English says “the neighbour who greets me” and “the neighbour I greet”. Turkish puts the identifying clause first in both cases. Start by finding the noun and asking who does the greeting.
The idea
Read [beni selamlayan] komşu as “the neighbour [who greets me]” and [benim selamladığım] komşu as “the neighbour [I greet]”. The bracketed words come before the noun; these constructions need no separate word for “who” or “which”. In the first phrase the neighbour greets; in the second I do. The ending of selamladığım identifies me as the doer, even if benim is omitted. The linked grammar and suffix lessons explain how to build the participle forms.
| Turkish phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| beni selamlayan komşu | the neighbour who greets me |
| benim selamladığım komşu | the neighbour I greet |
| senin çizdiğin resimler | the pictures you draw |
| dün aldığımız ekmek | the bread we bought yesterday |
Examples
- Beni selamlayan komşuyu tanıyorum.I know the neighbour who greets me.
- Benim selamladığım komşu gülümsüyor.The neighbour I greet is smiling.
- Senin çizdiğin resimleri saklıyorum.I keep the pictures you draw.
- Kapıda bekleyen kadın telefonla konuşuyor.The woman waiting at the door is talking on the phone.
- Dün aldığımız ekmek hâlâ taze.The bread we bought yesterday is still fresh.
- Çatıda uyuyan kedi uyandı.The cat sleeping on the roof woke up.
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Watch out
Do not choose the form by whether the noun is a person or a thing: the same neighbour appears in both phrases. Nor does an object ending in the main sentence decide the relative-clause form: in Beni selamlayan komşuyu tanıyorum, the neighbour does the greeting but is the person I know. Keep the describing clause before its noun when you move the whole phrase.
Try it yourself
Complete: the neighbour who greets me is here. Use selamlamak.
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selamlayan
selamlayan: the neighbour greets me; beni is the person receiving the greeting. The neighbour therefore supplies the missing subject of the describing clause.
Complete: the neighbour I greet is here. Use selamlamak.
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selamladığım
selamladığım: benim identifies me as the person doing the greeting. The neighbour receives it; the ending -ım agrees with me, not with the neighbour.
Complete: I keep the pictures you draw. Use çizmek.
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çizdiğin
çizdiğin: you draw the pictures, so the ending -in points to you. The pictures are what you draw; resimleri takes its object ending because I keep them.
Complete: the bread we bought yesterday is still fresh. Use almak with “we”.
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aldığımız
aldığımız: we bought the bread; -ımız identifies us as the buyers even without bizim. The word dün places the purchase yesterday, while the bread is still fresh now.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Complete: the neighbour who greets me is here. Use selamlamak.
Complete: the neighbour I greet is here. Use selamlamak.
Complete: I keep the pictures you draw. Use çizmek.
Complete: the bread we bought yesterday is still fresh. Use almak with “we”.
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 two phrases about one neighbour: one in which the neighbour greets you and one in which you greet the neighbour. Bracket each describing clause, underline its noun, then use each phrase in a sentence.