The Turkish passive voice tells you what happens to something, not who does it: = The door was opened. = My wallet has been found. You will see it everywhere in the news, on signs, in recipes and in instructions.
Turkish builds the passive with one short ending right after the verb root: -il, -in or just -n. Then any tense and person ending follows, exactly as with an ordinary verb. There are no helper verbs like English “was” or “been”.
The pattern
verb rootplus-il / -in / -nis doneplustense + person
From active to passive
In an active sentence someone does something to an object: (Ali opened the door). In the passive, the object becomes the subject and the doer usually disappears: (The door was opened). Notice that loses its object ending and becomes plain .
| Active | Passive |
|---|---|
| Alikapıyıaçtı. | Kapıaçılis donedıdid. |
| Biricüzdanımıbuldu. | Cüzdanımbulundu. |
| Herkesbukitabıokur. | Bukitapokunis doneurusually / would. |
was opened
Step 3 of 3dıdid
It happened, and you know it first-hand.
- Last vowel ı is back and flat, so the vowel is ı: -dı.
- l is not one of f s t k ç ş h p, so d stays d.
Which ending? -il, -in or -n
The last letter of the root decides. After a consonant, add -il (with four-way harmony: -ıl, -il, -ul, -ül). After l, add -in (-ın, -in, -un, -ün). After a vowel, add just -n.
| Root ends in | Ending | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| a consonant (not l) | -ıl / -il / -ul / -ül | yapıldı,içildi,kuruldu,görüldü |
| l | -ın / -in / -un / -ün | alındı,bilindi,bulundu |
| a vowel | -n | okundu,yendi,izlendi,arandı |
Root ends in
a consonant (not l)
- Ending
- -ıl / -il / -ul / -ül
- Examples
- yapıldı,içildi,kuruldu,görüldü
Root ends in
l
- Ending
- -ın / -in / -un / -ün
- Examples
- alındı,bilindi,bulundu
Root ends in
a vowel
- Ending
- -n
- Examples
- okundu,yendi,izlendi,arandı
do · last vowel ı
yapıl
yapıldı: the last vowel is ı, a back, flat vowel, so the ending has ı.
- last vowel ı
- back, flat
- ending vowel ı
was done
The ending:Ending: d or t, here d, i or ı or u or ü, here ı
Why?
Why -in after l? Try saying bululdu: two l sounds so close together are awkward, so Turkish switches to n: , , . If four-way harmony is new to you, see our guide to Turkish vowel harmony.
Kerem’s note
Tip: Some -n passives look exactly like reflexive verbs (doing something to yourself). can mean “it was washed” or “he washed himself”, and the context tells you which.
etmek verbs and small changes: edildi, çevrildi
Many Turkish verbs are a noun plus etmek (to do): iptal etmek (to cancel), davet etmek (to invite). In the passive, etmek becomes edilmek: the t of et turns into d before the vowel of -il. So iptal etti (he canceled it) becomes (it was canceled).
When an ending starts with a vowel, a hard letter at the end of the word goes soft.
- pbecomes+ vowelb
- çbecomes+ vowelc
- tbecomes+ voweld
- kbecomes+ vowelğ
- etilis donedidid
was canceled
- etilis donedidid
was invited
- etilis donedidid
was accepted
A few roots also lose a vowel before the ending: (to translate) gives (was translated). And gitmek turns its t into d, as before any vowel: gidildi.
Toplantı iptal edildi.
The meeting was canceled.
Bu kitap birçok dile çevrildi.
This book has been translated into many languages.
Düğüne iki yüz kişi davet edildi.
Two hundred people were invited to the wedding.
The passive in every tense
Once you have the passive stem (yapıl-, bulun-, okun-), it works like any other verb: add the past, the present continuous, the future, -miş, the aorist, -meli or -ebil.
| Tense | yapmak (do) in the passive | English |
|---|---|---|
| Past | yapılis donedıdid | was done |
| Present continuous | yapılis doneıyor-ing (now) | is being done |
| Future | yapılis doneacakwill | will be done |
| -miş | yapılis donemışapparently | has been done, apparently |
| Aorist | yapılis doneırusually / would | is done (in general) |
| Must | yapılis donemalımust / should | must be done |
| Can | yapılis doneabilcanirusually / would | can be done |
Tense
Past
- yapmak (do) in the passive
- yapılis donedıdid
- English
- was done
Tense
Present continuous
- yapmak (do) in the passive
- yapılis doneıyor-ing (now)
- English
- is being done
Tense
Future
- yapmak (do) in the passive
- yapılis doneacakwill
- English
- will be done
Tense
-miş
- yapmak (do) in the passive
- yapılis donemışapparently
- English
- has been done, apparently
Tense
Aorist
- yapmak (do) in the passive
- yapılis doneırusually / would
- English
- is done (in general)
Tense
Must
- yapmak (do) in the passive
- yapılis donemalımust / should
- English
- must be done
Tense
Can
- yapmak (do) in the passive
- yapılis doneabilcanirusually / would
- English
- can be done
Bu ev geçen yıl yapıldı.
This house was built last year.
Köprü şu an tamir ediliyor.
