You will say who you are or how you feel with a noun or an adjective, and choose the right one of four endings for each person.
The idea
Turkish needs no word for “am” or “are”: the personal ending on the noun or adjective does the job. Ben öğretmenim, sen öğretmensin, biz öğretmeniz, siz öğretmensiniz. The endings are -(y)im, -sin, -(y)iz, -siniz, and each has four vowel shapes (i ı u ü) that follow the last vowel of the word: hastayım, Türküm. Consonants do not change the ending. For he, she and it nothing is added: Annem yorgun.
| Word | I (ben) | you (sen) | we (biz) | you, plural or polite (siz) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| kadın | kadınım | kadınsın | kadınız | kadınsınız |
| öğretmen | öğretmenim | öğretmensin | öğretmeniz | öğretmensiniz |
| doktor | doktorum | doktorsun | doktoruz | doktorsunuz |
| Türk | Türküm | Türksün | Türküz | Türksünüz |
| hasta | hastayım | hastasın | hastayız | hastasınız |
| öğrenci | öğrenciyim | öğrencisin | öğrenciyiz | öğrencisiniz |
Examples
- Ben bugün çok yorgunum.I am very tired today.
- Biz çok mutluyuz.We are very happy.
- Siz çok iyi bir doktorsunuz.You are a very good doctor.The pronoun siz is both plural “you” and polite “you” for one person. The ending is the same either way: -sunuz after o.
- Merhaba, ben Elif'im.Hello, I am Elif.A proper name takes an apostrophe before the ending: Elif'im. The pronoun ben may be dropped: Elif'im alone is enough.
- Annem çok yorgun.My mother is very tired.For he, she and it nothing is added: yorgun alone says “is tired”.
- öğrenciyimI am a studentöğrenciyBuffer -y-: the y that joins vowelsim-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we are
- öğrencisinyou are a studentöğrencisin-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we areOnly ben and biz get a y after a vowel. For sen the ending -sin is added directly: öğrencisin, not öğrenciysin.
- öğretmenizwe are teachersöğretmeniz-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we are
- hastasınızyou are all illhastasınız-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we are
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Watch out
The buffer y belongs only to ben and biz: öğrenciyim, öğrenciyiz, but öğrencisin, öğrencisiniz. After a consonant there is no y at all: doktorum, not doktoryum.
Try it yourself
Add the ending: I am ill.
Show answer or example answer
hastayım
hastayım: hasta ends in a vowel, so ben needs the buffer y; the last vowel a gives -ım.
Add the ending: You are a student.
Show answer or example answer
öğrencisin
öğrencisin: only ben and biz take the y; for sen the ending -sin attaches directly, matching the last vowel i.
Add the ending: We are teachers.
Show answer or example answer
öğretmeniz
öğretmeniz: the word ends in the consonant n, so there is no y; the last vowel e gives -iz.
Add the ending: You (plural) are swimmers.
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yüzücüsünüz
yüzücüsünüz: the last vowel ü gives -sünüz, and siz never takes a y.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Add the ending: I am ill.
Add the ending: You are a student.
Add the ending: We are teachers.
Add the ending: You (plural) are swimmers.
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 am a student
Tap the parts in order to build this word: you are a student
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Write four sentences about yourself, your friends and your family, one each for ben, sen, biz and siz, using a noun or an adjective. Underline each ending and check the last vowel.