is*te*mi*yo*rum )
I dont want to wash the dishes. (Nominal)
Bu kitap- oku-mak iste-i.yor mu-sun? (Nominal)
(bu / ki*ta*b / o*ku*mak / is*ti*yor / mu*sun )
Do you want to read this book? (Nominal)
Canm okul-a git-mek iste-me-i.yor. (Nominal)
(ca*nm / o*ku*la / git*mek / is*te*mi*yor )
I dont feel like go-ing to school. (Object of the preposition like)

1 (d). The [mek, mak] allomorphs attached to [ten, tan] allomorphs:

The [mek, mak] allomorphs can also be used attached to [ten, tan]
allomorphs as all nouns can. The other two allomorphs of the phoneme
[DEN] are not used here because the [mek, mak] allomorphs end with
unvoiced consonants:
Yanl-lk yap-mak-tan kan-ma.l-sn. (Yap-mak-tan is an adverb.)
(yan*l*lk / yap*mak*tan / ka*n*ma*l*sn )
You must avoid mak-ing mistakes. (The ing suffix turns the verb
make into a nominal gerund.

INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
Gece-le.yin yalnz dar-/y/a k-mak-tan kork-u.yor-um. (Adverbial)
(ge*ce*le*yin / yal*nz / d*a*r / k*mak*tan / kor*ku*yo*rm )
I am afraid of go-ing out alone at night. (Go-ing is the object of of.)
Tm kadn-lar yalan-mak-tan kork-ar. (Adverbial)
(tm / ka*dn*lar / ya*lan*mak*tan / kor*kar )
All women are afraid of grow-ing old. (Object of of, adverbial)
Btn gn ev-de otur-mak-tan bk-t-m (skl-d-m). (Adverbial)
(b*tn / gn / ev*de / o*tur*mak*tan / bk*tm )
I am tired (bored) of stay-ing at home all day long. (Adverbial)
Yalan syle-mek-ten utan-ma-.yor mu-sun? (Adverbial)
(ya*lan / sy*le*mek*ten / u*tan*m*yor / mu*sun )
Arent you ashamed of tell-ing lies? (of tell-ing is adverbial.)
zl-mek-ten kendim-i al-a.ma-.yor-um. (Adverbial)
(*zl*mek*ten / ken*di*mi / a*la*m*yo*rum )
I cant help be-ing sorry. (Nominal)
Bekle-mek-ten neftet et-er-im. (Adverbial)
(bek*le*mek*ten / nef*ret / e*de*rim )
I hate wait-ing. (Nominal)
ou renciler ev dev-i yap-mak-tan holan-maz. (Adverbial)
(o*u / *ren*ci*ler / e*v*de*vi / yap*mak*tan / ho*lan*maz )
Most students dislike do-ing homework. (Nominal)
Pervasz-ca araba sr-mek-ten kan-ma.l-sn. (Adverbial)
(per*va:*sz*ca / a*ra*ba / sr*mek*ten / ka*n*ma*l*sn )
You must avoid driv-ing recklessly. (Nominal)
Gl-mek-ten kendi-im-i al-a.ma-d-m. (Adverbial)
(gl*mek*ten / ken*di*mi / a*la*ma*dm )
I couldnt help laugh-ing. (Nominal)
Kzkarde-im ev i-i yap-mak-tan nefret et-er. (Adverbial)
(kz*kar*de*im / e*vi*i / yap*mak*tan / nef*re*te*der )
My sister hates do-ing housework. (Nominal)
Aldat-l-mak-tan nefret et-er-im. (Passive infinitive) (Adverbial)
(al*da*tl*mak*tan / nef*re*te*de*rim )
I hate be-ing cheated. (Nominal)

INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
Yardm iste-mek-ten ekin-me. (Adverbial)
(yar*dm / is*te*mek*ten / e*kin*me)
Dont avoid ask-ing for help. (Nominal)
Tavla oyna-mak-tan sz et-ti-ik. (Adverbial)
(tav*la / oy*na*mak*tan / s*zet*tik)
We talked about play-ing backgammon. (Object of about) (Adverbial)
2 (a). The [me, ma] infinitives are used in the second parts of the
possessive + owned noun compounds. They are timeless, but they have
possessive personal allomorphs attached to them. Compare the following:
Kitap-n kapak- (ki*ta*bn / ka*pa*) (the cover of the book)
ben-im pencere-em (be*nim / pen*ce*rem) (my window)
ben-im git-me-em (be*nim / git*mem) (my go-ing, me to go)
Gerek-i syle-me-en-i iste-i.yor-um.
(Ger*e*i / sy*le*me*ni / is*ti*yo*rum)
I want you to tell the truth.
sen-in gerek-i syle-me-en is a transformed nominal phrase:
(Sen) gerei syler-sin. (sen-in) gerek-i syle-me-en
(Sen) gerei sylyor-sun (sen-in) gerek-i syle-me-en
(Sen) gerei syledi-in. (senin) gerek-i syle-me-en
(Sen) gerei sylerdi-in. (senin) gerek-i syle-me-en
(Sen) gerei syleyecek-sin. (sen-in) gerek-i syle-/y/e.cek ol-ma-an
(Sen) gerei sylemiti-in. "(sen-in) gerek-i syle-mi ol-ma-an"
As the possessive pronouns with the possessive personal allomorphs,
and the possessive allomorphs attached to the second parts of the noun
compounds mean the same person, the possessive pronouns used in the
beginning of the sentences can be ignored:
(ben-im) git-me-em, (ben-im) al-ma-am, (ben-im) bekle-me-em
(sen-in) git-me-en, (sen-in) al-ma-an, (sen-in) bekle-me-en
(o-/n/un) git-me-/s/i, (o-/n/un) al-ma-/s/, (o-/n/un) bekle-me-/s/i
(biz-im) git-me-em.iz, (biz-im) al-ma-am.z,(biz-im) bekle-me-em.iz
(siz-in) git-me-en.iz, (siz-in) al-ma-an.z, (siz-in) bekle-me-en.iz
(onlar-n) git-me-/s/i, (onlar-n) al-ma-/s/, (onlar-n) bekle-me-/s/i

All the shared identical e-e, a-a vowels combine, and the single
underlined syllables detach from their syllables and attach to the first
vowels of the following allomorphs.

10

INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
Note: All the owned personal allomorphs written in purple above mean the
possessive pronouns in brackets. Therefore, only the possessive allomorphs written in purple can be used in all Turkish sentences. For instance,
all the possessive allomorphs written in purple can be used instead of the
possessive pronouns that they represent.
In other words, as the owned personal allomorphs used in the owned parts
of a compound are enough to express the possessive pronouns (ben-im,
sen-in, etc.), these possessive pronouns may be ignored unless they are
thought to be necessary to attract the listeners attention.
Since the compounds like ben-im syle-me-em are noun compounds, they
are nominal phrases, and so the [i, ], [e, a], [de, da], [den, dan] and [le, la]
suffixes can be attached to the infinitive (owned) parts of the compounds:
syle-me-en-i, syle-me-en-e, syle-me-en-de, syle-me-enden, syle-me-en-le. All the allomorphs written in purple mean the
pronoun sen-in.
Baba-am (ben-im) daha ok al-ma-am- iste-i.yor. (is*ti*yor)
subject

(definite noun + infinitive comp) object

verb

My father wants me to study harder. (Me to study is the obj of want)

A final rule to add to the previous explanations is that in Turkish, certain
verbs need certain morphemes such as [], [E], [DE], [DEN] or [LE] attached
to nouns or pronouns. The allomorphs of these morphemes can also be attached to infinitives, or noun + infinitive (or infinitive + noun) compounds, which might be named as syntactic nouns or nominal phrases.

