Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Turkish Grammar in Practice
Turkish Grammar in Practice
Turkish Grammar in Practice
in practice
A self-study reference
and practice book
for learners of Turkish
Yusuf Buz
CEFR A1-B1
• 114 two-page units
• 3000 practice questions
• Over 2000 sentences
and dialogues
• Full key to exercises
Contents
Turkish Grammar in Practice
Yusuf Buz
Overview of Turkish Grammar in Practice............................................................................... 8
First published 2016 Introduction .........................................................................................................................................................10
by Foxton Books, London, UK
2 ders............................
11 yarın............................
12 piknik............................
number of exercises to practise the new language.
3 iş ............................ 13 reklamlar............................
There are 114 units. Almost all of the units cover 4 maç............................ 14 kahvaltı............................ You should study the grammar explanations on
two pages. The explanations are on the left-hand 5 gezi............................ 15 bayram............................
the left-hand page and then do the exercises on
the right-hand page.
16 seçim............................
page, and the exercises are on the right-hand page.
6 tatil............................
7 kaza............................ 17 toplantı............................
8 parti............................ 18 sınav............................
9 yemek............................ 19 düğün............................
There is a full answer key for you to check your
Unit titles tell you the main grammar point whose 10 sinema............................ 20 banyo............................
answers for the exercises in the book.
English equivalent or meaning is given next to it in
• Önce 90 kiloydum. • A: Önce ben geldim!
(I was 90 kilograms before.) (I came before (you)!)
2 Match 1-8 to a-h.
brackets. • Şimdi 70 kiloyum.
(Now I am 70 kilograms.)
B: Hayır, önce ben geldim!
(No, I came before (you)!) 1 Önce ders çalıştım. □g a) Sonra yemek yedi.
• Önce polis sonra ambulans geldi. A: Sen sonra geldin!
(The police came first and then the ambulance.) (You came later!)
2 Önce yemek yedik. □ b) Sonra sinemaya gittiler.
Unit sections (A, B, C, etc.) give you information • Önce çok korktum ama sonra alıştım.
(I was fırst so scared but then got used to it.)
3 Önce ellerini yıkadı. □ c) Sonra biraz eğlendik.
The Dictionary presents the English meaning of all
4 Önce kavga ettiler. □ the words used in the book. You can look words
about the form and meaning of the grammar, as
d) Sonra oyun oynayabilirsin.
B We can also use önce or öncelikle to say first (of all):
□
up as and when needed.
5 Önce alışveriş yaptılar. e) Sonra barıştılar.
well as its different uses. • Öncelikle, size teşekkür etmek istiyorum.
(First of all, I would like to thank you.) 6 Önce yağmur yağdı. □ f) Sonra yemek servisi yaptılar.
errors and characteristics of Turkish grammar. (I finished my work fırst. Then I drank tea.) 5 Ali şimdi tatilde. İki gün sonra dönecek. .............................................................................................................................. .
102 103
Turkish-English Dictionary
section. The only difference between these units is (What are you doing tonight?)
B nasıl can be followed by any form of the very “to be”:
sinema
sinirlendirici
cinema
annoying
stadyum
su
stadium
water
that they do not have exercises. They are designed • Mine sana ne söyledi? sinirlendirmek to annoy suçlu guilty
sipariş order sultan sultan
(What did Mine tell you?) with “to be” in present simple tense with “to be” in seen past tense İyiyim.
Nasılsın? sirk circus sunmak to present
-dı Teşekkürler
in the same format as the other 114 units and • Ne oldu?
(What happened?)
Nasıl-ım? = How am I?
Nasıl-sın? = How are you?
Nasıl-dı-m? = How was I?
Nasıl-dı-n? = How were you?
sis
sisli
sistem
fog
foggy
system
süpermarket
süpürge
süpürmek
supermarket
broom
to sweep
C ne can take the suffix -(y)le (with, by) to show how or in what way something is done.
In this sense, it can be replaced by nasıl (how): B: Harikaymış! (I am told that it was superb.) 276
-için also combines with ne to form the question (It was superb!) or (It is said to be superb)
• A: Yarın Ankara’ya gideceğiz. (We will go to Ankara tomorrow.) word niçin (ne+için) = Why?/For what?
