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
Passive Voice (-il/-in)
CEFR level: B1 · Topic: Verbs & Conjugation
The passive voice (edilgen çatı) is used when the subject receives the action instead of doing it: "The door was opened." The doer is usually left out; in formal or written style it can be added with tarafından (by).
Suffix Formation
The passive suffix goes directly after the verb stem. Which one you use depends on how the stem ends:
| Stem ends in | Suffix | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| a consonant (except l) | -il / -ıl / -ul / -ül | yap → yapılmak, sev → sevilmek, gör → görülmek, aç → açılmak |
| a vowel | -n | oku → okunmak, ara → aranmak, bekle → beklenmek, söyle → söylenmek |
| l | -in / -ın / -un / -ün | bil → bilinmek, al → alınmak, bul → bulunmak, sil → silinmek |
Note the short stems ye- → yenmek (to be eaten) and de- → denmek / denilmek (to be said). Some -n forms can also be reflexive: yıkanmak (to be washed / to wash oneself).
The new verb is conjugated like any other: yapılıyor, yapılacak, yapılmadı, yapıldı mı?
Examples
- Kapı açıldı. (The door was opened.) (açmak – to open)
- Bu kitap çok okundu. (This book was read a lot.)
- Mektup yazıldı. (The letter was written.)
- Ev temizlendi. (The house was cleaned.)
- Toplantı yarın yapılacak. (The meeting will be held tomorrow.)
- Bu roman Orhan Pamuk tarafından yazıldı. (This novel was written by Orhan Pamuk.)
Impersonal Passive
The passive is also used impersonally, with no specific subject, to say what people (in general) do or should do. Unlike English, this works even with intransitive verbs such as gitmek and çalışmak. It is common on signs and in directions:
- Burada sigara içilmez. (Smoking is not allowed here.)
- Kütüphanede yüksek sesle konuşulmaz. (You don't talk loudly in the library.)
- Müzeye nasıl gidilir? (How do you get to the museum?)
- Pazar günü çalışılmaz. (People don't work on Sundays.)
Common Mistakes
- Keeping the accusative: Kitabı okundu ✗ → Kitap okundu ✓ (the object becomes the subject)
- Wrong suffix after a vowel or l: okulmak ✗ → okunmak ✓; alılmak ✗ → alınmak ✓
- Overusing tarafından: in everyday Turkish the doer is normally just omitted.
Practice Zone
1. If 'yazmak' is 'to write', what is 'yazılmak'?