Whom, at whom, about whom: the case with feeling verbs
The commonest mistake in talk about feelings is not the word but the tail. A Turkish feeling verb demands its own tail, and English prepositions almost never match it. For example: “Kardeşime kızdım ama sonra affettim” — I got angry at my brother but then forgave him. A rule from the Turkish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The commonest mistake in talk about feelings is not the word but the tail. A Turkish feeling verb demands its own tail, and English prepositions almost never match it.
The to-tail goes with kızmak (to be angry), âşık olmak (to fall in love) and imrenmek (to envy). bana kızdı is he got angry at me.
The from-tail goes with korkmak (to fear), nefret etmek (to hate) and bıkmak (to be fed up). gürültüden bıktım is the noise wore me out, the feeling pushing off from its source.
The trap is the verbs where the feeling aims straight at a person. They take the whom-tail: ailemi özledim, I miss my family; onu kıskanıyor, he envies him.
Table
| the verb | the case | example | translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| kızmak | the to-tail -e | bana kızdı | he got angry at me |
| âşık olmak | the to-tail -e | ona âşık oldum | I fell in love with her |
| imrenmek | the to-tail -e | sabrına imreniyorum | I envy his patience |
| korkmak | the from-tail -den | köpekten korkuyor | he is afraid of the dog |
| nefret etmek | the from-tail -den | yalandan nefret ederim | I hate lies |
| bıkmak | the from-tail -den | gürültüden bıktım | I am fed up with the noise |
| özlemek | the whom-tail -i | ailemi özledim | I missed my family |
| kıskanmak | the whom-tail -i | onu kıskanıyor | he is jealous of him |
| gurur duymak | the with-tail -le | seninle gurur duyuyorum | I am proud of you |
By example
- Kardeşime kızdım ama sonra affettimI got angry at my brother but then forgave him
- Bu işten gerçekten bıktımI am truly fed up with this job
- Seni çok özledimI missed you so much
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
Whom, at whom, about whom: how does it work in Turkish?
The commonest mistake in talk about feelings is not the word but the tail. A Turkish feeling verb demands its own tail, and English prepositions almost never match it.
What does it look like in an example sentence Turkish?
“Kardeşime kızdım ama sonra affettim” — I got angry at my brother but then forgave him. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.