We talk about language learning a lot, unsurprisingly. So I thought I'd try and give a quick insight into one of the bits of grammar that I've been trying to absorb into my head this week, in the hope that it might possibly be interesting to a couple of language geeks, and even if you're not a language geek, you might be interested to get a little insight into our language studies. If neither of those options appeal to you, feel free to ignore the rest of this post. Apologies if this gets too technical, I'll try and keep it as simple as I can but it might get tricky.
First off, Turkish is an agglutinative language, which is a posh way of saying that you just keep adding suffixes onto words to get the meaning that you are after. So one word, with the appropriate suffixes, can convey what would be translated as a sentence in English.
I've been working on the Turkish equivalent of 'can' and 'might', which when you're speaking positively, involves either -ebil or -abil being added onto the verb, then adding the verb tense, then adding the appropriate pronoun ending. So, for example:
gitmek = to go (infinitive, denoted by the 'mek' ending)
git = go (said as a command to one person i.e. you go!)
iyor/ıyor/uyor/üyor = present continuous tense suffix
im/ım/um/üm = pronoun suffix for I
gidiyorum = git + iyor + um = I am coming (the 't' changes to a 'd' because it is followed by a vowel)
gidebiliyorum = git + ebil + iyor + um = I am able to go, I can go
There are various vowel possibilities for the tense and pronoun suffixes because Turkish has this concept called vowel harmony. This means when you add on a suffix, the vowel you use in the suffix depends on the preceding vowel in the word, because the vowels have to 'match' or harmonise. This also explains why some verbs take -abil and others take -ebil. (There are two types of vowel harmony but let's not complicate things). When you change the tense, you just change the tense suffix. Then the pronoun ending might also change, due to vowel harmony.
gidebiliyorum = git + ebil + iyor + um = I can go (using the present continuous tense, so either 'right now, I can go' or I have the general ability to go)
gidebilirim = gid + ebil + ir + im = I might go or I can go (using what in Turkish literally translates as the 'wide tense', but the nearest approximation in English is the present simple tense. It means 'probably but I haven't done it before', or suggests possibility)
gidebilirim mi? = can I go? (either a polite request or asking permission)
gidebildim = git + ebil + di + m = I was able to go (past tense, for a one-off event e.g. 'last week was a special event so I was able to go')
gidebiliyordum = git + ebil + iyor + du + m = I was able to go (past tense for a continuous action or ability e.g. 'When I was a child I was able to go every week')
gidebileceğim = git + ebil + ecek + im = I will be able to go (future tense, and the 'k' changes to a 'ğ')
Followed all that? Good! I've been spending some time practising trying to say some of these conjugations. For example:
fırçalamak = to brush
fırçalayabilacağım = fırçala + y + abil + acak + ım = I am going to be able to brush
By the way, if you were wondering why a stray 'y' popped up in the middle there, generally in Turkish you can't put two vowels next to each other, so you have to insert a buffer 'y'.
Now it gets really interesting. The English expressions of 'can' and 'might' usually use the same Turkish suffix (-ebil/-abil) when speaking positively. However, they negate in different ways. The negative version of 'can' uses an extra 'e' or 'a' in front of the negative verb tense (with a buffer y thrown in if necessary, of course). But the negative version of 'might' uses -meyebil/-mayabil as its negative and the positive tense.
gidemiyorum = git + e + miyor + um = I can't go (present continuous i.e. I am trying but right now there is a problem so I can't go)
gidemem = git + e + me + m = I can't go, in all likelihood it is not possible (present simple/wide tense negative)
gidemedim = git + e + me + di + m = I couldn't go, it wasn't possible (past tense for a one off event)
gidemiyordum = git + e + miyor + du + m = I couldn't go (past tense meaning I wanted to but I didn't have the ability, permission, or something happened that prevented it)
gidemeyeceğim = git + e + me + y + ecek + im = I won't be able to go, for definite
gitmeyebilirim = git + me + y + ebil + ir + im = I might not come, either because I can't or I don't want to (present simple/wide tense negative)
And the really interesting part? You can combine the 'might' negative with the 'can' present simple/wide tense negative.
gidemeyebilirim = git + e + me + y + ebil + ir + im = I might not be able to go i.e. it might not be possible for me to go even if I wanted to
Which means that once you add suffixes and buffer letters to nice long verbs, it can end up being quite a mouthful.
saklamak = to hide something or keep it secret
saklayamayacaksınız - you (plural) might not be able to hide it
If you made it to the end, congratulations!
