You will give orders and make requests in Turkish, choosing between the bare stem for a friend and the -in form for politeness or a group.
The idea
The command to one person you know well is the bare verb stem, with no ending: gel, bak, otur. To several people, or politely to one, add -in in four shapes chosen by the last vowel (-in -ın -un -ün): gelin, bakın, oturun. After a vowel a y comes between: okuyun. Lütfen softens either form.
| Infinitive | Friend (sen) | Polite or plural (siz) |
|---|---|---|
| gelmek | gel | gelin |
| bakmak | bak | bakın |
| oturmak | otur | oturun |
| açmak | aç | açın |
| gitmek | git | gidin |
| etmek | et | edin |
| okumak | oku | okuyun |
| yemek | ye | yiyin |
| demek | de | deyin |
| olmak | ol | olun |
Examples
- Lütfen buraya gel.Please come here.
- Lütfen kapıyı kapatın.Please close the door.
- Yarın bize gelin.Come to our place tomorrow.
- gidingo (to several people, or politely)gidin-in / -ın / -un / -ün: polite commandThe stem is git, but a suffix that starts with a vowel softens the final t to d: gidin, not gitin. For one friend it stays git.
- okuyunread (to several people, or politely)okuyBuffer -y-: the y that joins vowelsun-in / -ın / -un / -ün: polite commandThe stem oku ends in a vowel, so a y is placed before the suffix: oku + y + un.
- Elmayı yiyin.Eat the apple.The verb ye is irregular: its e narrows to i before the suffix, giving yiyin, not yeyin.
- Sessiz ol.Be quiet.
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Watch out
Do not give a stranger or an older person the bare stem: Gel sounds blunt, while Gelin is the normal polite form. And watch stems ending in t: git becomes gidin before a vowel suffix, never gitin.
Try it yourself
Give the command to one friend: look (bakmak).
Show answer or example answer
bak
bak: to one friend the bare stem is the whole command; no ending is added.
Say politely: Open the window (açmak).
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açın
açın: a polite request needs -in, and the last vowel a is back and unrounded, so it becomes -ın; the ç stays.
Command several people, or one stranger politely: go (gitmek).
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gidin
gidin: the suffix begins with a vowel, so the final t of git softens to d, and the front vowel i gives -in.
Command several people, or one stranger politely: read (okumak).
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okuyun
okuyun: oku ends in a vowel, so a y separates it from the suffix, and the rounded back vowel u gives -un.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Give the command to one friend: look (bakmak).
Say politely: Open the window (açmak).
Command several people, or one stranger politely: go (gitmek).
Command several people, or one stranger politely: read (okumak).
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the parts in order to build this word: go (to several people, or politely)
Tap the parts in order to build this word: read (to several people, or politely)
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Write three requests: one to a friend, one to a shop assistant and one to a group of classmates. Choose the form each time and add lütfen where it fits.