You will report what someone knows, hears or thinks by turning a statement into a noun clause. Keep track of two subjects: the person acting inside the clause and the person who knows about it.
The idea
In this construction, an explicit clause subject takes the genitive, and the verb takes -dik or -ecek, a possessive ending agreeing with that subject, then the case required by the main verb. Bilmek, duymak and düşünmek take the accusative here. Compare Sen geleceksin with Ben senin geleceğini biliyorum. Use -dik for present or past situations, -ecek for future ones; context fixes the time. Negation precedes the nominaliser: içmediğini. A noun or adjective predicate uses olmak: evde olduğunu. Before a vowel-initial possessive, final k softens to ğ.
| Independent statement | Embedded as the object of knowing |
|---|---|
| Sen burada yaşıyorsun. | Senin burada yaşadığını biliyorum. |
| Biz yarın döneceğiz. | Bizim yarın döneceğimizi biliyor. |
| Elif kahve içmiyor. | Elif'in kahve içmediğini biliyorum. |
| O evde. | Onun evde olduğunu biliyorum. |
Examples
- Ben senin geleceğini biliyorum.I know that you will come.
- Biz kapının kapandığını duyduk.We heard the door close.
- Ben senin burada yaşadığını biliyorum.I know that you live here.
- Elif benim kahve içmediğimi biliyor.Elif knows that I do not drink coffee.
- Onun yarın çalışacağını düşünüyorum.I think they will work tomorrow.
- Senin evde olduğunu biliyorum.I know that you are at home.
- Onun evde olduğunu biliyorum.I know they are at home.
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Watch out
Do not choose the possessive ending from the subject of biliyorum: in Ben senin geleceğini biliyorum, you will come and I know it. Also, geldiğini alone can refer to you or to a third person; senin or onun resolves that ambiguity. The resemblance to the past ending does not make every -dik clause past.
Try it yourself
Complete the gap: I know that you live here. Write only the missing word.
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yaşadığını
yaşadığını: the starting sentence says where you live now, so this is a present situation despite -dık. The possessive refers to you; the final -ı marks the object of knowing.
Complete the gap: that person knows that we will return tomorrow. Write only the missing word.
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döneceğimizi
döneceğimizi: the return is tomorrow and the people returning are “we”. That requires the future clause and -imiz; the final -i makes the whole clause the object. The speaker who knows is someone else.
Complete the gap: I know that Elif does not drink coffee. Write only the missing word.
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içmediğini
içmediğini: Elif does not drink coffee. Negation belongs inside the reported information, before -dik; changing biliyorum to bilmiyorum would instead say that I do not know.
Complete the gap: I know that this person is at home. Write only the missing word.
Show answer or example answer
olduğunu
olduğunu: the starting sentence gives a location, with no lexical verb. Olmak supplies the verb needed to embed it; here it means being at home, not becoming something.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Complete the gap: I know that you live here. Write only the missing word.
Complete the gap: that person knows that we will return tomorrow. Write only the missing word.
Complete the gap: I know that Elif does not drink coffee. Write only the missing word.
Complete the gap: I know that this person is at home. Write only the missing word.
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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Write what you know about a friend now, what you heard happened yesterday, and what you think will happen tomorrow. Circle each clause subject and underline the ending that agrees with it.