A1 · The simple sentence · about 7 minutes
The verb goes at the end
word order: subject, object, verb
Whatever else is in the sentence — the verb comes last.
Do you know this already?
“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 3 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need12
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- gazetenewspaper
- okumakto read; to study
- TürkçeTurkish (language)
- öğrenmekto learn; to find out
- futbolfootball
- haftaweek
- sonend; last
- dedegrandfather, grandpa
- ziyaret etmekto visit
- etmekto do (with a noun)
- filmfilm
- izlemekto watch; to follow
Understand
RememberIn a Turkish sentence the verb comes last.
- Signal words
- bugün
- her gün
- akşam
- sabah
The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in Turkish.
| subject – object – verb | Ayşe çay içiyor. |
| time and place early | Bugün evde kahvaltı yapıyoruz. |
| the new information right before the verb | Mehmet otobüsle geliyor. |
| no subject: the ending says it | Türkçe öğreniyorum. |
| even after “today”: the verb at the end | Bugün Ayşe çay içiyor. |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
The verb comes at the end of the sentence.
Ayşe çay içiyor.Ayşe is drinking tea.
The object comes right before the verb.
Mehmet her sabah gazete okuyor.Mehmet reads the paper every morning.
Time and place usually come before the object.
Biz akşam evde yemek yiyoruz.We eat at home in the evening.
A word like “today” at the start does not change the order.
Bugün Elif okula gidiyor.Today Elif is going to school.
The subject can be left out; the verb ending shows the person.
Türkçe öğreniyorum.I am learning Turkish.
Example sentences
Can her gün kahve içiyor.Can drinks coffee every day.
Annem mutfakta yemek yapıyor.My mother is cooking in the kitchen.
Çocuklar bahçede futbol oynuyor.The children are playing football in the garden.
6 more example sentences
Hafta sonu dedemi ziyaret ediyoruz.At the weekend we are visiting my grandfather.
Bu akşam film izliyorum.This evening I am watching a film.
Elif otobüsle işe gidiyor.Elif goes to work by bus.
Kardeşim Almanya'da çalışıyor.My brother works in Germany.
Sabah erken kalkıyoruz.We get up early in the morning.
Ayşe kitap okuyor, Mehmet müzik dinliyor.Ayşe is reading a book, Mehmet is listening to music.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The English habit of putting the verb straight after the subject is strong: “Today I am drinking tea” then gets carried over word for word. In Turkish the verb never moves forward, whatever stands at the start of the sentence.
Quick check
A warm-up: 2 questions, answered straight away. They do not count towards your progress.
Practise
9 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
Now write it yourself9 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
Well done
How well do you know this topic?
This is filled in automatically after you practise. You can change it here at any time.
Next on the path: 10 · The cases at a glanceBack to the learning path
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
A Turkish sentence ends with the verb: Ayşe çay içiyor, literally “Ayşe tea is-drinking”. Before it come the subject and the object, in that order. English says subject – verb – object; Turkish says subject – object – verb.
Every sentence is built this way, however it begins. Where English sometimes moves things around (“Today Ayşe drinks tea”, “Never have I seen…”), the Turkish verb stays at the end: Bugün Ayşe çay içiyor.
Time and place usually come early, the object right before the verb: Mehmet her sabah otobüsle işe gidiyor “Mehmet goes to work by bus every morning”. Notice that the English order is almost the mirror image. Whatever is new or important moves close to the verb.
The subject can be left out if the ending on the verb already says it: Türkçe öğreniyorum “(I) am learning Turkish”. You only say ben “I” when you want to stress it — me, not you.
A closer look
What comes before the verb matters
The slot right before the verb belongs to what is new or stressed. Ayşe çayı mutfakta içiyor says where she drinks the tea; Mutfakta çayı Ayşe içiyor says who drinks it. English does this with stress or with “it is … who”; Turkish does it with position.
An afterthought after the verb
In casual speech a word sometimes comes after the verb, like an afterthought: Geliyorum, yarın. “I’m coming — tomorrow.” You should understand it, but for now write the normal order yourself.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
Compared with English
English puts the verb in the middle: subject, verb, object. Turkish puts it at the end, and the rest of the sentence often comes out in mirror order: “Ayşe drinks tea every morning” becomes “Ayşe every morning tea drinks”.
Ayşe her sabah çay içiyor.Ayşe drinks tea every morning.
Worth knowing
No article, no gender
An object without an ending has no article: çay içiyor means “she is drinking tea”. There is no “the”, and no word has a gender — even o means “he”, “she” and “it”.
O kitap okuyor.He is reading a book.
The verbs on this page, in every form: içmek · gitmek · yemek · okumak · izlemek · öğrenmek