Turkish Language - the Necessitative Mood
Simple Tense of Obligation
I must go
I ought to go
I should go
I have to go
I have got to go
This Mood is formed by attaching the -li Suffix of Obligation to the short infinitive form of the verb. The suitable to be personal suffix is then added to denote the number of the person - I, you, he,we, you, they..
Expressing Obligation.
There are a number ways to express obligation in Turkish.
- The first way is to use the noun zor - trouble, difficulty, worry, problem,difficult, hard
zorunda kalmak [zor-u-nda = "in the problem"] - to be left no choice but (to do something)
zorunda olmak - to have to, be obliged to (do something)
- Or one can use an arabic word mecbur - necessity, need to..
mecbur olmak /-a/ {demands a Motion Towards Object) - to be forced to, be obliged to, have to (do something).
mecbur kalmak -/a/ {demands a Motion Towards Object) - to feel obliged to, feel that one has to (do something). (Bakmaya mecbur oldum.. - I felt (that) I had to look..)
These methods are widely used especially in notices and newspapers, but the verb itself has a Mood of Obligation which is explained below. There may be some fine differences in meaning and intent within these various methods of expressing obligation, but they can only be learned by experience and observation.
A full example with the verb - etmek - to do/to perform
In the table below we show all the meanings in English which the Turkish Necessitative replaces. We realize that the English method have slightly differing meanings which are better explained by a grammarian. Suffice it to say that these fine meaning are understood "in context" when speaking Turkish.
| Necessitative Mood Tenses | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Positive forms | Negative forms | ||
| Statement | Interrogative | Statement | Interrogative |
| Simple Tense of Obligation - I must, I ought to, I should, I have (got) to, do it.. | |||
| ben etmeliyim | ben etmeli miyim? | ben etmemeliyim | ben etmemeli miyim? |
| sen etmelisin | sen etmeli misin? | sen etmemelisin | sen etmemeli misin? |
| o etmeli(dir) | o etmeli mi? | o etmemeli | o etmemeli mi? |
| biz etmeliyiz | biz etmeli miyiz? | biz etmemeliyiz | biz etmemeli miyiz? |
| siz etmelisiniz | siz etmeli misiniz? | siz etmemelisiniz | siz etmemeli misiniz? |
| onlar etmeli(dir)ler | onlar etmeliler mi? | onlar etmemeliler | onlar etmemeliler mi? |
| I must do.. I ought to do.. I should do.. I have (got) to do.. | Must I do..? Ought I to do..? Should I do..? Have I (got) to do..? | I must not do.. I ought not to to.. I should not do.. I have not (got) to do.. | Must I not do..? (Mustn't I do..?) Ought I not to do..? (Oughtn't I to do..?) Should I not do..? (Shouldn't I do..?) Have I not (got) to do..? (Haven't I (got) to do..?) |
Obligation Mood - Formation
Example of an A-Dotted Verb bakmak - to see
The Short infinitive is formed by dropping the final -k from the Full Infinitive thus giving bakma for the Positive Verb stem while the Negative Verb Stem produces bakmama -(from bakamamak - not to see)
- Then with the addition of the undotted form of the-lı Suffix of Obligation we arrive at the necessitative mood verb roots bakmalı- for the Positive and bakmamalı- for the Negative..
- The verb form is completed by adding the personal endings of the verb "to be"
| The Mood of Obligation - A-Undotted Verbs adds -malı- Suffix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| bakmalıyım | I ought to see/I must see | bakmamalıyım | I ought not to see |
| bakmalısın | You ought to see/You must see | bakmamalısın | You ought not to see |
| O bakmalı(dır) | He ought to see/He must see | O bakmamalı(dır) | He ought not to see |
| bakmalıyız | We ought to see/we must see | bakmamalıyız | We ought not to see |
| bakmalısınız | You ought to see/you must see | bakmamalısınız | You ought not to see |
| bakmalı(dır)lar | They ought to see/They must see | bakmamalı(dır)lar | They ought not to see |
Example of an E-Dotted Verb girmek - to enter
Similarly for the E-Dotted Group of Verbs (where because of Vowel Harmony Rules the Suffix of Obligation takes its dotted form -li-) - girmek - to enter - will become girmeli- for the Positive and girmemeli- for the Negative..
| The Mood of Obligation - E-Ddotted Verbs add -meli- Suffix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| girmeliyim | I ought to enter | girmemeliyim | I ought not to enter |
| girmelisin | You ought to enter | girmemelisin | You ought not to enter |
| O girmeli(dir) | He ought to enter | O girmemeli(dir) | He ought not to enter |
| girmeliyiz | We ought to enter | girmemeliyiz | We ought not to enter |
| girmelisiniz | You ought to enter | girmemelisiniz | You ought not to enter |
| girmeli(dir)ler | They ought to enter | girmemeli(dir)ler | They ought not to enter |
Conjugation Examples
| Mood of Obligation - Positive Form - Statement Present Tense | |
|---|---|
| Ben gitmeliyim | I must go.. |
| Sen gitmelisin | You ought to go.. |
| O gitmeli(dir) | He, She, It should go.. |
| Biz gitmeliyiz | We have to go.. |
| Siz gitmelisiniz | You have got to go.. |
| Onlar gitmeli(dir)ler | They have to go |
| Mood of Obligation - Positive Form - Interrogative Present Tense | |
|---|---|
| Ben gitmeli miyim? | Must I go..? |
| Sen gitmeli misin? | Ought you to go..? |
| O gitmeli mi? | Should he go..? |
| Biz gitmeli miyiz? | Have we to go..? |
| Siz gitmeli misiniz? | Have you got to go..? |
| Onlar gitmeliler mi? | Have they got to go..? |
| Mood of Obligation - Negative Form - Statement Present Tense | |
|---|---|
| Ben gitmemeliyim | I must not go..? |
| Sen gitmemelisin | You ought not to go.. |
| O gitmemeli | He should not go.. |
| Biz gitmemeliyiz | We have not to go.. |
| Siz gitmemelisiniz | You have not got to go.. |
| Onlar gitmemeliler | They have not got to go.. |
| Mood of Obligation - Negative Form - Interrogative Present Tense | |
|---|---|
| Ben gitmemeli miyim? | Must I not go..? (Mustn't I go..?) |
| Sen gitmemeli misin? | Ought you not to go..? (Oughtn't you to go..?) |
| O gitmemeli mi? | Should he not go..? (Shouldn't he go..?) |
| Biz gitmemeli miyiz? | Have we not got to go..? (Haven't we (got) to go..?) |
| Siz gitmemeli misiniz? | Have you not to go..? (Haven't you to go..?) |
| Onlar gitmemeliler mi? | Have they not got to go..? (Haven't they got to go..?) |
Past Definite
Necessitative Past Definite - Relates to an actual situation - I should have gone.., He must have gone.., etc..
