Verbal Nouns and Infinitives in Turkish

In Brief

Turkish can turn an action into a noun with three main suffixes. -mek/-mak gives the dictionary infinitive and names an action generally (yüzmek, “to swim”); -me/-ma often names an action as a thing and can take possessive and case endings (gelmen, “your coming”); -iş/-ış/-uş/-üş commonly describes the way an action happens or forms a lexicalized noun (gülüş, “smile/way of smiling”).

Overview

A verbal noun is a verb form that functions like a noun: it can be the subject of a sentence, an object, or the complement of a postposition. English uses both infinitives (to read) and -ing forms (reading) for these jobs. Turkish makes finer distinctions through suffixes attached directly to the verb stem.

This is an A2 topic because forms such as gitmek istiyorum (“I want to go”) and kitap okumayı seviyorum (“I like reading books”) are essential in everyday speech. The beginner rule is simple: learn -mek/-mak after verbs such as istemek (“to want”), and expect -me/-ma when the action behaves more fully like a noun. Later, possessive and case endings let Turkish express whole English clauses compactly.

These forms are called isim-fiiller in Turkish. They do not normally carry tense by themselves. Instead, the verb of the main sentence shows tense and person: in Yüzmek istiyorum, yüzmek names the desired action, while istiyorum means “I want.”

How It Works

The three suffix families

Form	Basic role	Examples	Typical English equivalent
-mek/-mak	Dictionary infinitive; an action in general	gelmek, okumak	to come, to read; coming, reading
-me/-ma	Action noun; a specific or grammatically possessed action	gelme, okuma	coming, reading; the act of…
-iş/-ış/-uş/-üş	Manner, style, or result of an action; often a settled vocabulary item	gülüş, yürüyüş	way of smiling; walk

A verb stem is the part left when the dictionary ending is removed: gelmek → gel-; okumak → oku-. Attach the appropriate suffix to that stem.

Vowel harmony

The suffix vowel changes to match the last vowel of the stem. This is vowel harmony: nearby vowels follow a regular pattern.

Last vowel in stem	Infinitive	Action noun	Manner/result noun	Examples
e, i	-mek	-me	-iş	gelmek, gelme, geliş
ö, ü	-mek	-me	-üş	görmek, görme, görüş
a, ı	-mak	-ma	-ış	bakmak, bakma, bakış
o, u	-mak	-ma	-uş	okumak, okuma, okuyuş

The last example should be formed from a real stem according to usage: oku- gives okuyuş, with a buffer y. When a stem ends in a vowel, -iş normally needs this buffer: anla- → anlayış, söyle- → söyleyiş, yürü- → yürüyüş. Not every theoretically possible form is a common word, so learn -iş nouns as vocabulary as well as a pattern.

1. -mek/-mak: the general infinitive

This is the citation form found in dictionaries. It names an activity without identifying a person who performs it.

• Yüzmek sağlıklıdır. — Swimming is healthy.
• Türkçe öğrenmek istiyorum. — I want to learn Turkish.
• Erken kalkmak zor. — Getting up early is difficult.

It is especially common after words expressing desire, possibility, necessity, difficulty, or evaluation: istemek (“want”), zor (“difficult”), kolay (“easy”), gerek (“necessary”), and mümkün (“possible”). Turkish does not insert a separate word corresponding to English to: the suffix already does that work.

The infinitive can also be used before some postpositions:

• Seni görmek için geldim. — I came in order to see you.
• Konuşmak yerine dinledi. — Instead of speaking, she/he listened.

2. -me/-ma: the action as a noun

This form behaves more like an ordinary noun. It can take a case ending (an ending showing a noun’s role, such as object or location) and a possessive ending (an ending showing whose action it is).

A common pattern is verb stem + -me/-ma + case:

Base	Added ending	Result	Meaning in context
oku-ma	accusative -(y)ı	okumayı	reading, as a definite object
yüz-me	accusative -(y)i	yüzmeyi	swimming, as a definite object
çalış-ma	dative -(y)a	çalışmaya	to/toward working
bekle-me	ablative -den	beklemeden	from waiting; in another construction, “without waiting”

The accusative marks a specific direct object (what the action directly affects). Many verbs that take an ordinary accusative noun also take an accusative action noun:

• Müziği seviyorum. — I like the music.
• Müzik dinlemeyi seviyorum. — I like listening to music.

