Zorlamak can mean forcing someone to act, applying physical force, or putting someone or something under strain. Start with the forms table, then identify the source of pressure and what it affects in each example.
The idea
Use birini bir şey yapmaya zorlamak for forcing someone to do something: beni konuşmaya zorlamak. The person is an accusative object, while the action takes -maya/-meye. Without an action complement, context can express strain: bütçeyi zorlamak. The stem zorla- gives zorluyor, with the final vowel narrowing to u under the influence of the preceding o. Compare negative zorlamıyor, past zorladı and future zorlayacak. In zorlayacağım, future k softens to ğ before the person ending.
| Person | Present continuous | Past | Future | Aorist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ben | zorluyorum | zorladım | zorlayacağım | zorlarım |
| sen | zorluyorsun | zorladın | zorlayacaksın | zorlarsın |
| o | zorluyor | zorladı | zorlayacak | zorlar |
| biz | zorluyoruz | zorladık | zorlayacağız | zorlarız |
| siz | zorluyorsunuz | zorladınız | zorlayacaksınız | zorlarsınız |
| onlar | zorluyorlar | zorladılar | zorlayacaklar | zorlarlar |
Examples
- Bu tempo beni zorluyor.This pace is putting a strain on me.
- Dar ayakkabılar ayaklarımı zorluyor.Tight shoes are putting a strain on my feet.
- Bu masraf bütçemizi zorlayacak.This expense will strain our budget.
- Beni hemen karar vermeye zorlama.Don't force me to decide right away.
- Kimseyi bizimle gelmeye zorlamıyoruz.We are not forcing anyone to come with us.
- Sıkışan çekmeceyi zorladım ama açılmadı.I tried to force the jammed drawer open, but it did not open.
- Bu sorular seni de zorluyor mu?Are these questions giving you a hard time too?
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Watch out
In beni konuşmaya zorlama, use beni, not bana: I am the person being pressured. Do not confuse Bu iş beni zorluyor with Bu işte zorlanıyorum: the first names the work as the cause of difficulty; the second puts the person experiencing it in subject position. Forcing a drawer also does not guarantee that it opens.
Try it yourself
Complete with gitmek: do not force me to leave early. Put the action in the dative.
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gitmeye
gitmeye: leaving is the action being demanded. Build it from git- + -me + linking y + -e; the person affected is already supplied by beni.
Use the present continuous of zorlamak: this pace is putting a strain on me right now.
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zorluyor
zorluyor: bu tempo is the singular subject; beni is the object, so no first-person ending belongs on the verb. The rounded o helps explain the u in this present form.
Use the future of zorlamak: next month this expense will strain our budget.
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zorlayacak
zorlayacak: gelecek ay places the strain next month. Keep the stem vowel a and insert y before the future ending; the final k remains because no vowel-initial person ending follows.
Give one person a negative command with zorlamak: the drawer is jammed. Do not force it!
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zorlama
zorlama: the speaker tells one person to stop applying force. Add negative -ma to zorla- with no further person ending; zorlamıyor would describe a situation rather than issue this command.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Complete with gitmek: do not force me to leave early. Put the action in the dative.
Use the present continuous of zorlamak: this pace is putting a strain on me right now.
Use the future of zorlamak: next month this expense will strain our budget.
Give one person a negative command with zorlamak: the drawer is jammed. Do not force it!
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 a refusal to be pressured into an activity, a sentence about a cost that will strain a budget, and a warning about a stuck object. Mark the affected object and, where present, the action in the dative.