About the Compliment - to be

 

The Positive Form - "to be"

Although - to be - appears to be a Verb it is not. It is used in verbless sentences to describe a - state of being

1. The house is blue
2. Mehmet was ill.
3. It will be a quick journey

For this reason the Grammarians call it the Compliment. However many grammar books still refer to it as the verb - to be

---

Present Tense Suffixes - The Compliment - to be

The Verb to be takes the form of a suffix in Turkish. It is subject to Vowel Harmony Rules and also Consonant Mutation when added to words ending in a Hard Consonant.

Personal Present Tense Suffixes

1. -im/-ım/-um/-üm or -yim/-yım/-yum/-yüm (after vowels) - I am
2. -sin/-sın/-sun/-sün - you are
3. -dir/-dır/-dur/-dür or -tir. etc.. (consonant mutation) - he/she/it is
4. -iz/-ız/-uz/-üz or -yiz. etc.. (after vowels) - we are
5. -siniz/-sınız/-sunuz/-sünüz - you are
6. -dir(ler)/-dır(lar)/-dur(lar)/-dür(ler) or -tirler. etc.. (consonant mutation)- they are

Note that the Third Person Plural endings shown in brackets above -lar or -ler are very often omitted in conversation.

---

Past Tense Suffixes - The Compliment - to be

Buffer letter -y- is used in All Persons when suffixing to a word ending in a vowel.

Note the use of the Buffer Letter -y- in the formation of the Past Tense for Verb stems which end in a vowel. This is to keep the final vowel of the verb stem seperated by mutating the first vowel of the Past Tense endings -idim etc to -ydim etc.

Personal Past Tense Suffixes

1. Normal Forms

2. -dim/-dım/-dum/-düm or (After Vowels) -ydim .etc.. - I was
3. -din . etc.. or -ydin - you were
4. -di. etc.. or -ydi - he/she/it was
5. -dik. etc.. or -ydik - we were
6. -diniz. etc.. or -ydiniz - you were
7. -diler. etc.. or -ydiler - they were

1. Consonant Mutation

2. -tim. etc.. - I was
3. -tin - you were
4. -ti - he/she/it was
5. -tik - we were
6. -tiniz - you were
7. -tiler - they were

---

Vowel Harmony - the Compliment - to be

Both the present and past obey the rules of vowel harmony, which are summed up as follows:

The A - Undotted Group

1. Last vowel -a or -ı is followed by -ı in suffix.

2. yaşlıyız - we are old
3. hastaydık - we were ill

1. Last vowel -o or -u is followed by u in suffix.

2. bir vazodur - it is a vase.
3. yorgundum - I was tired.

The E - Dotted Group

1. Last vowel -e or -i is followed by i in suffix.

2. bir iğnedir - it is a needle
3. zengindin - you were rich

1. Last vowel -ö or -ü is followed by ü in suffix.

2. bir gözdür - it is an eye.
3. Türk'tüler - they were Turkish.

---

Consonant Mutation - the Compliment - to be

The present and past tense suffixes which begin in -d- undergo consonant mutation -dir becomes -tir and all the past tense suffixes beginning in -di become -ti after a final hard (unvoiced) consonant the letters ç f h k p ş s t

---

Examples of Consonant Mutation

Present Tense and Past Tense

1. büyüktür - it is large
2. büyüktü - it was large

1. gençtirler - they are young
2. gençtik - we were young

1. yavaştın - you were slow
2. çabuktunuz - you were quick

1. sabahtır - it is morning
2. sabahtı - it was morning

1. bir mektuptur - it is a letter
2. bir mektuptu - it was a letter

1. Mehmet' tir - It is Mehmet
2. Mehmet' ti - It was Mehmet

1. bir sepettir - it is a basket
2. bir sepetti - it was a basket

1. bir virüstür - it is a virus
2. bir virüstü - it was a virus

1. felakettir - it is a disaster
2. felaketti - it was a disaster

Note: Suffixes are not fixed directly to Proper Names (words which begin with a capital letter), an aphostrophe comma is used instead:

