Turkish infinitives and English gerunds or infinitives

1. 1900
TURKISH INFINITIVES
and
ENGLISH INFINITIVES
or
ENGLISH
GERUNDS
Yüksel Göknel
ygoknel@outlook.com

2. INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
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TURKISH INFINITIVES and ENGLISH INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
Before we begin with the English and Turkish grammars, it may be useful to
start with the Turkish infinitives, and either English infinitives or gerunds.
In Turkish, there are only infinitives that are formed of a verb and various
noun-producing allomorphs attached to a verb, such as:
verb-[mek, mak]
verb-[me, ma]
verb-[iş, ış, üş, uş]
verb-[dik, dık, dük, duk, tik, tık, tük, tuk]
The allomorphs above written black are the noun-producing allomorphs
that turn verbs into infinitives when they are attached to them. Turkish
infinitives generally function as nouns in Turkish sentences.
However, the English infinitives may function either as nouns, as adverbs
or as adjectives in sentences.
“To verb” is an infinitive, and “verb-ing” is a gerund, but “verb-ing” is a
present participle (adjective).
The “ing” noun-producing suffix may turn a verb into a nominal gerund,
but the same “ing” may also change a verb into an adjective “verb-ing”,
which is called present participle.
English nominal gerunds may be used as subjects, objects, objects of
prepositions or as subject complements in sentences. English gerunds
and their Turkish infinitive equivalents are underlined as follows:
Read-ing helps us improve our knowledge. (The nominal gerund is subject.)
Oku-mak bilgi-imiz-i geliştir-me-/y/e yardım et-er. (The infinitive is subject.)
Jack enjoys listen-ing to pop music. (“To pop music” is an adverbial phrase.)
(“Enjoy” is a transitive verb; the underlined partis its object; “noun”.)
Jack pop müzik dinle-mek-ten hoşlan-ır.
(“Hoşlan” is an intransitive verb; the underlined part is an adverbial phrase)
My sister is interested in annoy-ing me. (The gerund is the object of “in”.)
Kız kardeş-im can-ım-ı sık-mak-la ilgilen-ir. (“Sık-mak-la” is an adverbial.)
See-ing is believ-ing. Gör-mek inan-mak-tır.
gerund verb gerund infinitive infinitive verb

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Some English present participles “verb- ing” can be used as adjectives
in sentences whose Turkish equivalents are formed by attaching [en, an]
adjective-producing allomorphs to verbs. For instance:
fly-ing → uç-an, talk-ing → konuş-an, shin-ing → ışılda-/y/an,
smil-ing → gülümse-/y/en, rise-ing → yüksel-en, cry-ing → ağla-/y/an,
sing-ing → ötüş-en, fall-ing → düş-en, roar-ing → kükre-/y/en.
fly-ing birds → Uç-an kuşlar; talk-ing parrots → konuş-an papağanlar;
shin-ing lights → ışılda-/y/an ışıklar; smil-ing baby → gülümse-/y/en
bebek; rise-ing prices → yüksel-en fiyatlar; fall-ing leaves → düş-en
yapraklar; roar-ing lions → kükre-/y/en arslanlar.
Turkish infinitives “verb-[mek, mak]”, “verb-[me, ma]” and the others are
always nominal infinitives. They always function as nouns in sentences.
However, the English “to verb” infinitives may either function as nouns, as
adjectives or adverbs without changing their forms. For instance:
Mary Türkçe öğren-mek iste-iyor. (The infinitive is nominal.)
Mary wants to learn Turkish. (The infinitive is nominal.)
Mary benim-le konuş-ma-/y/ı reddet-ti. (The infinitive is nominal.)
Mary refused to talkto me. (The infinitive is nominal.)
Mary bir araba al-mak için para biriktir-iyor. (“Infinitive + için” is adverbial.)
Mary is saving money to buy a car. (The infinitive is adverbial.)
Balık tut-mak için göl-e git-ti-im. (Infinitive + postposition) (Adverbial)
I went to the lake to fish. (The infinitive is adverbial.)
Jack okul-dan çık-an ilk çocuk-tu. (“Çık-an” is an adjective.)
Jack was the first boy to leave the school. (“To leave” is an adjective.)
(The infinitive modifies the noun “boy”; so it is an adjective.)
Yürü-/y/ecek uzun bir yol-umuz var. (“Yürü-/y/ecek” is an adjective.)
We have a long way to walk. (“To walk” is an adjective.)
Öğren-ecek çok şey-iniz var. (“Öğren-ecek” is an adjective.)
You have a lot of things to learn. (“To learn” is an adjective.)
Bitir-ecek bir iş-im var. (“Bitir-ecek” is an adjective.)
I have a work to finish. (“To finish” is an adjective.)
Note:
Blue words show subjects and subject allomorphs.
Black words show objects, noun clauses, and nouns.
Red words show verbs.

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Green words show adverbs, adverb clauses, question allomorphs and
prepositions. Purple words show adjectives, noun modifiers and pos-
sessive allomorphs and Brown words show subject complements.
Turkish glides are /n/, /s/, /ş/ and /y/.
TURKISH INFINITIVES (MASTARLAR)
In Turkish, the grammar term infinitive (mastar) covers both the gerunds
and the infinitives of the English language. Therefore, we always talk about
infinitives in Turkish. When you see a “verb-mek, mak”, a “verb-me, ma“,
a “verb-iş, ış, üş, uş” or a “verb-dik, dık, dük, duk, tik, tık, tük, tuk”
inflectional allomorphs attached to verbs, they turn them into infinitives. All
infinitives in Turkish are nouns, and they are timeless.
There are four kinds of infinitives in Turkish:
1. The ♫ [mek, mak] allomorphs attached to verb roots, stems or frames:
oku-mak (reding, to read); yüz-mek (swimming, to swim); yardım et-mek
(helping, to help); konuş-mak (talking, to talk); temizle-mek (cleaning, to
clean); oyna-mak (playing, to play); tart-mak; tartıl-mak (tar*tıl*mak); tart-
ış-mak (tar*tış*mak); kaç-mak; kaçın-mak (ka*çın*mak); kaçış-mak (ka*-
çış*mak); sürt-mek; sürtül-mek (sür*tül*mek); sürtün-mek (sür*tün*-mek);
sürtüş-mek (sür*tüş*mek); döv-mek; dövül-mek (dö*vül*mek); dövün-
mek (dö*vün*mek); dövüş-mek; çek-mek; çekil-mek; çekin-mek; çekiş-
mek; at-mak; atıl-mak; atış-mak; sev-mek; sevil-mek; sevin-mek; seviş-
mek; değ-mek; değin-mek; değil-mek.
2. The ♫ [me, ma] allomorphs attached to verb roots, stems or frames:
git-me (going, to go); gel-me (coming, to come); çalış-ma (working, to
work); eleştir-me (criticizing, to criticize); anla-ma (understanding, to under-
stand); ezberle-me (memorizing, to memorize); tart-ma, tartıl-ma (tar*tıl*-
ma), tartış-ma (tar*tış*ma); gör-me, görül-me (gö*rül*me), görün-me
(gö*rün*me), görüş-me; kaç-ma; kaçın-ma; kaçış-ma.
3. The ♫ [iş, ış, üş, uş, eş, aş] allomorphs attached to verb roots or stems:
gül-üş (gü*lüş) (way of smiling); bak-ış (ba*kış) (way of looking); anla-
/y/ış (an*la*yış) (ability of understanding), gel-iş (ge*liş) (way of) coming);
davran-ış (dav*ra*nuş) (way of behaving).
4. The ♫ [dik. dık, dük, duk, tik, tık, tük, tuk] allomorphs attached to verb
roots, stems or frames:

