Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns - A blue house, a rich man.
The adjective always comes in front of its noun as in English.
mavi ev - the blue house
mavi evler - (the) blue houses
zengin adam - the rich man
yorgun çocuklar - tired children
But note that when adjectives follow a noun the meaning is entirely different - it becomes a "Statement of Fact" :
ev, mavi - the house is blue
evler mavi - the houses are blue
adam, zengin - the man is rich
Uzun geniş yol. - The long wide road. - is different to - Uzun yol, geniş. - The long road is wide.
Geniş yol, uzun. - The wide road is long.- is different to - Yol, uzun geniş. - The road is long and wide.
This shows that the verb - to be - -dir - is lacking in the third person in Turkish, unless it is needed to emphasize the meaning or unless it is a public statement such as a notice etc. as follows:
Bu ev, mavidir - This house is blue
This last example is emphasized using the verb "to be" -dir - is however normally without emphasis -dir is not required or used in normal conversation.
Uzun yol, geniştir. - The long road is wide.
Uzun yol, geniş midir? - Is the long road wide?
As can be seen above Turkish generally places a comma after the subject - which comes first in the word order of the sentence. The emphasis is is stressed by the use of the verb - "to be" - suffix -dir (Vowel Harmony and Consonant Mutation are observed), which makes it a "statement of fact" - Yol geniştir. - The road is wide.
bir - a, an, one - can interpose between the adjective and its noun. This has the effect of putting the emphasis on the adjective and/or causes the noun it describes to become definite.
bir güzel kız güldü - a beautiful girl laughed.
In this example some girl or other laughed - an indefinite girl, therefore the adjective follows bir.
güzel bir kız gördüm - I saw a beautiful girl.
In this example a definite girl was seen and moreover she was definitely beautiful - güzel followed by bir emphasizes all these points.
Generally speaking if the indefinite article is used with its noun, then Turkish will not separate them as we do in English
büyük beyaz bir ev(dir) - it is a big white house
yaşlı bir adam - an old man
boş bir kutu - an empty box
Turkish adjectives can also be used as nouns:
hasta - ill, sick
bir hasta - a patient
hastalar hastanede. - the patients are in hospital.
zengin - rich
bir zengin - a rich person
otelde kalan bir zengin var - there is a rich [person] who is staying at the hotel.
Many adjectives have an Intensified Form, for instance:
yeni - new - yepyeni - brand new
beyaz - white - bembeyaz - snow white
dolu - full - dopdolu - full to the brim
Many of these Intensified Forms are in daily use all the time.
Adjectives do not have to agree with the noun they describe in either number - as in Spanish - or gender - as in French. The adjective precedes the noun as it does in English.
In Turkish, words can often be recognized as adjectives by their endings. This is similar to English where words can also be recognized as adjectives by their endings. For instance the ending -ful in the word beautiful - "They built a beautiful house in the hill." Thus the -ful adjective adds the concept of beauty to the house. There are other adjectival endings in English where English speakers recognize instantly the attribute being added by its ending. One of these adjectival endings is used above, in the heading "Attributable". The following example also uses the "Ability Attribute" -able - "They have built a beautiful, desirable house on the hill".
Some other adjectival endings in English may be:
-ly as in the lovely view.
-ing as in the shaking branch.
-ive as in the positive result.
-en as in the broken arrow.
and some other forms; each ending giving us a differing degree or meaning in concept.
This then is the way that Turkish follows and if one learns the Adjectival Endings it is easier to recognize the concept of meaning as we automatically do in our own tongue.
We have just said above that adjectives can often be recognized by their endings. These are of course words in their own right and should not be considered as words with an added suffix. As with English the (adjectival) ending on the word often points to the type of attribute that the adjective supplies to its noun. For instance in English there is a different type of attribute supplied by the adjectives - lovely, loving, loveable, lovelorn, loved although the root word carries the same meaning.
The Adjectival Suffix -ik -ık -uk -ük
This suffix usually forms adjectives where the described noun is in a state from which it cannot return - that is - it has assumed a permanent state.
From yanmak - to burn - the adjective - yanık is formed meaning burnt (as a permanent state)
bir düşük yaprak - a fallen leaf - [from düşmek - to fall]
bazı kırık tabaklar - some broken plates - [kırmak - to break]
kesik parçalar - cut (up) parts - [kesmek - to cut]
By recognizing the -ik suffix we can see a permanent adjectival state has been attained.
We must take care however not to mistake nouns which end in -ik such as - balık fish - or - sözlük - dictionary as being adjectives.