2 (b). The verbs that take noun + infinitive compounds as

objects:
noun + infinitive - []
Yamur,

(biz-im)

zaman-n-da

tiyatro-/y/a git-me-em.iz-i engelle-di.

subject possessive pronoun

adverbial
adverbial
owned
verb
(definite noun + infinitive compound) definite object
(ya*mur / bi*zim / za*ma:*nn*da / ti*yat*ro*ya / git*me*mi*zi / en*gel*le*di )

The rain

prevented

us

from go-ing

to the theatre

in time.

subject

verb

object

prep phrs
adverbial

prep phrs
adverbial

prep phrs
adverbial

(Ben)
subj

(sen-in)

byle

davran-ma-an-

possessive pron adverb

owned-
(definite noun compound) definite object

I dont understand your behave-ing like that.

11

anla-ma-.yor-um.
verb

INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
(Ben) (o/n/-dan) (Ben-im) siyah pantolon-um-u (o-/n/un) tle-me-/s/i-/n/i rica et-ti-im.
subj

adverbial possessive
owned-u
possessive
owned
indef obj verb
definite noun comp (obj of tle) def noun comp (obj of rica et)
definite object
definite object
(chain noun compound) definite object

The mental development of this last sentence contains two simple sentences:
1 . O ben-im siyah pantolon-um-u tle-sin. 2. Ben ondan bu-/n/u rica ettim.
The first simple sentence is transformed and nominalized as o/n/un ben-im
siyah pantolon-um-u tle-me-/s/i, and then it is embedded and used in
place of the object bu-/n/u in the second sentence:
(Ben) o/n/-dan (benim) siyah pantolon-um-u (onun) tle-me-/s/i-/n/i rica et-ti-im
(si*yah / pan*to*lo*nu*mu / *t*le*me*si*ni / ri*ca: / et*tim )
I asked her to iron my black trousers.
Ben, benim and onun words are optional because they are understood
from the suffixes in etti-/im/", "pantolon-um and tle-me-/s/i
(Ben) Mary/n/in

piyano al-ma-/s/-/n/ seyret-ti-im.

subj possessive noun

owned
(noun compound) definite object
predicate

|
verb

(ma*ri*nin / pi*ya*no / al*ma*s*n / sey*ret*tim )

I watched Mary play-ing the piano.
(The /n/, /s/ and /n/ glides are respectively used.)
(Ben) (Sen-in) ev-e dn-me-en-i bekle-i.yor-um. (e*ve / dn*me*ni)
subj possessive adverb
owned-i
(definite noun compound) definite object
predicate

|
verb

I am waiting for your com-ing back home.

(O/n/un) konu-ma-/s/-/n/ anla-ma-.yor-um.
(o*nun / ko*nu*ma*s*n / an*la*m*yo*rum )
I dont understand his way of speak-ing.
(The /n/, /s/ and /n/ glides are respectively used.)
Sana kahve getir-me-em-i iste-er mi-sin?
(sa*na / kah*ve / ge*tir*me*mi / is*ter / mi*sin )
Would you like me to serve you coffee? (to serve is an infinitive.)
(Ben-im)

onun-la

evlen-me-em

possessive
adverbial
owned
(noun compound) subject

imknsz. (Benim is optional.)

subject complement

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INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
(o*nun*la / ev*len*mem / im*kn*sz )
It is impossible for me to marry her.
(Ben) onu, (o-nun) bize yardm et-me-/s/i iin ikna et-ti-im.
subj def obj

noun + inf comp (object of iin)

postp.
postpositional adverbial phrase of purpose

verb

I convinced him to help us. (To help is adverbial infinitive.)

