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About the source of these notes

These pages are a mixture of explanations of different areas of Turkish by members of All the Lyrics Forums.

These notes about Turkish have been taken from AlltheLyrics website forum. They are the contributor s own explanations of some of the difficulties of Turkish. The contributors in this forum use nicknames and we have mentioned names these in each section. Manisa Turkish thanks them and AlltheLyrics website for these notes, and we repeat them here for the interest of Turkish learners everywhere. These notes have been amended and edited by Manisa Turkish to make then suitable for English speakers.

Some Notes About Turkish

Thanks to Bogazici86 and Alp Er - All The Lyrics.com

Turkish is a language of the Ural-Altaic family. It s quite logical, with few exceptional rules and no genders, but its agglutinative structure is so different from Indo-European languages that speakers of those languages may find its grammar a challenge to learn at first.
(Agglutinative means that words and sentences are made by adding suffixes to a root-word.)

Suffixes
A Turkish word starts with a short root (such as git- - go ). One or more suffixes are added to modify the root (gitti - she/he went ). English uses only a few suffixes, such as - 's for possessive, -s or -es for plural, but Turkish has dozens of suffixes. You can make whole sentences in Turkish out of one little word root and a lot of suffixes.

Noun Suffixes

Plural: -lar, -ler [-lAr]
Bankalar - banks
Oteller - hotels

To, Toward: -a, -e/ -ya, -ye [-A/-yA])
Bankaya - to the bank
Otele - to the hotel

From: -dan, -den, -tan , -ten [-DAn]
Bankadan - from the bank
Otelden - from the hotel
işten - from (the) work

Possessive: -ın, -in, -nin, or -nin [-(n)In ]
Banka - bank: Bankanın - the bank's, of the bank
Otel - Hotel: Otelin - the hotel's, of the hotel
ev - house: evin - of the the house, the house's
adam - man: adamın - of the man, the man's

Possessed suffix
You will see -ı, -i, -u, -ü ,or suffıxed to a vowel -sı, -si, -su, -sü added to any noun which is possessed. An ev is a house: but the ev that Mehmet lives in is Mehmet'in evi [Possessor - Possessed].
-(s)I = (third person singular) - Ali'nin kedisi - Ali's cat [Possessor - Possessed]

With: -lı, -li, -lu, -lü [-lI]
Et - meat: etli - with meat
Süt - milk: sütlü - with milk, milky

Without: -sız,-siz,-suz, -süz [-sIz]
Et - meat: etsiz - without meat, meatless
Süt - milk: sütsüz - without milk

Verb Suffixes

*** You can see some of the letters are written with capitals in the suffixes, this means they change due to Vowel Harmony Rules:
A = a, e
I = i, ı, u, ü
D = d, t
K = k, ğ
They re written in this way in linguistics. I hope it helps you with memorizing the suffixes easier.

Infinitive: -mak, -mek
Almak - to take or buy
Gitmek - to go
Simple present: -ar, -er, -ır, -ir, -ur, -ür (-Ar/-Ir)
Alır - he/she/it takes or buys
Gider - he/she/it goes
Future: -acak, -ecek, -acağ-, -eceğ (-AcAK)
Alacak - he/she/it will take, buy
Gidecek - he/she/it will go
Simple past defınıte: -dı, -di, -du, -dü, -tı, -ti, -tu, -tü (-DI)
Aldı - he/she/it took, bought
Gitti [git-ti] - he/she/it went
Continuous: -ıyor-, -iyor, - uyor, -üyor ( -(I)yor ) (like English -ing )
Alıyor - he/she/it is taking, buying
geliyor - she/he is coming
Question: -mı, -mi, -mu, -mü (-mI)
Alıyor mu? - Is he/she/it taking (it)?
Gidecek mi? - Will he/she/it go?

The Personal Suffixes are affixed to the 3rd person form as above

First Person Singular (I):-ım, -im, -um, -üm (-Im)
Alırım - I take
Giderim - I go
Second Person Singular (you-informal/familiar): -sın, -sin, -sun, -sün ( -(s)I(n) )
Alırsın - You take
Gidersin - You come
Third Person Singular (he/she/it): (no suffix)
Alır - he/she/it takes
Gider - he/she/it comes
First Person Plural (we): -ız, -iz, -uz,-üz (-Iz)
Alır-ız - we take
Gideriz - we come
Second Person Plural (you-formal): -sınız, -siniz, -sunuz,-sünüz (-(sI)nIz)
Alırsınız - You (plural) take or You (singular-formal) take
Gidersiniz - You (plural) come or You (singular-formal) come
Third Person Plural (they): -lar, -ler (-lAr)
Alırlar - They take.
Giderler - They come.

