Turkish Language - About Object Participles

About Object Participles

This Participle is used for both Present and Past Tenses. A participle is an adjective which is formed from a verb - and as such it precedes the noun which it describes.

Being a relative participle then it can also serve as a noun and therefore have the personal suffixes and the suffixes of declension added thus forming a relative clause.

It is used for both the present and past tenses, only the context of the situation pertaining will tell which tense to use in English.

Object Participle Formation

The -mek or -mak is dropped from the Infinitive of the Verb and is replaced by the suffix -dik - which is subject to vowel harmony.

The E-Dotted Vowels

gelmek - to come becomes geldik - that came/that which is coming
gülmek - to laugh becomes güldük - that laughed/that which laughs

The A-UnDotted Vowels

bakmak - to look becomes baktık - that looked at/that which looks at
çıkmak - to exit becomes çıktık - that went out/that which is exiting

Generally this participle is not used in its pure form as above but is always personalized. This participle just happens to be the same as the 1st Person Plural of the Simple Past Definite Tense - (with suffix -dik/-tik or -dık/-tık or -duk/-tuk or -dük/-tük according to Vowel Harmony and Consonant Mutation Rules) - but as it seldom used in its pure form then it is not possible to mistake it. Also being a Participle [a Verbal Adjective], it describes a noun so therefore it precedes its noun, and as it is not a verb then it does not stand last in final position in the sentence. From this is becomes easier to recognize it as a verbal adjective by its position in any sentence.

Past Participle with -dik, -dık, -dük, -duk

Position in Sentences

We must realize that a participle is actually an adjective made from a verb form. As an adjective in Turkish it must precede the noun which it qualifies.

This then is how to recognize that it is a an adjective - by its position in the sentence.

It looks like a verb, but it is not a verb. The verb always comes last in a sentence, and hence is easy to recognize it as a verb. If it is not last in the sentence then generally speaking it will be an adjective (or sometimes an objective pronoun).

Formation; Participle + Possessive Suffix - Noun - Verb

• Oturduğum [Otur-duğ-um] ev budur. - This is the house in which I live.
• En çok sevdiğin [sev-diğ-in ] yemek nedir? - What is the food that you like best?
• Yazdığı [Yaz-dığ-ı] mektubu aldım. - I have received the letter that he wrote.
• Geldiğimiz [Gel-diğ-imiz] araba çalınmış. - The car in which we came has been stolen, they say.
• Beğendiğiniz [Beğen-diğ-iniz] kumaşı bulamadım. - I could not find the material that you liked.
• Yaptıkları [Yap-tık-ları] iyiliği unutamayacağım. - I shall not be able to forget the kindness that they have shown.

This participle, which is used for present as well as past time, is identical with the first person plural of the past definite tense, but a possessive suffix (for person) is added to make it equivalent to a relative pronoun. The final -k changes to -ğ before the possessive suffix, except in the plural.

Let is take the first example and personalize it for all persons:

1. Oturduğum ev budur. - This is the house in which I live.
2. Oturduğun ev budur. - This is the house in which you live.
3. Oturduğu ev budur. - This is the house in which he lives.
4. Oturduğumuz ev budur. - This is the house in which we live.
5. Oturduğunuz ev budur. - This is the house in which you live.
6. Oturdukları ev budur. - This is the house in which they live.

We already know that adjectives can stand in place of nouns in Turkish, so if we take a further example, showing how this happens:
Mehmet, söylediğim cevabı beğenmemiş - Mehmet seemed not to like the answer that I spoke. - here the participle - söylediğim - that which I spoke - is used as an adjective to describe - cevap - answer (which is in the objective case - cevabı, as an object of the final verb - beğenmemiş - not to like (apparently)
However we can make the relative adjective into a noun (a relative pronoun) and put this replacing noun into the objective case: Mehmet, söylediğimi beğenmemiş - Mehmet seemed not to like what I said.

The Participle used as a Noun

Let us give some examples in all persons ( all these relative pronouns are in the objective case as a direct object of the verb - beğenmemiş:

Mehmet, seçtiğimi beğenmemiş - Mehmet did not like what I chose.
Mehmet, yaptığını beğenmemiş - Mehmet did not like what you did.
Mehmet, söylediğini beğenmemiş - Mehmet did not like what he said.
Mehmet, bulduğumuzu beğenmemiş - Mehmet did not like what we found.
Mehmet, aldığınızı beğenmemiş - Mehmet did not like what you bought.
Mehmet, değiştirdiklerini beğenmemiş - Mehmet did not like what they changed.

Object Participle Usage

This -dik suffix is often difficult to recognize as it has so many forms due to Vowel Harmony operating in its internal vowel, and Consonant Mutation operating on both the initial -d and the terminal -k
The -dik, -duk, -dık, -dük - Participle is subject to both Vowel Harmony and Consonant Mutation Rules.
So you can find -tik, -tuk, -tık, -tük. If a further suffix with a vowel is added the the final -k is also subject to Consonant Mutation: -diği, -duğu, -dığı, -düğü or -tiği, -tuğu, -tığı, -tüğü

Examples of Use

bulmak - to find - Bulduğum şapka - The hat which I found.
seçmek - to choose - Seçtiğin kitap - The book that you are choosing/chose
görmek - to see - Gördüğü araba - The car that he sees/saw
yazmak - to write - Yazdığımız mektup - The letter that we are writing/that we wrote
demek - to say - Dediğiniz gibi - Like (what) you say/said
sevmek - to like - Sevdikleri dondurma - The ice cream that they liked.
Bulduğum mendil beyazdır - The handkerchief that I found is white.
Yazdığımız mektuplar buradadır - The letters that we wrote are here.
Çalıştığım büro (ofis) kapalı - The office where I work is closed/ The office where I worked is closed.
Söyledikleri mantıklıdır - What they are saying/said is/was sensible.
In the above example note the addition of -dır onto mantıklı - (lit: logical) - as it is a Statement of Fact.

To reiterate; a participle is an adjective so it describes a noun and therefore always precedes the noun (or noun phrase) that it describes. The subject participle describes or signifies the person/thing who is doing something, the subject of the sentence.
Çalan zil - The bell which is ringing..
This description itself can be an Object of another verb:
Çalan zili duyabiliyorum [zil-i]
I can hear the bell (obj.) which is ringing.
Çalan zili duyabildim
I could hear the bell which was ringing.

The passive of çalmak is çalınmak so the above sentence in the Passive is:
Çalınan zili duyabiliyorum
I can hear the bell that is being rung.
Çalınan zili duydum
I heard the bell that was being rung.
The -an/-en Subject Participle being an adjective does not show the tense. The tense is taken from the main verb at the end of the sentence.

Object Participle Description

The Object Participle describes the person/thing that is actioned by something as an Object.
Mehmet'in çaldığı zili duyabiliyorum
I can hear the bell that Mehmet is/was ringing.
Mehmet is actioning the "ringing".

Similarly in the Passive
Mehmet tarafından çalınan zili duyabiliyorum
I can hear the bell that is/was being rung by Mehmet.
The bell's ringing is being actioned by Mehmet.

In Turkish if a Participle is put between the nouns composing "possessive construction" there is no need to use a "possessive suffix" at the end of the second noun.
"Mehmet'in çaldığı zilini : This is WRONG - objective "-ni" is not used.

Ayşe'nin okuduğu kitabını sen de okumak istiyor musun? : Wrong
Ayşe'nin okuduğu kitabı sen de okumak istiyor musun? : Correct

If an adjective is put between the nouns composing "possessive construction" it is necessary to use a "possessive suffix" at the end of the second noun.
Ayşe'nin kalın kitabını bulamıyorum. - I cannot find Ayshe's thick book.
Annesi, evin küçük odasını ailenin en küçük çocuğuna verdi. - The mother gave the house's small room to the smallest child.

