Selling roasted köküreç (sheeps entrails) at Kemeraltı Market in İzmir c.1989

The Turkish Object Participle - "That.. Which.. Whom.. was done or affected.." - by the verb in the sentence.

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About Object Participles

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This Participle is used for both Present and Past Tenses

Note: A Participle is an Adjective which is formed from a Verb - and as such it precedes the noun which it describes.

This is a Relative Participle which can 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.

Formation of the -dik Object Participle

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

The E-Dotted Vowels

1. gelmek - to come
2. geldik - that came/which is coming
3. gülmek - to laugh
4. güldük - that laughed/which laughs

The A-UnDotted Vowels

1. bakmak - to look
2. baktık - that looked at/which looks at
3. çıkmak - to exit
4. çıktık - that went out/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.

Some Examples

This -dik suffix is often difficult to recognise 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, -dİk, -dük - Participle is subject to both Vowel Harmony and Consonant Mutation Rules.
So you can find -tik, -tuk, -tİk, -tük.
If a further suffix with a vowel is added the the final -k is also subject to Consonant Mutation: -diği, -duğu, -dİğİ, -düğü or -tiği, -tuğu, -tİğİ, -tüğü

1. bulmak - to find
2. Bulduğum şapka - The hat which I found.
3. seçmek - to choose
4. Seçtiğin kitap - The book that you are choosing/chose
5. görmek - to see
6. Gördüğü araba - The car that he sees/saw
7. yazmak - to write
8. Yazdığımız mektup - The letter that we are writing/that we wrote
9. demek - to say
10. Dediğiniz gibi - Like (what) you say/said
11. sevmek - to like
12. Sevdikleri dondurma - The ice ceam that theyliked/liked.

Further Examples

1. Buldüğum mendil beyazdır - The handkerchief that I found is white.
2. Yazdığımız mektuplar buradadır - The letters that we wrote are here.
3. 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

1. Çalıştığım büro (ofis) kapalı - The office where I work is closed/ The office where I worked is closed.

Explanation of Usage of the Object Participle - Verbal Adjective

Verbal Participles (a Participle is an Adjective so it describes a noun and therefore always precedes the noun (or noun phrase) that it describes.

There are two main ones:

The Subject Participle -en/-an

1. Çalan zil - The bell which is ringing.
2. This description itself can be an Object of another verb:
3. Çalan zili duyabilirim - I can hear the bell which is/was ringing.

1. The passive of çalmak is çalınmak.
2. So the above sentence in the Passive is:
3. Çalınan zili duyabilirim - I can hear the bell that is/was being rung.

The Object Participle -dık/-dik/-duk/-dük, -tık/-tik/-tuk/-tük

The Object Participle describes the Person/Thing that is ACTIONED by something as an Object.

1. çaldığı zil - the bell that is/was rang
2. This description itself can be an Object of another verb:
3. Mehmet'in çaldığı zili duyabilirim - I can hear the bell that Mehmet is/was ringing. (Mehmet is actioning the "ringing")

1. Similarly in the Passive
2. Mehmet'in çalındığı zili duyabilirim - I can hear the bell that is/was being rung by Mehmet. - (The bell's ringing is being actioned by Mehmet)

Lack of Relative Pronouns in Turkish

As there is NO Relative Participle in Turkish - that, who, which, when - (Note: No questıon marks so they are relative pronouns ) then Turkishfied English will say:

1. Çalan zil - the ringing bell - The bell which is/was ringing (-en/-an Subjective Participle).
2. çaldığı zil - the ringing bell - The bell which is being rung (-dik Objective Participle)

A Further Explanation

So if we say - geldiğim zaman - When I came.. - ("time.." is the OBJECT of "my coming")

If we were to use the Subject Participle - gelen zaman - this means the - TIME itself is coming (i.e. The future or next time)

Example of Tense influenced by the Main Verb

Ali'nin geldiği zaman, çarşıya gidiyoruz

When Ali COMES we ARE GOING to the shops.

Ali'nin geldiği zaman, çarşıya gittik

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.. constuction 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..

1. 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 constuction shown below comes over as more natural to the Turk.

1. Biliyorum ki beni seviyorsun. - NOT the natural Turkish method
2. Beni sevdiğini biliyorum. - The CORRECT method according to turkish Grammar

Explanation

Beni sevdiğ-in-i biliyorum. - Lit: Me that-love-you know I
sevdik (that loves) + in (you/your) + i (object marker for the verb - biliyorum)

The correct mehod 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.

The Future Objective Participle

This Participle in its simple consists of the verb stem with the addition of the Future Tense Sign -ecek or -acak

Formation of th -ecek Future Participle

The -mek or -mak is dropped from the Infinive of the Verb and is replaced bi the suffix -ecek - which is subject to vowel harmony.

1. gelmek - to come
2. gelecek - that will come
3. gülmek - to laugh
4. gülecek - that will laugh

1. bakmak - to look
2. bakacak - that will look
3. çıkmak - to exit
4. çıkacak - that will go out

This 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.

Some Examples - Future Participle

1. Yarınki yapacağım iş önemli - The work that I will do tomorrow is (will be) important
2. Yapılabilecek bir sey yok (yap -il -ebil -ecek) - There is nothing (from a future aspect) that can be done
3. 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 Spead bottle for sandwiches - it can be seen an all the supermarket shelves..

"Hayır" diyemeyceğiniz tek lezzet. - (di-ye-me-yeceğ-iniz)

"No" that-you-will-not-be-able-to-say only taste

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..

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

This if we break this Future Participle into its components:
di-ye- [di-(y)e-me-] becomes not to be able to say
di-ye-me-yeceğ- [di-(y)e-me-(y)eceğ-] becomes - will not be able to say
di-ye-me-yeceğ-iniz [di-(y)e-me-(y)eceğ-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" or "to tell"
In Turkish English: "No" that-you-will-not-be-able-to-say only taste
In English English: The only taste to which that you will not be able to say "No"

A "real life" example

While walking around the market with my wife in Izmir one time, we were dragged into a carpet shop and plyed 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.

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

1. oturacağıma (oturacağ-ım-a) - instead of me sitting (future participle + person + dative particle)
2. Bahçede oturacağımıza salonda oturalım - Instead of sitting in the garden let us sit in the salon

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