Word Order

Nouns and adjectives usually come first, followed by the verb. The subject of the sentence is often the final suffix (unless the sentence is a question):
Istanbul'a gideceğim - I am going to Istanbul. (-im shows us the subject of the sentence. We call this kind of subjects a hidden subject. The subject is ben - (I) in this sentence.)
Hali almak istiyorum - I want to buy (take) a carpet [literally Carpet to buy want I] (hidden subject; ben)

The Fun Begins!

Now you can slap a lot of suffixes together and get: Afyonkarahisarlılaştıramadıklarımızdan mısınız?
It ıs actually a word, and also a complete sentence! But, it must be admitted, it was made up just to show off the agglutinative facility of Turkish.
What does it mean? - Are you from among that group of people whom we attempted to make to resemble the citizens of Afyonkarahisar, but were unable to do so?

The Indefinite Article

The article in Turkish is - bir - a, an
bir ev - a house
bir kız - a girl
bir çocuk - a child

Questions..

How? - Nasil + Article + noun
Nasıl bir ev(dir*)? - What kind of a house?
Nasıl bir kızdır? - What kind of a girl?
Nasıl bir çocuktur? - What kind of a child?

***This suffix is the auxiliary verb [like am/is/are in English] for the third person singular.

Answers: - Adjective + article + noun

Güzel bir ev - a pretty house
Çirkin bir kız - an ugly girl
Iyi bir çocuk - a good child

Adjectives

In Turkish, adjectives come before the nouns:
güzel ev - pretty house
çirkin kiz - ugly girl

Comparative form:

The comparative degree of an adjective or adverb is formed by placing - daha - more - in front of the adjective adverb.
İyi - good. Comparative: daha iyi - better - daha iyi bir ev - a better house
Büyük - big. Comparative: daha büyük - bigger

Superlative form:

The superlative degree of an adjective or adverb is formed by placing - en - most - in front of the adjective or the adverb.
Küçük - small. Superlative: en küçük ev - the smallest house
Yavaş - slow. Superlative: en yavaş araba- the slowest car

Interrogative Form of Adjectives:

The form is: Subject + adjective + mI*?
Kedi güzel mi? - Is the cat pretty?
-mI? is the question suffix. It is always written separately, like an individual word. The vowel in -mI? changes depending on the vowel in the last syllable of the word:
after a,ı = -mı?
after e,i = -mi?
after o,u = -mu?
after ö,ü = -mü?

The Negative Form of Adjectives:

the form is: Subject + adjective + değil [not]
Ev güzel değil - The house is not pretty

Special Usage:

This is not applicable to all adjectives:
adjective + -lI (-lı, -li, -lu, -lü) [for positive]
adjective + -sIz (-sız, -siz, -suz, -süz) [for negative]
akıl - intelligence: akılsız - stupid and akıllı - clever
güç - power: güçsüz - weak and güçlü - strong

Demonstrative Adjectives

Bu - this Example: bu kız - this girl
Şu - that [near to] Example: şu ev - that house [just there]
O - that [far away] Example: o çocuk - that child [over there]

All these are also used in plural forms: - bu çocuklar - these children. When forming adjectives in Turkish the adjectives themselves (their plurality or singularity) do not change, but the nouns are changed by adding suffixes.

The Plural Suffix -lar/-ler "-lAr"

The suffix -lAr shows indefinite plurality. The difference between -lar and -ler is due to vowel harmony. Suffixes having this kind of vowel harmony will have the vowel e after any front vowel e, i, ö, ü, and the vowel a after any back vowel a, i, o, u.
Çocuk - çocuklar - children
Adam - adamlar - men
Kız - kızlar - girls
Kitap - kitaplar - books
Defter - defterler - notebooks
Otobüs - otobüsler - buses

If a number is used in front of the noun, the noun is used in the singular -lAr is not used:
üç çocuk - three children
iki kız - two girls

There is, there are, there isn't, there aren't

Examples with Var and Yok

vardır (var) - there is, there are
var mıdır? (var mı)? - is there?, are there?
yoktur (yok) - there isn't, there aren't
yok mudur? (yok mu)? - isn't there?, aren't there?

Burada bir okul var(dır). - There s a school here.
Evde ekmek yok. - There isn't any bread at home.
Okulda öğrenci var mı(dır)? - Are there any students at school?
Evde ekmek yok mu? Isn't there any bread at home?

Personal Pronouns

Subject Pronoun	Example
Ben - I	Ben bir öğrenciyim - I am a student.
Sen - You	Sen bir öğrencisin - You are a student.
O - he/she/it	O bir öğrenci(dir) - He/she is a student.
Biz - We	Biz öğrencileriz - We are students.
Siz - You	Siz öğrencilersiniz -You are students.
Onlar - They	Onlar öğrencidirler - They are students.
Personal pronouns are not usually used in daily conversation as the person is already evident from the ending of the verb to be suffix.