The buffer y appears between two vowels: okuma + ı → okumayı; başlama + a → başlamaya.

Showing who performs the action

Add possessive endings to -me/-ma when the performer matters. The resulting phrase often corresponds to an English clause.

Performer	Form from gelmek	Meaning
I	gelmem	my coming / that I come
you (singular)	gelmen	your coming / that you come
he/she/it	gelmesi	his/her/its coming / that he or she comes
we	gelmemiz	our coming / that we come
you (plural/polite)	gelmeniz	your coming / that you come
they	gelmeleri	their coming / that they come

The person performing the verbal noun’s action can be stated in the genitive (the “of/’s” case):

• Senin gelmen önemli. — It is important that you come. Literally, “Your coming is important.”
• Ayşe’nin erken gelmesini bekliyorum. — I expect Ayşe to come early.

In the second sentence, gel-me-si-ni contains the action-noun suffix, third-person possessive suffix, and accusative ending. English often uses an object plus infinitive here; Turkish builds a possessed verbal noun.

3. -iş/-ış/-uş/-üş: manner, style, and lexical nouns

This suffix often focuses on how an action is performed, what one instance looks or sounds like, or the result of the action:

• Onun gülüşü çok sıcak. — Her/His smile is very warm.
• Çocuğun yürüyüşü değişti. — The child’s way of walking changed.
• Bu kelimenin söylenişi zor. — The pronunciation of this word is difficult.

Many such forms have become ordinary dictionary nouns: giriş (“entrance/entry”), çıkış (“exit/departure”), alışveriş (“shopping”), görüş (“view/opinion/meeting”), and yürüyüş (“walk/march”). Their meanings cannot always be predicted simply as “the way of doing.”

The concept example gelişigüzel means “haphazard” or “random.” It is now written as one word and is lexicalized; its modern meaning is not normally worked out word by word in conversation.

Examples in Context

Turkish	English	Note
Yüzmek istiyorum.	I want to swim.	-mek after istemek
Her gün yürümek sağlıklı.	Walking every day is healthy.	Infinitive as subject
Yeni bir dil öğrenmek kolay değil.	Learning a new language is not easy.	General evaluation
Seni görmek için buraya geldim.	I came here to see you.	-mek için expresses purpose
Evde kalmak yerine dışarı çıktık.	Instead of staying home, we went out.	Infinitive before yerine
Kitap okumayı seviyorum.	I like reading books.	-ma plus accusative
Piyano çalmaya başladı.	She/He started playing the piano.	-ma plus dative after başlamak
Okuma yazma biliyor musun?	Can you read and write?	Fixed expression okuma yazma bilmek
Senin burada olman bana güven veriyor.	Your being here gives me confidence.	Possessed action noun
Toplantının geç başlaması herkesi kızdırdı.	The meeting’s starting late annoyed everyone.	Third-person possessive form
Doktor sigara içmememi söyledi.	The doctor told me not to smoke.	Negative possessed verbal noun
Onun konuşmasını dikkatle dinledik.	We listened carefully to his/her speech.	Can mean the act or content of speaking
Bebeğin gülüşü herkesi mutlu etti.	The baby’s smile made everyone happy.	-üş result/manner noun
Bu binanın iki girişi var.	This building has two entrances.	Lexicalized -iş noun
Dosyaları gelişigüzel sıralama.	Don’t arrange the files haphazardly.	gelişigüzel is a fixed adverb

Common Mistakes

Using the dictionary infinitive after every English “to”

• Wrong: Çalışmak başladım.
• Right: Çalışmaya başladım.
• Why: Başlamak governs the dative: the action noun takes -(y)a/-(y)e. English “to” does not tell you which Turkish form to choose.

Omitting the accusative after verbs such as sevmek

• Wrong: Kitap okumak seviyorum.
• Right: Kitap okumayı seviyorum.
• Why: The activity is the definite object of sevmek, so Turkish normally uses -me/-ma plus the accusative.

