Grammar Reference

Turkish alphabet: 29 letters, special characters (ç, ğ, ı, ö, ş, ü), and pronunciation

Can recognize and pronounce all 29 Turkish letters correctly

Vowel harmony — the fundamental rule of Turkish: front/back and rounded/unrounded vowel agreement in suffixes

Can apply vowel harmony when adding suffixes to words

Consonant mutation: softening (p→b, t→d, k→ğ, ç→c) and hardening rules when adding suffixes

Can apply consonant softening and hardening rules when adding suffixes

Plural suffix -lar/-ler with vowel harmony

Can form plurals of common nouns using correct vowel harmony

Accusative case suffix -ı/-i/-u/-ü for definite direct objects

Can mark definite direct objects with the accusative suffix

Dative case (-a/-e) for direction and locative case (-da/-de/-ta/-te) for location

Can express direction (to) and location (at/in) using dative and locative cases

Ablative case (-dan/-den/-tan/-ten) for origin, source, and 'from'

Can express origin, source, and comparisons using the ablative case

Personal pronouns: ben, sen, o, biz, siz, onlar

Can use personal pronouns and their basic case forms

Demonstratives (bu, şu, o) and question words (ne, kim, nerede, nasıl, kaç)

Can use demonstratives and basic question words in everyday situations

Aorist / simple present tense (-r/-ar/-er/-ır/-ir/-ur/-ür) for habitual actions and general truths

Can express habitual actions and general truths using the aorist tense

Present continuous tense with -yor suffix for actions happening right now

Can describe actions happening right now using the present continuous tense

Witnessed/definite past tense (di-past): -dı/-di/-du/-dü and -tı/-ti/-tu/-tü

Can describe past events that were personally witnessed or experienced

Reported/hearsay past tense (-mış/-miş/-muş/-müş) for unwitnessed events

Can describe past events learned through hearsay or noticed after the fact

Future tense with -acak/-ecek suffix for planned actions and predictions

Can talk about future plans and make predictions

Wish/desire mood (-ayım/-eyim) for suggestions, let's, and wishes

Can make suggestions and express wishes using the optative mood

Imperative mood: gel!, gelin!, gelsinler! for commands and requests

Can give commands and make polite requests

Negation with -ma/-me for verbs and değil for nouns/adjectives

Can form negative sentences with both verbs and nouns

'Want to' construction: verb infinitive + istemek

Can express wants and desires using istemek + infinitive

Can/cannot ability with -abilmek/-ebilmek suffix

Can express ability and inability

Possessive suffixes: -m (my), -n (your), -sı/-si (his/her), -mız/-miz (our), -nız/-niz (your-pl), -ları/-leri (their)

Can express possession using possessive suffixes

Existence expressions: var (there is/I have) and yok (there isn't/I don't have)

Can express existence and possession using var/yok

'With' as suffix (-la/-le) or postposition (ile) — instrument and accompaniment

Can express accompaniment and instrument using ile/-la/-le

Adjectives: no agreement, always before noun, basic descriptive adjectives

Can use basic adjectives to describe people, places, and things

Comparison: daha... (more/comparative) and en... (most/superlative)

Can compare things using daha and en

Time adverbs: şimdi, bugün, yarın, dün, her gün, her zaman

Can use time adverbs to indicate when events happen

Frequency adverbs: her zaman, genellikle, bazen, nadiren, hiç

Can express how often actions occur

Location postpositions: içinde, üstünde, altında, yanında, arkasında, önünde

Can describe where things are using location postpositions

Time postpositions/expressions: sonra, önce, sırasında, kadar

Can express temporal relationships using time postpositions

Basic SOV word order: Subject-Object-Verb

Can construct basic sentences with correct SOV word order

Questions: mı/mi/mu/mü particle and question words

Can form yes/no questions and use question words

Negative sentences: değil, -ma/-me, yok patterns

Can form all three types of negative sentences

Conjunctions: ve (and), ama (but), çünkü (because), veya/ya da (or)

Can connect sentences using basic conjunctions

Because/reason clauses: çünkü (conjunction) and -dığı için (suffix-based)

Can give reasons using çünkü and basic -dığı için

Numbers 0-100 in Turkish

Can use numbers 0-100 in everyday contexts

Telling time: Saat kaç? (What time is it?)

Can tell and ask the time

Days of the week, months, and seasons

Can name days, months, and seasons

Greetings and introductions: Merhaba, Nasılsınız?, Benim adım...

Can greet people and introduce themselves

Polite expressions: lütfen, teşekkürler, özür dilerim, rica ederim

Can use basic polite expressions in social interactions

Shopping expressions: Ne kadar?, Kaç lira?, Hesap lütfen

Can handle basic shopping interactions

Giving directions: düz gidin, sağa/sola dönün, karşıda

Can ask for and give simple directions