In the sentence above, the /s/ is a glide; onun is not necessary, it is put
there to show the reader the deleted "possessive pronoun" of the compound.
Mektub-u (ben-im) tekrar yaz-ma-am- rica et-ti. (Benim is optional.)
He asked me to write the letter again. (to write is a nominal infinitive.)
Tm erkekler tm kadn-lar-n gzel gr-n-me-/s/i-/n/i iste-er.
(tm / er*kek*ler / tm / ka*dn*la*rn / g*zel / g*rn*me*si*ni / is*ter )
All men want all women to look beautiful.
In the sentences above, bizim git-me-em.iz, senin davran-ma-an, onun
tle-me-/s/i, bekle-me-/n/in fayda-/s/, Mary/n/in piyano al-ma-/s/,
(senin) ev-e dn-me-en, (benim) getir-me-em, onun konu-ma-/s/,
(benim) evlen-me-em, onun yardm et-me-/s/i, and tm kadnlarn gzel
grn-me-/s/i are all noun + infinitive compounds that have been
transformed from the simple sentences by the transformational component
in order to be used in phrase structure patterns. The transformational
component performs this mental activity to shape and use the simple
sentences in phrase structure patterns. As the aim of this activity of the mind
is to build up infinite oral sentences out of simple sentences, it may be
reasonable to call such phrases as syntactic, which means that such oral
nominal phrases have been built up for syntactic purposes.
As important information, we have to assert that all the allomorphs used in
transforming simple sentences are inflectional allomorphs because these
allomorphs help simple sentences to be used in longer sentences without
changing their simple sentence concepts.
In the following lines, the simple sentences are printed in italics, and the
transformed noun + infinitive compounds are printed in bold face, which
have been produced for syntactic purposes. By the way, it is necessary to
remember that the meaning of an oral sentence is always hidden in the
simple sentence underlying the oral sentence production. Listeners and
readers can understand an oral sequence so long as they realize the
morphemic sequence underlying the oral sequence.

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INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
Read the simple sentences, and the syntactic nominal phrases produced by the transformational rules of the Turkish language:
Biz tiyatroya gidecektik. bizim tiyatroya git-e.cek ol-ma-am.z
Sen byle davranyorsun. senin byle davran-ma-an, davran-dk-n"
(O) siyah pantolon-um-u tlesin. siyah pantolon-um-u tle-me-si, tle-dik-i"

Mary piyano alyordu. Marynin piyano al-ma-/s/, al-dk-"

Sen eve dn-d-n. senin eve dn-me-en, dn-dk-n"
O konuur. onun konu-ma-/s/, konu-tuk-u"
Ben kahve getiririm. benim kahve getir-me-em, getir-dik-im
Ben onunla evlenirim. benim onunla evlen-me-em, evlen-dik-im
O bize yardm eder. onun bize yardm et-me-si, et-tik-i
Ben mektubu tekrar yazaym. benim mektubu tekrar yaz-ma-am
Ben bir mektup yazmtm. benim bir mektup yaz-m ol-ma-am
As it is seen in the noun compounds above, when sentences are
transformed and nominalized, they lose their time concepts like all infinitives.
The benim, senin parts of the compounds may be ignored, and so, only
tiyatro-/y/a git-me-e.miz or mektup-u tekrar yaz-ma-am can be used
as noun compounds without the possessive pronouns.
Bekle-me-/n/in fayda-/s/ yok. Wait-ing is of no use.
(Literally: "There is not the use of wait-ing") (beklemenin faydas is an
infinitive + noun compound used as the subject of the sentence.
(Sen) (ben-im) emsiye-em-i geri getir-me-/y/i unut-ma.
(em*si*ye*mi / ge*ri / ge*tir*me*yi / u*nut*ma )
Dont forget to bring my umbrella back.
In the example above, the /y/ glide is used between the /e/ phoneme and the
[i] defining allomorph. The sen and benim words can naturally be ignored.
Biz-im takm kazan-ma-/y/ hak et-ti.
(bi*zim / ta*km / ka*zan*ma*y / ha*ket*ti )
Our team deserved to win. (to win is a nominal infinitive.)
Eski araba-am.z- sat-ma-/y/ ertele-di-ik.
(es*ki / a*ra*ba*m*z / sat*ma*y / er*te*le*dik )
We postponed sell-ing our old car. (Sell-ing is a nominal gerund.)

