Use korumak for shielding something from harm or keeping an existing quality. You will distinguish the protected object from the threat and use the verb for physical protection and abstract states.
The idea
A definite protected object takes the accusative, while the threat can take the ablative: odayı güneşten korumak. With a state, sakinliğini korumak means to keep calm. The stem is koru-; compare koruyorum, korurum and koruyacağım. The third-person negative aorist is korumaz. With onlar, forms without the plural ending are also possible.
| Person | Present continuous | Aorist | Past | Future |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ben | koruyorum | korurum | korudum | koruyacağım |
| sen | koruyorsun | korursun | korudun | koruyacaksın |
| o | koruyor | korur | korudu | koruyacak |
| biz | koruyoruz | koruruz | koruduk | koruyacağız |
| siz | koruyorsunuz | korursunuz | korudunuz | koruyacaksınız |
| onlar | koruyorlar | korurlar | korudular | koruyacaklar |
Examples
- Bu kılıf telefonu korur.This case protects the phone.
- Kalın perde odayı güneşten koruyor.The thick curtain is shielding the room from the sun.
- Ekip binanın özgün yapısını korudu.The team preserved the building’s original structure.
- Bu kutu fotoğrafları nemden koruyacak.This box will protect the photographs from moisture.
- Tartışma boyunca sakinliğimi korudum.I kept calm throughout the discussion.
- Bu ince örtü bitkileri soğuktan korumaz.This thin covering does not protect the plants from the cold.
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Watch out
Do not swap the two roles: fotoğrafları nemden korumak protects the photographs from moisture. Nemi would make moisture the object being protected. Also, korumak need not imply a rescue from danger already present; that is a common use of kurtarmak.
Try it yourself
Complete the sentence with the aorist of korumak: this case protects the phone.
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korur
korur: the subject is a single case and the sentence describes its general function. The vowel-final stem koru- takes -r in the aorist; do not add another vowel.
Add the appropriate case ending to nem: the box protects the photographs from moisture.
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nemden
nemden: moisture is the unwanted influence, not the protected object. The final vowel e and voiced m give -den; fotoğrafları already names what is protected.
Use the future for ben: tomorrow I will protect these documents.
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koruyacağım
koruyacağım: ben requires the first-person ending. A linking y follows koru-, and the future suffix’s k softens to ğ before -ım.
Use the definite past for ben: I kept calm throughout the meeting.
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korudum
korudum: the speaker reports maintaining calm during a completed meeting. -du marks the specified past and -m identifies the speaker; the object is an abstract state.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Complete the sentence with the aorist of korumak: this case protects the phone.
Add the appropriate case ending to nem: the box protects the photographs from moisture.
Use the future for ben: tomorrow I will protect these documents.
Use the definite past for ben: I kept calm throughout the meeting.
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 one sentence about protecting an object and another about maintaining a quality. Name the threat only where it makes sense. Then study saklamak and compare keeping something in storage with protecting it.