| Mood of Obligation - Positive Form - Statement Past Tense Definite | |
|---|---|
| Ben gitmeliydim | I must have gone.. |
| Sen gitmeliydin | You ought to have gone.. |
| O gitmeliydi | He should have gone.. |
| Biz gitmeliydik | We had to go.. |
| Siz gitmeliydiniz | You had got to go.. |
| Onlar gitmeliydiler | They had to go.. |
| Mood of Obligation - Positive Form - Interrogative Past Tense Definite | |
|---|---|
| Ben gitmeli miydim? | Must I have gone..? |
| Sen gitmeli miydin? | Ought you to have gone..? |
| O gitmeli miydi? | Should he have gone..? |
| Biz gitmeli miydik? | Had we to go ..? |
| Siz gitmeli miydiniz? | Had you got to go..? |
| Onlar gitmeliler miydi? | Had they got to go..? |
| Mood of Obligation - Negative Form - Statement Past Tense Definite | |
|---|---|
| Ben gitmemeliydim | I must not have gone.. |
| Sen gitmemeliydin | You ought not to have gone.. |
| O gitmemeliydi | He should not have gone.. |
| Biz gitmemeliydik | We had not to go.. |
| Siz gitmemeliydiniz | You had not got to go.. |
| Onlar gitmemeliydiler | They had not got to go.. |
| Mood of Obligation - Negative Form - Interrogative Past Tense Definite | |
|---|---|
| Ben gitmemeli miydim? | Must I not have gone..? (Mustn't I have gone..?) |
| Sen gitmemeli miydin? | Ought you not to have gone..? Oughtn't you to have gone..?) |
| O gitmemeli miydi? | Should he not have gone..? (Shouldn't he have gone..?) |
| Biz gitmemeli miydik? | Had we not got to go..? (Hadn't we got to go..?) |
| Siz gitmemeli miydiniz? | Had you not got to go..? (Hadn't you got to go..?) |
| Onlar gitmemeliler miydi? | Had they not got to go..? (Hadn't they got to go..?) |
Past Indefinite
Necessitative Past of Presumption - relates to an assumption - I suppose that I should have gone.., I suppose that he should have gone.., etc..
| Mood of Obligation - Positive Form - Statement of Presumption | |
|---|---|
| Ben gitmeliymişim | (I suppose that) I must have gone..) |
| Sen gitmeliymişsin | (I believe that) you ought to have gone.. |
| O gitmeliymiş | (Presumably) he should have gone.. |
| Biz gitmeliymişiz | (In reality) we had got to go.. |
| Siz gitmeliymişsiniz | (It seems that) you had to go.. |
| Onlar gitmeliymişler | (Probably..) they had got to go.. |
| Mood of Obligation - Positive Form - Question of Presumption | |
|---|---|
| Ben gitmeli miymişim? | Ought I to have gone..? (at all..?) |
| Sen gitmeli miymişsin? | Should I have gone..? (possibly..?) |
| O gitmeli miymiş? | (I wonder..?) Had you to have gone..? |
| Biz gitmeli miymişiz? | (I wonder..?) Did he have to go..? |
| Siz gitmeli miymişsiniz? | (It seems that..?) Did you have to go..? |
| Onlar gitmeli miymişler? | (Surely by now..?) Must they have gone..? |
| Mood of Obligation - Negative Form - Statement of Presumption | |
|---|---|
| Ben gitmemeliymişim | (I suppose that) I must not have gone.. |
| Sen gitmemeliymişsin | (I believe that) you ought not to have gone.. |
| O gitmemeliymiş | (Presumably) he should not have gone.. |
| Biz gitmemeliymişiz | (In reality) we had not got to go.. |
| Siz gitmemeliymişsiniz | (It seems that) you had not to go.. |
| Onlar gitmemeliymişler | (Probably..) they did not have to go.. |
| Mood of Obligation - Negative Form - Interrogative of Presumption | |
|---|---|
| Ben gitmemeli miymişim? | Ought I not to have gone..? (at all..?) |
| Sen gitmemeli miymişsin? | (I think that..?) Should you not have gone..? |
| O gitmemeli miymiş? | (I wonder..?) Did he not have to go..? |
| Biz gitmemeli miymişiz? | (I wonder..?) Had we not got to go..? |
| Siz gitmemeli miymişsiniz? | (It seems that..? ) Did you not have to go..? |
| Onlar gitmemeli miymişler? | (Surely..?) must they not have gone..? |
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