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yüz-dük, gel-dik, oku-duk, temizle-dik, bekle-dik, çalış-tık, soyun-duk
(so*yun*duk), anlaş-tık (an*laş*tık), kesiş-tik, sevil-dik, yüzleş-tik,
bekleş-tik (bek*leş*tik) tartış-tık (tar*tış*tık)
The Nr. 4 infinitives are used in transforming sentences into “possessive
+ owned” (noun + infinitive) compounds such as: “ben-im gör-dük-üm”
(be*nim / gör*dü*ğüm); “Hasan’ın çalış-tık-ı” (ha*sa*nın / ça*lış*tı*ğı);
“biz-im bekleş-tik-imiz” (bi*zim / bek*leş*ti*ği*miz).
In the examples above, the ♫ [dik, dık, dük, duk, tik, tık, tük, tuk] allo-
morphs are not the allomorphs used in "Futbol oyna-dı-ık." For instance,
when the sentence "O futbol oynuyor" is transformed into a noun phrase
(noun + infinitive compound), it becomes "onun futbol oyna-dık-ı". This
transformed phrase can be used as the object of "görüyorum". "Onun
futbol oyna-dık-ı/n/ı (oynuyor olduğunu) görüyorum. In this sentence,
the allomorph [dık] does not convey a past time concept as the other
infinitives. Consequently, "oynuyor”, “oynar”, “oynardı”, “oynadı”,
“oynuyordu" tenses are all transformed into a “noun + infinitive”
compound as "oyna-dık-ı" (oy*na*dı*ğı), which are used either as noun
modifiers, such as “onun çalış-tık-ı şirket” (the company where he
works”, or objects as in the following:
O futbol oynuyor. ↻ “onun futbol oyna-dık-ı” (oy*na*dı*ğı)
O futbol oynar. ↻ “onun futbol oyna-dık-ı”
O futbol oynadı. ↻ “onun futbol oyna-dık-ı”
O futbol oynuyordu. ↻ “onun futbol oyna-dık-ı”
When all of the four sentences above are transformed into nouns, they can
be used in the following sentences as definite objects:
Onun futbol oyna-dık-ı-/n/ı görüyor-um. I can see that he is playing football.
Onun her gün futbol oyna-dık-ı-/n/ı biliyor-um. I know that he plays football
every day. Onun dün futbol oyna-dık-ı-/n/ı gördü-üm. I saw that he was playing
football yesterday.
These examples prove that the [DİK] morpheme is not the past time [di-ik]
morpheme. It is a morpheme attached to a verb to produce an infinitive:
“Onun araba-/y/ı çal-dık-ı” is a “noun + infinitive” compound like “onun
araba-/y/ı çal-ma-/s/ı”.
Generally speaking, "ben-im al-ma-am", "ben-im al-ış-ım", "ben-im al-
dık-ım" expressions are all “possessive + owned” noun compounds like

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"ben-im kapı-ım". The "verb-[mek, mak]" infinitives are timeless as the
other infinitives are, but they are not used in compounds. For instance
*“onun git-mek-i” is not used in Turkish; the “verb-[me, ma]” infinitives are
used instead.
WHERE TURKISH INFINITIVES AND ENGLISH INFINITIVES OR GERUNDS ARE USED
Watch carefully where infinitives or gerunds are used in place of Turkish
infinitives in the following sentences. Brown words are subject comple-
ments.
1 (a). The [mek, mak] allomorphs, which turn verbs into infinitives
(nouns), can be used in the subject position in a sentence. They are
timeless and have no personal possessive allomorphs attached to them.
Yürü-mek sağlık için yararlı-dır. (“Yürü-mek” is an infinitive “subject”.)
(yü*rü*mek / sağ*lık / i*çin / ya*rar*lı*dır ↷)
Walk-ing is good for health. (“Walk-ing is a nominal gerund “subject”.)
Sigara iç-mek zararlı-dır. (The subject is an infinitive.)
(si*ga*ra / iç*mek / za*rar*lı*dır ↷)
Smok-ing is harmful. (The subject is a nominal gerund.)
Gün-de sekiz saat uyu-mak sağlıklı bir kişi için yeterli-dir. (Infinitive)
(gün*de / se*kiz / sa*at / u*yu*mak / sağ*lık*lı / bir / ki*şi / i*çin /
ye*ter*li*dir↷)
Sleep-ing eight hours a day is enough for a healthy person. (Gerund)
Bütün gün televizyon seyret-mek zaman kaybı-dır. (Infinitive)
(bü*tün / gün / te*le*viz*yon / sey*ret*mek / za*man / kay*bı*dır ↷)
Watch-ing television all day long is a waste of time. (Gerund)
O-/n/u ikna et-mek kolay-dır. (Infinitive)
(o*nu / ik*na: / et*mek / ko*lay*dır ↷)
To convince him is easy. (Infinitive)
1 (b).The same [mek, mak] infinitives are also used before “yerine”
and “için” postpositions:
Televizyon seyret-mek yerine iş-in-i yap.
(te*le*viz*yon / sey*ret*mek / ye*ri*ne / i*şi*ni / yap ↷)
Do your work instead of watch-ing television.
The gerunds “watch-ing”, “work-ing ”, and “go-ing” are the objects of
the preposition “instead of”. However, when the gerunds are used

7. INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
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together with the preposition “istead of” their function becomes
adverbial.
Bahçe-de çalış-mak yerine tenis oyna-dı-ık.
infinitive (noun) postp
postp phrs (adverbial)
(bah*çe*de / ça*lış*mak / ye*ri*ne / te*nis / oy*na*dık ↷)
We played tennis in the garden instead of work-ing.
Okul-a git-mek yerine sinema-/y/a git-ti-ler
(o*ku*la / git*mek / ye*ri*ne~/ si*ne*ma*ya / git*ti*ler ↷)
They went to the cinema instead of go-ing to school.
The same [mek, mak] allomorphs are also used before “için” postpositions
to express purpose:
Ev ödev-im-i tamamla-mak için sabah-leyin erken kalk-tı-ım.
(e*vö*de*vi*mi / ta*mam*la*mak / i*çin~/ sa*bah*le*yin / er*ken / kalk* tım)
I got up early to complete my homework. (“To complete” is an infinitive
that functions as an adverb.)
The functions of English infinitives are of three kinds; some of them
are adverbal, some others are nominal, and some others are adjectival:
Yepyeni bir araba al-mak için para biriktir-iyor-uz. (Adverbial)
(yep*ye*ni / bir / a*ra*ba / al*mak / i*çin / pa*ra / bi*rik*ti*ri*yo*ruz ↷)
We are saving money to buy a new car. (“To buy” is an adverbial.)
Onlar-ı gör-mek için pencere-den bak-tı-ım. (“Görmek için” is adver-
bial.) (on*la*rı / gör*mek / i*çin ~/ pen*ce*re*den / bak*tım ↷)
I looked out of the window to see them. (“To see” is adverbial infinitive.)
O/n/u bitir-mek için zaman-a ihtiyaç-ımız var. (Adverbial)
(o*nu / bi*tir*mek / i*çin ~/ za*ma:*na / ih*ti*ya:*cı*mız / var ↷)
We need time to finish it. (“To finish” is an adverbial infinitive.)
Cumhurbaşkanı-/n/ı gör-mek için herkes ayak-a kalk-tı. (Adverbial)
Everybody stood up to see the president. (“To see” is an adverbial infinitive)
Yabancı dil öğren-mek için çok çalış-mak zorunda-sın. (Adverbial;nominal)
(ya*ban*cı / dil / öğ*ren*mek / i*çin~ / çok / ça*lış*mak / zo*run*da*sın ↷)
You have to study hard to learn a foreign language. (Nominal and adverbial)
Ben-i anla-mak için dikkat-le dinle. (The “infinitives + için” is adverbial.)
(be*ni / an*la*mak / i*çin ~/ dik*kat*le / din*le ↷)
Listen carefully to understand me. (“To understand” is adverbial.)

8. INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
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Islan-ma-mak için şemsiye-/s/i-/n/i al-dı. (Adverbial)
(ıs*lan*ma*mak / i*çin / şem*si*ye*si*ni / al*dı ↷)
She took her umbrella not to get wet. (Adverbial)
Ben-i daha iyi gör-mek için gözlük-ler-i-/n/i tak-tı. (Adverbial)
(be*ni / da*ha / i*yi / gör*mek / i*çin / göz*lük*le*ri*ni / tak*tı ↷)
She put on her glasses to see me better. (Adverbial)
Biz-e yardım et-mek için israr et-ti. (Adverbial)
(bi*ze / yar*dım / et*mek / i*çin / is*ra:r / et*ti ↷) (is*ra:*ret*ti)
He insisted on help-ing us. (“Helping” is a nominal gerund object of “on”.
Otobüs-e yetiş-mek için koş-tu-uk. (Adverbial)
(o*to*bü*se / ye*tiş*mek / i*çin / koş*tuk↷)
We ran to catch the bus. (Adverbial)
1(c). The infinitives with ♫ [mek, mak] are used as objects of the
verb “iste" and "zorunda" ("want”, “wish" and "have to")
Türkçe öğren-mek iste-iyor-um. (Nominal)
(türk*çe / öğ*ren*mek / is*ti*yo*rum ↷)
I want to learn Turkish. (Nominal)
Türkçe öğren-mek zorunda-/y/ım. (Nominal)
(türk*çe / öğ*ren*mek / zo*run*da*yım ↷)
I have to learn Turkish. (Nominal)
Bulaşık-lar-ı yıka-mak iste-me-iyor-um. (Nominal)
(bu*la*şık*la*rı / yı*ka*mak / is*te*mi*yo*rum ↷)
I don’t want to wash the dishes. (Nominal)
Bu kitap-ı oku-mak iste-iyor mu-sun? (Nominal)
(bu / ki*ta*bı / o*ku*mak / is*ti*yor / mu*sun ↷)
Do you want to read this book? (Nominal)
Canım okul-a git-mek iste-me-iyor. (Nominal)
(ca*nım / o*ku*la / git*mek / is*te*mi*yor ↷)
I don’t feel like go-ing to school. (Adverbial)
1 (d). The ♫ [mek, mak] allomorphs attached to [ten, tan] allomorphs:
The ♫ [mek, mak] allomorphs can also be used attached to ♫ [ten, tan]
allomorphs as all nouns can. The other two allomorphs of the phoneme
[DEN] are not used here because the ♫ [mek, mak] allomorphs end with
unvoiced consonants:

9. INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
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Yanlış-lık yap-mak-tan kaçın-malı-sın. (“Yap-mak-tan” is an adverb.)
(yan*lış*lık / yap*mak*tan / ka*çın*ma*lı*sın ↷)
You must avoid mak-ing mistakes. (The “ing” suffix turns the verb
“make” into a nominal gerund.
Gece-leyin yalnız dışarı-/y/a çık-mak-tan kork-uyor-um. (Adverbial)
(ge*ce*le*yin / yal*nız / dı*şa*rı / çık*mak*tan / kor*ku*yo*rım ↷)
I am afraid of go-ing out alone at night. (Adverbial)
Tüm kadın-lar yaşlan-mak-tan kork-ar. (Adverbial)
(tüm / ka*dın*lar / yaş*lan*mak*tan / kor*kar ↷)
All women are afraid of grow-ing old. (Adverbial)
Bütün gün ev-de otur-mak-tan bık-tı-ım (sıkıl-dı-ım). (Adverbial)
(bü*tün / gün / ev*de / o*tur*mak*tan / bık*tım ↷)
I am tired (bored) of stay-ing at home all day long. (Adverbial)
Yalan söyle-mek-ten utan-ma-ıyor mu-sun? (Adverbial)
(ya*lan / söy*le*mek*ten / u*tan*mı*yor / mu*sun ↷)
Aren’t you ashamed of tell-ing lies? (Adverbial)
Üzül-mek-ten kendim-i al-ama-ıyor-um. (Adverbial)
(ü*zül*mek*ten / ken*di*mi / a*la*mı*yo*rum ↷)
I can’t help be-ing sorry. (Nominal)
Bekle-mek-ten neftet et-er-im. (“Nefret et” is intransitive.) (Adverbial)
(bek*le*mek*ten / nef*ret / e*de*rim ↷)
I hate wait-ing. (The verb “hate” is transitive.) (Object) (Nomibal)
Çoğu öğrenciler ev ödev-i yap-mak-tan hoşlan-maz. (“Hoşlan” is intransitive.)
(ço*ğu / öğ*ren*ci*ler / e*vö*de*vi / yap*mak*tan / hoş*lan*maz ↷)
Most students dislike do-ing homework. (“Dislike” is transitive.) (Nominal)
Pervasız-ca araba sür-mek-ten kaçın-malı-sın. (Adverbial)
(per*va:*sız*ca / a*ra*ba / sür*mek*ten / ka*çın*ma*lı*sın ↷)
You must avoid driv-ing reckless-ly. (Nominal)
Gül-mek-ten kendi-im-i al-ama-dı-ım. (Adverbial)
(gül*mek*ten / ken*di*mi / a*la*ma*dım ↷)
I couldn’t help laugh-ing. (Nominal; object of “help”.)
Kızkardeş-im ev iş-i yap-mak-tan nefret et-er. (“Nefret et” is intransitive.)
(kız*kar*de*şim / e*vi*şi / yap*mak*tan / nef*re*te*der ↷) (Adverbial)
My sister hates do-ing housework. (“Hate” is transitive) (“Doing” is nominal)

10. INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
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Aldatıl-mak-tan nefret et-er-im. (Passive infinitive) (Adverbial)
(al*da*tıl*mak*tan / nef*re*te*de*rim ↷)
I hate be-ing cheated. (“Hate” is transitive.) (Nominal)
Yardım iste-mek-ten çekin-me. (“Çekin” is intransitive.) (Adverbial)
(yar*dım / is*te*mek*ten / çe*kin*me↷)
Don’t avoid ask-ing for help. (“Avoid” is transitive.) (Nominal)
Tavla oyna-mak-tan söz et-ti-ik. (Adverbial)
(tav*la / oy*na*mak*tan / sö*zet*tik↷)
We talked about play-ing backgammon. (Object of “about”) (Nominal)
2(a). The ♫ [me, ma] infinitives are used in the second parts of the
“possessive + owned” noun compounds. They are timeless, but they have
possessive personal allomorphs attached to them. Compare the following:
kitap-ın kapak-ı (ki*ta*bın / ka*pa*ğı) (the cover of the book)
pencere-em (pen*ce*rem) (my window)
git-me-em (git*mem) (my go-ing, me to go)
Gerçek-i söyle-me-en-i iste-iyor-um. (Nominal)
(ger*çe*ği / söy*le*me*ni / is*ti*yo*rum↷)
I want you to tell the truth. (Nominal)
“sen-in gerçek-i söyle-me-en” is a transformed nominal phrase:
gerçeği söyler-sin. ↻ “gerçek-i söyle-me-en”
gerçeği söylüyor-sun ↻ “gerçek-i söyle-me-en”
gerçeği söyledi-in. ↻ “gerçek-i söyle-me-en”
gerçeği söylerdi-in. ↻ “gerçek-i söyle-me-en”
gerçeği söyleyecek-sin. ↻ “gerçek-i söyle-/y/ecek ol-ma-an”
gerçeği söylemişti-in. ↻ "gerçek-i söyle-miş ol-ma-an"
As the possessive pronouns with the possessive personal allomorphs,
and the possessive allomorphs attached to the second parts of the noun
compounds mean the same person, the possessive pronouns used in the
beginning of the sentences can be ignored:
git-me-“em”, al-ma-“am”, bekle-me-“em” The “em, am” mean “my”-
git-me-“en”, al-ma-“an”, bekle-me-“en” The “en, an” mean “your”.
git-me-“/s/i”, al-ma-“/s/ı”, bekle-me-“/s/i” The “s/i, /s/ı” mean “his, her, its”.
git-me-“emiz”, al-ma-“amız”, bekle-me-“emiz”The “emiz, amız” mean“our”
git-me-“eniz”, al-ma-“anız”, bekle-me-“eniz” The “eniz anız” mean “your”.
git-meler-i-”, al-malar-ı“ The “ler-i, lar-ı” mean “their”.

11. INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
11
All the shared identical “e-e”, “a-a” vowels combine, and the single
underlined consonants detach from their syllables and attach to the first
vowels of the following allomorphs.
Note: All the owned personal allomorphs written in purple above mean the
possessive pronouns in brackets. Therefore, only the possessive allo-
morphs written in purple can be used in all Turkish sentences. For
instance, all the possessive allomorphs written in purple can be used
instead of the possessive pronouns that they represent.
In other words, as the owned personal allomorphs used in the owned
parts of a compound are enough to express the possessive pronouns
(ben-im, sen-in, etc.), these possessive pronouns may be ignored unless
they are thought to be necessary to attract the listener’s attention.
Since the compounds like “ben-im söyle-me-em” are noun compounds, they
are nominal phrases, and so the [i, ı], [e, a], [de, da], [den, dan] and [le, la]
suffixes can be attached to the infinitive (owned) parts of the compounds:
“söyle-me-en-i”, “söyle-me-en-e”, “söyle-me-en-de”, “söyle-me-en-
den”, “söyle-me-en-le”. All the allomorphs written in purple mean the
pronoun “sen-in”.
Baba-am daha çok “çalış-ma-am-ı” iste-iyor. (is*ti*yor)
subject (definite noun + infinitive comp) object verb
My father wants me to study harder. (“Me” and “to study” are the objects of “want”)
A final rule to add to the previous explanations is that in Turkish, certain
verbs need certain morphemes such as [İ], [E], [DE], [DEN] or [LE] attached
to nouns or pronouns. The allomorphs of these morphemes can also be at-
tached to infinitives, or “noun + infinitive” (or “infinitive + noun”) com-
pounds, which might be named as syntactic nouns or nominal phrases.
2(b).The verbs that take “noun + infinitive” compounds as objects:
“noun + infinitive” - [İ]
Yağmur zaman-ın-da tiyatro-/y/a git-me-emiz-i engelle-di.
(yağ*mur / za*ma:*nın*da / ti*yat*ro*ya / git*me*mi*zi /en*gel*le*di ↷)
The rain prevented us from go-ing to the theatre in time.
subject verb object prep phrs prep phrs prep phrs
Böyle davran-ma-an-ı anla-ma-ıyor-um.
adverb definit object verb subj
predicate
I don’t understand your behave-ing like that.

12. INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
12
(Ben) (o/n/-dan) (Ben-im) siyah pantolon-um-u (o-/n/un) ütüle-me-/s/i-/n/i rica et-ti-im .
subj adverbial possessive owned-u possessive owned indef obj verb
definite noun comp (obj of “ütüle”) def noun comp (obj of “rica et”)
definite object definite object
(chain noun compound) definite object
The mental development of this last sentence contains two simple senten-
ces:
1 . O ben-im siyah pantolon-um-u ütüle-sin. 2. Ben ondan bu-/n/u rica ettim.
The first simple sentence is transformed and nominalized as “o/n/un ben-im
siyah pantolon-um-u ütüle-me-/s/i”, and then it is embedded and used in
place of the object “bu-/n/u” in the second sentence:
Siyah pantolon-um-u ütüle-me-/s/i-/n/i rica et-ti-im
(si*yah / pan*to*lo*nu*mu / ü*tü*le*me*si*ni / ri*ca: / et*tim ↷)
I asked her to iron my black trousers.
Mary’/n/in piyano çal-ma-/s/ı-/n/ı seyret-ti-im.
(ma*ri*nin / pi*ya*no / çal*ma*sı*nı / sey*ret*tim ↷)
I watched Mary play-ing the piano.
(The /n/, /s/ and /n/ glides are respectively used.)
Ev-e dön-me-en-i bekle-iyor-um.
(e*ve / dön*me*ni /bek*li*yo*rum)
I am waiting for your com-ing back home.
Konuş-ma-/s/ı-/n/ı anla-ma-ıyor-um.
(ko*nuş*ma*sı*nı / an*la*mı*yo*rum ↷)
I don’t understand his way of speak-ing.
(The /n/, /s/ and /n/ glides are respectively used.)
Sana kahve getir-me-em-i iste-er mi-sin?
(sa*na / kah*ve / ge*tir*me*mi / is*ter / mi*sin ↷)
Would you like me to serve you coffee? (“to serve” is a nominal infinitive.)
Onun-la evlen-me-em imkânsız.
(o*nun*la / ev*len*mem / im*kân*sız ↷)
My marry-ing her is impossible. It is impossible for me to marry her.
Onu, bize yardım et-me-/s/i için ikna et-ti-im.
I convinced him to help us. (“To help” is an adverbial infinitive.)
In the sentence above, the /s/ is a glide; “onun” is not necessary, it is put
there to show the reader the deleted "possessive pronoun" of the compound.

13. INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
13
Mektub-u tekrar yaz-ma-am-ı rica et-ti.
He asked me to write the letter again. (“to write” is a nominal infinitive.)
Tüm erkekler tüm kadınlar-ın güzel gör-ün-me-/s/i-/n/i iste-er.
(tüm / er*kek*ler / tüm / ka*dın*la*rın / gü*zel / gö*rün*me*si*ni / is*ter ↷)
All men want all women to look beautiful.
In the sentences above, “bizim git-me-emiz”, “senin davran-ma-an”, “onun
ütüle-me-/s/i”, “bekle-me-/n/in fayda-/s/ı”, “Mary’/n/in piyano çal-ma-/s/ı”,
“(senin) ev-e dön-me-en”, “(benim) getir-me-em”, “onun konuş-ma-/s/ı”,
“(benim) evlen-me-em”, “onun yardım et-me-/s/i”, and “tüm kadınların güzel
görün-me-/s/i” are all “noun + infinitive” compounds that have been
transformed from the simple sentences by the transformational component
in order to be used in phrase structure patterns. The transformational
component performs this mental activity to shape and use the simple
sentences in phrase structure patterns. As the aim of this activity of the mind
is to build up infinite oral sentences out of simple sentences, it may be
reasonable to call such phrases as “syntactic”, which means that such oral
nominal phrases have been built up for syntactic purposes.
As important information, we have to assert that all the allomorphs used in
transforming simple sentences are inflectional allomorphs because these
allomorphs help simple sentences to be used in longer sentences without
changing their simple sentence concepts.
In the following lines, the simple sentences are printed in italics, and the
transformed “noun + infinitive” compounds are printed in bold face, which
have been produced for syntactic purposes. By the way, it is necessary to
remember that the meaning of an oral sentence is always hidden in the
simple sentence underlying the oral sentence production. Listeners and
readers can understand an oral sequence so long as they realize the
morphemic sequence underlying the oral sequence.
Read the simple sentences, and the “syntactic nominal phrases” pro-
duced by the transformational rules of the Turkish language:
Biz tiyatroya gidecektik. ↻ “bizim tiyatroya git-ecek ol-ma-amız”
Sen böyle davranıyorsun. ↻ “senin böyle davran-ma-an, davran-dık-ın"
Mary piyano çalıyordu. ↻ “Mary’nin piyano çal-ma-/s/ı, çal-dık-ı"
Sen eve dön-dü-ün. ↻ “senin eve dön-me-en, dön-dük-ün"
O konuşur. ↻ “onun konuş-ma-/s/ı, konuş-tuk-u"
Ben kahve getiririm. ↻ “benim kahve getir-me-em, getir-dik-im”

14. INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
14
Ben onunla evlenirim. ↻ “benim onunla evlen-me-em, evlen-dik-im”
O bize yardım eder. ↻ “onun bize yardım et-me-/s/i, et-tik-i”
Ben mektubu tekrar yazayım. ↻ “benim mektubu tekrar yaz-ma-am”
Ben bir mektup yazmıştım.↻ “benim bir mektup yaz-mış ol-ma-am”
As it is seen in the noun compounds above when sentences are trans-
formed and nominalized, they lose their time concepts like all infinitives. The
“benim”, “senin” parts of the compounds may be ignored, and so, only
“tiyat-ro-/y/a git-me-emiz” or “mektup-u tekrar yaz-ma-am” can be used
as noun compounds without the possessive pronouns.
Bekle-me-/n/in fayda-/s/ı yok. Wait-ing is of no use.
(Literally: "There is not the use of wait-ing") (“beklemenin faydası” is an
“infinitive + noun” compound used as the subject of the sentence.
Şemsiye-em-i geri getir-me-/y/i unut-ma. (“Getir-me” is an infinitive.)
(şem*si*ye*mi / ge*ri / ge*tir*me*yi / u*nut*ma ↷)
Don’t forget to bring my umbrella back. (“To bring” is a nominal infinitive.)
In the example above, the /y/ glide is used between the /e/ phoneme and the
[i] defining allomorph.
Biz-im takım kazan-ma-/y/ı hak et-ti. (“kazan-ma” is an infinitive.)
(bi*zim / ta*kım / ka*zan*ma*yı / ha*ket*ti ↷)
Our team deserved to win. (“to win” is a nominal infinitive.)
Eski araba-amız-ı sat-ma-/y/ı ertele-di-ik.
(es*ki / a*ra*ba*mı*zı / sat*ma*yı / er*te*le*dik ↷)
We postponed sell-ing our old car. (“Sell-ing” is a nominal gerund.)
“Araba-amız-ı” is the definite object of “sat-ma”; “eski araba-amız-ı sat-ma-
/y/ı” is the definite object of “ertele”.
Yüz-me-/y/i bana baba-am öğret-ti.
(yüz*me*yi / ba*na / ba*bam / öğ*ret*ti ↷)
My father taught me to swim. (“to swim” is a nominal infinitive.)
Biz-im-le Bursa’/y/a git-me-/y/i kabul et-ti. (Liaison)
(bi*zim*le / bur*sa*ya / git*me*yi / ka*bu:*let*ti ↷)
He agreed to go to Bursa with us. (“To go” is a nominal infinitive.)
Hırsız kasa-/y/ı aç-ma-/y/ı dene-di.
(hır*sız / ka*sa*yı / aç*ma*yı / de*ne*di ↷)
The thief tried open-ing the safe. (“Open-ing” is a nominal gerund.)

15. INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
15
Yeni bir araba al-ma-/y/ı düşün-üyor-uz.
(ye*ni / bir / a*ra*ba / al*ma*yı / dü*şü*nü*yo*ruz ↷)
We are considering buy-ing a new car.
2 (c). The verbs that need “noun + infinitive” compounds followed
by [e], or [a] allomorphs:
Baba-am, futbol maç-ı-/n/a git-me-em-e izin ver-di.
subject (noun compound - [e]) adverbialphrs verb
My father allowed me to go to the football match.
Baba-am, kızkardeş-im-in gece yalnız sinema-/y/a git-me-/s/i-/n/e kız-dı.
subject possessive noun adv adv adverbial ow ned-/n/e verb
(noun + infinitive compound + [e]) adverbial phrase
My father got angry about my sister’s go-ing to the cinema alone at night.
Baba-am, araba-/s/ı-/n/ı kullan-ma-am-a hiç izin ver-me-iyor.
(ba*bam / a*ra*ba*sı*nı / kul*lan*ma*ma / hiç / i*zin / ver*mi*yor ↷)
My father is never allowing me to use his car.
Baba-am balık tut-ma-/y/a git-me-em-e itiraz et-ti.
(ba*bam / ba*lık / tut*ma*ya / git*me*me / i:*ti*ra:z / et*ti ↷)
My father objected to my go-ing fish-ing.
2 (d). “noun + infinitive” compounds can also be followed by [den,
dan] allomorphs:
Anne-em (ben-im) ev-e geç gel-me-em-den hoşlan-ma-ıyor.
subject possessive adv adv ow ned-den verb
noun + infinitive comp - [den]
adverbial phrase
My mother dislikes my com-ing home late.
There are two basic simpe sentences in the oral sentence above:
1. Ben eve geç geliyorum.
2. Annem bundan hoşlanmıyor.
Sentence Nr.1 is transformed and nominalized as "ben-im ev-e geç gel-me-
em". When this transformed nominal phrase is put in the place of "bundan"
in the second sentence, the new synonymous sentence "Anne-em ben-im
ev-e geç gel-me-em-den hoşlan-ma-ıyor" sentence structure is produced.
In this transformed phrase, "ev-e" is an adverbial, and "geç" is an adverb
modifying the infinitive “gel-me”. “Ben-im ev-e geç gel-me-em” is a noun

16. INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
16
compound (nominal phrase). If the allomorph [den] is attached to this
nominal phrase, it turns it into an adverbial phrase.
(Ben) (o-/n/un) her şey-i anla-ma-/s/ı/n/-dan kork-uyor-um.
subj possessive def objof “anla” ow ned-dan verb subj
noun + infinitive compound
nominal phrase-[dan]
adverbial
I am afraid of her understand-ing everything.
The [me, ma] infinitives attached to [e or a] allomorphs:
“main verb-[me/y/e, ma/y/a]
Klasik müzik dinle-me-/y/e düşkün-üm.
indef obj of “dinle” infinitive-[e] subj compl subj
adverbial phrs
I am fond of listen-ing to classical music.
İş-im-i tamamla-ma-/y/a çalış-iyor-um. (“Tamamlamaya” isan adverb.)
(i*şi*mi / ta*mam*la*ma*ya / ça*lı*şı*yo*rum ↷)
I am trying to complete my work. “To complete” is a nominal infinitive.
Dert et-me-/y/e değ-mez.
(der*det*me*ye / değ*mez ↷) (Liaison)
It is not worth trouble-ing about.
Çalış-ma-/y/a devam et-ti. (Liaison)
(ça*lış*ma*ya / de*va:*met*ti ↷)
He went on work-ing. (“work-ing” is a nominal gerund; object of “on”.)
Yağmur yağ-ma-/y/a başla-dı.
(yağ*mur / yağ*ma*ya / baş*la*dı ↷)
It began to rain or (rain-ing).
3 (a). The third kind of “noun + infinitive” compounds are made by adding
[iş, ış, üş, uş] allomorphs to verb roots, stems or frames such as: “ben-im
gül-üş-üm”, “sen-in bak-ış-ın”, which means “my way of smiling”, “your way
of looking”, etc. When these compounds take [E], [DE] or [DEN] morphemes,
they become adverbials:
Gül-üş-üm-e (gü*lü*şü*me) hayran-dır.
She adores my way of smil-ing.
Bana bak-ış-ın-ı özle-di-im. (ba*kı*şı*nı)
I missed your way of look-ing at me.

17. INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
17
Gitar çal-ış-ım-ı sev-er. (ça*lı*şı*mı)
He likes my way of play-ing the guitar.
Ev-e dön-üş-üm-den mutlu ol-du-lar.
They became happy about my com-ing back home.
4 (a). The following “noun + infinitive” compound is widely used in trans-
forming simple sentences into “syntactic nominal phrases” or "modifiers".
The following example shows how a simple sentence is transformed into a
“noun + infinitive” compound, and then how it is used as a syntactic nom-
inal phrase in a sentence:
possessive pronoun + verb - [dik, dık, dük, duk, tik, tık, tük, tuk]-
[possessive personal allomorph]
(ben-im) yüz-dük-üm
possessive ow ned
(Ben) deniz-de yüz-üyor-du-um.  “deniz-de yüz-dük-üm”
simple sentence (noun compound) nominal phrase
(O) deniz-de yüz-dük-üm-ü gör-dü. (yüz*dü*ğü*mü)
subj (noun comp) definite object verb
predicate
He saw that I was swimming in the sea.
subj verb (object of “see”)noun clause adverbial
predicate
Note: In the Turkish sentence above, the /k/ phoneme changes into the
voiced /ğ/, and the last [ü] is the definer that changes the compound into a
definite object.
The same “noun + infinitive” compound can also be used as a modifier:
(Ben) okul-a git-iyor-um.  git-tik-im okul
modifier noun
nominal phrase
ben-im git-tik-im okul the school that I go to
modifier noun noun modfier
Ben-im git-tik-im okul çok kalabalık. The school that I go to is very crowded.
subject subjcomplement (nominal phrs) subject verb subjcomplement
The owned parts of the “noun + infinitive” compounds are also used as
objects of postpositions (English “prepositions”):
(Ben-im) her zaman okul-a geç gel-dik-im için İngilizce ögretmeni-im ben-i azarla-dı.
noun infinitive comp (object of “için”) postp subject object verb
adverbial phrase of cause

18. INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
18
My English teacher shouted at me because of my always come-ing to school late.
subject verb adverb preposition nominal phrs (object of ”because of”
prepositional adverbial phrase of cause
A final note that should be added to the above explanations is that as the
infinitives are made up of verbs, they can take objects like verbs when they
are transitive, but if they are intransitive, they can take only adverbs or
adverbials. The sentences that contain infinitives are produced as follows:
1. O ben-i bekle-sin. ↻ “o-/n/un ben-i bekle-me-/s/i”
2. Ben bu-/n/u istiyor-um.
If the first nominalized phrase is used in the place of “bunu” in the second
sentence, we produce the following sentence containing a noun compound:
Ben-i bekle-me-/s/i-/n/i iste-iyor-um.
(be*ni / bek*le*me*si*ni / is*ti*yo*rum ↷)
I want him to wait for me. (“to wait” is a nominal infinitive.)
PASSIVE INFINITIVE
Only the transitive verbs can be put into the passive voice in English, but in
Turkish, both transitive and intransitive verbs can be changed into the pas-
sive form. Therefore, the passive making allomorphs can be attached to all
kinds of verb roots, stems or frames. If the passive making allomorphs are
attached to transitive verbs, these verbs are put into the passive voice, but if
the intransitive ones are put into the passive form, only their forms are
changed; they are not put into the passive voice. For instance, if “Bu
hapishane-den kaç-ıl-maz” sentence is said, it can be literally written in
English as "*This prison can’t be escaped", which means, “It is impossible
to escape from this prison”. In this article, such verbs are called “passive
shaped intransitive verbs”.
The passive making allomorphs are as follows:
1. The verbs ending with both vowels and /L/ and /r/ consonants are put
into the passive form by using [in, ın, ün, un, en, an] passive making
allomorphs such as “bekle-en”, “dene-en”, “başla-an”, “yakala-an”,
“yürü-ün”, “oku-un”, “al-ın”, “çal-ın”, “gel-in”, “del-in”, “koru-un”.
2. The verbs ending with consonants take [il, ıl, ül, ul] passive making
allomorphs such as “çek-il”, seç-il”, “geç-il”, sür-ül”, “gör-ül”. When
some of these verbs take [in, ın, ün, un, en, an] allomorphs, they also

19. INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
19
become reflexive verbs such as “çek-in”, “geç-in”, “sür-ün”, “gör-ün”,
“besle-en”, “yala-an”.
All the verb frames above can take [me, ma] or [mek, mak] allomorphs to be
used as passive infinitives:
başla-an-ma(k), topla-an-ma(k), besle-en-me(k), temizle-en-me(k), ekle-en-
me(k), yürü-ün-me(k), doku-un-ma(k) (weave), oku-un-ma(k), oyala-an-
ma(k), geç-il-me(k), geç-in-me(k), sür-ül-me(k), sür-ün-me(k), gör-ül-me(k),
gör-ün-me(k), bak-ıl-ma(k), bak-ın-ma(k), aç-ıl-ma(k), seç-il-me(k), yen-il-
me(k), ed-il-me(k), ed-in-me(k), tap-ıl-ma(k), tap-ın-ma(k), yap-ıl-ma(k), uy-
ul-ma(k), konuş-ul-ma(k), sür-ül-me(k), sür-ün-me(k).
The shared identical vowels above combine, and the single underlined
consonants detach from their syllablers and attach to the first vowels of the
following inflectional morphemes Consider the following:
.
Kendi-/s/i/y/-le alay et-il-me-/s/i/n/-den nefret et-er.
(ken*di*siy*le / a*lay / e*dil*me*sin*den / nef*ret / e*der ↷).
She hates being made fun of her.
In the sentence above, the /t/ is replaced by the voiced /d/; and the /s/ and
/n/ consonants are used as glides.
Kendi-/s/i-/n/e kaba davran-ıl-ma-/s/ı/n/-dan hoşlan-maz.
(ken*di*si*ne / ka*ba / dav*ra*nıl*ma*sın*dan / hoş*lan*maz ↷)
She dislikes be-ing rudely treated.
Takım-ı-/n/ın yen-il-me-/s/i/n/-den nefret eder.
(ta*kı*mı*nın / ye*nil*me*sin*den / nef*ret / e*der ↷)
He hates his team be-ing beaten.
Bütün kadın-lar kendi-ler-i-/n/e yumuşak davran-ıl-ma-/s/ı/n/-dan hoşlan-ır.
(bü*tün / ka*dın*lar / ken*di*le*ri*ne / yu*mu*şak / dav*ra*nıl*ma*sın*dan /
hoş*la*nır ↷) All women like be-ing tenderly treated.
Rahatsız et-il-mek iste-me-iyor-um.
(ra*hat*sız / e*dil*mek / is*te*mi*yo*rum ↷)
I don’t want to be disturbed.
Herkes kendi-/s/i-/n/e eşit davran-ıl-ma-/s/ı-/n/ı iste-er.
(her*kes / ken*di*si*ne / e*şit / dav*ra*nıl*ma*sı*nı / is*ter ↷)
Everybody wants to be equally treated.

20. INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
20
Bu cümleler dikkat-le okun-malı-dır.
(bu / cüm*le*ler / dik*kat*le / o*kun*ma*lı*dır ↷)
These sentences should be read carefully.
English verbs that take only infinitives as verbal direct objects:
attempt, decide, expect, hesitate, hope, ıntend, learn, need, neglect,
plan, pretend, promise, propose. want. For instance:
We hope to finish our work in time.
subj verb nominal inf obj of “finish” adverbial
İş-imiz-i zaman-ın-da bitir-me-/y/i um-uyor-uz.
obj of “bitir” adverbial nominal infinitive verb subj
You must learn to be polite.
subj verb nominal inf adjective
Nazik ol-ma-/y/ı öğren-meli-sin.
adjective nominal inf verb subj
We plan to rent a car to go to Bursa.
Bursa-/y/a git-mek için bir araba kirala-ma-/y/ı planla-ıyor-uz.
Jack always neglects to do his homework.
subj adverb verb nominal inf object of “do”
Jack her zaman ev ödev-i-/n/i yap-ma-/y/ı ihmal et-er.
subj adverb object of “yap” nominal infinitive verb
TURKISH MORPHEMES, ALLOMORPHS AND SYLLABLES
If you hesitate about the underlined consonants and vowels, read the
examles below:
Morphemes are the smallest meaningful elements in languages, and
allomorphs are their differently articulated forms carrying the same
meanings of the morphemes. For instance, in Turkish, the simple past
tense bound morpheme is [Dİ], which has [di, dı, dü, du, ti, tı, tü, tu]
allomorphs produced by the sound system of the Turkish language.
Each one of these allomorphs means [Dİ], which are chosen following
the last vowels of the verbs that they are attached to. For instance,
the morpheme of the simple past tense morpheme is [Dİ], which has
the allomorphs [di, dı, dü, du, ti, tı, tü, tu]. For instance:

21. INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
21
gel-di, al-dı, gör-dü, oku-du, git-ti, at-tı, öt-tü, yut-tu.
The morpheme of the present continuous tense is [İYOR], which has
the allomorphs [iyor, ıyor, üyor, uyor]. For instance:
gel-iyor, bak-ıyor, yürü-üyor, otur-uyor.
The morpheme of the simple present tense is [İR], which has the
allomorphs [ir, ır, ür, ur, er, ar]. Such as:
Gel-ir, al-ır, yürü-ür, otur-ur, bekle-er, başla-ar
The morpheme of the simple future tense is [ECEK], which has the
allomorphs [ecek, acak], Such as: Gel-ecek, gül-ecek, yürü-/y/ecek,
al-acak. bak-acak, başla-/y/acak, bul-acak, anla-/y/acak, sor-acak,
patla-/y/acak, üşü-/y/ecek, öğren-ecek
There are some single underlined consonants, such as “r”, “k”, which
indicate that these consonants detach from their morphemes or
allomorphs and attach to the allomorphs starting with vowels to
produce pronounceable syllables to be uttered by the speech organs
and heard through the ears. Such as:
gel-iyor (ge*li*yor), otur-uyor (o*tu*ru*yor), sars-ıyor (sar*sı*yor)
There are some successive vowels, such as “u-u”, “a-a”, “ı-ı” and “ü-
ü”, “e-e”, “i-i”, which combine and verbalize as single vowels to be
produced by the speech organs easily and harmoniously, such as “u”,
“a”, “ı” and “ü”, “e”, “i”.
There are the /y/ glides, which help a vowel sound pass from one
vowel to the next one.
The double underlined vowels, such as “a”, “e” drop and overlooked
by the Turkish sound system.
As a general rule, there are two different sentence sequences in
Turkish. The first sentence sequence is the morphemic sequence,
which divides morphemes and allomorphs that carry meanings
separately. For instance, the following sentence is a morphemic
sequence:

22. INFINITIVES or GERUNDS
22
İş-imiz-i zaman-ın-da bitir-me-/y/i planla-ıyor-uz
The morphemic sequence above is difficult to verbalize, but the
words are understandable.
The following sequence is a syllabic sequence, which can be
verbalized easily, but the syllables do not have meanings by
themselves when each syllable is considered separately:
(i*şi*mi*zi / za*ma*nın*da / bi*tir*me*yi / plan*lı*yo*ruz)
How do we understand when we hear these meaningless syllables?
We understand because we understand the morphemes and
allomorphs underlying them.
When we separate the words above, we separate them as they are
separated in the syllabic sequence above: