At B2, read a long verb from the inside out. You will distinguish two causative layers from a causative followed by the passive, and use context to identify the person doing the work.
The idea
An existing causative can take another causative: pişmek means to cook or become cooked, pişirmek to cook something, and pişirtmek to have someone cook it. In Aşçı yardımcısına çorbayı pişirtti, the assistant cooks; the chef arranges it. With temizletmek → temizlettirmek, a further layer can express delegation through an intermediary. For the combinations here, the order is stem → causative → optional second causative → passive → negation → tense/person. Thus temizle-t-tir-il-di keeps both causatives before the passive. In Raflar marangozlara yaptırıldı, the shelves are the subject, the carpenters do the work, and the person commissioning it is unnamed.
| Predicate, separated into parts | Sentence in context |
|---|---|
| piş-ir-t-ti | Aşçı yardımcısına çorbayı pişirtti. |
| temizle-t-tir-di | Müdür salonu görevliye temizlettirdi. |
| yap-tır-ıl-dı | Raflar marangozlara yaptırıldı. |
| bas-tır-t-ıl-ma-dı | Afişler bu hafta bastırtılmadı. |
Examples
- Aşçı yardımcısına çorbayı pişirtti.The chef had the assistant cook the soup.
- Müdür salonu görevliye temizlettirdi.The manager had the attendant arrange for the hall to be cleaned.In this example, the attendant called the cleaning team. The manager arranged the work through the attendant; the attendant did not personally clean the hall. This context makes the intermediary reading explicit.
- Kooperatif rafları geçen ay yaptırdı.The cooperative had the shelves made last month.
- Raflar marangozlara yaptırıldı.The shelves were commissioned from carpenters.
- Salon dün temizlettirildi.Someone arranged for the hall to be cleaned yesterday.
- Afişler bu hafta bastırtılmadı.No arrangements were made to have the posters printed this week.
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Watch out
Do not count people by counting suffixes. The first causative in pişirtmek forms the transitive verb “cook something”; it does not itself name an intermediary. Forms such as yaptırtmak can also overlap with the single causative in use. Spell out the context if delegation matters. And yaptırıldı is causative plus passive, not a double causative.
Try it yourself
The chef had the assistant cook the soup. Add one causative layer to pişirmek and use third-person singular definite past. Fill Aşçı yardımcısına çorbayı ___.
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pişirtti
pişirtti: the assistant cooks the soup, so the chef does not merely pişirdi it. Add -t to pişir-; the past ending follows as -ti, giving two consecutive letters t.
Starting from temizlemek, add two causative layers and give the infinitive.
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temizlettirmek
temizlettirmek: start with temizle-t- and add the second causative -tir-. The two adjacent letters t belong to different suffixes; keep both before the infinitive -mek.
Make yaptırmak passive in the third-person singular definite past: Raflar marangozlara ___. The shelves were commissioned from carpenters.
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yaptırıldı
yaptırıldı: the shelves receive the commissioned work. The carpenters remain marangozlara, while -ıl- removes the commissioner from subject position; -dı locates the event in the past.
Build a verb from basmak with two causatives, passive, negation and third-person singular definite past: Afişler bu hafta ___. No printing was commissioned.
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bastırtılmadı
bastırtılmadı: bas-tır-t-ıl-ma-dı has two causatives, then passive, negative and past. It denies arranging the printing; it does not mean that someone ordered people not to print.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
The chef had the assistant cook the soup. Add one causative layer to pişirmek and use third-person singular definite past. Fill Aşçı yardımcısına çorbayı ___.
Starting from temizlemek, add two causative layers and give the infinitive.
Make yaptırmak passive in the third-person singular definite past: Raflar marangozlara ___. The shelves were commissioned from carpenters.
Build a verb from basmak with two causatives, passive, negation and third-person singular definite past: Afişler bu hafta ___. No printing was commissioned.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
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Describe a job delegated through an intermediary in two short sentences so the roles are clear. Then make the sentence about the commissioned work passive and negative. Mark the voice suffixes before the negative suffix.