1. Mehmet' tir - It is Mehmet
2. İstanbul' da - In Istanbul
3. Hükümet' ten - From the Government

---

Present Tense Reference Summary - The Compliment - to be

In the present tense only 3rd person singular has consonant mutation. It follows that for vowel harmony and consonant mutation the following forms are used:

Singular Forms - Present

1. I am -im, -ım, -üm, -um
2. I am (After Vowels) -yim, -yım, -yüm, -yum

1. you are -sin, -sın, -sün, -sun

1. he/she/it is -dir, -dır, -dür, -dur
2. he/she/it is (Consonant Mutation) -tir, -tır, -tür, -tur

Plural Forms - Present

1. we are - -iz ,-ız,-üz, -uz
2. we are (After Vowels) - -yiz, -yız, -yüz, -yuz

1. you are -siniz, -sınız, -sünüz, -sunuz

1. they are -dirler, -dırlar, -dürler, -durlar
2. they are (Consonant Mutation) -tirler, -tırlar, -türler, -turlar

---

Past Tense Reference Summary - the Compliment - to be

As every person suffix in the past tense begins with a -d then it follows that every person can be subject to consonant mutation to -t when added to a word ending in a hard consonant.

Singular Forms - Past

1. I was -dim, -dım, -düm, -dum
2. I was (Consonant Mutation) -tim, -tım, -tüm, -tum
3. I was (After Vowels) -ydim, -ydım, -ydüm, -ydum

1. you were -din, -dın, -dün, -dun
2. you were (Consonant Mutation) -tin, -tın, -tün, -tun
3. you were (After Vowels) -ydin, -ydın, -ydün, -ydun

1. he/she/it was -di, -dı, -dü, -du
2. he/she/it was (Consonant Mutation) -ti, -tı, -tü, -tu
3. he/she/it was (After Vowels) -ydi, -ydı, -ydü, -ydu

Plural Forms - Past

1. we were -dik ,-dık,-dük, -duk
2. we were (Consonant Mutation) -tik ,-tık,-tük, -tuk
3. we were (After Vowels) -ydik, -ydık, -ydük, -yduk

1. you were -diniz, -dınız, -dünüz, -dunuz
2. you were (Consonant Mutation) -tiniz, -tınız, -tünüz, tunuz
3. you were (After Vowels) -ydiniz, -ydınız, -ydünüz, -ydunuz

1. they were -diler, -dılar, -düler, -dular
2. they were (Consonant Mutation) -tiler, -tılar, -tüler, -tular
3. they were (After Vowels) -ydiler, -ydılar, -ydüler, -ydular

---

Some Examples in the Present and Past Tenses

1. zengin - rich
2. zenginim - I am rich
3. zengindim - I was rich

1. yorgun - tired
2. yorgunum - I am tired
3. yorgundun - you were tired

1. pahalı - dear, expensive
2. pahalıdır - it is dear
3. pahalıydı - it was dear

1. küçük - small
2. küçüktür - it is small
3. küçüktü - it was small

1. hasta - ill
2. hastayız - we are ill
3. hastaydık - we were ill

1. yaşlı - aged/old
2. yaşlısın - you are old
3. yaşlıydı - he was old

1. yoksul - poor
2. yoksuldurlar - they are poor
3. yoksuldular - they were poor

1. genç - young
2. gençtirler - they are young
3. gençtiler - they were young

---

The Future of The Compliment - will be

The Future of the Compliment is lacking in Turkish. It place is taken by the Future Tense of the Verb olmak - to be, to become

1. Yarın hazır olacağım - I will be ready tomorrow
2. Er geç zengin olacaksın - You will become rich soon
3. Bu gece parti çok güzel olacak - It will be a great party tonight

All these are Verbless Sentences but they use the Verb - olmak - to become - to convey the Future of the Compliment - to be