A verb in the role of a noun: -mek, -me and their cases
English keeps the second verb a verb: 'I learned to drive', 'I am afraid of being late', 'I started learning'. Turkish cannot do that: the second verb must become a noun, and then it takes whatever case the first verb demands. This is the single commonest place where otherwise good Turkish breaks in a learner's mouth. For example: “Araba kullanmayı yeni öğrendim” — I have only just learned to drive a car. A rule…
How it works
English keeps the second verb a verb: 'I learned to drive', 'I am afraid of being late', 'I started learning'. Turkish cannot do that: the second verb must become a noun, and then it takes whatever case the first verb demands. This is the single commonest place where otherwise good Turkish breaks in a learner's mouth.
There are two noun forms. -mek/-mak is the dictionary one, 'doing in general': yüzmek zor — swimming is hard. -me/-ma is the working one, and it is the one tails attach to: yüzmeyi biliyorum — I know how to swim ('the swimming I know'), araba kullanmayı öğrendim — I learned to drive, gitmeye karar verdim — I decided to go. The rule is simple: if an ending or a possessive follows, take -me, not -mek.
Who demands which case. The accusative -meyi: bilmek (yüzmeyi biliyorum), öğrenmek, sevmek, istemek in the sense 'to want to do' — though there the bare -mek istiyorum is more common. The to-case -meye: başlamak (öğrenmeye başladım), karar vermek, çalışmak in the sense 'to strive', çekinmek (rica etmeye çekiniyorum). The from-case -mekten: korkmak (geç kalmaktan korkuyorum), hoşlanmak, bıkmak, vazgeçmek.
And the third form — -diği — for a whole clause with its own subject: nasıl yapıldığını göster, dinlediğimi anlamıyorum, planlandığı gibi. English 'how it is done' and 'what I listen to' fold here into one word, and without this fold no B1 conversation is possible.
Table
| the form | the case | with which verbs | example |
|---|---|---|---|
| -mek / -mak | no case | lazım, zor, güzel | konuşmak güzeldi |
| -meyi / -mayı | the accusative | bilmek, öğrenmek, sevmek | yüzmeyi biliyorum |
| -meye / -maya | the to-case | başlamak, karar vermek, çekinmek | gitmeye karar verdim |
| -mekten / -maktan | the from-case | korkmak, bıkmak, hoşlanmak | beklemekten bıktım |
| -diği / -dığı | a whole clause | anlamak, görmek, söylemek | geldiğini duydum |
By example
- Araba kullanmayı yeni öğrendimI have only just learned to drive a car
- Türkçe öğrenmeye iki yıl önce başladımI started learning Turkish two years ago
- Yanlış yapmaktan korkuyorumI am afraid of making a mistake
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
A verb in the role of a noun: how does it work in Turkish?
English keeps the second verb a verb: 'I learned to drive', 'I am afraid of being late', 'I started learning'. Turkish cannot do that: the second verb must become a noun, and then it takes whatever case the first verb demands. This is the single commonest place where otherwise good Turkish breaks…
What does it look like in an example sentence Turkish?
“Araba kullanmayı yeni öğrendim” — I have only just learned to drive a car. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.