öğrenciyim - I am a student.
öğrencisin - You are a student.
O öğrenci(dir) - He/she is a student.

In the third person the Personal pronouns - O - is usually used, and the verb suffix -dir is droppped.

öğrencileriz - We are students.
Söğrencilersiniz -You are students.
öğrencidirler - They are students.

Declension of Nouns

There are mainly 6 cases in Turkish:( nominative, dative, accusative (objective), locative, ablative, genitive. Here are the pronouns in these different 6 cases:

Nominative Case (subject)

ben - I
sen - you
o - he/she/it
biz - we
siz - you
onlar - they

Dative Case - "to, towards"

Bana - to me - Kitabi bana verir. - she gives the book to me.
Sana - to you - Kitabi sana verir. - she gives the book to you.
Ona - to him/her/it - Kitabi ona verir. - she gives the book to him/her/it.
Bize - to us - Kitabi bize verir. - she gives the book to us.
Size - to you - Kitabi size verir. - she gives the book to you.
Onlara - to them - Kitabi onlara verir. - she gives the book to them.

Accusative Case - Direct Object of a verb

Beni - me - Beni görüyor mu? - Does he see me?
Seni - you - Seni görüyor mu? - does he see you?
Onu - him/her/it - Onu görüyor mu? - does he see him/her/it?
Bizi - us - Bizi görüyor mu? - does he see us?
Sizi - you - Sizi görüyor mu? - does he see you?
Onları - them - Onları görüyor mu? - does he see them?

Locative Case - "at, on, in"

Bende - at me - Kitap bende. - The book is at me.
Sende - at you - Kitap sende. - the book is at you.
Onda - at him/her/it - Kitap onda. - the book is at him/her/it.
Bizde - at us - Kitap bizde. - the book is at us.
Sizde - at you - Kitap sizde. - the book is at you.
Onlarda - at them - Kitap onlarda. - the book is at them.
*"at" is a literal translation, whereas usual meaning is "with me".

Ablative Case - "from, by, via, through"

Benden - from me - Kitabi benden istiyor. - he wants the book from me.
Senden - from you - Kitabi senden istiyor. - he wants the book from you.
Ondan - from him/her/it - Kitabi ondan istiyor. - he wants the book from him/her/it.
Bizden - from us - Kitabi bizden istiyor. - he wants the book from us.
Sizden - from you - Kitabi sizden istiyor. - he wants the book from you.
Onlardan - from them - Kitabi onlardan istiyor. - he wants the book from them.

Genitive Case Possessive - "-'s, of"

Benim - mine - Bu benim. - this is mine.
Senin - yours - Bu senin. - this is yours.
Onun - his/hers/its - Bu onun. - this is his/hers/its.
Bizim - ours - Bu bizim. - this is ours.
Sizin - yours - Bu sizin. - this is yours.
Onların - theirs - Bu onların. - this is theirs.

IMPORTANT: possessive pronouns when used in the following manner, become possessive adjectives:

Benim aşkim - my love
Senin aşkın - your love
Onun aşkı - his/her love
Bizim aşkımız - our love
Sizin aşkınız - your love
Onların aşkı - their love

The verb - "to be" - Positive

Personal Pronun and Personal Suffix

Ben -im - I am
Sen -sin - you are
O -dur - he/she/it is
Biz -iz - we are
Siz -siniz - you are
Onlar -dir - they are

Used with the noun - "teacher"

Ben öğretmenim. - I am a teacher.
Sen öğretmensin. - You are a teacher.
O öğretmendir. - He/she is a teacher.
Biz öğretmeniz. - We are teachers.
Siz öğretmensiniz. - you are teachers.
Onlar öğretmendirler. - they are teachers.

***As you see, the noun comes between the pronoun and the personal suffix.

The Verb - "to be.."

The suffix -dir - to be according to the vowel harmony rule, the vowel is changed and appears as -dir, -dır, -dur, -dür.

1. If the preceding syllable is e or i, the vowel in the verb to be will be i:
ev-dir - house
iyi-dir - fine

2. If the vowel in the preceding syllable is ö or ü, the vowel will be ü:
Müdür-dür - director
Otobüs-tür* - bus

3. If the vowel in the preceding syllable is o or u, the vowel will be u:
doktor-dur - doctor
kuru-dur - dry

4. If the vowel in the preceding syllable is a or i, the vowel will be i:
Para-dir - money
Amerikalı-dır - American

*The consonant D changes in some situations due to consonant harmony. If the noun ending consonant is a voiced consonant, the suffix will be -dIr - but if the word ends with a voiceless consonant, it will be -tIr.

