Turkish Language - Subjunctive Mood



Turkish Language - the Subjunctive Mood This mood is used quite widely in daily conversation, especially the first person singular and plural forms. The Subjunctive Mood gives a sense of doubt, uncertainty or wish. - Let me.. Let us.. or in the negative - Let me not... Let us not... The third person forms are also used regularly. Should a secretary say to the boss that Ahmet bey has arrived then the answer might be - Let him wait.. or Let him come in.. then in these cases the Subjunctive Mood would be used. The special third person form of the Imperative is also used quite a lot for wishes and desire , especially in Formula Speak - For instance if a person is ill we will say - I hope he gets better soon. Turkish however will say - Geçmiş olsun - I hope it passes quickly - [Lit: May it pass (from you)] Subjunctive - formation The Subjunctive Mood Sign is -a or -e which is added to the basic verb stem - according to Vowel Harmony Rules: If the bare verb stem ends in a vowel then the Subjunctive Mood Sign becomes -ya or -ye (Uses buffer letter -y-) The Personal Endings for the Subjunctive mood are as follows: Subjunctive Mood Sign is -e for verbs whose last vowel is -e, -i, -ö, -ü Mood Sign -a is used for verbs whose last vowel is -a, -ı, -o, -u As the Mood Sign is -a or -e - Then it follows that there are only two forms of the Personal Endings as shown above for the Subjunctive (again due to vowel harmony rules). The Singular Personal Endings - Subjunctive -eyim - let me.. or -ayım - let me.. -esin - let you.. or -asın - let you.. -e - let him.. or -a - let him.. The Plural Personal Endings - Subjunctive -elim - let us.. or -alım - let us.. -esiniz - let you.. or -asınız - let you.. -eler - let them.. or -alar - let them.. All the above will use buffer letter -y- when being added to a verb stem ending in a vowel. Thus -eyim becomes -yeyim [after a vowel] etc.. bekleyeyim - [bekle-y-eyim] - let me wait.. almayalım - [alma -y -alım] - let us not take.. Consequently it can be seen that all negative verbs will have this buffer letter as the negative verb end in a vowel.. Special Case The third person singular and plural also have an ending suffix -sin and -sinler. This is discussed in The Imperative Mood. E-Dotted Vowel Group gelmek - to come - becomes - gel-e-yim - I better come geleyim - let me come, I better come gelesin - let you come, you should come along gele - let him come, he should come gelelim - let us come, we better come gelesiniz - let you come, you come along geleler - let them come, they ought to come too A-Undotted Vowel Group bakmak - to look - becomes - bak-a-yım - let me look koşmak - to run - koşasın - let him run bulmak - to find - bula - let him find çıkmak - to leave - çıkalım - lets go! kaçmak - to escape, to leave - kaçasınız - off you go! korkmak - to be afraid - korkalar - let them fear Verb Stems ending in vowels In the case of verb stems which end in a vowel -(including all negative verbs) - then -ye or -ya is used - (buffer letter -y) aramak - to look for - arayalım - [ara -ya -lım] - let us look for (it) beklemek - to wait, to expect - bekleyeyim - [bekle -ye -yim] - let me wait etc. The Negative Form of all the above then become: gitmemek - not to go - gitmeyelim - lets not go bakmamak - not to look - Ahmet mektubu bakmaya - Let Ahmet not look at the letter - This is not an order but a wish - Hopefully Ahmet will not look at the letter, but.... bulmamak - not to find - bulmayalar - Hopefully they won't find it. beklememek - not to wait - beklemeyeyim - I'd better not wait. Subjuctive - Interrogative The Interrogative Particle mi? or mı? is written separately but obeys Vowel Harmony Rules: geleyim mi? - should I come (too)? yürüyelim mi? - should we walk? yürümeyelim mi? - shouldn't we walk? gideler mi? - Should they go (then)? Subjunctive - Past Tense The Past tense of the Subjunctive Mood gives the sense of: I wish that I had... If only we had... etc. And the negative: I wish that I hadn't... If only they hadn't... etc. Then adding the Definite Past Tense personal endings the to Subjunctive Mood base we arrive at: gideydim [gide -idim] ... - if only I had gone... Ahmet gelmeyeydi.. [gelmeye -idi] - If only Ahmet hadn't come (along).. - The spelling gelmiyeydi is also found.. arayaydık.. [araya -idik] - If only we had looked for (it)... How to say - "Since.." This structure has the suffix -li - containing added to the - Subjunctive Verb Stem - i.e. Gide plus -li becomes gideli. The subject person is also stated and the tense is taken from the final main verb Other ways of saying "since.." are as follows: -e-li, -e-li beri, -e-liden beri, -di(X) -e-li - since, (with the -di(X) past ending conjugated as needed.) All these mean - Since we came to Istanbul it has not rained. except the last example - Since they came to Istanbul it has not rained. Biz İstanbul'a geleli hiç yağmur yağmadı. Biz İstanbul'a geleli beri hiç yağmur yağmadı. Biz İstanbul'a geleliden beri hiç yağmur yağmadı. Mehmet İstanbul'a geldiği geleli hiç yağmur yağmadı. - with the -di(X) past ending conjugated as needed - meaning - Since he came.. (Ben) İstanbul'a geldiğim geleli hiç yağmur yağmadı. - with the -di(X) past ending conjugated as needed - meaning - Since I came.. (Siz) İstanbul'a geldiğiniz geleli hiç yağmur yağmadı. - with the -di(X) past ending conjugated as needed - meaning - Since you came.. (Biz) İstanbul'a geldik geleli hiç yağmur yağmadı. - with the -di(X) past ending conjugated as needed - meaning - Since we came.. (Onlar) İstanbul'a geldikleri geleli hiç yağmur yağmadı - This example is with the -di(X) past ending conjugated as needed - meaning - Since they came... The last four examples do not really need the subject - Ben, Siz Biz or Onlar stated as it is already evident from the verb endings - geldiğim, geldiğiniz, geldik and geldikleri. From the meanings given above it can be seen that this mood can have a wide interpretation in usage and translation which can only be obtained by practice and observation.	Double-Click anywhere for Top of Page

