Bar, zhoq, kerek, suyıq: sentences without a subject
A whole class of the most frequent Kazakh phrases is built without a subject in the English sense. "It is cold", "I need", "I have", "I like it" — in all four English cheats with a dummy "it" or drops the doer, and still the learner tries to drag men in. Let us see who is actually in charge in these sentences. For example: “Менде уақыт бар, көмектесе аламын” — I have time, I can help. A rule from the Kazakh course…
How it works
A whole class of the most frequent Kazakh phrases is built without a subject in the English sense. "It is cold", "I need", "I have", "I like it" — in all four English cheats with a dummy "it" or drops the doer, and still the learner tries to drag men in. Let us see who is actually in charge in these sentences.
Bar and zhoq — "there is" and "there is not". These are not verbs but state words, and they stand at the very end: uaqyt bar, baiylanys zhoq. The one who has takes the locative: mende aqsha bar — I have money. The place where something is takes it too: üide eşkim zhoq — there is nobody home. The past and the future are made with the verb bolu: uaqyt boldy, uaqyt bolady. You cannot negate bar with emes — that is what zhoq exists for.
Kerek — "need", and next to it the one who needs stands in the dative: mağan zaryadtağış kerek. Built the same way are bolady (it is allowed), bolmaidy (it is not allowed), tiis (obliged). Weather and how you feel are simpler still: suyıq, ystyq, jyly — one word, and the sentence is ready. To whom it is cold — the dative again: mağan suyıq — I am cold. But üide suyıq is already about the house — the locative.
The most important case is mağan unaidy. English "I like it" hides the same frame, and that is a rare piece of luck: the one who experiences stands in the dative, and what pleases is the subject. Mağan bul äñ unaidy — word for word "to me this song is pleasing", and the verb agrees with the song, not with me: mağan bul äñder unaidy — the ending goes plural with äñder. The same frame carries mağan qyzyq (I find it interesting), mağan oñai (it is easy for me), mağan zhetedi (it is enough for me). And one warning to finish: "I have a brother" in Kazakh is meniñ ağam bar, not mende ağam bar: kin, body parts and everything inalienable go through the genitive with the possessive, not through the locative. Mende ağam bar sounds as if the brother had been lent to you for a while.
Table
| The meaning | Who stands in which case | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I have (a thing) | the locative: mende | mende tübirtek bar |
| I have (kin) | the genitive + possessive | meniñ äpkem bar |
| I need | the dative: mağan | mağan ütik kerek |
| I am cold | the dative: mağan | mağan suyıq |
| I like it | the dative: mağan | mağan saiabaq unaidy |
| there is none here | the locative at the place | munda rozetka zhoq |
| it is allowed / not allowed | the verb in -uge | kiruge bolady |
By example
- Менде уақыт бар, көмектесе аламынI have time, I can help
- Маған үлкенірек қорап керекI need a bigger box
- Маған бұл ән ұнайдыI like this song
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
Bar, zhoq, kerek, suyıq: how does it work in Kazakh?
A whole class of the most frequent Kazakh phrases is built without a subject in the English sense. "It is cold", "I need", "I have", "I like it" — in all four English cheats with a dummy "it" or drops the doer, and still the learner tries to drag men in. Let us see who is actually in charge in…
What does it look like in an example sentence Kazakh?
“Менде уақыт бар, көмектесе аламын” — I have time, I can help. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.