A note on the Different Forms of Adjectives
If we take the first example above we should note that if we use the present participle -düşen - which falls /which is falling - as an adjective then the meaning changes:
bir düşen yaprak - a falling leaf
düşen yapraklar - falling leaves
Similarly using the past participle:
düşmüş olan - which has fallen
düşmüş olan yapraklar nemlidir - the leaves which have fallen are damp/the fallen leaves are damp.
| Adjective | Opposite | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| beautiful | güzel | ugly | çirkin |
| better | daha iyi | worse | daha kötü |
| big | büyük | small | küçük |
| cheap | ucuz | expensive | pahalı |
| early | erken | late | geç |
| easy | kolay | difficult | zor |
| free | serbest | occupied | meşgul |
| full | dolu | empty | boş |
| good | iyi | bad | kötü |
| heavy | ağır | light | hafif |
| here | burada | there | orada |
| hot | sıcak | cold | soğuk |
| near | yakın | far | uzak |
| first (one) of a series | ilk | last (one) | son |
| next (one) | gelecek | past (one) | geçmiş (olan)/geçen |
| old (in age) | ihtiyar/yaşlı | young | genç |
| old (former) | eski | new | yeni |
| open | açık | shut | kapalı |
| quick | çabuk | slow | yavaş |
| right | doğru | wrong | yanlış |
The Demonstrative Adjectives "this and that, these and those" and Demonstrative Pronouns "this one, that one, these ones, those ones" demonstrate and describe which item is being mentioned.
bu - this (here) or this (which was just mentioned)
bunlar - these
şu - that (nearby) or that (which follows on)
şunlar - those (nearby)
o - that (over there, yonder)
onlar - those (over there)
The simple Forms: bu, şu, o - this, that, that yonder
bu kedi - this cat
şu fincan - that cup (near to, between us)
o adam - that man over there, yonder
bu - this (here) OR this (which was just mentioned) and the plural bunlar - these
Şu - that (nearby) OR that (which follows on) and the plural şunlar - those (nearby)
Şu signifies something near by or something between the speakers.
Şu also means - "that which follows" as in şu tavsiye - the following recommendation.
O - that (over there, yonder) and the plural onlar - those (over there)
O - signifies items far away or which does not lie between the speakers.
O - is often used for descriptions of happenings in foreign countries and cities.
When adding any suffixes including the plural suffix -lar buffer letter -n- is always used with the demonstratives, thus forming the plurals bunlar, şunlar, onlar
Şu - signifies something near by or something between the speakers.
It also means - that which follows - eg. şu tavsiye - the following recommendation.
Care must be taken using - şu - and its extensions as it is also used in a derogatory sense (according to context) - see below.
Şu adama bakın! - Look at that bloke!
Şunu istemedim - I didn't want that! - (damn thing)
Şu herif kim? - Who the hell is that fellow? - (herif - "fellow, guy, bloke")
O - signifies items far away or which does not lie between the speakers.
O - is often used for descriptions of happenings in foreign countries and cities.
The Demonstrative Pronouns and Adjectives - bu - this, şu - that, o- that yonder use buffer letter -n- to become bun-, sun-, on- when adding any further suffixes.This includes the plural suffix -lar buffer letter -n- is always used with the demonstratives, thus forming the plurals bunlar, şunlar, onlar
The Singular Forms - The Plural Forms
bu - this - bunlar - these
buna - to this - bunlara - to these
bunun - of this - bunların - of these
bunu - this (object) - bunları - these (obj.)
bunda - in/on/at this - bunlarda - in/etc. these
bundan - from this - bunlardan - from these
bununla - with this - bunlarla - with these
The Singular Forms - The Plural Forms
şu - that - şunlar - those
şuna - to that - şunlara - to those
şunun - of that - şunların - of those
şunu - that (object) - şunları - those (obj.)
şunda - in/on/at that - şunlarda - on those
şundan - from that - şunlardan - from those
şununla - with that - şunlarla - with those
The Singular Forms - The Plural Forms
o - that yonder - onlar - those yonder
ona - to that - onlara - to those
onun - of that - onların - of those
onu - that (object) - onları - those (obj.)
onda - in/on/at that - onlarda - on those
ondan - from that - onlardan - from those
onunla - with that - onlarla - with those
This is used with the Demonstrative Pronoun to produce - bunca - all this, bunlarca - all these, onca - all that, onlarca - all those. Although "şunca" and "şunlarca" are not normally in use but they are sometimes used disparagingly. However, in Turkish it could be used to despise something in quantity or magnitude, power.
