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
Many Turkish adverbs are simply adjectives used before a verb, but there are also several regular ways to build adverbs. Here are the most useful ones.
1. Adjectives Used as Adverbs
Most adjectives can act as adverbs with no change in form. Position decides the role.
- Hızlı araba. (A fast car. — adjective)
- Araba hızlı gidiyor. (The car is going fast. — adverb)
- Güzel konuştu. (He/She spoke well/beautifully.)
2. The Suffix -ca / -ce / -ça / -çe
This suffix follows two-way (e/a) vowel harmony, and its c becomes ç after a voiceless consonant (f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p).
| Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|
| in a ... manner | yavaş → yavaşça (slowly), sessiz → sessizce (quietly), gizli → gizlice (secretly), dikkatli → dikkatlice (carefully) |
| in someone's opinion | bence (in my opinion), sence (in your opinion), bizce (in our view) |
| for hours/days/years (plural nouns) | saatlerce (for hours), günlerce (for days), yıllarca (for years) |
| language / in a language | Türk → Türkçe (Turkish, in Turkish), İngiliz → İngilizce (English) |
Watch for meaning shifts: iyice means "thoroughly", not simply "well": İyice düşün. (Think it over carefully.)
3. Time Adverbs with -leyin and -(I)n
- -leyin (does not change for vowel harmony): sabahleyin (in the morning), akşamleyin (in the evening), geceleyin (at night)
- a fossilised -(I)n on seasons and times of day: yazın (in summer), kışın (in winter), gündüzün (during the day)
4. Reduplication
Repeating a word creates an adverb, often with an intensifying or "little by little" sense.
- yavaş yavaş (slowly, gradually), hızlı hızlı (quickly, hurriedly), sık sık (often)
- a doubled -(y)A verb form: koşa koşa (running, in a hurry), güle güle (laughing, happily — also "goodbye")
5. Converbs (Gerunds)
Verb forms such as -(y)ArAk (by/while doing) and -mAdAn (without doing) work as adverbs of the main verb (see the Gerunds lesson).
- Koşarak geldi. (He/She came running.)
- Kahvaltı yapmadan çıktı. (He/She left without having breakfast.)
More Examples
- Kapıyı yavaşça açtı. (He/She opened the door slowly.)
- Bence bu film çok güzel. (In my opinion, this film is very good.)
- Seni saatlerce bekledim. (I waited for you for hours.)
- Kışın burada çok kar yağar. (It snows a lot here in winter.)
Common Mistakes
- ✗ yavaşca, Türkce → ✓ yavaşça, Türkçe (c → ç after a voiceless consonant)
- ✗ sabahlayın → ✓ sabahleyin (-leyin never changes)
- ✗ güzelca → ✓ güzelce (the last vowel e requires -ce)
Practice Zone
1. If 'yavaş' means 'slow', how can you say 'slowly' using a common adverb-forming suffix?