Voiced consonants: b, c, d, g, j, l, m, n, r, v, y, z. All the vowels are voiced.
Voiceless consonants: ç, f, h, k, p, s, s, t

Negative form

Ben öğrenci değilim. - I'm not a student.
Sen öğrenci değilsin. - You're not a student.
O öğrenci değil(dir). - He/she is not a student.
Biz öğrenci değiliz. - We are not students.
Siz öğrenci değilsiniz. - You're not students.
Onlar öğrenci değil(dir)ler. - They re not students.

To form negative, the word değil - not is placed just before the verb-ending. In this case, the verb-ending is attached to değil.
Bu temiz bir lokanta değildir. - This is not a clean restaurant.

Interrogative Form

Ben öğretmen miyim? - Am I a teacher?
Sen öğretmen misin? - Are you a teacher?
O öğretmen mi(dir)? - Is she/he a teacher?
Biz öğretmen miyiz? - Are we teachers?
Siz öğretmen misiniz? - Are you teachers?
Onlar öğretmen(ler) mi(dir)? - Are they teachers?
Onlar öğretmen midir(ler)? - Are they teachers?

Genitive Suffix

Genitive suffix: "-(n)In" -nın, -nin, -nun, -nün, -ın, -in, -un, -ün
The suffix is -In in the words ending in consonants:
adam-ın - of the man

The suffix is -nIn in the words ending in vowels (buffer letter -n is used):
oda-nın - of the room
gülün - of the rose

The suffix is always -In in plural words:
güller-in - of the roses
adamlar-ın - of the men

Possessive suffix: "-(s)I" -sı,-si, -su, -sü, -i, -i, -u, -ü)
Words ending in consonants = "-I"
Kalem-i - his/her pencil
Words ending in vowels = "-sI"
Kapısı -its door

oda-nın kapı-sı - the door of the room
onun anne-si - his/her mother

Question Words

Ne?, Neler? - What? - (can be plural in Turkish)

Ben ne-y*-im? - What am I?
Sen ne-sin? - What are you?
O ne(dir)? - What is it?
Biz ne-y*-iz? - What are we?
Siz nesiniz? - What are you?
Onlar nelerdir? - What are they?

*These letters are put between the vowels when the word takes a suffix. Because two vowels cannot come together in a word in Turkish, so these letters y,n prevent this when the words take suffixes.

Kim?, Kimler? - Who? - (can be plural in Turkish)

Ben kimim? - Who am I?
Sen kimsin? - Who are you?
O kim? - Who is he/she?
Biz kimiz? - Who are we?
Siz kimsiniz? - Who are you?
Onlar kimler(dir)? - Who are they?

The Letter - "Ğ"

The letter "Ğ" represents different sounds in different positions, and there is a good deal of dialectical difference within Turkey and even a difference between styles of speech by the same person, in the use of this group of sounds. The following explanation will help with the standard pronunciation:

1 - When "ğ" occurs in a syllable with front unrounded vowels i and e the sound represented is /y/ as in year
iğne /iyne/ needle
eğlenmek /eylenmek/ to have fun
diğer /diyer/ the other
değil /deyil, diyil/ not

2 - When it occurs in a syllable with front rounded or with back vowels, the sound differs in the final syllable and initial syllable positions:
a) In the final syllable position, the sound represented is merely a lengthening (:) of the previous vowel:
düğme /dü:me/ button
öğrenmek /ö:renmek/ to learn
öğle /ö:le/ noon

b) In the initial syllable position, what is represented is simply a hiatus between the vowels (but pronounced in a combined way like air, yourt, saa) :
ağır /a-ir/ heavy, serious
yoğurt /yo-urt/ yoghurt
sağa /sa-a/ to the right

The Verb - "to be" - Negative

değil - not - the personal pronouns suffixes are added to değil:

değilim - I am not
değilsin - you are not
değil(dir)- he, she, it is not
değiliz - we are not
değilsiniz - you are not
değiller - they are not

Example with the noun - "teacher"

(ben) öğretmen değilim - I am not a teacher
(sen) öğretmen değilsin - you are not a teacher
o öğretmen değil - she/he is not a teacher
(biz) öğretmen değiliz - we are not teachers
(siz) öğretmen değilsiniz - you are not teachers
onlar öğretmen değiller - they are not teachers

The Verb - "to be" - Interrogative

The personal pronouns suffixes are added to the interrogative particle -mi: (except for - Onlar - They)
miyim? - am I? - Mutlu muyum? - Am I happy?
misin? - are you? - Mutlu musun? - Are you happy?
mi? - is she/he/it? - Mutlu mu? - Is he/she/it happy?
miyiz? - are we? - Mutlu muyuz? - Are we happy?
misiniz? - are you? - Mutlu musunuz? - Are you happy?
-lar mı?/-ler mi? - are they? Mutlular mı? - Are they happy?