The addition of -ca produces an adjective which means - "all this/that amount (of)".
Bunca emeğim boşa gitti. - All this work of mine was in vain. ("all this amount of my work")
Bunca kitabı, kitaplıkta dursunlar diye mi aldın? - Did you buy all these books (just) to fill the bookcase? ("all this amount of books")
Bunca arkadaşımın arasından onu mu beğendin? - Between all these friends of mine, was it (only) him you liked? ("all this amount of my friends")
Bunca yıldır bu okuldayım, böyle olay görmedim. - I was at this school all these years and I have not seen such a thing (before). ("all these years")
Bunca kediyi nasıl besleyeceksin ki? - How do you feed all thes cats? ("all this amount of cats")
It can be seen that the addition of bunca replaces bu kadar - this amount of and onca replaces o kadar- that amount of in Turkish.
The Singular Form
bunca - all this - "şunca" - Not used - onca - all that
The Plural Form
bunlarca - all these - "şunlarca" - Not used - onlarca - all those
Examples:
bu ne? - What's this?
Bu bir büyük kedi - This is a big cat
Avluda bunca uzun kuyruklu kedi cirit atıyorlar. - All these long tailed cat are running wild in the yard.
(cirit atmak - Literally "to throw a javelin" but used here idiomatically meaning "run amok, swarm wildly".)
If someone has a small wound and is complaining too much, you could say - Şunca/Şuncacik, yaradan ölmezsin - You won't die from such a small wound (surely not!) [the "-cik" suffix also shows "downsizing"]
bunca and onca are plural and they take a singular object. The substantive that it describes is always in the singular.
bunca kedi, onca kedi - all these/those cats - is similar to Bu kediler , o kediler. - these cats, those cats.
şu ne? - what is that (just there)?
O bir gazete - that is a newspaper - [Şu bir gazete - is incorrect and is not used as a pronoun when answering. It is only used as an adjective describing - "the newspaper". as shown in the previous example.] Tüm/Bütün o gazeteler dünkü(dür) - All those newspapers are yesterday's.
Şu ne? - What is that (just there)? The answer - Şu bir gazete - That is a newspaper - is incorrect.
The correct answer is - O bir gazete - as the answer to the question Şu ne?. Because after you ask the question - Şu ne? - the person being asks now knows where and what the subject actually is, therefore the answer must be something like - O bir gazete. As a phrase in its own right you can say such as - Şu bir gazete - That (just there) is a newspaper - but not as an answer to a question like - Şu ne? - What's that?
For example: There are some of your friends in your home and a newspaper (gazete) on the desk in this case,there are two possibilities:
If you are asked - Şu masanın üstündeki nedir? - What is it on that table? - then you must answer it like - O bir gazete or just - gazete - not - Şu bir gazete. If you want them to know that there is a newspaper, then you must say - Şu bir gazete - and here if they want to ask you where it is they must ask it like - Nerede o gazete? - not - Nerede şu gazete?
Summary:
Question: Şu ne? - What is that? - Answer: O bir gazete. - That is a newspaper.
Şu bir gazete - Cannot be a question, but if it causes a question like - Where is that newspaper? - then it must be: Nerede o gazete? - NOT - Nerede şu gazete?
Further Examples:
o ne? - what is that over there? - o bir dergi - that is a magazine
Bunca dergiyi nereye koyacaksın? - Where are you going to put all these are magazines? ["Bunlarca dergi" - is not generally used in modern Turkish]
bunlar ne? - what are these? - bunlar yeşil elma. - these (ones) are green apples.
şunlar ne? - what are those? - onlar beyaz ev. - those are white houses. - [See note on usage of - şu - in questions in the last section above.]
onlar kim? - who are those (people) over there? - onlar genç kızlar. - those (people) are young girls.
Yarın onca genç kız Ayşe'nin partiye gidiyormüş. - All those girls are going to Ayşe's party tomorrow. (all that amount of girls)
Should we use Onlarca kiz or Onca kiz? If you say: onlarca kiz - we understand there are some girls but they are in some groups and each group (has say) 10 girls.
buna bakar mısınız? - would you look at (to) this? - [Used as the object of - "to look"]
bunlara bakar mısınız? - would you look at (to) these? - [Used as an objective pronoun]
ona bakar mısınız? - would you look at that?
onlara bakar mısınız? - would you look at those?
