Imperative Mood in Turkish

Overview

The imperative mood, called emir kipi in Turkish, is how you give commands, make requests, and issue instructions. It is one of the simplest verb forms to construct because the informal second person singular command is just the bare verb stem. If you know the infinitive of a verb, you already know the root of its imperative.

At the A2 level, mastering the imperative is essential for everyday interactions — from asking someone to pass you something, to reading signs and instructions, to understanding what people expect you to do. Turkish distinguishes between informal (sen), formal/plural (siz), and even third person commands (let him/her/them), giving you a range of directness and politeness.

The negative imperative is equally important: telling someone not to do something uses the suffix -me/-ma before any other endings. Combined with the politeness marker lütfen (please), the imperative covers a huge range of real-world communication.

How It Works

Formation

The imperative is based on the verb stem (infinitive minus -mek/-mak).

Person	Suffix	Example (gelmek)	Translation
Sen (you, informal)	— (bare stem)	Gel!	Come!
Siz (you, formal/plural)	-in / -ın / -un / -ün	Gelin!	Come! (formal/plural)
O (he/she/it)	-sin / -sın / -sun / -sün	Gelsin!	Let him/her come!
Onlar (they)	-sinler / -sınlar / -sunlar / -sünler	Gelsinler!	Let them come!

Vowel Harmony for Siz and O/Onlar

Last vowel in stem	-in form	-sin form
e, i	-in	-sin
a, ı	-ın	-sın
o, u	-un	-sun
ö, ü	-ün	-sün

Common Verb Imperatives

Verb	Sen	Siz	O
gelmek (come)	gel	gelin	gelsin
gitmek (go)	git	gidin	gitsin
bakmak (look)	bak	bakın	baksın
yapmak (do)	yap	yapın	yapsın
oturmak (sit)	otur	oturun	otursun
söylemek (say)	söyle	söyleyin	söylesin

Negative Imperative

Add -me/-ma to the stem:

Positive	Negative (sen)	Negative (siz)
Gel!	Gelme!	Gelmeyin!
Git!	Gitme!	Gitmeyin!
Bak!	Bakma!	Bakmayın!
Yap!	Yapma!	Yapmayın!

Note: For siz negative, the suffix is -meyin/-mayın (not -mein/-maın).

Special Irregular Forms

A few verbs have shortened imperative forms in colloquial speech:

Infinitive	Standard	Colloquial
yemek (eat)	ye	ye
demek (say)	de	de
görmek (see)	gör	gör

Examples in Context

Turkish	English	Note
Gel!	Come! (informal)	Bare stem
Lütfen oturun.	Please sit down. (formal)	Polite request
Gitmesin!	Don't let him/her go!	3rd person negative
Kapıyı kapat.	Close the door.	Everyday command
Bana bakın!	Look at me! (formal/plural)	Attention-getting
Yapma!	Don't do that!	Common exclamation
Buraya gelin.	Come here. (formal/plural)	Direction
Dikkat edin!	Be careful! (formal/plural)	Warning
Lütfen sessiz olun.	Please be quiet. (formal)	Polite command
Onu bırak!	Leave that!	Informal command
Beklesinler.	Let them wait.	3rd person plural
Acele etme.	Don't rush.	Calm advice

Common Mistakes

Using -sin for Direct Commands

• Wrong: Gelsin! to mean "You, come!"
• Right: Gel! (informal) or Gelin! (formal)
• Why: The -sin ending is for third person ("let him/her come"), not for addressing someone directly. Using it to address someone would sound very odd.

Forgetting -me/-ma in Negative

• Wrong: Gel değil!
• Right: Gelme!
• Why: Turkish negates imperatives with the suffix -me/-ma directly on the stem, not with a separate word like değil.

Wrong Vowel in Formal Form

• Wrong: Oturin!
• Right: Oturun!
• Why: The verb oturmak has "u" as its last vowel, so the formal imperative suffix must be -un, following four-way vowel harmony.

Being Too Direct Without Lütfen

• Wrong: Oturun. (to a stranger in a service context)
• Right: Lütfen oturun. or Oturur musunuz?
• Why: While grammatically correct, bare imperatives can sound blunt to strangers. Adding lütfen or using a question form softens the request significantly.

Usage Notes

In everyday Turkish, the informal imperative (bare stem) is used very freely among friends, family, and peers. It does not carry the same level of rudeness it might in English. Saying Gel buraya ("Come here") to a friend is perfectly natural and not impolite.

For formal situations or when addressing strangers, always use the siz form. Adding lütfen (please) further softens the request. An even more polite alternative is to phrase the request as a question using the aorist: Yapar mısınız? ("Would you do it?").

The third person imperative (-sin/-sinler) is genuinely useful in Turkish, unlike in many European languages. It expresses "let him/her/them do X" and appears frequently in conversation: Gelsin ("Let him come"), İstediğini yapsın ("Let him do what he wants").

Signs and public notices commonly use the formal imperative: Sigara içmeyin ("Do not smoke"), Dikkat edin ("Be careful").

Practice Tips

• Start with the ten most common verbs (gelmek, gitmek, yapmak, bakmak, almak, vermek, söylemek, yemek, içmek, oturmak) and drill all four imperative persons for each.
• Practice pairs of positive and negative: Gel! / Gelme!, Bak! / Bakma! — this builds automatic negation skills.
• Pay attention to imperative forms on signs and in instructions when consuming Turkish media. They are everywhere and provide natural reinforcement.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Present Continuous Tense — basic verb conjugation skills are needed before learning mood forms