Turkish Passive Voice for Verbs Ending in a Consonant
Turkish Passive Voice
Hello class! Today, we will master the Passive Voice in Turkish. The passive voice is used when the subject of the sentence is the one who receives the action, not the one who does it.
In English, we use “to be” + Past Participle (V3):
-
The apple is eaten. The house was built.
In Turkish, we add a passive suffix directly to the verb root. The suffix changes depending on the last letter of the verb root (vowel or consonant). The golden rule is “Always protect the language from having two vowels side by side.”
Part 1: Verb Roots Ending in a CONSONANT
When the verb root ends in a consonant, we simply add the appropriate form of the suffix -Il-.
The Rule: Verb Root (consonant) + -Il
The vowel -I- in the suffix changes according to 4-way vowel harmony (it harmonizes with the last vowel in the verb root).
| Last Vowel in Root | Suffix | Example Root | Passive Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a, ı | -ıl | yak- (to burn) |
yak-ıl-dı |
It was burned. |
| o, u | -ul | oku- (to read) |
oku-ul-du |
It was read. |
| e, i | -il | seç- (to choose) |
seç-il-di |
He was chosen. |
| ö, ü | -ül | gör- (to see) |
gör-ül-dü |
He was seen. |
20 Example Sentences (Verb root ends in a consonant)
| No | Turkish Sentence (Passive) | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kapı kapatıldı. | The door was closed. |
| 2 | Yemek pişirildi. | The food was cooked. |
| 3 | Ödev bitirildi. | The homework was finished. |
| 4 | Araba yıkandı. irregular | The car was washed. |
| 5 | Şarkı söylendi. | The song was sung. |
| 6 | Hediye verildi. | The gift was given. |
| 7 | Sorun çözüldü. | The problem was solved. |
| 8 | Masa temizlendi. | The table was cleaned. |
| 9 | Kurallar anlatıldı. | The rules were explained. |
| 10 | Fatura ödendi. | The bill was paid. |
| 11 | E-posta gönderildi. | The email was sent. |
| 12 | Proje tamamlandı. | The project was completed. |
| 13 | Duvarlar boyandı. | The walls were painted. |
| 14 | Kilit değiştirildi. | The lock was changed. |
| 15 | Konser iptal edildi. | The concert was canceled. |
| 16 | Antika vazo satıldı. | The antique vase was sold. |
| 17 | Yeni bir yöntem bulundu. irregular | A new method was found. |
| 18 | Mektup yazıldı. | The letter was written. |
| 19 | Film izlendi. | The movie was watched. |
| 20 | Koltuk tamir edildi. | The sofa was repaired. |
| Example Root | Passive Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
ara- (to call/search) |
ara-n-dı |
He was called / It was searched. |
izle- (to watch) |
izle-n-di |
It was watched. |
yıkа- (to destroy) |
yıkа-n-dı |
It was destroyed. |
dinle- (to listen) |
dinle-n-di |
It was listened to. |
öv- (to praise) |
öv-ül-dü |
Exception! (See note below) |
!! IMPORTANT EXCEPTION !!
The verb ye- (to eat) is irregular: ye- → ye-n-ir (It is eaten). Also, verbs ending in -öl and -ül like gör- and öv- follow the consonant rule, not the vowel rule.
20 Example Sentences (Verb root ends in a vowel)
| No | Turkish Sentence (Passive) | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polis arandı. | The police were called. |
| 2 | Her yer ara-n-dı. | Everywhere was searched. |
| 3 | Bina yıkа-n-dı. | The building was destroyed. |
| 4 | Radyoda güzel müzik dinle-n-di. | Good music was listened to on the radio. |
| 5 | O film çok izle-n-di. | That movie was watched a lot. |
| 6 | Çocuklar tarafından parkta oyna-n-dı. (Context: They were played with) | The children were played with in the park. |
| 7 | Bu konu hiç tartışılma-dı. (tartış-ıl-ma-dı) | This topic was never discussed. (Neg.) |
| 9 | Yeni bir ülke keşfe-dil-di. (keşfet-) | A new country was discovered. |
| 10 | Masallar anlatılma-dı. (anlat-ıl-ma-dı) | Fairy tales were not told. (Neg.) |
| 11 | Pencereler silin-di. (sil-in-di) irregular | The windows were wiped. |
| 12 | Şehir terk e-dil-di. (terk et-) | The city was abandoned. |
| 13 | Davetiyeler dağıtılma-dı. (dağıt-ıl-ma-dı) | The invitations were not distributed. (Neg.) |
| 14 | Kazanın sebebi araştırıl-dı. (araştır-ıl-dı) | The cause of the accident was investigated. |
| 15 | O her zaman sevil-di. (sev-il-di) | She was always loved. |
| 16 | Eski bir gelenek yaşatıl-dı. (yaşat-ıl-dı) | An old tradition was kept alive. |
| 17 | Barış için dua edil-di. (et-il-di) | Prayer was said for peace. |
| 18 | Kurallar ihlal edil-di. (et-il-di) | The rules were violated. |
| 19 | Başarıları için tebrik edil-di-ler. (et-il-di-ler) | They were congratulated for their success. |
| 20 | Bu şarkı çok sevildi. (sev-il-di) | This song was loved very much. |
Examples for student
| Türkçe Cümle | İngilizce Çeviri |
|---|---|
| Camlar dün sabah itinayla sil… | The windows were carefully wiped yesterday morning. |
| Bulaşıklar makinede yık….. | The dishes were washed in the dishwasher. |
| Borçların hepsi zamanında öd……. | All the debts were paid on time. |
| Sırları en sonunda gizle………. | The secrets were eventually hidden. |
| Duvarlar beyaza boya…….. | The walls were painted white. |
| Eski evrak imha için yırt…….. | The old documents were torn up for disposal. |
| Kapı çocuklar tarafından kır…….. | The door was broken by the children. |
| Kurabiyeler fırında yak………. | The cookies were burnt in the oven. |
| Mektup elde yaz………… | The letter was written by hand. |
| Eski köprü dinamitle at…….. | The old bridge was blown up with dynamite. |
| Masa toplantı için hazırla….. | The table was prepared for the meeting. |
| Çiçekler her sabah sul……. | The flowers were watered every morning. |
| Sorun en kısa sürede çöz….. | The problem was solved in the shortest time. |
| Şarkı tüm dünyada dinle……... | The song was listened to all over the world. |
| Ekmekler dilimlenmek için kes……….. | The loaves of bread were cut to be sliced. |
| Proje ekibimizce tasarlanıp onayla……. | The project was designed and approved by our team. |
| Haber televizyonda duyur…... | The news was announced on television. |
| Kıyafetler dolaba diz………. | The clothes were arranged in the closet. |
| Yeni yasa mecliste kabul ed……... | The new law was accepted in the parliament. |
| Tatil planları iptal ed………. | The holiday plans were canceled. |