Başarmak: succeed in doing something

The idea

Use başarmak with a specific object in the accusative, as in bu işi başarmak, or with an action in -mayı/-meyi: bitirmeyi başarmak. The person who succeeds also performs that action. The stem başar- stays intact: başarıyorum, başarırım, başardım. In başaracağım and başaracağız, the future ending’s k becomes ğ before the vowel. Başaramadım means “I could not manage it”; başarmadım simply negates the achievement. The subject pronoun can be omitted when the ending makes it clear.

Examples

• Sonunda bu işi başardık.We finally accomplished this task.
• Ekip süreyi kısaltmayı başardı.The team managed to shorten the time.
• Bu kez sakin kalmayı başardım.This time I managed to stay calm.
• İlk denemede kapağı açmayı başaramadım.I could not manage to open the lid on the first attempt.
• Düzenli çalışırsan bunu başarırsın.If you work regularly, you will succeed at this.
• Tek başıma bitirmeyi başaracağım.I will manage to finish it on my own.
• Bunu nasıl başardınız?How did you manage that?

Watch out

Do not confuse başarmak with başlamak: yapmayı başardım says I managed to do it, whereas yapmaya başladım says I started doing it. Changing the verb also changes the case of the action word. A start does not establish success.

Try it yourself

1. Complete with the past form of başarmak for “we”: We finally accomplished this task.

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   başardık

   başardık: biz identifies the group that completed the job. The past form ends in -k for “we”; başardım would make the achievement the speaker’s alone.

2. Complete with the action word: Yesterday I managed to finish the report. Use bitirmek.

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   bitirmeyi

   bitirmeyi: finishing the report is the action achieved. The front vowel of bitir- gives -me, followed by the linking y and accusative -i; bitirmeye would fit a verb such as başlamak.

3. Complete with the future form of başarmak for “I”: Tomorrow I will accomplish this.

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   başaracağım

   başaracağım: yarın and the requested future tense place the achievement ahead, while ben selects the singular ending. Adding the vowel-initial person ending changes the future k to ğ.

4. Complete with past inability, first person singular: I tried three times but could not manage to open the lid. Use başarmak.

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   başaramadım

   başaramadım: three attempts have already taken place without the lid opening. The inability form describes that unsuccessful effort; başardım would claim the lid was opened.

Use it today

Describe a task you managed to finish and one you could not manage. Add an encouraging sentence about a future attempt. Underline the action before başarmak and check its ending.