Although şunca and şunlarca are not normally in use, they are sometimes used disparagingly. In Turkish they can be used to despise something in quantity or magnitude, muscular power. If someone has a small wound and is complaining too much about it then one could say - şunca/şuncacik yaradan ölmezsin - You won't die from such a small wound (surely not!)
Care must be taken using - şu - and its extensions as they are used in a derogatory sense according to context.
Şu adama bakın! - Look at that bloke!
Şunu istemedim! - I didn't want that! (damn thing)
Şu kahrolasıca herif kim? - Who is that damn fellow? [quite strong language]
This is a "frozen form" - kahrolasıca - kah olmak - to be overwhelmed. The suffixes are made up - ol-a-sı-ca - where -ası is a now defunct subjunctive ending with an added -ca suffix indicating having the attribute of. However this word is best learned as a single unit; but really it should not be used as it is considered rather rude. You can also say kaholsun! - Let him be dammed! It is really like a swear word in English and not to be taken lightly. Be careful in its use!
There are further derivations of - bu, şu, o - which have produced the words - böyle, şöyle, öyle - the meanings are a follows:
böyle - In this way/thus - Onu böyle yaptım - I did it like this - [böyle is usually uses with the First Person Pronoun]
şöyle - like that/in that manner - Onu şöyle yapın! - Do it like that! - [şöyle is usually used with the inperative]
öyle - such as that/like that - Onu öyle yaptı - He did it like that! - [past tense is more distant, hence öyle is used]
The -ce suffix can also be added to form adverbs:
böylece - In this way/thus
şöylece is not really used much
öylece - such as that/like that
The -ce siffix give a sense of completion - böylece iş tamamlandı - and so the job was done thus
Some Examples:
Böyle bir iş yapmayın! - Don't do anything like (this) that! [in Turkish Bu and böyle are used regarding a specific action, such as "jumping on the bed", wheras English uses the the word "That!" as opposed to the Turkish "This!" for emphasis.] - Böylece onu yapın! - Do it like that! [Turkish Lit: "Do it like this!"]
şöyle böyle - just so-so - [Lit: like that, like this - as French "comme ci comme ca"]
When asked How are you? then şöyle böyle can be given as an answer "So so, I'm up and down, I'm getting on OK"
Öyle bir sağanak yağmur yağdı ki - There was such a downpour that..
The "Formula Speak" Öyle mi? is used when listening with apparent disbelief to someone describing events, meaning Well I never!, Go on then!, Really?. This formula is used a lot in normal daily conversation.
bu ne? - what's this?
Bu bir büyük kedi - This is a big cat.
Bunca kedi uzun kuyruklu(dur). - All these cats are long tailed
Bütün bu kediler uzun kuyrukludur. - All these cats are long tailed
şu ne? - what is that (just there)?
şu bir gazete - that is a newspaper
Onca gazete dünkünün. - All those newspapers are yesterday's.
Bütün o gazeteler dünkünün.. - All those newspapers are yesterday's.
o ne? - what is that over there?
o bir dergi - that is a magazine
Bunlarca dergi - All these are magazines.
bunlar ne? - what are these?
bunlar yeşil elma. - these (ones) are green apples.
şunlar ne? - what are those?
şunlar beyaz evler. - those are white houses.
onlar kim? - who are those (people) over there?
onlar genç kızlar. - those (people) are young girls.
Onlarca kızlar genç. - All those girls are young.
buna bakar mısınız? - would you look after this? - [-a bakmak = to look after, take temporary care of..]
bunlara bakar mısınız? - would you look after these?
ona bakar mısınız? - would you look after that?
onlara bakar mısınız? - would you look after those?
The are further derivations of - bu, şu, o - which have produced the words - böyle, şöyle, öyle - the meanings are a follows:
böyle - In this way/thus
şöyle - like this/ that
öyle - such as that/like that
The -ce suffix can also be added to form adverbs:
böylece - In this way/thus
öylece - such as that/like that
Böyle bir iş yapmayın! - Don't do anything like that!
Böylece onu yapın! - Do it this way..
şöyle böyle - like this, like that - (as French - comme ci comme ça)
This can be given as an answer when asked - How are you? - [ie. I'm up and down, I'm getting on OK etc..]
öyle bir yağış yağdı ki.. - There was such a downpour that..
The "Formula Speak" - Öyle mi? - is also used a lot when listening with apparent disbelief to some one describing events. It means something like - Well I never, Go on then, Really?? - This formula is used a lot in normal daily conversation.