Phone calls

The idea

Answer with Alo or Buyurun. To ask for someone, add -le or -la to the name and ask konuşabilir miyim? or görüşebilir miyim?: Ayşe'yle konuşabilir miyim?. After a vowel the ending takes a y (Ayşe'yle), after a consonant it does not (Selin'le). The caller asks Kiminle görüşüyorum? to learn who is on the line. If the person is out, say Mesaj bırakabilir miyim? or promise Sizi tekrar arayacağım, and close with Teşekkürler, iyi günler.

Examples

• Selin şu anda evde değil.Selin is not at home right now.The locative -de says where, and değil negates it: evde değil. The time phrase şu anda can come first or last.
• Beni yarın sabah arayabilir misiniz?Could you call me tomorrow morning?Aramak (to call) takes the accusative: beni, not bana. Arayabilir misiniz is a polite request: -abil (can) plus misiniz.
• Akşam sizi tekrar arayacağım.I will call you again in the evening.In the future ending -acağım the k of -acak softens to ğ before the vowel of -ım. Sizi is the accusative of siz.
• Alo, Ayşe'yle konuşabilir miyim?Hello, could I speak to Ayşe?Ayşe ends in a vowel, so the ending takes a buffer y: Ayşe'yle. The apostrophe separates the name from the ending.
• Kiminle görüşüyorum?Who am I speaking with?
• Mesaj bırakabilir miyim?May I leave a message?Mesaj has no ending because it means any message, not a particular one.
• Galiba yanlış numarayı aradım.I think I called the wrong number.Here the number is a particular one, so it takes the accusative with a buffer y: numarayı. Compare mesaj bırakmak, with no ending.
• Sizi duyamıyorum.I cannot hear you.Duyamıyorum uses the "cannot" ending -ama, which is beyond this level. Learn it here as a set phrase for a bad line.
• Alo, buyurun.Hello, go ahead.
• Teşekkürler, iyi günler.Thank you, have a good day.

Watch out

Calling someone and talking with someone take different endings. Aramak (to call) takes the accusative: Selin'i arıyorum. Konuşmak and görüşmek take -le/-la: Selin'le konuşuyorum. English "call" and "speak to" tempt learners into Selin'i konuşabilir miyim? or Selin'le arıyorum, and both are wrong.

Try it yourself

1. Add the ending: could I speak to Ayşe?

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   Ayşe'yle

   Ayşe'yle: the name ends in a vowel, so the buffer y is needed, and the front vowel e gives -le, not -la.

2. Add the ending: I am calling Mert.

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   Mert'i

   Mert'i: aramak wants the accusative, not -le. The last vowel of Mert is the front, unrounded e, so the ending is -i.

3. Add the ending: who am I speaking with?

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   kiminle

   kiminle: görüşmek goes with -le/-la, not the accusative kimi; kim takes an extra -in- before the ending, as in kiminle.

4. Add the ending: may I leave a message?

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   bırakabilir

   bırakabilir: -abil (can) follows the stem bırak with the back vowel a, then the aorist -ir, and miyim turns it into a request for permission.

Use it today

Write a short phone call: answer, ask for a friend with -le/-la, hear that the friend is out, and leave a message.