Forgetting the possessive ending when the performer is stated

• Wrong: Senin gelme önemli.
• Right: Senin gelmen önemli.
• Why: A genitive performer such as senin is paired with a possessive ending on the verbal noun: senin gelmen.

Treating every -me/-ma as a verbal noun

• Potential confusion: Gelme!
• Correct reading: Don’t come!
• Why: -me/-ma is also the negative verb suffix. Context and the endings around it reveal the function. Gelme zor oldu can mean “Coming was difficult” in a suitable context, while Gelme! is a negative command.

Inventing -iş forms freely

• Unnatural strategy: adding -iş to every verb whenever English uses “way of …”
• Better: learn frequent forms such as bakış, gülüş, yürüyüş, and söyleyiş individually.
• Why: The pattern is productive, but actual meanings and frequency are lexical. A grammatically imaginable form may still sound unusual.

Usage Notes

English uses to + verb and verb + -ing inconsistently: “I want to swim,” but “I enjoy swimming.” Turkish choices depend instead on the surrounding Turkish construction. Record a new verb together with the form it governs: istemek + -mek, sevmek + -meyi, başlamak + -meye. This is more reliable than translating the English form.

Some -me/-ma nouns are fully established vocabulary items, including dondurma (“ice cream”), dolma (“stuffed food”), and yazma (with meanings including a handwritten work or a printed headscarf, depending on context). Once lexicalized, a word may have a narrower meaning than the action itself.

Okuma yazma bilmek is the conventional expression for being literate—literally, “to know reading and writing.” In everyday Turkish, gelişigüzel is likewise treated as one fixed word meaning “randomly, carelessly, haphazardly.”

Beyond the Basics: Clauses Inside Noun Phrases

You do not need to master all of this at A2, but you will often meet longer -me/-ma constructions later. A verbal noun can keep the objects and adverbs of its original verb while the whole group acts as one noun phrase:

• Ali’nin raporu bugün bitirmesi önemli. — It is important that Ali finish the report today.

Inside this phrase, raporu remains the object of bitirmek, bugün remains an adverb, and Ali’nin … bitirmesi as a whole is the subject of önemli. This compact structure is one of the central ways Turkish builds subordinate clauses (clauses that function inside a larger sentence).

Negation comes before the verbal-noun suffix: gel-me-me (“my not coming”), gel-me-me-n (“your not coming”), gel-me-me-si (“his/her not coming”). Repeated syllables are normal:

• Benim gelmemem sorun olur mu? — Would my not coming be a problem?
• Doktor, geç yatmamamı söyledi. — The doctor told me not to go to bed late.

Do not confuse all action-related forms with isim-fiiller. Turkish also has converbs (verb forms functioning like adverbs), such as gelmeden önce (“before coming”) and gülerek (“while/by laughing”), and participles (verb forms that describe nouns), such as gelen kişi (“the person who comes/came”). They overlap with English -ing translations, but they do different grammatical jobs.

The older or elevated form -mak/-mek may sometimes appear with case endings, with consonant softening (-mağı/-meği). In standard contemporary everyday usage, constructions with -ma/-me—such as yapmayı—are generally the forms learners should produce unless they are learning a specific fixed, regional, or literary pattern.

Practice Tips

1. Learn frames, not isolated suffixes. Make three columns: gitmek istiyorum, gitmeyi seviyorum, gitmeye başladım. Replace git- with five common stems and say each set aloud.
2. Build possessed forms step by step. Start with gelme, then make gelmen, senin gelmen, and finally senin erken gelmen. This makes long forms easier to parse.
3. Collect real -iş nouns. When you encounter bakış, giriş, or görüş, note its whole meaning and one sentence rather than assuming the suffix has one automatic translation.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Present Continuous Tense — helps you recognize Turkish verb stems and vowel harmony in familiar finite verbs.
• Next steps: Turkish case endings and possessive constructions — these explain forms such as okumayı, gelmen, and gelmesini in greater depth.
• Next steps: Turkish participles and converbs — related non-finite verb forms used to describe nouns or connect actions.