B: Neyle/Nasıl gideceksiniz? (How will you go?) • Niçin aradın? (What did you call for?) C Nasıl bir ... is used with nouns to say What sort of/What kind of ...?:
(Why did you call?)
A: Arabayla gideceğiz. (We will go by car.)
• Nasıl bir kek istiyorsun? • Nasıl bir iş yapıyorsunuz?
D ne can also take the personal suffixes: (What kind of cake do you want?) (What kind of job do you do?)
Ne-yim? = What am I? Ne-dir? = What is she/he/it? Ne-siniz?= What are you? Nasıl bir ... ? can also be replaced by Ne tür bir ... ?
Ne-sin? = What are you? Ne-yiz? = What are we? Ne-ler? = What are they?
(Ne-dirler?) • Ne tür bir / Nasıl bir ceket istiyorsun?
(What kind of jacket do you want?)
E ne can help us make the following phrases:
• Ne münasebet! = Far from it! That’s impossible! • Burada ne arıyor? = What is s/he doing here?
• Ne haber? = What’s up? What’s the news? • Ne pahasına olursa olsun = Whatever the cost, at all costs
248 249
Introduction
Turkish Grammar in Practice is a completely new reference and practice book for learners of This book aims to serve as a reference and practice book for those working alone or attending
Turkish. It comes with the following key features: classes. The units are not organised progressively, but instead attention has been given to
present the most basic grammar topics in the early units. You can start at the beginning of the
• Clear and easy-to-follow explanations book and work through to the end, although the grammar topics are not ordered according to
• Over 2000 sample sentences and dialogues their level of difficulty. If you are already familiar with the language, you can choose relevant
units. There is a detailed contents section to help you do so easily.
• Around 3000 practice questions
• Around 450 colour illustrations To ensure the newly-presented grammar topic is ingrained in your mind, you are encouraged
• A dictionary of 1900 headwords used throughout the book to do the exercises on the right-hand page. As there are plenty of example sentences and
• Tips highlighting common errors and characteristics of Turkish grammar dialogues in both pages of the unit, you can also come up with your own dialogues and practice
• Full key for the exercises conversations.
Who is this book for? Turkish Grammar in Practice will also be a useful supplementary book for teachers. If you are
already using a course book, present the grammar explanation on the left-hand page and then
Turkish Grammar in Practice introduces grammar to learners at beginner to intermediate ask students to read the example sentences. If there is a conversation, ask two students to
level. It is not a course book, but a reference and practice book which can be used by learners read it aloud.
attending classes or working alone.
So, as we say in Turkish “Başlayalım! (Let’s start!)” and have fun learning this beautiful
What does the book consist of? language!
This book consists of 114 units, each on a grammatical topic. The units cover the main areas
of Turkish grammar. The explanations are on the left-hand page, and the exercises are on the
right-hand page. Plenty of sample sentences and conversations help you use grammar in real-
life situations. The explanations are followed by exercises that practise the new language in
authentic situations.
There are also 15 units in Grammar Essentials section. These units do not have exercises. They
are designed to focus on grammar points which are important for reading and writing Turkish.
An important feature of this book is that it provides over 2000 sample sentences and around
3000 practice questions by using the most common 1900 Turkish words. The dictionary at the
end of the book presents the English meaning of all the words used in the book. You can look
words up as and when needed.
There is a full answer key for you to check your answers to the exercises in the book.
ÜNİTE Türk Alfabesi
1 Turkish Alphabet
ALIŞTIRMALAR
A The Turkish alphabet has 29 letters: 1 Write the missing letters of the Turkish Alphabet.
Capital letters ABCÇDEFGĞHIİJKLMNOÖPRSŞTUÜVYZ
A B C (1)
Ç D E F G (2)
H I (3)
J K (4)
M N O (5)
P R
Lower case letters abcçdefgğhıijklmnoöprsştuüvyz
S (6)
T U (7)
V (8)
Z
F Q, W and X do not occur in Turkish but Turkish speakers can easily recognise them:
26. Ü 27. V 28. Y 29. Z
faks = fax taksi = taxi Vav! = Wow!