The bridge is being repaired right now.
Yeni okul eylülde açılacak.
The new school will be opened in September.
Bu iş bugün bitirilmeli.
This job must be finished today.
Tip: After a passive ending, the aorist is always -ir / -ır / -ur / -ür, never -er or -ar: , , , .
Negative and questions: yapılmadı, yapıldı mı?
The negative -me / -ma comes right after the passive ending, before the tense: (wasn’t done), (won’t be opened). The order of the endings never changes.
Cars never swap places. A word only uses the cars it needs; the empty ones are skipped.
Verbs: -me or -ma, right after the root.root-me / -matenseperson
- Yapdoılis donedıdid.
It was done.
- Çözsolveülis donedüdid.
It was solved.
- Açopenılis doneacakwill.
It will be opened.
For a yes/no question, add after the verb as a separate word, with harmony: (was it done?), (was it found?).
It follows vowel harmony, but is written apart
The last vowel of the word before mi picks its vowel.
The last vowel of Satıldı is ı, so the question word is mı.
Sorun henüz çözülmedi.
The problem hasn’t been solved yet.
Paket gönderildi mi?
Has the package been sent?
Bu kelime nasıl yazılır?
How is this word spelled?
Saying “by”: tarafından
Turkish usually leaves out who did it: that is the point of the passive. When you need to say it, put (by) after the doer. It sounds formal, like the news, a museum label or a book.
Buresimünlübirressamtarafındanyapıldı.
Word by word: this, picture, famous, a, painter, by, was-made.This picture was painted by a famous painter.
Kanun Meclis tarafından kabul edildi.
The law was passed by parliament.
Why?
In everyday speech, Turkish prefers the active when the doer is known: Because the verb comes last, the doer can still be put up front for emphasis without any passive at all.
Kerem’s note
Rules, signs and recipes: the aorist passive
The aorist passive describes rules and how things are normally done, by anyone. You see it on signs, in recipes and in questions about language and customs. Its negative is -mez / -maz: = Smoking is not allowed here (literally “here cigarettes are not smoked”).
Burada sigara içilmez.
No smoking here.
Türkiye'de çok çay içilir.
A lot of tea is drunk in Türkiye.
Bu yemek elle yenir.
This dish is eaten with your hands.
Soğanlar ince ince doğranır.
The onions are chopped finely.
Verbs with no object can take the passive too. Then it means “one does” or “people do”, a very handy way to ask how things work: = How do you get to Taksim?
Taksim'e nasıl gidilir?
How do you get to Taksim?
Bu kapıdan girilmez.
No entry through this door.
Buna Türkçe ne denir?
What is this called in Turkish?
Tip: is one of the most useful questions for a learner: point at anything and ask.
Common mistakes
Watch out
Not:Kapıyı açıldı.
Say:Kapı açıldı.
In a passive sentence the thing acted on is the subject, so it loses its object ending -ı.
Watch out
Not:yapındı
Say:yapıldı
-in is only for roots ending in l (alındı, bulundu). yap ends in p, so it takes -ıl.
Watch out
Not:okuldu
Say:okundu
After a vowel the passive is just -n: oku + n + du. (And okul is a different word: school!)
Watch out
Not:iptal etildi
Say:iptal edildi
The t of et becomes d before a vowel, as in ediyorum: et + il → .
Watch out
Not:Bu ev Ali tarafından yaptı.
Say:Bu ev Ali tarafından yapıldı.
goes with a passive verb. Without the passive, simply say
A short dialogue
Read or listen, then answer
What happened to the coffee machine?
Ahmet
Günaydın! Toplantı iptal edildi mi?
Zeynep
Evet, dün akşam iptal edildi. Herkese e-posta gönderildi.
Ahmet
Ben görmedim. Yeni tarih belli mi?
Zeynep
Henüz belirlenmedi. Rapor bitince yapılacak.
Ahmet
Benim bölümüm dün gönderildi.
Zeynep
Biliyorum, teşekkürler. Diğer bölümler hâlâ yazılıyor.
Ahmet
Bu arada, kahve makinesi tamir edildi mi?
Zeynep
Hayır, ama yenisi alındı!
Ahmet
Harika! O zaman şimdi bir kahve içilir.
Spot the passives: , , (belirle ends in a vowel, so -n), , , and (al ends in l, so -ın). is the aorist passive used in a friendly way: “now a coffee is in order”.
Summary
| How | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| After a consonant | root + -ıl / -il / -ul / -ül | |
| After l | root + -ın / -in / -un / -ün | |
| After a vowel | root + -n | |
| etmek verbs | edil- | |
| Negative | passive + -me / -ma + tense | |
| Rules and signs | passive + aorist | |
| By | doer + tarafından |
After a consonant
- How
- root + -ıl / -il / -ul / -ül
- Example
After l
- How
- root + -ın / -in / -un / -ün
- Example
After a vowel
- How
- root + -n
- Example
etmek verbs
- How
- edil-
- Example
Negative
- How
- passive + -me / -ma + tense
- Example
Rules and signs
- How
- passive + aorist
- Example
By
- How
- doer + tarafından
- Example