Negative Interrogative:

değil miyim? - am I not/aren't I? - Yorgun değil miyim? - Am I not tired?
değil misin? - aren't you? - Yorgun değil misin? - Aren't you tired?
değil mi? - isn't she/he,it? - Yorgun değil mi? - Isn't he/she tired?
değil miyiz? - aren't we? - Yorgun değil miyiz? - Aren't we tired?
değil misiniz? - aren't you? - Yorgun değil misiniz? - Aren't you tired?
değiller mi? - aren't they? - Yorgun değiller mi? - Aren't they tired?

Question Tags

Isn't it?, Aren't you? , Aren't they?, etc - are all translated by the single tag - degil mi?
meşgulüm, değil mi? - I'm busy, aren't I?
meşgulsün, değil mi? - You are busy, aren't you?
Aylin meşgul, değil mi? - Aylin is busy, isn't she?
meşgulüz, değil mi? - We are busy, aren't we?
meşgulsünüz, değil mi? - You are busy, aren't you?
meşguller, değil mi? - They are busy? aren't they?
Note that - meşgul - used to be spelt with an "open -ul" - meşgûl, hence Vowel Harmony ending is dotted form.

The Suffix "-i/-i-/-u/-ü"

Thanks to - İlkin

The suffix ı/i/u/ü are used as auxiliary letters to separate two consonants.
Signifies - my - when added to a noun which ends in a consonant:
baş-ı-m = başım - my head
Indicates 1st person singular when added to a verb:
geld-i-m = geldim - I came
Indicates 1st person singular of the verb - "to be" - when added to a noun/adjective if it is the predicate of the sentence (which is called a noun sentence):
(ben) uzun-u-m = uzunum - I am tall [added to an adjective]
(ben) öğretmen-i-m = öğretmenim - I am a teacher [added to a noun]

A point to watch for

This is unrelated to pronoun formation but the suffix -im makes nouns from verbs:
seçmek - to choose, to elect becomes seçim - choice, election
bakmak - to look becomes bakım - maintenance
yazmak - to write becomes yazım - orthography
So you have to be careful when reading, speaking and listening not to mix the meaning.

Parting Consecutive Consonants

An ı, i, u or ü is put if the last letter of the word is a consonant, dropped if it is a vowel:
put:
ev-i-m = evim - my house
duvar-ı-m = duvarım - my wall
yol-u-m = yolum - my way
but dropped if the noun ends in a vowel.
araba-m = arabam - my car
kapı-m = kapım - my door
keçi-m = keçim - my goat
Exceptions:
su-y-u-m = suyum - my water (the original form of the word in the far distant past was suw but it s been long lost, we do not say - sum)
ne-y-i-m = neyim - my what? (regular forms nem, nen etc. are also used, as in the folk song De get Bayburt de get sende nem kaldı? - Go on and leave Bayburt, what of me remains with you?
Explanation: In English - my what?, your what? is not used, but it is used in Turkish:
The doctor will ask you - Neyin var? - What have you got? (What is the matter with you?)

About Vowel Harmony

-i- is used when the last vowel in the word is a or i:

hayAt - hayatım - my life (also; my darling)
krAl - kralım - my king (also; I am the king)
katIr - katırım - my mule
yakIn - yakınım - my close relative (also; I am close)
Exception:
saat - saatim - my watch or clock

-i- is used when the last vowel in the word is e or i:

kedEr - kederim - my sorrow
kemEr - kemerim - my belt
sinİr - sinirim - my nerve
vezİr - vezirim - my queen (in chess)

-u- is used when the last vowel in the word is o or u:

kupOn - kuponum - my coupon
gurUr - gururum - my pride
okUr - okurum - my reader (also: I read)

-ü- is used when the last vowel in the word is ö or ü:

sofÖr - şoförüm - my driver (also: I am a driver)
planÖr - planörüm - my glider
dönÜş - dönüşüm - my return
görÜş - görüşüm - my view, my opinion

About "iken - while"

Suffix Form: - (y)ken - is the suffix form of iken, meaning - as (the time), when, while. It does not follow the vowel harmony rules, that is, it is always - (y)ken - no matter what the last vowel of the word is.
Ay doğarken dünya aydınlatar. - As the moon rises it brightens the world.

