selamlamak: greet people with words or gestures

The idea

Compare komşumu selamladım with komşuma selam verdim. The first makes the neighbour the direct object; the second marks the recipient with dative.

Examples

• Ben komşumu el sallayarak selamlıyorum.I am greeting my neighbour with a wave.
• Dün konukları kapıda selamladık.Yesterday we greeted the guests at the door.
• Yarın sunumdan önce dinleyicileri selamlayacağım.Tomorrow I will greet the audience before the presentation.
• Görevli bizi gülümseyerek selamladı.The staff member greeted us with a smile.
• Herkesi selamladı ve yerine oturdu.They greeted everyone and sat in their place.
• Öğretmen sınıfı günaydın diyerek selamladı.The teacher greeted the class by saying good morning.

Watch out

Selamlamak names the action; it is not the ordinary hello itself. Use a greeting such as merhaba when directly addressing someone.

Try it yourself

1. Complete in the present continuous: Ben şimdi komşumu ___. (selamlamak)

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   selamlıyorum

   selamlıyorum: the present action has the first-person ending because the subject is ben.

2. Complete in the definite past (-di): Biz dün konukları ___. (selamlamak)

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   selamladık

   selamladık: dün locates the event yesterday; final -k agrees with biz.

3. Complete in the future tense: Ben yarın dinleyicileri ___. (selamlamak)

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   selamlayacağım

   selamlayacağım: use the future requested in the exercise; its k becomes ğ before the vowel of the ben ending.

Use it today

Report greeting one person verbally and another with a gesture; say who greeted whom in each sentence.