An action can leave something dry, cooked or washed. You will describe that result with a participle before a noun, then use the whole phrase as a subject or object.
The idea
Before a noun, -miş can describe an earlier completed action or its result: kurumuş yapraklar are leaves that have dried out. This lesson focuses on such changes of state. Keep the participle before the noun, without a person ending; plural and case endings go on the noun: çürümüş elmaları. The label -miş follows vowel harmony in actual words. It is not itself a passive marker: pişmiş sebzeler uses pişmek (to cook, become cooked), while boyanmış raflar uses the passive of boyamak (to paint), because someone painted the shelves.
| Completed event | Description before a noun |
|---|---|
| Yapraklar kurudu. | kurumuş yapraklar |
| Birisi rafları boyadı. | boyanmış raflar |
| Sebzeler pişti. | pişmiş sebzeler |
Examples
- Kurumuş yapraklar yolda birikiyor.Dried leaves are piling up on the road.
- Haşlanmış patatesler tabakta bekliyor.The boiled potatoes are waiting on the plate.
- Yıkanmış gömlekler balkonda kuruyor.The washed shirts are drying on the balcony.
- Çürümüş elmaları ayır.Separate out the rotten apples.
- Pişmiş sebzeleri ayrı bir kaba koy.Put the cooked vegetables in a separate container.
- Boyanmış raflara henüz dokunma.Do not touch the painted shelves yet.
- Ekmek kurumuş.The bread has dried out, I see.
- Kurumuş ekmeği çorbaya ekle.Add the dried bread to the soup.
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Watch out
Do not translate every -miş as “apparently” or “reportedly”. Ekmek kurumuş can announce a discovery: the bread has dried out. In kurumuş ekmek, the form describes the bread; it does not require second-hand information. You can use it for a result you watched happen.
Try it yourself
The flowers have wilted. Complete with a participle from solmak: Vazoda ___ çiçekler var.
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solmuş
solmuş: the flowers have already wilted, so the vase contains flowers in that resulting state. The rounded vowel in sol- gives -muş.
Someone painted the shelves. Use a passive participle from boyamak: ___ raflara dokunma.
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boyanmış
boyanmış: the shelves received the paint; they did not paint anything. The passive boyan- preserves that role before the participle ending is added.
Separate out the rotten apples. Write the plural definite object form of elma: Çürümüş ___ ayır.
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elmaları
elmaları: the apples are plural and are the particular things to separate out. Both endings belong to elma; çürümüş remains unchanged before it.
In Kurumuş yapraklar yolda birikiyor., which word is the main verb?
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birikiyor
birikiyor: piling up is what the sentence says is happening now. Kurumuş only describes the leaves through an earlier change; it is not the main verb.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
The flowers have wilted. Complete with a participle from solmak: Vazoda ___ çiçekler var.
Someone painted the shelves. Use a passive participle from boyamak: ___ raflara dokunma.
Separate out the rotten apples. Write the plural definite object form of elma: Çürümüş ___ ayır.
In Kurumuş yapraklar yolda birikiyor., which word is the main verb?
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Describe three things after a change. Use one passive participle. Put one phrase in the plural and use it as a definite object. Underline the main verb in each complete sentence.