It can be added to nouns or verbs in the 3rd person singular (not all tenses).
Since the grammatical person is missing, a noun or pronoun as the subject of the sentence is generally necessary, otherwise the meaning would be ambiguous:
Sen o yolları giderken biz dönüyorduk. - We were coming back while you were going those roads. Here sen (you singular) can not be excluded.
Sometimes the meaning is inherently ambiguous and can not be fixed if there is no clue from the context and the sentence should then be restructured or rephrased:
Seni arabaya binerken gördüm - I saw you while I was/you were getting on the car. Here it is not clear who was getting into the car: I or you? it can only be understood through the physical or verbal context. So it can be made specific by using a personal pronoun:
Ben, seni arabaya binerken gördüm - I saw you while you were getting on the car.
Ben arabaya binerken, seni gördüm - I saw you while I was getting on the car.

If the last letter of the word is a vowel the -iken becomes -yken to keep vowels separated. When added to to words ending in a consonant -iken drops its initial letter to become -ken.
ben evde-y-ken - when/while I (am/was) at home.
ben işte-y-ken - when/whıle I (am/was) at work.
ben çocukken - when/when I was a child.
kapı açıkken - when/while the door (is/was) open
as it can be seen, sometimes the tense of the sentence is also ambiguous. it is highly dependent on the physical or verbal context.

Tenses that accept the suffix

(1) The tense of the sentence may be different from that of the verb.
(2) the grammatical person is understood from the context since the verb is always in the 3rd person singular.

The Simple Present Tense.
Ben konuşurken Mehmet söyleyeceğimi unuturum. - As I speak I forget what I am going to say.

The Present Continuous Tense.
Sen elinin tersiyle ittin ben ağlıyorken - You pushed (me) with the back of your hand while I was crying.

The Future Tense
The meaning is - about to.
Eşım telefon edecekken kapı çalındı - As my wife was about to make a telephone call, the door was knocked.

The Indefinite Past Tense with /-mış /-miş /-muş /-müş:
The meaning is - having been or in the negative - not yet having been.
Daha çatal kaşık bıçak icat edilmemişken - The time when the fork, spoon and knife were not yet invented. Biz gelmişken, oturalım bari. - Having come, let's at least sit down.

The Definite Past Tense with /-dı /-di /-du /-dü:
The past tense with -di/-di accepts a different suffix -ğinde/-ğinda or -ği/-ği zaman along with the personal suffix:
geldiğimde = geldiğim zaman - When I came.
geldiğinde = geldiğin zaman - When I came.
geldiğinde = geldiği zaman - When I came.
geldiğimizde = geldiğimiz zaman - When I came.
geldiğinizde = geldiğiniz zaman - When I came.
geldiklerinde = geldikleri zaman - When I came.

Past tense - Definite and Indefinite Forms

Thanks to - Caliph

There are two forms of past tense in Turkish; one is for the things you personally witnessed (Definite Form) and the other one is for the things you heard or were told about (Indefinite Form).

Definite Form

The Definite Past suffix is: -dı/-di/-du/-dü
You just take the verb stem as in: sevmek then add the suffix in terms of vowel harmony; which will be -di here as the last/only vowel in the verb stem sev is -e-, then we add -di in line with Vowel Harmony rules.

In Turkish verb suffixes are personalized which will enable you to omit the pronouns like in Spanish. The pronoun is used only to stress the subject:
Ben sev-di-m - I loved; I liked so -m is the suffix for I
Sen sev-di-n - you liked so -n is the suffix for you (you -singular and familiar)
O sev-di - he/she/it liked so there ss no special suffix for third person pronoun and since Altaic languages do not have gender characteristics, o is used for all.
Biz sev-di-k - we loved hence -k is the suffix for we
Siz sev-di-niz you loved thus -niz is the suffix for you (you - plural, formal polite singular addressing)
Onlar sev-di-ler - they liked hence -lar/-ler is the suffix for they

Again these suffixes are applied in convenience with Vowel Harmony.

Indefinite Form

The one you heard or you were told about;
The Indefinite Past suffix is -/mış/-miş-/muş/-müş
As an example: gör-mek - to see
Ben gör-müs-üm - I saw, I have seen ( ok you might say how can you see something and you are told about it - this sentence means like I have seen it but I don’t remember, someone told me I did see it )
And the personal pronoun suffix for I is -m as I mentioned before but in Turkish two consonants do not stand together so we have go-between vowels to enable it to be pronounced more easily and in this case, -ü is picked in terms of vowel harmony again.
Sen gör-müs-sün - you saw, you have seen - (someone told me you saw it). In the indefinite past tense in Turkish has different suffixes then the one witnessed personally.
O gör-müs - he/she/it saw/has seen - as you see, there s no an extra suffix for third personal pronoun.
Biz gör-müs-üz - we saw/have seen -üz is the formal suffix. You can see the similarity between biZ and -üZ; same consonants.
Siz gör-müs-sünüz - you saw/have seen in the single you,-sün is the right suffix and you just add -üz at the end of the aforementioned suffix to make it plural
Onlar gör-müs-ler - they saw/have seen -ler/-lar suffix signifies - they