Lack of Relative Pronouns in Turkish

As there is NO Relative Participle in Turkish - that, who, which, when - (Note: No question marks so they are relative pronouns ) then "Turkishified" English will say for these participles:
çalan zil - the ringing bell/the bell which is/was ringing (-en/-an Subjective Participle - the bell.. is the subject).
çaldığı zil - the bell that he is ringing/that he rung rung (-dik Objective Participle)
çalındığı zil - the bell that is/was being rung (-dik Objective Participle)
A Further Explanation
So if use the Object Participle - geldiğim zaman - When I came - ("time" is the object of "my coming")
But the Subject Participle - gelen zaman - this means the - time itself is coming (i.e. The future or next time)

Tense taken from main Verb

Ali'nin geldiği zaman, çarşıya GİDİYORUZ - When Ali COMES we ARE GOING to the shops.
Ali'nin geldiği zaman, çarşıya GİTTİK - When Ali CAME we WENT to the shops.
Thus it becomes that both ideas - Ali and his "coming" both become a compound Participle (verbal adjective) to describe - zaman (time). This is more suitable to the Turkish point of view than the relative when.. construction which English uses.

The use of ki - that

The Persian ki can be used to produce a relative clause in Turkish but it is alien to the language and this method should be avoided or you will be marked as a foreigner.. - Biliyorum ki beni seviyorsun. - I know that you love me. - The Persian method - understandable but WRONG.
This method is based on Persian Grammar and is more suitable to European thinking. However the construction shown below comes over as more natural to the Turk.
Biliyorum ki beni seviyorsun. - NOT the natural Turkish method
Beni sevdiğini biliyorum. - The CORRECT method according to Turkish Grammar - using the object participle:
Beni sevdiğ-in-i biliyorum. - Lit: Me that-love-you know I
Beni - me - sevdiğini - that you love [sevdik - that loves + in - you/your + i - object marker for the verb] - biliyorum - I know..
We can see that the correct method uses the -dik Relative Object participle.
Thus it becomes that both ideas - the person and their loving become objects of the verb - I know. This is more suitable to the Turkish point of view.

Future Objective Participle

This Participle in its simple consists of the verb stem with the addition of the Future Tense Sign -ecek or -acak. The -mek or -mak is dropped from the Infinitive of the Verb and is replaced by the suffix -ecek - which is subject to vowel harmony.
gelmek - to come - gelecek - that will come
gülmek - to laugh - gülecek - that will laugh
bakmak - to look - bakacak - that will look
çıkmak - to exit - çıkacak - that will go out
This -ecek/-acak future participle can be used in its pure form and also personalized. This participle just happens to be the same as the 3rd person singular of the Future Tense but it is not possible to mistake it , as being an adjective it is never last in the sentence - but usually modifies a noun.
Yarınki yapacağım iş önemli - The work that I will do tomorrow is (will be) important
Yapılabilecek bir sey yok (yap -il -ebil -ecek) - There is nothing (from a future aspect) that can be done
oturacak değilim - I don't intend to sit [Lit: to sit (as a future aspect) I am not]

An Actual Example - Future Participle

Here is a slogan from a famous Nut Spread bottle for sandwiches - it can be seen on all supermarket shelves.
The only taste that you will not be able to say "No" (to)
We can see here that as - di-ye-me-yeceğ-iniz - precedes the noun - lezzet - taste - that it is a Verbal Adjective or Future Participle describing this noun.
If we break this Future Participle into its components:
di-ye-me - becomes - not to be able to say
di-ye-me-yeceğ - becomes - will not be able to say
di-ye-me-yeceğ-iniz - becomes - that you will not be able to say
Thus the whole meaning becomes (if we accept that in Turkish the verb - demek - can mean to say, to tell
In Turkish English: "No" that-you-will-not-be-able-to-say only taste
In English English: The only taste to which you will not be able to say "No"

For an explanation of how the verb - demek - to, say, tell - is abraded to di- then look at our FAQ page here: See FAQ (8) about "demek"

A "real life" example

While walking around the market with my wife in Izmir one time, we were dragged into a carpet shop and plied with both cups of tea and a sales pitch from the carpet seller. We only got away by saying:
Bey effendi teşekkür ederiz fakat hiç bir şey alacak değiliz.
Thank you sir but we are not about to purchase anything at all.

