English

Is manufactured, is shipped: the job without a doer

When the thing matters and not the person handling it, Turkish hides the doer in one tail inside the verb. For example: “Mal kabulü sabah dokuzda yapılıyor” — Goods are received at nine in the morning. A rule from the Turkish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.

Updated September 1, 2026 · Lingofly

How it works

When the thing matters and not the person handling it, Turkish hides the doer in one tail inside the verb.

The tail -il goes after a consonant: yapmakyapılmak, to be made; satmaksatılmak, to be sold. Mal kabulü sabah dokuzda yapılıyor says goods are taken in at nine.

After a vowel and after l it is -in: okumakokunmak, almakalınmak. The choice here is purely by ear, and the sense is the same either way.

The same tail writes the bans: Şantiyeye baretsiz girilmez, no entering the site without a helmet. The trap is verbs on l: bulunmak means both to be found and to be located.

Table

Is manufactured, is shipped: the job without a doer
the verbthe tailwith no doer namedtranslation
yapmak-ılyapılmakto be made
satmak-ılsatılmakto be sold
sevk etmek-ilsevk edilmekto be shipped
imal etmek-ilimal edilmekto be manufactured
okumak-unokunmakto be read
almak-ınalınmakto be taken, accepted
girmek (impersonally)-il + -mezgirilmezno entry

By example

  • Mal kabulü sabah dokuzda yapılıyor
    Goods are received at nine in the morning
  • Şantiyeye baretsiz girilmez
    No entry to the construction site without a helmet
  • Bu masa siparişe özel yapıldı
    This table was made to order

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

Is manufactured, is shipped: how does it work in Turkish?

When the thing matters and not the person handling it, Turkish hides the doer in one tail inside the verb.

What does it look like in an example sentence Turkish?

“Mal kabulü sabah dokuzda yapılıyor” — Goods are received at nine in the morning. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.

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