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INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
Araba-am.z- is the definite object of sat-mak; eski araba-am.z- satma-/y/ is the definite object of ertele-mek.
Yz-me-/y/i bana baba-am ret-ti.
(yz*me*yi / ba*na / ba*bam / *ret*ti )
My father taught me to swim. (to swim is a nominal infinitive.)
Biz-im-le Bursa/y/a git-me-/y/i kabul et-ti. (Liaison)
(bi*zim*le / bur*sa*ya / git*me*yi / ka*bu:*let*ti )
He agreed to go to Bursa with us. (To go is a nominal infinitive.)
Hrsz kasa-/y/ a-ma-/y/ dene-di.
(hr*sz / ka*sa*y / a*ma*y / de*ne*di )
The thief tried open-ing the safe. (Open-ing is a nominal gerund.)
Yeni bir araba al-ma-/y/ dn-.yor-uz.
(ye*ni / bir / a*ra*ba / al*ma*y / d**n*yo*ruz )
We are considering buy-ing a new car.
Note: The Turkish underlined words are all infinitives.

2 (c). The verbs that need noun + infinitive compounds followed

by [e], or [a] allomorphs:
Baba-am,
subject

(ben-im) futbol ma--/n/a git-me-em-e izin

(noun compound - [e]) adverbial phrs

indefinite obj

ver-di.
verb

My father allowed me to go to the football match.

Babam, kzkarde-im-in gece yalnz sinema-/y/a git-me-/s/i-/n/e kz-d.
subject

possessive noun
adv
adv
adverbial
owned-/n/e
(noun + infinitive compound + [e]) adverbial phrase

verb

My father got angry about my sisters go-ing to the cinema alone at night.
Babam, araba-/s/-/n/ (ben-im) kullan-ma-am-a hi izin ver-me-i.yor.
(ba*bam / a*ra*ba*s*n / kul*lan*ma*ma / hi / i*zin / ver*mi*yor )
My father is never allowing me to use his car. (Benim is optional.)
Baba-am (ben-im) balk tut-ma-/y/a git-me-em-e itiraz et-ti.
(ba*bam / ba*lk / tut*ma*ya / git*me*me / i:*ti*ra:z / et*ti )
My father objected to my go-ing fish-ing.

2 (d). noun + infinitive compounds can also be followed by [den,

dan] allomorphs:

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INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
Anne-em (ben-im) ev-e ge gel-me-em-den holan-ma-.yor.
subject

possessive adv adv

owned-den
noun + infinitive comp - [den]
adverbial phrs

verb

My mother dislikes my (me) com-ing home late.

There are two basic simpe sentences in the oral sentence above:
1. Ben eve ge geliyorum.
2. Annem bundan holanmyor.
Sentence Nr.1 is transformed and nominalized as "benim eve ge gelmem".
When this transformed-nominal phrase is put in the place of "bundan" in the
second sentence, the new synonymous sentence "Annem benim eve ge
gelmem-den holanmyor" oral sentence structure is produced. In this
transformed phrase, "ev-e" is an adverbial, and "ge" is an adverb
modifying the ifinitive gel-me. Ben-im ev-e ge gel-me-em is a noun
compound (nominal phrase). If the allomorph [den] is attached to this
nominal phrase, it turns it into an adverbial phrase.
(Ben) (onun)
subj

her ey-i

anla-ma-/s//n/-dan

possessive def obj of anla

noun + infinitive compound
nominal phrase-[dan]
adverbial phrase

owned-dan

kork-u.yor-um.
verb

I am afraid of her understand-ing everything. (The underlined part is the object of of)

The [me, ma] infinitives attached to [e or a] allomorphs:

main verb-[me/y/e, ma/y/a]
(Ben) klasik mzik dinle-me-/y/e dkn-m.
subj

indef obj of dinle

infinitive-[e]
adverbial phrs

subj complement

I am fond of listen-ing to classical music.