Another "real life" example

Here is an actual email from the web where the writer is asking advice about his employment and it changes. there are many instances of Future Object Participles and Past Tense Object Participles. if you can translate this email into good English then you have understood the Future Relative Participle as it is used in the Turkish language.

A little vocabulary - tazminat - compensation, şartlar - conditions

Merhaba
Ben 14 seneden beri ayni firmada sistem mühendisi olarak çalışmaktaydım.
Firmam başka bir firma ile birleşince iş hayatıma bu yeni firma altında devam ettim.
Bu geçiş surecinde istersek işten çıkabileceğimiz ve tazminat alabileceğiz söylendi.
Biz istemedik.
Aradan gecen 16 ayda yönetim tarafında bir çok değişiklik oldu ve biz artık oluşan bu yeni yönetim organizasyonunda olmayacağımızı ve çıkmak istediğimizi söyledik.
Fakat bize dedikleri - "Biz sizi bırakmak istemiyoruz, siz bize lâzımsınız. Bizler, sizlerden memnunuz."
Biz, işe böyle bir yönetim altında devam edemeyeceğimizden dolayı, ayrılmakta kararlı olduğumuzu söyledik.
Onlarda bize bu şartlarda tazminat ve diğer haklarımızın yanacağını söylediler.
Ne yapmamız lazım lütfen yardim.

How to say - "Instead of"

There is a special construction in Turkish when making a choice between future actions. This consists of The future Participle + Person + Dative (motion toward) Particle -a/-e
oturacağıma [oturacağ-ım-a] - instead of me sitting - (future participle + person + dative particle)
Bahçede oturacağımıza salonda oturalım - Instead of sitting in the garden let us sit in the salon

Participle examples

Relative Object Participles - showing English Object Participle - Past and Present tenses

1. Doğduğum şehri ziyaret ettim
I visited the city where I was born.

2. Bana verdiğin parayı kaybettim
I have lost the money that you gave me.

3. Bu pencereden gördüğünüz evler çok iyi yapılmıştır
The houses (which/that) you see from this window are very well built.

4. Erkek kardeşimin binmiş olduğu bisiklet bir ağacın yanında duruyordu
The bicycle (which/that) my brother had been riding was standing near a tree.

5. İlk karşılaştığımız yeri hatırlıyor musun?
Do you remember the place where we first met?

6. Benim ofisimde gördüğün adam arkadaşımın babası idi
The man (whom/that) you saw in my office was the father of my friend.

7. Erkek kardeşim için getirdiğin puroları nerede?
Where are the cigars (that/which) you brought for my brother?.

8. Bu masanın üstüne bıraktığım parayı kim çaldı?
Who stole the money (which/that) I left on this table?

9. Çocuk kaçırma zengin ailelerin korktuğu bir suçtur
Kidnapping is a crime which wealthy families fear.

10. Babamın inşa ettiği evin iki yatak odası vardır
The house (which/that) my father built has two bed-rooms.

11. Kaybetmiş olduğum dolma kalem bana ait değildi
The pen (which/that) I had lost did not belong to me.

12. Cüzdanımı bırakmış olduğum yere döndüm
I went back to the place where I had left my wallet.

13. Cüzdanımı cebimden çıkartmış olduğum zamanı hatırlayamadım
l couldn't remember the time when (at which) I had taken my wallet out of my pocket.

14. Bindiğim tren çok kalabalıktı
The train (which/that) I took was very crowded.

15. Mehmet, Ali'ye yeni otomobilini satın almış olduğu yeri gösterdi
Mehmet showed (to) Ali the place where he had bought his new car.

16. Geçen hafta sizi tanıştırdığım Mustafa ikinci romanını yeni neşretti
Mustafa, to whom I introduced you last week, has just published his second novel.

17. The plan on which my brother has been working for years is very interesting.
Erkek kardeşimin yıllardır üzerinde çalıştığı plan çok ilginçtir.

18. The electric toys with which the children are playing are extremely dangerous.
Çocukların oynadıkları elektrikli oyuncaklar son derece tehlikelidir.

