Whom, at whom, about whom: the case with feeling verbs
The commonest mistake in talk about feelings is not the word but the case. A Turkish feeling-verb demands its own case, and the demand almost never lines up with the English preposition: if you learn the verb without the case, you have learned half of 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…
How it works
The commonest mistake in talk about feelings is not the word but the case. A Turkish feeling-verb demands its own case, and the demand almost never lines up with the English preposition: if you learn the verb without the case, you have learned half of it.
The to-case (-e/-a) — 'toward someone': birine kızmak (to get angry at someone), birine âşık olmak (to fall in love with), birine güvenmek (to trust), birine imrenmek (to envy), bir şeye üzülmek (to be upset about something), birine acımak (to feel for someone). Note güvenmek: English trust takes no preposition at all, and here it wants the to-case; and kızmak pairs with 'angry at' while Turkish points 'toward' — learn such verbs as a package.
The from-case (-den/-dan) — 'away from something': bir şeyden korkmak (to be afraid of), bir şeyden nefret etmek (to hate), bir şeyden hoşlanmak (to like — yes, from), bir şeyden bıkmak (to be fed up with), bir şeyden çekinmek (to shy away from). The logic is visible: the feeling has pushed off from its source.
The accusative (-i) is taken by the verbs where the feeling aims straight at a person: birini özlemek (to miss), birini kıskanmak (to be jealous of), birini affetmek (to forgive), birini suçlamak (to blame). And the with-case -le stands by gurur duymak: one is proud 'together with' the one admired.
And the last thing: English 'I am ashamed', 'I am bored', 'I have had enough' come out not as impersonal forms but as ordinary verbs with a person — utanıyorum, bıktım, canım sıkılıyor. Here the feeling belongs to a person; it does not fall on him from above.
Table
| the verb | the case | example | translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| kızmak | the to-case -e | bana kızdı | he got angry at me |
| âşık olmak | the to-case -e | ona âşık oldum | I fell in love with her |
| imrenmek | the to-case -e | sabrına imreniyorum | I envy his patience |
| korkmak | the from-case -den | köpekten korkuyor | he is afraid of the dog |
| nefret etmek | the from-case -den | yalandan nefret ederim | I hate lies |
| bıkmak | the from-case -den | gürültüden bıktım | I am fed up with the noise |
| özlemek | the accusative -i | ailemi özledim | I missed my family |
| kıskanmak | the accusative -i | onu kıskanıyor | he is jealous of him |
| gurur duymak | the with-case -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 case. A Turkish feeling-verb demands its own case, and the demand almost never lines up with the English preposition: if you learn the verb without the case, you have learned half of 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.