(Ben) i-im-i tamamla-ma-/y/a al-.yor-um.
(i*i*mi / ta*mam*la*ma*ya / a*l**yo*rum )
I am trying to complete my work. To complete is a nominal infinitive.)
(O) dert et-me-/y/e de-mez. (Liaison)
(der*det*me*ye / de*mez )
It is not worth trouble-ing about.
(O) al-ma-/y/a devam et-ti. (Liaison)
(a*l*ma*ya / de*va:*met*ti )
He went on work-ing. (work-ing is a nominal gerund; object of on.)

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INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
Yamur ya-ma-/y/a bala-d.
(ya*mur / ya*ma*ya / ba*la*d )
It began to rain (rain-ing).

3 (a). The third kind of noun + infinitive compounds are made by adding
[i, , , u] allomorphs to verb roots, stems or frames such as: ben-im
gl--m, sen-in bak--n, which means my way of smiling, your way
of looking, etc. When these compounds take [E], [DE] or [DEN] morphemes,
they become adverbials:
Gl--m-e (g*l**me) hayran-dr.
She adores my way of smil-ing. (Smile-ing is a nominal gerund object of of.)
Bana bak--n- zle-di-im. (ba*k**n)
I missed your way of look-ing at me.
Gitar al--m- sev-er. (a*l**m)
He likes my way of play-ing the guitar.
Ev-e dn--m-den mutlu ol-du-lar.
They became happy about my com-ing back home.

4 (a). The following noun + infinitive compound is widely used in

transforming simple sentences into syntactic nominal phrases or
"modifiers". The following example shows how a simple sentence is
transformed into a noun + infinitive compound, and then how it is used
as a syntactic nominal phrase in a sentence:

possessive pronoun + verb - [dik, dk, dk, duk, tik, tk, tk, tuk][possessive personal allomorph]
(ben-im)

yz-dk-m

possessive

owned

(Ben) deniz-de yz-.yor-du-um. deniz-de yz-dk-m

simple sentence

(O)
subj

(noun compound) nominal phrase

deniz-de yz-dk-m- gr-d. (yz*d**m)

(noun comp) definite object
predicate

verb

He saw that I was swimming in the sea.

subj verb

(object of see) noun clause

predicate

Note: In the sentence above, the /k/ phoneme changes into the voiced //,
and the last [] is the definer that defines the nominal phrase benim
deniz-de yz-dk-m.

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INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
The same noun + infinitive compound can also be used as a modifier:
(Ben) okul-a git-i.yor-um. (ben-im) git-tik-im okul
modifier
noun
nominal phrase

ben-im git-tik-im okul

modifier

noun

the school that I go to

noun

modfier

Benim gittiim okul ok kalabalk. The school that I go to is very crowded.

subject

subj complement

(nominal phrs) subject

subj complement

The owned parts of the noun + infinitive compounds are also used as
objects of postpositions (English prepositions):
(Ben-im) her zaman okul-a ge gel-dik-im iin ngilizce gretmeni-im ben-i azarla-d.
noun infinitive comp (object of iin)
postp
postpositional adverbial phrase of cause

subject

object

verb

My English teacher shouted at me because of my always come-ing to school late.

simple sentence

preposition
nominal phrs (object of because of)
prepositional adverbial phrase of cause

A final note that should be added to the above explanations is that as the
infinitives are made up of verbs, they can take objects like verbs when they
are transitive, but if they are intransitive, they can take only adverbs or
adverbials. The sentences that contain infinitives are produced as follows:
1. O ben-i bekle-sin. o-/n/un ben-i bekle-me-/s/i
2. Ben bu-/n/u istiyor-um.
If the first nominalized phrase is used in the place of bunu in the second
sentence, we produce the following sentence containing a noun compound:
(Ben) (o-/n/un) ben-i bekle-me-/s/i-/n/i iste-i.yor-um.
(be*ni / bek*le*me*si*ni / is*ti*yo*rum )
I want him to wait for me. (to wait is a nominal infinitive.)