Turkish Language - the Subjunctive Mood

This mood is used quite widely in daily conversation, especially the first person singular and plural forms. The Subjunctive Mood gives a sense of doubt, uncertainty or wish. - Let me.. Let us.. or in the negative - Let me not... Let us not...
The third person forms are also used regularly. Should a secretary say to the boss that Ahmet bey has arrived then the answer might be - Let him wait.. or Let him come in.. then in these cases the Subjunctive Mood would be used.

The special third person form of the Imperative is also used quite a lot for wishes and desire , especially in Formula Speak - For instance if a person is ill we will say - I hope he gets better soon.
Turkish however will say - Geçmiş olsun - I hope it passes quickly - [Lit: May it pass (from you)]

Subjunctive - formation

The Subjunctive Mood Sign is -a or -e which is added to the basic verb stem - according to Vowel Harmony Rules: If the bare verb stem ends in a vowel then the Subjunctive Mood Sign becomes -ya or -ye (Uses buffer letter -y-)

The Personal Endings for the Subjunctive mood are as follows:
Subjunctive Mood Sign is -e for verbs whose last vowel is -e, -i, -ö, -ü
Mood Sign -a is used for verbs whose last vowel is -a, -ı, -o, -u
As the Mood Sign is -a or -e - Then it follows that there are only two forms of the Personal Endings as shown above for the Subjunctive (again due to vowel harmony rules).

The Singular Personal Endings - Subjunctive
-eyim - let me.. or -ayım - let me..
-esin - let you.. or -asın - let you..
-e - let him.. or -a - let him..

The Plural Personal Endings - Subjunctive
-elim - let us.. or -alım - let us..
-esiniz - let you.. or -asınız - let you..
-eler - let them.. or -alar - let them..
All the above will use buffer letter -y- when being added to a verb stem ending in a vowel.
Thus -eyim becomes -yeyim [after a vowel] etc..
bekleyeyim - [bekle-y-eyim] - let me wait..
almayalım - [alma -y -alım] - let us not take..
Consequently it can be seen that all negative verbs will have this buffer letter as the negative verb end in a vowel..

