The Turkish causative turns “do” into “make someone do”, “let someone do” or “have something done”. is to laugh, is to make someone laugh. Beklemek is to wait, is to keep someone waiting. Kesmek is to cut, and means I had my hair cut.
English needs extra verbs like “make”, “let” or “have” for this. Turkish adds one short ending straight after the verb root, and the result is a new verb that takes all the usual endings.
The pattern
verb rootplus-dir / -tir / -tmake (someone) doplustense + person
I had (it) cut
Step 4 of 4mI
Who? I. After -di and -se it is just -m, and in gelmem (I don’t come) too.
Which ending: -t or -dir
Take the stem (the dictionary form without -mek / -mak) and look at its end. A stem of two or more syllables that ends in a vowel, l or r takes a short -t: , oku → okut, .
Most other stems take -dir, with four-way harmony: -dır, -dir, -dur, -dür. After a hard consonant (ç, f, h, k, p, s, ş, t) the d becomes t: -tır, -tir, -tur, -tür. So , ye → yedir, , kes → kestir.
| Stem | Ending | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 2+ syllables, ending in a vowel, l or r | -t | beklet,okut,ağlat,oturt |
| most other stems | -dır / -dir / -dur / -dür | kızdır,yedir,durdur,güldür |
| after ç, f, h, k, p, s, ş, t | -tır / -tir / -tur / -tür | yaptır,kestir,çektir,yıktır |
Stem
2+ syllables, ending in a vowel, l or r
- Ending
- -t
- Examples
- beklet,okut,ağlat,oturt
Stem
most other stems
- Ending
- -dır / -dir / -dur / -dür
- Examples
- kızdır,yedir,durdur,güldür
Stem
after ç, f, h, k, p, s, ş, t
- Ending
- -tır / -tir / -tur / -tür
- Examples
- yaptır,kestir,çektir,yıktır
get angry · last vowel ı
kız
kızdır: the last vowel is ı, a back, flat vowel, so the ending has ı.
- last vowel ı
- back, flat
- ending vowel ı
make angry
The ending:Ending: d or t, here d, i or ı or u or ü, here ı, r
Fıstıkçı Şahap
“Şahap the pistachio seller”: its consonants are the hard letters f s t k ç ş h p.
After these letters:d becomes tc becomes ç
- yapdodırmake (someone) do
have done, make do
- kescutdirmake (someone) do
have cut
- çekpulldirmake (someone) do
have pulled, have taken (a photo)
No hard letter, no change
- güllaughdürmake (someone) do
make laugh: l is not a hard letter
l is not a hard letter, so d stays d.
- yazwritedırmake (someone) do
have written: z is not a hard letter
z is not a hard letter, so d stays d.
Why?
Why does ye take -dir and not -t? It has only one syllable. The short -t is for longer stems: , temizle, . If four-way harmony is new to you, start with our guide to Turkish vowel harmony.
Kerem’s note
Then the tense: beklettim, yaptırıyorum
A causative is a verb like any other. Add the negative, the tense and the person ending after it, in that order: bekle + t + me + di + m → bekletmedim (I didn’t keep anyone waiting). After the -t, the past ending is hard: , , with a double t you can hear.
Cars never swap places. A word only uses the cars it needs; the empty ones are skipped.
| yaptırmak (have done) | bekletmek (keep waiting) | |
|---|---|---|
| Past | yaptırmake (someone) dodıdidmI | bekletmake (someone) dotididmI |
| Present continuous | yaptırmake (someone) doıyor-ing (now)umI | bekletmake (someone) doiyor-ing (now)umI |
| Future | yaptırmake (someone) doacağwillımI | bekletmake (someone) doeceğwillimI |
| Negative past | yaptırmake (someone) domanotdıdidmI | bekletmake (someone) domenotdididmI |
Past
- yaptırmak (have done)
- yaptırmake (someone) dodıdidmI
- bekletmek (keep waiting)
- bekletmake (someone) dotididmI
Present continuous
- yaptırmak (have done)
- yaptırmake (someone) doıyor-ing (now)umI
- bekletmek (keep waiting)
- bekletmake (someone) doiyor-ing (now)umI
Future
- yaptırmak (have done)
- yaptırmake (someone) doacağwillımI
- bekletmek (keep waiting)
- bekletmake (someone) doeceğwillimI
Negative past
- yaptırmak (have done)
- yaptırmake (someone) domanotdıdidmI
- bekletmek (keep waiting)
- bekletmake (someone) domenotdididmI
Kusura bakma, seni beklettim.