The suffix -ce/-çe, -ca/-ça and its meanings

Thanks to - Aksios

This suffix is extensively used, it has various meanings as follows:

It gives the meaning of likeliness.
ÇocukÇA davranıyorsun. - You are behaving LIKE a child. - childishly
İnsanCA yasamalıyız. - We must live humanLY.

It makes a noun into a verb
Davranışları genellikle deliCE(dir). - Her behaviours (plural in Turkish) are generally INSANE.

It gives the meaning - "in terms of , on the point of"
KiloCA senden daha fazla. - He is more than you IN THE TERMS OF of kilos.
AkılCA birbirinizden farkınız yok. - You (in plural) don't have difference from each other IN THE TERMS OF intellect.

It gives the meaning - "according to"
SenCE yaptığın doğru mu? - Do YOU THINK it is right what you have done.
BenCE sana yeşil çok yakışıyor. - I THINK green suits you well.

It gives the meaning of - "muchness , exaggeration"
YüzlerCE kitap okumuş. - He has read hundredS of books.

It enumerates a time period.
By being added to the nouns which is about time, it gives the meaning - equality, for, during (the time), as long as.
Bu okulda yıllarCA çalıştım. - I worked at this school FOR years.
Seni saatlerCE bekledim. - I waited for you FOR hours.

It gives the meaning - "togetherness, unity"
Bu kararı aileCE aldık. - We took this decision AS ALL the family.
SınıfÇA pikniğe gittik. - We went to picnic ALL TOGETHER WITH the class.

It shows the situation.
SessizCE beni dinle. - Listen to me quietLY.
Onunla gizliCE buluştum. - I met him secretLY.

It gives the meaning - " downsizing, decreasing, restriction"
YaşlıCA bir adam bana seni sordu. - An oldISH man asked me for you. - not too old
BüyükÇE bir taşı fırlattı. - He threw away a SOMEWHAT large stone.

Necessity

Thanks to - Marmaris

Using the verb suffix -malı/-meli

Here I, you, she etc.. is the subject of the sentence, so there is no need to use the possessive -in
(ben) kitap okumalıyım
(sen) kitap okumalısın
(Ali kitap okumalı
(biz) kitap okumalıyız
(siz) kitap okumalısınız
(onlar) kitap okumalı(lar)

Using the verb infinitive with lazim or gerek

My reading book is needed - Benim kitap okumam lazım means - I should read a book... that is why we use -im to personalize the meaning.
Benim kitap okumam lazım
Senin kitap okuman lazım
Ali nin kitap okuması lazım
Bizim kitap okumamız lazım
Sizin kitap okumanız lazım
Onların kitap okuması (or Okumaları lazım)

This method uses gerek or lazım but not with -meli,-mali suffix
Ali'nin dans etmesi lazım - Ali must/should dance - Literally in word to word translation : Ali's dancing is needed. You can say it in 3 ways:
Ali nin dans etmesi lazım
Ali nin dans etmesi gerek
Ali dans etmeli.

lazim is Old Turkish from Arabic, but is still used, while New Turkish gerek is gradually replacing it. It is sometimes spelt the old way - lâzim

A Language Puzzle

Thanks to - İlkin

In Turkish, any noun after a number or some indefinite adjectives implying plurality such as many, a few, a lot of etc is always singular: 5 kitap - 5 books, çok kişi - many people, bir kaç iyi adam - a few good men.

some - bazı, kimi is an exception, the noun they modify is always plural: bazı çocuklar - some children, kimi katilimcilar - some participants.

However sometimes the noun is plural (and correct):
3 Silahsörler - the Three Musketeers
3 Aylar - the Three Months - the three holy months of Islam
4 Büyükler - the Big Four - the three football clubs of Istanbul with the club from Trabzon
7 Cüceler - the Seven Dwarfs
7 Uyurlar - the Seven Sleepers
40 Haramiler - the Forty Thieves
These are now Proper Names make reference to an actual thing.