THE PASSIVE INFINITIVE

Only the transitive verbs can be put into the passive voice in English, but in
Turkish, both transitive and intransitive verbs can be changed into the passive form. Therefore, the passive making allomorphs can be attached to all
kinds of verb roots, stems or frames. If the passive making allomorphs are
attached to transitive verbs, these verbs are put into the passive voice, but if
the intransitive ones are put into the passive form, only their forms are

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INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
changed; they are not put into the passive voice. For instance, if Bu
hapishane-den ka-l-maz sentence is said, it can be literally written in
English as "*This prison cant be escaped", which means, It is impossible
to escape from this prison. In this book, such verbs are called passive
shaped intransitive verbs.
The passive making allomorphs are as follows:
1. The verbs ending with both vowels and /L/ and /r/ consonants are put
into the passive form by using [in, n, n, un, en, an] passive making
allomorphs such as bekle-en, dene-en, ba-la-an, yakala-an, yrn, doku-un, oku-un, al-n, al-n, gel-in, del-in, koru-un.
2. The verbs ending with consonants take [il, l, l, ul] passive making
allomorphs such as ek-il, se-il, ge-il, sr-l, gr-l. When some of
these verbs take [in, n, n, un, en, an] allomorphs, they also become
reflexive verbs such as ek-in, ge-in, sr-n, gr-n, besle-en,
yala-an.
All the verb frames above can take [me, ma] or [mek, mak] allomorphs to be
used as passive infinitives:
bala-an-ma(k), topla-an-ma(k), besle-en-me(k), temizle-en-me(k), ekle-enme(k), yr-n-me(k), doku-un-ma(k) (weave), oku-un-ma(k), oyala-anma(k), ge-il-me(k), ge-in-me(k), sr-l-me(k), sr-n-me(k), gr-l-me(k),
gr-n-me(k), bak-l-ma(k), bak-n-ma(k), a-l-ma(k), se-il-me(k), yen-ilme(k), ed-il-me(k), ed-in-me(k), tap-l-ma(k), tap-n-ma(k), yap-l-ma(k), uyul-ma(k), konu-ul-ma(k), sr-l-me(k), sr-n-me(k).
The shared identical vowels above combine, and the single underlined
consonants detach from their syllablers and attach to the first vowels of the
following inflectional morphemes.
Consider the following:
Kendi-/s/i/y/-le alay et-il-me-/s/i/n/-den nefret et-er.
(ken*di*siy*le / a*lay / e*dil*me*sin*den / nef*ret / e*der ).
She hates being made fun of her.
In the sentence above, the /t/ is replaced by the voiced /d/; and the /s/ and
/n/ consonants are used as glides.
Kendi-/s/i-/n/e kaba davran-l-ma-/s//n/-dan holan-maz.
(ken*di*si*ne / ka*ba / dav*ra*nl*ma*sn*dan / ho*lan*maz )
She dislikes be-ing rudely treated.

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INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
Takm--/n/n yen-il-me-/s/i/n/-den nefret eder.
(ta*k*m*nn / ye*nil*me*sin*den / nef*ret / e*der )
He hates his team be-ing beaten.
Btn kadn-lar kendi-ler-i-/n/e yumuak davran-l-ma-/s//n/-dan holan-r.
(b*tn / ka*dn*lar / ken*di*le*ri*ne / yu*mu*ak / dav*ra*nl*ma*sn*dan /
ho*la*nr ) All women like be-ing tenderly treated.
Rahatsz et-il-mek iste-me-i.yor-um.
(ra*hat*sz / e*dil*mek / is*te*mi*yo*rum )
I dont want to be disturbed.
Herkes kendi-/s/i-/n/e eit davran-l-ma-/s/-/n/ iste-er.
(her*kes / ken*di*si*ne / e*it / dav*ra*nl*ma*s*n / is*ter )
Everybody wants to be equally treated.
Bu cmle-ler dikkat-le oku-un-ma.l-dr.
(bu / cm*le*ler / dik*kat*le / o*kun*ma*l*dr )
These sentences should be read carefully.

Yksel Gknel

20