19. The wall over which the prisoners escaped in the middle of the night was twenty meters high.
Gecenin ortasında mahkûmların üzerinden kaçtıkları duvar yirmi metre yüksekliğinde idi.

20. The shelter to which they ran is made of stones.
Onların kaçtıkları sığınak taştan yapılmıştır.

21. The book out of which you took a page belongs to my brother.
Bir sayfa koparttığın kitap erkek kardeşime aittir.

22. The men to whom the President spoke are very patriotic.
Cumhurbaşkanının konuştuğu adamlar çok vatanperverdirler.

23. The concert to which we listened last night was excellent.
Dün akşam dinlediğimiz konser mükemmeldi.

24. This is the hotel in which I stayed.
Kaldığım otel budur.

25. Who was the woman who you were talking to when I saw you?
Seni gördüğüm zaman konuştuğun kadın kimdi?

26. This is where the accident took place.
Bu kazanın olduğu yerdir.

27. I saw the man whose house my brother stayed at.
Evinde erkek kardeşimin kaldığı adamı gördüm.

28. The day (when/on which) Deren came to Istanbul was very warm.
Deren'in İstanbul'a geldiği gün çok ılıktı.

29. This is the street where I live.
Oturduğum sokak budur.

30. The teacher with whom I studied last year was Huyla hanım.
Geçen yıl birlikte çalıştığım öğretmen Huyla hanım ıdı.

31. The person for whom I am waiting is my boss.
Beklediğim kimse benim patronumdur.

32. The house at which we are looking belongs to my friend.
Baktığımız ev arkadaşıma aittir.

33. The sport in which I am interested is swimming.
İlgilendiğim spor yüzmedir.

34. The book for which I asked is not in the library.
Aradığım kitap kütüphanede değil.

35. I know the man from whose son you bought the car.
Oğlundan otomobili satın aldığın adamı tanıyorum.

36. I remember the morning when they left the city.
Onların şehirden ayrıldıkları sabahı hatırlıyorum.

37. I saw the house where you live.
İçinde yaşadığın evi gördüm.

38. Nejati was born in February.
Şubat Nejati 'nin doğduğu ay 'dır.

Examples - Future Obj. Participle

1. Yola çıkacağımız liman İzmir 'dir.
The port we will sail from is Izmir.

2. Kira ile tutacağın evi gördüm. [Kiralıyacağın evi gördüm.]
I saw the house which you are going to rent.

3. Uçağın kalkacağı zamanı bilmiyorum.
I don't know what time the plane will take off.

4. Evleneceğim kadını görmek isterim
I would like to see the woman (that/with whom) I'm going to marry.

2. Tasvir edeceğim suç geçen kış bizim köyde vuku buldu
The crime (which/that) I am going to describe took place in our village last winter.

6. Hastalığım için uygun tedavi görebileceğim yeri ziyaret etmek istedim
I wanted to visit a place where I could get proper treatment for my illness.

An Example to work on

Here is a joke containing various sorts of participles (highlighted). can you translate it correctly?

FAKİRLİK

Günlerden bir gün bir baba ve zengin ailesi oğlunu köye götürdü.
Bu yolculuğun tek amacı vardı, insanların ne kadar fakir olabileceklerini oğluna göstermek.
Çok fakir bir ailenin çiftliğinde bir gece ve gün geçirdiler.

Yolculuktan döndüklerinde baba oğluna sordu:
-İnsanların ne kadar fakir olabildiklerini gördün mü?
-Evet!
-Ne öğrendin peki?

Oğlu yanıt verdi:
- Şunu gördüm: Bizim evde bir köpeğimiz var, onlarınsa dört.
- Bizim bahçenin ortasına kadar uzanan bir havuzumuz var, onlarınsa sonu olmayan bir dereleri.
- Bizim bahçemizde ithal lambalar var, onlar inşa yıldızları.
- Bizim görüş alanımız on avluya kadar, onlarsa bütün bir ufku görüyorlar.

Oğlu sözünü bitirdiğinde babası söyleyecek bir şey bulamadı.

Oğlu ekledi:
-Teşekkürler, baba. Ne kadar fakir olduğumuzu gösterdiğin için!