3 Silahşörler is a novel by Alexandre Dumas . When we talk about three friends who are usually seen together and call them 3 Silahşörler, we make an allusion to the novel.
3 Aylar is the three holy months according to the Islamic calendar (rajab, sha baan, ramadan), but 3 ay are any three months, usually consecutive.
4 Büyükler is the four football clubs (Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, Trabzonspor) and used mainly in this context.
7 Cüceler is the Seven Dwarfs of the Snow White story. 7 cüce are any seven dwarfs.
7 Uyurlar is the legendary Seven Sleepers from the fable of that name, and no other context comes to mind.
40 Haramiler comes from the Arabian Nights (or - One Thousand and One Nights - as we know it) in which adventures of Ali Baba against the Forty Thieves are told.

About İLE - "with and VE - also, and

Thanks to - Arslan

İLE basically means WITH. VE basically means AND, ALSO. When they refer to AND they can be replaced by each other.

A very simple example of İLE used as WITH most likely to be seen in advertisements
Learn English with Joe. - Joe ile ingilizce öğrenin.
Also another example İLE as WITH and VE used as AND, ALSO
I went there with Ahmet and Ayşe. - Oraya Ahmet ve Ayşe ile gittim.
I hope someone better than me could give us a better explanation because now I am also curious

Thanks to - Levie

You can not use İLE to connect two sentences.
For example, you can not say: I will have dinner soon AND then I'll watch some TV afterwards by using İLE
You have use VE - and to say: Yakında akşam yemeği yiyeceğim VE daha sonrada biraz televizyon izleyeceğim.
Wrong way to say it: Yakında akşam yemeği yiyeceğim ile daha sonrada biraz televizyon izleyeceğim. – (Completely wrong)
On the other hand you can use both VE or İLE as AND where it means ALSO
Kuzenim ve ben haftaya tatile çıkacağız - My cousin and I will go on holiday next week.
Kuzenim ile ben haftaya tatile çıkacağız - My cousin and I will go on holiday next week.
* In case of using the first person singular you can even leave the word Ben and just use Kuzenim ile haftaya tatile çıkacağız . Or use İLE as a suffıx: Kuzenimle haftaya tatile çıkacağız.
This can be confusing though cause it is not exactly telling you whether you are going on holiday with your cousin with the two of you or with a group of other people.

The Suffix -ki

Thanks to - Omero

-ki is really one of the strangest suffixes used in Turkish: -ki when used as suffix.

It is used to create adjectives of words, which describe place or time
1. The cat is sick. - Kedi hasta.
The sick cat - Hasta kedi.
2. The cat is at home. - Kedi evde.
The cat, (which is) at home - Evdeki kedi.
In No. 1. hasta is originally an adjective, so it can be used as an adjective without any change
In No.2 at home is an adverbial expression of place . If you want to use such an expression as an adjective, you have to put a -ki at it.

Another example:

Sokakta yaşayan adam. - The man who lives on the street.
(yaşayan is regarded as an adjective - it is the present participle - living)
Sokaktaki adam. - The man, who is on the street.
(as sokakta is not an adjective, but a noun plus suffix, you have to add a -ki to make an adjective of it.
If you say: Adam sokakta. - The man is on the street. Here, sokakta is not an adjective but a noun indicating the location - therefore no -ki here.

Vowel changes to ki

-ki is not subject to the vowel changes but with one exception: -kü exists, so whenever it is added to a word, the last vowel of which is ö or ü , it has to be -kü.
Bugün sinemaya gidelim - Let us go to the cinema today.
Bugünkü planımız, sinemaya gitmek. - Our plan for today (Today's plan) is to got to the cinema.
Dünkü hava çok güzeldi. - Yesterday's weather was nice.
In both cases, the words bugün/dün are used in adjective-like functions.
If you say the first one without -kü
Dün hava çok güzeldi. it would mean Yesterday the weather was nice.

Ki as a separate word

What about the ki which is written separately... a big problem:
The film was so sad, that I had to cry. - Film o kadar üzücüydü ki, ağladım.
The weather was so foggy, that I hardly saw anything. - Hava o kadar sisliydi ki, hiç bir şey göremiyordum.
Herkes bilir ki, dünya yuvarlaktır. - Everybody knows that the world is round.
Oturdum ki, biraz dinleneyim - I sat down (in order) to have a rest.

There are alternatives to use instead.
For example I sat down to rest could also be Dinlenmek için oturdum
Everybody knows that the world is round could also be Herkes dünyanın yuvarlak olduğunu bilir
My suggestion: avoid this separate ki if you are a beginner, until you get used to it.
Native speakers use it correctly, but it is not easy to describe, when exactly.

The various meanings of -ki (suffix) and ki (stand alone word)

The English-Turkish dictionary says for ki :
1. who, which, that
2. so... that, such... that
3. seeing, considering that
4. as, though
5. when
6. ..., I wonder?
7. in, of
Confused????? Me too!!!!
So just concentrate on the other -ki which is used to make an Adjective of Location, which is really much more important.