Sorry, I kept you waiting.
Bu film beni çok güldürdü.
This film made me laugh a lot.
Çocukları kızdırma!
Don’t make the children angry!
Short verbs with -ir or -ar, and a few irregulars
A small group of short, everyday verbs takes -ir / -ır / -ur / -ür, or -ar, instead. There is no rule that tells you which ones: learn them as words. Many of them are so common that they feel like ordinary verbs.
| Basic verb | Causative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| içirmake (someone) domekto (do) | make drink, give (medicine) | |
| pişirmake (someone) domekto (do) | cook | |
| bitirmake (someone) domekto (do) | finish | |
| düşürmake (someone) domekto (do) | drop | |
| doyurmake (someone) domakto (do) | feed, fill up | |
| çıkarmake (someone) domakto (do) | take out, take off |
Basic verb
- Causative
- içirmake (someone) domekto (do)
- Meaning
- make drink, give (medicine)
Basic verb
- Causative
- pişirmake (someone) domekto (do)
- Meaning
- cook
Basic verb
- Causative
- bitirmake (someone) domekto (do)
- Meaning
- finish
Basic verb
- Causative
- düşürmake (someone) domekto (do)
- Meaning
- drop
Basic verb
- Causative
- doyurmake (someone) domakto (do)
- Meaning
- feed, fill up
Basic verb
- Causative
- çıkarmake (someone) domakto (do)
- Meaning
- take out, take off
Çocuğa ilacını içirdim.
I made the child take his medicine.
İşimi bitirdim.
I finished my work.
Telefonumu düşürdüm.
I dropped my phone.
A few causatives are irregular, and you probably know them already as separate verbs: gelmek → getirmek (to bring: “make come”), (to lift, to remove: “make rise”), (to show: “make see”).
Tip: Other everyday verbs are causatives too: anlatmak (to tell, from anlamak: “make understand”), (to teach, from öğrenmek: “make learn”), (to wake someone up, from uyanmak), (to kill, from ölmek: “make die”).
Who does what: -i or -e
A causative adds a person to the sentence: the one you make do the action. If the basic verb has no object, that person takes the object ending -i: (the baby slept) → (I put the baby to sleep).
If the basic verb already has an object, that object keeps the -i, and the person moves to -e (to): (I tidied my room) → (My mom made me tidy my room).
| Basic sentence | Causative | English |
|---|---|---|
| I put the baby to sleep. | ||
| I made the child laugh. | ||
| My mom made me tidy my room. | ||
| I had my brother wash the car. |
Basic sentence
- Causative
- English
- I put the baby to sleep.
Basic sentence
- Causative
- English
- I made the child laugh.
Basic sentence
- Causative
- English
- My mom made me tidy my room.
Basic sentence
- Causative
- English
- I had my brother wash the car.
Bebeği uyuttum.
I put the baby to sleep.
Annembanaodamıtoplattı.
Word by word: my-mom, to-me, my-room, made-tidy.My mom made me tidy my room.
Öğretmen öğrencilere bir hikâye yazdırdı.
The teacher had the students write a story.
Why?
A Turkish verb can have only one object with -i. In the room already has it, so the person who does the tidying moves to -e: .
Kerem’s note
Having something done: saçımı kestirdim
The causative is also how Turkish says you had a job done by someone else, usually someone you paid. means you cut your own hair. means a hairdresser did it. Use it for every service: the mechanic, the painter, the dentist, the tailor.
etmek verbs become : tamir etmek (to repair) → (to have repaired). The person who does the job goes in the dative, with -e: = I had the mechanic repair my car.
Saçımı kestirdim.
I had my hair cut.
Arabamı tamir ettirdim.
I had my car repaired.
Bu yaz evi boyatacağız.
We’re going to have the house painted this summer.
Takım elbisemi terziye diktirdim.
I had a tailor make my suit.
In Türkiye
At the barber’s
A visit to a Turkish (barber) is often more than a haircut: a shave with a straight razor, a hot towel, a splash of lemon cologne, and sometimes stray ear hairs quickly singed with a flame. Afterwards, everything you tell your friends is in the causative.
Berberde saçımı kestirdim, sakalımı da tıraş ettirdim.
At the barber’s I had my hair cut, and my beard shaved too.
Stacking: causative + passive, and double causatives
The causative can be combined with the passive. The causative always comes first: yap + tır + ıl + dı → yaptırıldı (was had built, was commissioned). You will meet it in the news and on historic buildings.
Cars never swap places. A word only uses the cars it needs; the empty ones are skipped.
A verb that is already a causative can take a second one, usually -t: (to die) → (to kill) → (to have someone killed). Each causative adds one more person to the story.
Eski köprü yıktırıldı.
The old bridge was demolished (on someone’s orders).
Kral bütün düşmanlarını öldürttü.
The king had all his enemies killed.
Tip: These stacked forms are practiced in our B2 course, together with more services you can have done.
Common mistakes
Watch out
Not:bekledirmek
Say:bekletmek
has two syllables and ends in a vowel, so it takes the short -t, not -dir.
Watch out
Not:Kuaförde saçımı kestim.
Say:Kuaförde saçımı kestirdim.
At the hairdresser’s someone else holds the scissors. kestim sounds as if you cut your own hair there.
Watch out
Not:Annem beni odamı toplattı.
Say:Annem bana odamı toplattı.
Two objects with -i don’t fit in one sentence. When the thing () has -i, the person takes -e.
Watch out
Not:yıkatdık
Say:yıkattık
After the causative -t, the past ending hardens to -tı: yıka + t + tı + k.
Watch out
Not:Köprü yapıldırdı.
Say:Köprü yaptırıldı.
The causative always comes first and the passive second: yap + tır + ıl + dı.
A short dialogue
Read or listen, then answer
Why was Murat late?
Elif
Saçların çok güzel olmuş! Berbere mi gittin?
Murat
Evet, az önce kestirdim. Berber çok yavaştı. Kusura bakma, seni beklettim.
Elif
Önemli değil. Beklerken telefonda komik videolar izledim. Beni çok güldürdü!
Murat
Senin haftan nasıl geçti?
Elif
Çok yoğundu! Arabamı tamir ettirdim, evi de boyattım.
Murat
Evi kendin boyamadın mı?
Elif
Hayır. Geçen sefer kendim boyadım ve çok yoruldum. Bu sefer bir ustaya boyattım.
Murat
Akıllıca! Ben de mutfağı yeniden yaptırmak istiyorum.
Spot the causatives: , (bekle + t + ti + m), , , and . Compare (I painted it myself) with (I had it painted), and see who did the job in : the painter, in the dative.
Summary
| How | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| Long stems ending in a vowel, l or r | stem + -t | |
| Most other stems | stem + -dır / -dir / -dur / -dür | |
| After ç, f, h, k, p, s, ş, t | -tır / -tir / -tur / -tür | |
| Some short verbs | -ır / -ir / -ur / -ür or -ar | |
| etmek verbs | ettirmek | |
| The doer | -i if no other object, otherwise -e |
Long stems ending in a vowel, l or r
- How
- stem + -t
- Example
Most other stems
- How
- stem + -dır / -dir / -dur / -dür
- Example
After ç, f, h, k, p, s, ş, t
- How
- -tır / -tir / -tur / -tür
- Example
Some short verbs
- How
- -ır / -ir / -ur / -ür or -ar
- Example
etmek verbs
- How
- ettirmek
- Example
The doer
- How
- -i if no other object, otherwise -e
- Example