How exactly it is done: -arak, -a -a and -madan
The coach says 'run breathing through your nose', 'walk without stopping', 'lift it slowly'. All three lines describe not what is done but how — and Turkish builds them not with adverbs but with special verb forms that work as adverbials in the sentence. For example: “Isınmadan koşmaya başlama” — Do not start running without warming up. A rule from the Turkish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a…
How it works
The coach says 'run breathing through your nose', 'walk without stopping', 'lift it slowly'. All three lines describe not what is done but how — and Turkish builds them not with adverbs but with special verb forms that work as adverbials in the sentence.
-arak / -erek — 'doing', the main way. koşarak geldi — he came running, gülerek anlattı — he told it laughing, yürüyerek on dakika — ten minutes on foot. The form answers 'in what manner' and can also mean 'by means of': otobüse binerek gittik — we went by taking the bus, that is, by bus.
The doubling -a -a — 'doing it long and repeatedly'. koşa koşa geldi — he came at a dead run the whole way; terleye terleye çalıştık — we worked drenched in sweat; güle güle — that very goodbye from unit 1, literally 'laughing-laughing'. The difference from -arak is duration: -arak names the manner, -a -a paints the picture.
-madan / -meden — 'without doing'. durmadan koştu — he ran without stopping, bakmadan imzaladı — he signed without looking. The tail is negative by itself; no second 'not' is needed. Careful: -madan önce is already 'before doing', a different construction.
The main constraint: the subject is one for both halves. Koşarak geldim means that the one who ran and the one who arrived are the same person. If the doers differ, the form will not fit, and a full clause with -dığı için or -ken must be built. English lives by the same principle — 'running, I came' only ever about yourself — and the mistake is the same too.
Table
| the form | the meaning | example | translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| -arak / -erek | doing, as a manner | koşarak geldi | he came running |
| -arak / -erek | by means of | otobüse binerek | by taking the bus |
| -a -a / -e -e | at length, over and over | terleye terleye | drenched in sweat |
| -madan / -meden | without doing | durmadan | without stopping |
| -madan önce | before doing | çıkmadan önce | before going out |
| the subject | must be shared | koşarak geldim | the one who ran and came is me |
By example
- Isınmadan koşmaya başlamaDo not start running without warming up
- Çocuklar koşa koşa parka gittiThe children raced off to the park
- Hakem gülerek düdüğü çaldıThe referee blew the whistle, smiling
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
Koşarak vs koşa koşa?
The coach says 'run breathing through your nose', 'walk without stopping', 'lift it slowly'. All three lines describe not what is done but how — and Turkish builds them not with adverbs but with special verb forms that work as adverbials in the sentence.
-arak or -madan: how to say without stopping?
-arak / -erek — 'doing', the main way. koşarak geldi — he came running, gülerek anlattı — he told it laughing, yürüyerek on dakika — ten minutes on foot. The form answers 'in what manner' and can also mean 'by means of': otobüse binerek gittik — we went by taking the bus, that is, by bus.
How to say he left without looking in Turkish?
The doubling -a -a — 'doing it long and repeatedly'. koşa koşa geldi — he came at a dead run the whole way; terleye terleye çalıştık — we worked drenched in sweat; güle güle — that very goodbye from unit 1, literally 'laughing-laughing'. The difference from -arak is duration: -arak names the…
-madan vs -madan önce?
-madan / -meden — 'without doing'. durmadan koştu — he ran without stopping, bakmadan imzaladı — he signed without looking. The tail is negative by itself; no second 'not' is needed. Careful: -madan önce is already 'before doing', a different construction.
What does it look like in an example sentence Turkish?
“Isınmadan koşmaya başlama” — Do not start running without warming up. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.