Turkish Grammar › Verb Conjugation
Emir Kipi (-Ø / -(y)In(Iz) / -sIn)
Imperative Mood
Level A1Verb Conjugation
The form used to ask for something to be done, and to give instructions, warnings and polite requests.
The imperative is used when we want something to be done: «Gel!», «Otur!», «Kapıyı aç!» It appears very often in directions, recipes, warnings and requests.
The imperative has no «ben» or «biz» form. To speak for ourselves or to suggest doing something together, the optative is used: «Ben bakayım.», «Biz gidelim.»
For «sen» the bare verb stem is used, with no ending at all: gel, otur, yaz, bekle, aç. This form is direct and familiar; it is said to a close friend, or by older people to younger ones.
For «siz» the verb takes «-ın, -in, -un, -ün»: gelin, oturun, yazın, açın. If the verb ends in a vowel, a buffer «y» comes in: bekleyin, okuyun, dinleyin.
The more formal ending is «-ınız, -iniz, -unuz, -ünüz»: geliniz, buyurunuz, bekleyiniz. This form is used on signs and in official writing.
The «siz» form both addresses more than one person and shows politeness to a single person. Adding «lütfen» at the beginning makes the request more polite: «Lütfen bekleyin.»
For «o» the ending is «-sın, -sin, -sun, -sün» and for «onlar» «-sınlar, -sinler, -sunlar, -sünler»: gelsin, otursun, yazsın, gelsinler. This form usually expresses a wish passed on to a third person who is not present: «Ali de gelsin.»
In the negative the verb first takes «-ma, -me», then the personal ending: gelme, gelmeyin, gelmesin, gelmesinler. Since the negative suffix ends in a vowel, the «siz» form takes a buffer «y».
A sound change: some verbs ending in «t» soften between two vowels. In «Git!» the stem does not change, but it becomes «gidin, gidiniz»; likewise «et - edin», «tat - tadın».
The imperative has no question form. Only in the third person is it used to ask for approval: «Ali de gelsin mi?»
Examples
- Lütfen kapıyı kapat.Please close the door.
- Buraya gelin ve şu yazıyı okuyun.Come here and read that text.
- Sağa dönün, sonra düz gidin.Turn right, then go straight.
- Ali de bizimle gelsin.Let Ali come with us too.
- Bu odada sigara içmeyin.Do not smoke in this room.