You will turn a verb into “should” or “must”, choose between -meli and -malı, and add the right person ending.
The idea
Take the verb without -mek/-mak and add -meli after e i ö ü or -malı after a ı o u: gitmek becomes gitmeli, almak becomes almalı. Then add a person ending: gitmeliyim, gitmelisin, gitmeli, gitmeliyiz, gitmelisiniz. The third person singular has no ending at all.
| Person | Front-vowel verb: git | Back-vowel verb: al |
|---|---|---|
| ben | gitmeliyim | almalıyım |
| sen | gitmelisin | almalısın |
| o | gitmeli | almalı |
| biz | gitmeliyiz | almalıyız |
| siz | gitmelisiniz | almalısınız |
| onlar | gitmeliler | almalılar |
Examples
- Yarın erken kalkmalıyım.I have to get up early tomorrow.No ben is needed: the ending -yım already says “I”. The y is a buffer between the two vowels of -malı and -ım.
- Çocuklar yemekten önce ellerini yıkamalı.Children should wash their hands before the meal.With the plural subject çocuklar, both yıkamalı and yıkamalılar are possible. This example omits the plural ending.
- Biz bu hafta doktora gitmeliyiz.We have to go to the doctor this week.
- gitmeliyimI must gogitmeli-meli / -malı: must, have to, shouldyim-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we are
- okumalısınyou should readokumalı-meli / -malı: must, have to, shouldsın-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we are
- çalışmalıyızwe have to workçalışmalı-meli / -malı: must, have to, shouldyız-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we are
- Bence bu filmi izlemelisin.I think you should watch this film.With -meli the speaker often gives advice rather than an order. Bence (“in my opinion”) makes it gentler still.
- Siz bu formu bugün doldurmalısınız.You must fill in this form today.
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Watch out
Do not stop at the stem form: Ben gitmeli is not correct, because the person ending says who has to act, so say gitmeliyim. A plural subject does not need a plural ending either: Çocuklar yıkamalı is the usual form.
Try it yourself
Say “you should work” with çalışmak (to work), for sen.
Show answer or example answer
çalışmalısın
çalışmalısın: the last vowel of çalış- is ı, a back vowel, so the suffix is -malı, and sen takes -sın.
Say “I have to come” with gelmek (to come), for ben.
Show answer or example answer
gelmeliyim
gelmeliyim: the last vowel of gel- is e, so the suffix is -meli, and a buffer y sits before the ending -im.
Say “we have to write” with yazmak (to write), for biz.
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yazmalıyız
yazmalıyız: the back vowel a gives -malı, and biz adds -yız with a buffer y.
Say “he or she should read” with okumak (to read), for o.
Show answer or example answer
okumalı
okumalı: the back vowel u gives -malı, and the third person adds nothing.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Say “you should work” with çalışmak (to work), for sen.
Say “I have to come” with gelmek (to come), for ben.
Say “we have to write” with yazmak (to write), for biz.
Say “he or she should read” with okumak (to read), for o.
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: I must go
Tap the parts in order to build this word: you should read
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Write four sentences about what you have to do this week and what a friend should do. Underline each ending and check the vowel (-meli or -malı) and the person ending.