12 13
ÜNİTE Geliyor musun? (Are you coming?)
17 present continuous question
ALIŞTIRMALAR
A We make questions in the present continuous tense with the question particle mu, followed by the personal suffix. The 1 Write the question form of the sentences below.
question particle always follows the main verb as a separate word:
1 Fatma şimdi ders çalışıyor. 6 Biz pikniğe gidiyoruz.
Geliyor musun? = Are you coming? Çalışıyor musun? = Are you working? Oynuyorlar mı? = Are they playing?
Fatma şimdi ders çalışıyor mu
..........................................................................? ..........................................................................?
B 2 Ali okula gidiyor. 7 Çalışıyorum.
Structure: verb + (i, ı, u, ü) + yor + mu + personal suffix ?
(The only exception is onlar. See below.)
..........................................................................? ..........................................................................?
B: Hayır, bu akşam sinemaya gelmiyorum. Neden? 2 Şimdi yağmur yağıyor mu? 7 Misafirler eğleniyorlar mı?
(No, I am not coming to the cinema tonight.)
Hayır, ................................................................ . Hayır, ................................................................ .
A: Neden? Çok yorgunum.
(Why) 3 Meral bugün bize geliyor mu? 8 Araba çalışıyor mu?
• Bugün alışverişe gidiyor muyuz? 5 Benimle geliyor musun? 10 Parti başlıyor mu?
(Are we going shopping today?)
Hayır, .................................................................. . Evet, .................................................................. .
• Telefon şimdi çalışıyor mu?
(Is the phone working now?) 3 Fill in the following sentences with the questions words niye, nasıl, kim, ne zaman, and nerede.
niye
1 ‘Araba ......................... çalışmıyor?’ ‘Çünkü bozuk.’
C We can make questions with question words such as ne (what), nerede (where), kim (who), nasıl (how), ne zaman (when)
and niye/neden (why). It is more common to use the question word before the verb:
2 ‘Film ......................... başlıyor?’ ‘Saat 10’da.’
• Bugün kim geliyor? • Telefon niye çalışmıyor?
3 ‘......................... yaşıyorsunuz?’ ‘İstanbul’da.’
(Who is coming today?) (Why is the phone not working?)
4 ‘Bu makine ......................... çalışıyor?’ ‘Elektrikle.’
• Nerede yaşıyorsunuz? • Ne yiyorsun?
(Where are you living?) (What are you eating?) 5 ‘Bu akşam ......................... geliyor?’ ‘Ahmet.’
44 45
ÜNİTE iste- (want), bil- (know), sev- (love), vs.
18 non-action verbs
ALIŞTIRMALAR
A Contrary to English, non-action verbs in Turkish can be used in the present continuous tense (i.e. with -yor): 1 Use the verbs in the present continuous tense to complete the sentences. The verb should end with
the suffix for the person in brackets.
İngilizce biliyorum. = I know English. Seni seviyorum. = I love you. Su istiyorum. = I want water.
a) iste- b) hoşlan- c) duy- d) içer- e) anla-
In the examples above, the verbs bil- (know) and sev- (love) are used with the present continuous tense
marker -yor, but their English equivalents know and love are used in the present simple tense (i.e. without -ing).
f) kork- g) tanı- h) kok- i) hisset- j) sev-
B Common non-action verbs that are used with -yor in Turkish: kokuyor
1 Bu yemek çok kötü ........................! ( O) 6 Aylin’den ........................ . Çok güzel bir kız. (Ben)
İngilizce Evet, İngilizce 2 Biraz su ........................ . (Ben) 7 Kendimi çok kötü ........................ . Erken yatacağım. (Ben)
bil- know nefret et- hate biliyor musun? biliyorum.
