With yetmek, the resource that meets a need is usually the subject: food, space or time can be enough. At B2, extend this idea to actions and hypothetical situations instead of treating the verb as a synonym for having something.
The idea
Use a dative complement for the person or thing whose need is met: Bu çorba hepimize yeter. A purpose can follow için: Sorunu çözmek için özür dilemek yetmez. An action can itself be the subject: in Toplantıya katılman yeter, katılman means your attending, and the whole action is sufficient. Compare general yeter, current yetiyor and actual past yetti; the table gives third-person singular forms. The stem keeps its t in yetiyor and yetecek. In Zamanımız yetse, sufficiency is imagined, not asserted.
| Form (third-person singular) | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Aorist: general sufficiency | yeter | yetmez |
| Present: current sufficiency | yetiyor | yetmiyor |
| Past: actual result | yetti | yetmedi |
| Future: expected sufficiency | yetecek | yetmeyecek |
| Conditional: imagined sufficiency | yetse | yetmese |
Examples
- Bu çorba hepimize yeter.This soup is enough for all of us.
- Bu raf kitaplarıma yetmiyor.This shelf does not have enough room for my books.
- Dünkü boya duvarlara yetmedi.Yesterday’s paint was not enough for the walls.
- Bu pil bütün gün yetecek.This battery will last all day.
- Sorunu çözmek için özür dilemek yetmez.Apologising is not enough to solve the problem.
- Toplantıya katılman yeter; bütün gün kalmana gerek yok.It is enough for you to attend the meeting; you do not need to stay all day.
- Zamanımız yetse bir taslak daha hazırlardık.If we had enough time, we would prepare one more draft.
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Watch out
Do not make the beneficiary the subject just because English says “I have enough”. Bu para bana yetiyor means this money is enough for me; Ben yetiyorum makes me the one who is sufficient. Also, katılman yeter says attending is enough, whereas katılman gerekir says attending is necessary.
Try it yourself
Put biz in the dative: this soup is enough for us.
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bize
bize: the soup is the resource being assessed. We are the people it can feed, so the pronoun is dative; biz would make “we” a subject.
Use the negative present continuous of yetmek: right now this shelf is not big enough for my books.
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yetmiyor
yetmiyor: the shelf currently lacks capacity. The requested negative present continuous keeps the stem’s t and gives yetmiyor, with no first-person ending for the owner of the books.
Use the affirmative simple past of yetmek: yesterday two rolls of paper were enough.
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yetti
yetti: the question asks about yesterday’s completed result. The past ending begins with t after the stem’s t, giving two written consonants. İki rulo kâğıt takes a singular verb here.
Use the affirmative aorist of yetmek: your attending the meeting is enough.
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yeter
yeter: the whole phrase toplantıya katılman is the subject. Its final -n identifies who attends; it does not require a second-person ending on the verb meaning “is enough”.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Put biz in the dative: this soup is enough for us.
Use the negative present continuous of yetmek: right now this shelf is not big enough for my books.
Use the affirmative simple past of yetmek: yesterday two rolls of paper were enough.
Use the affirmative aorist of yetmek: your attending the meeting is enough.
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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Describe a shared meal and a project: say what is enough, for whom, and what is not enough. Add one sentence in which an action is sufficient and one imagined situation with yetse.