LingoflyZhylyna bir ret, qarsaunda, kidirmesten: time without prepositions
Do not look for words like in, until and within. Kazakh says time with tails. For example: “Дәрігерге жылына бір рет барамын” (Därigerge zhylyna bir ret baramyn) — I go to the doctor once a year. A rule from the Kazakh course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Do not look for words like in, until and within. Kazakh says time with tails.
Frequency needs two tails at once. Once a year is zhylyna bir ret, word for word in its year one time. The name of the period takes the his tail, then the whither tail. Aptasyna eki ret is twice a week; aiyna üsh ret is three times a month.
Repetition is carried by the plural: zhumys künderi, on weekdays; sol zhyldary, in those years. There is no separate adverb, and the plural itself means every time.
The trap: the order of events rests on words that follow the noun, and each asks its own tail. Deiin wants sol uaqytqa deiin. Keiin wants sabaqtan keiin. Qarsañynda wants merekeniñ qarsañynda.
Table
| in English | in Kazakh | how it is made |
|---|---|---|
| once a year | zhylyna bir ret | a possessive tail + the to-where tail |
| twice a week | aptasyña eki ret | the same make-up |
| on weekdays | zhumys künderi | the plural instead of an adverb |
| in those years | sol zhylary | the plural instead of an adverb |
| until then | sol uaqytğa deiin | the helper "deiin" + the -ğa tail |
| on the eve of | qarsaunda | a service noun + the whose-tail |
| without delay | kidirmesten | a negative adverbial form |
| as far as I remember | men bilgeli | the tail -geli, a reference point |
By example
- Men bilgeli mūnda su tasqyny bolğan emesAs far as I remember, there has been no flood here
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Zhylyna bir ret, qarsaunda, kidirmesten: how does it work in Kazakh?
Do not look for words like in, until and within. Kazakh says time with tails.
What does it look like in a Kazakh example sentence?
“Дәрігерге жылына бір рет барамын” (Därigerge zhylyna bir ret baramyn) — I go to the doctor once a year. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.