istemek: to want, to ask for

The idea

istemek means to want and to ask for. The stem is iste-, and before -iyor its final e turns into i: istiyorum, not isteyorum. A thing you want comes without an ending when it is general (çay istiyorum) and takes -i when it is a specific one (bu kitabı istiyorum). To say what you want to do, put the other verb in the infinitive before it: eve gitmek istiyorum.

Examples

• Ben bir çay istiyorum.I want a tea.The thing wanted is general, so çay takes no ending. The pronoun ben may be dropped: Bir çay istiyorum.
• Yarın eve gitmek istiyorum.I want to go home tomorrow.The verb gitmek stays an infinitive. Only istiyorum carries the person: gitmek istiyorum.
• Çocuklar dışarıda oynamak istiyor.The children want to play outside.After a plural noun subject the verb may stay singular: istiyor and istiyorlar are both normal.
• Bu kitabı istiyorum.I want this book.With bu the thing is specific, so it takes -i. The p of kitap softens to b before the vowel: kitabı.
• Şimdi su istemiyorum.I don't want water now.The negative sits inside the verb: iste-mi-yor-um. Water is not negated by a separate word.
• Bir kahve isterim.I'd like a coffee.The broad-tense form isterim is the usual polite way to order or ask for something.
• Ne istersiniz?What would you like?The ending -siniz is the polite or plural you. A waiter asks this.
• Dün Ayşe'den yardım istedim.Yesterday I asked Ayşe for help.To ask someone for something, the person takes -den and the thing has no ending: Ayşe'den yardım. The past is istedim.
• Sen ne istiyorsun?What do you want?
• istiyorhe or she wantsist·iyor-iyor / -ıyor / -uyor / -üyor: happening nowThe final e of iste- falls away before -iyor: iste- + -iyor = istiyor.

Watch out

Translating "I want to go" word for word, learners often conjugate the first verb as well and write gidiyorum istiyorum or git istiyorum. The verb in front of istemek stays a bare infinitive in -mek/-mak, and only istemek carries the person and tense: gitmek istiyorum, gitmek istiyoruz, gitmek istemiyorum.

Try it yourself

1. Complete with istemek in the present continuous: I want a tea.

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   istiyorum

   istiyorum: the final e of iste- narrows to i before -yor, and -um marks ben; isteyorum is wrong.

2. Complete with istemek in the present: We want to go to the cinema.

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   istiyoruz

   istiyoruz: gitmek stays an infinitive, so only istemek takes the ending for biz, which is -uz after -yor.

3. Complete with istemek in the negative present: I don't want water now.

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   istemiyorum

   istemiyorum: the negative goes between the stem and the tense, iste-mi-yor-um, with -me- turning into -mi- before -yor; the noun su needs no negative of its own.

4. Complete with istemek in the past: My sister asked me for a pen yesterday.

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   istedi

   istedi: the stem ends in a vowel and e is a front vowel, so the past is -di, and the third person has no personal ending. benden is the ablative: the person you ask takes -den.

Use it today

Write four sentences about what you want today: two with a thing, two with a verb ending in -mek or -mak. Check that only istemek carries the person ending.