anla- understand kork- fear, be afraid of 3 Onu ........................ . Çok iyi arkadaşız. (Ben) 8 Garip bir ses ....................... . (Biz)
fark et- realize kıskan- envy
4 Bu yoğurt jelatin ........................ . (O) 9 Seni çok ........................ . (Ben)
hisset- feel sev- love
zannet- suppose hoşlan- like 5 Anne, çok ........................ . Benimle yatar mısın? (Ben) 10 Jane biraz Türkçe ........................ . (O)
inan- believe hoşlanma- dislike
tanı- recognize duy- hear
2 Complete the dialogues.
düşün- think kok- smell
tercih et- prefer gör- see 1 7
hatırla- remember görün- look, seem A: Türkçe biliyor musun? A: Kendini iyi hissediyor musun?
iste- want bilmiyorum
B: Hayır, Türkçe .............................. . B: Evet, kendimi çok iyi .............................. .
consist of,
unut- forget içer- contain
2 8
• Çok korkuyorum. • İngilizce anlıyorum.
A: Beni seviyor musun? A: Biraz ekmek istiyor musun?
(I fear so much./I am so scared.) (I understand English.)
B: Evet, seni .............................. . B: Hayır, ekmek .............................. .
46 47
GRAMMAR ... ister misiniz? (Would you like ...?) GRAMMAR
ESSENTIALS-11 arasında (between, among) ESSENTIALS-12
expressing polite offers and requests
A arasında means among when it modifies more than two people or things. A We can use the verb iste- to want in the present simple tense to express polite offers:
It is optional to use the possessive case markers on the previous word: Göstericiler
arasında bir
provokatör var. ... ister misin? Would you like ... ?
yarışmacılar arasında = among the contestants işçiler arasında = among the workers Su ister
göstericiler arasında = among the demonstrators seyirciler arasında = among the audience ... ister mi? Would she/he/it like ... ? misiniz?
Tatlı menüsünü
• Göstericiler arasında bir provokatör var. ister misiniz?
offers : ... ister misiniz?
(There is a provocator among the demonstrators.)
(Would you like ... ? Hayır,
teşekkürler.
responses : Evet, lütfen. / Hayır, teşekkürler.
(Yes, please. / No, thanks.)
B If we want to say between A and B, we add the postposition ile or -(y)le/-(y)la to the first object compared: • A: Su ister misiniz?
(Would you like water?)
... ile or -(y)le/-(y)la ... arasında = between ... and ...
Polisle
• Polisle göstericiler arasında çatışma çıktı. göstericiler arasında B: Evet, lütfen.
(Fighting broke out between the police and the demonstrators.) çatışma çıktı. (Yes, please.)
B We can use the verb iste- (to want) in the present continous tense (i.e. istiyorum) to request something although it is not
-Note that -y- is the buffer letter between the vowel and -la in the word sinema-y-la. the polite way of doing so:
• Sinemayla restoran arasında bir postane var. requests : ... istiyorum. • A: İki kişilik bir masa istiyorum.
(There is a post office between the cinema and the restaurant.) (I'd like ... .) (I’d like a table for two.)
responses : Tabii ki. /Elbette. / Peki efendim. / Buyrun. B: Tabii ki. Buyrun.
C We can make phrases like ...ile benim aramda (between ... and me): (Certainly. / Of course. / All right sir/madam. / Here you are.) (Certainly. Here you are.)
... ile benim aramda = between ... and me ... ile bizim aramızda = between ... and us - To request something politely we can use verbs ending in -ebil/-abil as explained in Ünite-112.
... ile senin aranda = between ... and you ... ile sizin aranızda = between ... and you
... ile onun arasında = between ... and him/her/it ... ile onların arasında = between ... and them • A: İki çay alabilir miyiz? B: Elbette.
(Can we have two teas?) (Certainly.)
• Murat’la benim aramda problem yok.
(There isn’t any problem between Murat and me.) C We can use the infinitive verb (-mek/-mak) plus iste- to say "I would like to ..." .
• Selin’le Pınar’ın arasında üç yaş fark var. • Dondurma almak istiyorum. • Bu aksam film seyretmek istiyorum.
(There are three years' difference between Selin and Pınar.) (I would like to have ice-cream.) (I would like to watch a film tonight.)
- In polite questions, we say, ... -mek/-mak ister misiniz? = Would you like to ... ?
252 253