Turkish Sentence Structure

In Turkish, the standard word order is SOV: Subject + Object + Verb. This post explains basic sentence structure, how to add qualifiers, and how to construct compound and complex sentences.

Adding Qualifiers: Nouns, Adjectives, Adverbs

With nouns, adjectives or quantifiers we can qualify subjects and objects. To qualify verbs, we use adverbs. As a rule of thumb, the qualifiers come before what they qualify.

Time and Place in Turkish Sentences

Sentences with further information, such as time and place, usually follow this order:

subject + time + place/location + object + verb

Look at these example sentences:

• Hafif kiloluca bir kadın dün akşam spor salonunda ayak bileğini çok fena burktu.

→ A plumpish woman sprained her ankle so badly at the gym yesterday evening.

• Biz yarın işten sonra Taksim’de bir teras kafede kız arkadaşımın doğum gününü kutlayacağız.

→ We are going to celebrate my girlfriend’s birthday tomorrow after work at a terrace café in Taksim.

Each group of words does not have to be in every sentence. A simple sentence can only have a subject and a verb. For example, in imperatives, we do not even need a subject:

• Türkçe öğretmeniyim. Bir lisede çalışıyorum.

→ I’m a Turkish teacher. I work in a high school.

• Merhaba. Nasılsınız?

→ Hello. How are you?

• Seni seviyorum.

→ I love you.

• Çocuklar, bebek yeni uyudu. Sessiz olun.

→ Kids, the baby has just fallen asleep. Keep quiet.

Even though SOV is the standard word order in Turkish, it can be quite flexible. The case suffixes make it clear what the words in a sentence are for and give us some freedom in how we order the subject, time and place expressions, and object.

Compound Sentences in Turkish

When two or more independent clauses are joined together in a compound sentence by conjunctions, adverbs of sequence, commas or semicolons, the independent clauses must be put in order based on how they relate to each other, just like in English.

Look at the following examples:

• Dışarı soğuk, çocuklar. Montlarınızı giyin yoksa üşütürsünüz.

→ It’s cold outside, kids. Put your coats on, otherwise you will catch a cold.

• Bu formu doldurunuz ve şurayı imzalayınız, lütfen.

→ Fill out this form and sign it here, please.

• 7.00’de kalktım, duş aldım, kahvaltı yaptım ve 8.00’de evden çıktım.

→ I got up at 7:00, I showered, I had breakfast and I left the house at 8:00.

• Çocuklar, önce ev ödevlerinizi bitirin sonra televizyon seyredebilirsiniz.

→ Kids, first finish your homework, then you can watch TV.

But if it does not matter what order things happen in, we can switch the order of the independent clauses in a compound sentence:

• Karım biraz Türkçe anlayabiliyor yalnız konuşamıyor.

Alternatively: Karım Türkçe konuşamıyor yalnız biraz anlayabiliyor.

→  My wife can understand a bit of Turkish, but she can’t speak.

• Hafta sonu çocuklarla alışveriş merkezine gittik, hamburger yedik, alışveriş yaptık ve kukla gösterisini

izledik.

Alternatively: Hafta sonu çocuklarla alışveriş merkezine gittik, alışveriş yaptık, kukla gösterisini izledik ve hamburger yedik.

→  At the weekend, we went to the shopping centre/mall with the kids, we ate hamburgers, we shopped and we watched the puppet theatre.

Complex Sentences in Turkish

When a main clause is connected to one or more subordinate clauses in a complex sentence, the subordinate clauses usually come before the main clause and are not separated by a comma or semicolon.

Look at the following examples:

• Ben istasyona vardığımda 7.00 treni çoktan kalkmıştı.

→  When I arrived at the station, the 7 o’clock train had already left.

• 7.00 trenini kaçırdığım için işe geç kaldım.

→  Because I missed the 7 o’clock train, I was late for work.

• Biz üniversiteyi bitirir bitirmez evlendik.

→  As soon as we finished university, we got married.

There can be more than one sentence in the main clause and/or the subordinate clause. In this case, they need to be put in order by how they relate to each other, just like in compound sentences:

• Koştum fakat ben istasyona vardığımda 7.00 treni çoktan kalkmıştı.

→  I ran but when I arrived at the station, the 7 o’clock train had already left.

• 7.00 trenini kaçırdığım için işe geç kaldım ve müdürümden azar işittim.

→  Because I missed the 7 o’clock train, I was late for work and was reprimanded by my boss.

• Biz üniversiteyi bitirir bitirmez evlendik ve sonra İzmir’e taşındık.

→  As soon as we finished university, we got married and then moved to İzmir.

Just like in compound sentences, if the order of events does not matter, we can put them in any order we want:

• Çocuklar, İnternet’te okuduğunuz veya gördüğünüz her şeye hemen inanmayın.

Alternatively: Çocuklar, İnternet’te gördüğünüz veya okuduğunuz her şeye hemen inanmayın.

→  Kids, do not immediately believe everything you read or see on the Internet.

On the following page we will study variations of the SOV order, which are collectively called inversion.

This post is a lesson excerpt and serves as a brief introduction and revision for the Inverted Sentences chapter in easy Turkish Grammar with answers 2 (B1–B2). A simpler explanation of the same topic can also be found in easy Turkish Grammar with answers 1 (A1–A2).👉 Check out the books here.