Grammar
- Verb Stems & Infinitives
- Person Suffixes
- Present Simple / Aorist (-r)
- Present Continuous (-iyor)
- Past Simple / Definite Past (-di)
- Past Continuous / Imperfect (-iyordu)
- Future Tense (-ecek/-acak)
- Narrative/Reported Past (-miş)
- Imperative Mood
- Optative Mood (-e)
- Necessitative Mood (-meli/-malı)
- Conditional Mood (-se/-sa)
- Ability (-ebilmek/-abilmek)
- Negation (-me/-ma)
- Questions (-mi?)
- Passive Voice (-il/-in)
- Causative Voice (-dir, -t, etc.)
- Verbal Nouns (-me, -mek, -iş)
- Participles (Sıfat-Fiiller)
- Gerunds / Adverbial Clauses
Grammar
Basic Adjectives
CEFR level: A1 · Topic: Adjectives
Adjectives (sıfatlar) describe or modify nouns. Turkish adjectives are refreshingly simple: they have one fixed form and a fixed position.
Placement:
When an adjective describes a noun directly, it comes before the noun: kırmızı araba (red car). When it comes after the noun, it becomes the predicate of a sentence: Araba kırmızı. (The car is red.)
| Structure | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Adjective + noun | büyük ev | big house |
| Adjective + bir + noun | büyük bir ev | a big house |
| Noun + adjective | Ev büyük. | The house is big. |
| Negative | Ev büyük değil. | The house isn't big. |
| Question | Ev büyük mü? | Is the house big? |
Note the order in "a big house": the adjective comes first, then bir: güzel bir gün (a beautiful day), ilginç bir kitap (an interesting book).
No Agreement:
Turkish adjectives never change to agree with the noun. There is no gender, and only the noun takes plural or case endings.
- güzel ev (beautiful house)
- güzel evler (beautiful houses – only ev becomes plural)
- güzel evi gördüm (I saw the beautiful house – evi is accusative)
- güzel evde (in the beautiful house)
Adjectives Used as Nouns:
When the noun is left out, the adjective itself takes the endings: Kırmızıyı istiyorum. (I want the red one.), Gençler dans ediyor. (The young people are dancing.)
Making Adjectives Stronger:
- çok güzel (very beautiful), biraz soğuk (a bit cold), oldukça zor (quite difficult)
- Reduplication (intensive form): kıpkırmızı (bright red), bembeyaz (snow-white), yemyeşil (lush green), tertemiz (spotless)
Common Adjectives:
- büyük (big) – küçük (small)
- iyi (good) – kötü (bad)
- yeni (new) – eski (old – for things)
- genç (young) – yaşlı (old – for people)
- uzun (long/tall) – kısa (short)
- hızlı (fast) – yavaş (slow)
- zor (difficult) – kolay (easy)
- kırmızı (red), mavi (blue), sarı (yellow), yeşil (green)
Example Sentences:
- Yeni bir araba aldım. (I bought a new car.)
- Bu çay çok sıcak. (This tea is very hot.)
- Küçük çocuklar parkta oynuyor. (The little children are playing in the park.)
- Hava bugün soğuk değil. (The weather isn't cold today.)
- Film ilginç miydi? (Was the film interesting?)
- Kardeşim çok uzun boylu. (My brother/sister is very tall.)
Common Mistakes:
- ✗ güzeller evler → ✓ güzel evler (the adjective never takes -ler before a noun)
- ✗ ev güzel → ✓ güzel ev ("the beautiful house"; ev güzel means "the house is beautiful")
- ✗ bir güzel ev → ✓ güzel bir ev (the natural order for "a beautiful house")
- ✗ yaşlı araba → ✓ eski araba (yaşlı is only for living beings)
Practice Zone
1. In 'kırmızı araba' (red car), where is the adjective placed?
2. Do Turkish adjectives change form for plural nouns (e.g., 'güzel evler' - beautiful houses)?
3. In 'büyük evler' (big houses), does 'büyük' (big) change because 'evler' is plural?