Special Case

The third person singular and plural also have an ending suffix -sin and -sinler. This is discussed in The Imperative Mood.

E-Dotted Vowel Group

gelmek - to come - becomes - gel-e-yim - I better come
geleyim - let me come, I better come
gelesin - let you come, you should come along
gele - let him come, he should come
gelelim - let us come, we better come
gelesiniz - let you come, you come along
geleler - let them come, they ought to come too

A-Undotted Vowel Group

bakmak - to look - becomes - bak-a-yım - let me look
koşmak - to run - koşasın - let him run
bulmak - to find - bula - let him find
çıkmak - to leave - çıkalım - lets go!
kaçmak - to escape, to leave - kaçasınız - off you go!
korkmak - to be afraid - korkalar - let them fear

Verb Stems ending in vowels

In the case of verb stems which end in a vowel -(including all negative verbs) - then -ye or -ya is used - (buffer letter -y)
aramak - to look for - arayalım - [ara -ya -lım] - let us look for (it)
beklemek - to wait, to expect - bekleyeyim - [bekle -ye -yim] - let me wait etc.

The Negative Form of all the above then become:
gitmemek - not to go - gitmeyelim - lets not go
bakmamak - not to look - Ahmet mektubu bakmaya - Let Ahmet not look at the letter
- This is not an order but a wish - Hopefully Ahmet will not look at the letter, but....
bulmamak - not to find - bulmayalar - Hopefully they won't find it.
beklememek - not to wait - beklemeyeyim - I'd better not wait.

Subjuctive - Interrogative

The Interrogative Particle mi? or mı? is written separately but obeys Vowel Harmony Rules:
geleyim mi? - should I come (too)?
yürüyelim mi? - should we walk?
yürümeyelim mi? - shouldn't we walk?
gideler mi? - Should they go (then)?

Subjunctive - Past Tense

The Past tense of the Subjunctive Mood gives the sense of: I wish that I had... If only we had... etc. And the negative: I wish that I hadn't... If only they hadn't... etc. Then adding the Definite Past Tense personal endings the to Subjunctive Mood base we arrive at:
gideydim [gide -idim] ... - if only I had gone...
Ahmet gelmeyeydi.. [gelmeye -idi] - If only Ahmet hadn't come (along).. - The spelling gelmiyeydi is also found..
arayaydık.. [araya -idik] - If only we had looked for (it)...

How to say - "Since.."

This structure has the suffix -li - containing added to the - Subjunctive Verb Stem - i.e. Gide plus -li becomes gideli. The subject person is also stated and the tense is taken from the final main verb

Other ways of saying "since.." are as follows:
-e-li, -e-li beri, -e-liden beri, -di(X) -e-li - since, (with the -di(X) past ending conjugated as needed.)
All these mean - Since we came to Istanbul it has not rained. except the last example - Since they came to Istanbul it has not rained.
Biz İstanbul'a geleli hiç yağmur yağmadı.
Biz İstanbul'a geleli beri hiç yağmur yağmadı.
Biz İstanbul'a geleliden beri hiç yağmur yağmadı.
Mehmet İstanbul'a geldiği geleli hiç yağmur yağmadı. - with the -di(X) past ending conjugated as needed - meaning - Since he came..
(Ben) İstanbul'a geldiğim geleli hiç yağmur yağmadı. - with the -di(X) past ending conjugated as needed - meaning - Since I came..
(Siz) İstanbul'a geldiğiniz geleli hiç yağmur yağmadı. - with the -di(X) past ending conjugated as needed - meaning - Since you came..
(Biz) İstanbul'a geldik geleli hiç yağmur yağmadı. - with the -di(X) past ending conjugated as needed - meaning - Since we came..
(Onlar) İstanbul'a geldikleri geleli hiç yağmur yağmadı - This example is with the -di(X) past ending conjugated as needed - meaning - Since they came...

The last four examples do not really need the subject - Ben, Siz Biz or Onlar stated as it is already evident from the verb endings - geldiğim, geldiğiniz, geldik and geldikleri.
From the meanings given above it can be seen that this mood can have a wide interpretation in usage and translation which can only be obtained by practice and observation.