Lesson 50
Noobie
Noobie
Have You Ever Been To Izmir?
Turkish people will frequently ask if you've ever seen the many beautiful sites that Turkey has to offer. Join us today to learn how to say where you've been, as well as the difference between the two basic types of Turkish sentences.
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Sean
Forgive me if this is addressed elsewhere, but how does the "-dir" suffix factor into this? My understanding is that it is the explicit form of "is" but it seems to be mostly unused - are there any general guidelines for that?
Aug 15, 2013
Justin
Good question!
Grammar books usually teach it as an optional third person suffix, but we actually don't think that's the best explanation.
First of all, -dir usually does change the meaning of the sentence in one of two ways. Strangely, these two ways are exactly the opposite of each other. First, it can make a sentence a more definitive, existential statement as in:
Çölde hava çok sıcaktır. (It is very hot in the desert.)
-tır here makes the sentence more definitive and factual: the desert is hot and always hot, whereas "çolde hava çok sıcak" is more of a temporary observation. You can think of -tir as a sort of existential geniş zaman (simple present tense that is used for habitual action).
Now, -dir can ALSO imply "probably" or uncertainty. Like in:
Belki evdedir. (Maybe he's at home.)
It's completely contextual. We know that -dir is expressing uncertainty here because of the word "belki."
And, then sometimes in spoken Turkish, -dir is just used in sort of a colloquial way that doesn't have a huge bearing on the sentence.
But the reason we at TTT don't really agree with how this is usually taught is because -dir isn't the third person suffix that just disappeared at some point. -dir can be suffixed onto all of the person cases to serve the two roles described above.
Ben güzel bir kadınımdır. (I am a beautiful woman.)
Sen uyumuşsundur. (You were probably sleeping.)
Uzuluyorsunuzdur. (You are probably sad.)
So, in short, when you see -dir, it is usually is acting as a third person with a slight emphasis. But that's not all there is to it.
Grammar books usually teach it as an optional third person suffix, but we actually don't think that's the best explanation.
First of all, -dir usually does change the meaning of the sentence in one of two ways. Strangely, these two ways are exactly the opposite of each other. First, it can make a sentence a more definitive, existential statement as in:
Çölde hava çok sıcaktır. (It is very hot in the desert.)
-tır here makes the sentence more definitive and factual: the desert is hot and always hot, whereas "çolde hava çok sıcak" is more of a temporary observation. You can think of -tir as a sort of existential geniş zaman (simple present tense that is used for habitual action).
Now, -dir can ALSO imply "probably" or uncertainty. Like in:
Belki evdedir. (Maybe he's at home.)
It's completely contextual. We know that -dir is expressing uncertainty here because of the word "belki."
And, then sometimes in spoken Turkish, -dir is just used in sort of a colloquial way that doesn't have a huge bearing on the sentence.
But the reason we at TTT don't really agree with how this is usually taught is because -dir isn't the third person suffix that just disappeared at some point. -dir can be suffixed onto all of the person cases to serve the two roles described above.
Ben güzel bir kadınımdır. (I am a beautiful woman.)
Sen uyumuşsundur. (You were probably sleeping.)
Uzuluyorsunuzdur. (You are probably sad.)
So, in short, when you see -dir, it is usually is acting as a third person with a slight emphasis. But that's not all there is to it.
Justin
If you *really* want to geek out on -dir, read this: http://www.iacd.or.kr/pdf/journal/02/2-10.pdf
Sean
Wow, that goes waaay down the rabbit hole!
Salih
I don't understand why in the last question it's supposed to be "Bodrum'A". Why the A? Has this been explained somewhere?
Salih
Oh wait, is this the e-type thing?
Justin
That's the "to" suffix that appears as -e or -a (depending on the vowel harmony). So -
Taksim'e = to Taksim
bara = to the bar
lokantaya = to the restaurant
Check out Lesson 8 for a more complete explanation: https://turkishteatime.com/lesson/8/#languagepoints
Taksim'e = to Taksim
bara = to the bar
lokantaya = to the restaurant
Check out Lesson 8 for a more complete explanation: https://turkishteatime.com/lesson/8/#languagepoints
Öğrenci
In the review section, it seems that the sentence "Dün koşacak mısınız?" mixes tenses (yesterday ...will you run)? A perfect score requires one to select this as a correct verb sentence but I'm not sure grammatically it is. Can you help me understand this one? Thanks.
Justin
Good catch! All patched up. Thanks! :)
Miko
In the Language Points section, you give an example that says, "Biz çok yorgunumuz - we are very tired." I don't understand why you used the umuz suffix. Shouldn't it be yorgunuz? Thank you.
Yasebeli
Miko, I also noticed that. I think it is a typo. "Biz çok yorgunumuz" should be "Biz çok yorgunuz."
Bashar
hello there
in the dialog i noticed a difference in the word "de" which means "also"
in third line she says "Güzel kızlar (da) var."
and in the forth line she says "Ben (de) gitmek istiyorum."
how come it means the same thing in english and the spelling is different in turkish
is it a miss typing ? or is it correct the way it is ?
thanks
in the dialog i noticed a difference in the word "de" which means "also"
in third line she says "Güzel kızlar (da) var."
and in the forth line she says "Ben (de) gitmek istiyorum."
how come it means the same thing in english and the spelling is different in turkish
is it a miss typing ? or is it correct the way it is ?
thanks
Justin
First, sorry I missed your comments Miko and Yasebeli. You are absolutely correct and I've fixed it. Çok teşekkür ederim.
Now, Bashar, good job noticing the different spelling! It's actually not a typo.
"de/da" - meaning "also" - vowel harmonizes with the word before it. So, in the first example, it takes the "da" form to harmonize with the "a" in "kızlar." In the second sentence, it takes the "de" form in order to harmonize with the "e" in "ben."
If you're not familiar with vowel harmony, definitely check out our lesson on that next :)
Now, Bashar, good job noticing the different spelling! It's actually not a typo.
"de/da" - meaning "also" - vowel harmonizes with the word before it. So, in the first example, it takes the "da" form to harmonize with the "a" in "kızlar." In the second sentence, it takes the "de" form in order to harmonize with the "e" in "ben."
If you're not familiar with vowel harmony, definitely check out our lesson on that next :)
Marilda
Forgive-me, but I'm not good enough at Turkish to make a comment about the grammar, but I would like to point out something. I think the author of the dialog could have more imagination than this sentence "Güzel kızlarda var." With all due respect, girls are not touristic attraction. Women are not objects and shouldn't be pointed out as attraction to someone. We have been objectified enough already. Thank you!
