This page collects the four high-frequency position verbs — durmak ("stand, stop"), oturmak ("sit, reside"), yatmak ("lie down, go to bed"), and kalkmak ("get up, depart") — together because they share a single conceptual trick that English handles with separate words. Each of them straddles a stative reading ("be in a position") and a change-of-state reading ("move into that position"). English splits these: sit (the action) versus be sitting / be seated, lie down versus be lying. Turkish leaves the same verb to carry both, and lets the case of the location and the surrounding context decide. On top of that, all four build everyday causatives — oturt-, yatır-, kaldır- — that you use constantly. Learn the set as a family and a large slice of daily Turkish opens up.
durmak: stand, stop, stay put
dur- is a monosyllable with the irregular -Ir aorist: durur, not *durar. Its meanings cluster around "be motionless": stand, stop, halt, stay put, and (with a location) "be situated."
Otobüs durağında bir saattir durup bekliyorum.
I've been standing and waiting at the bus stop for an hour.
Dur! Karşıdan araba geliyor, geçme.
Stop! There's a car coming — don't cross.
As a bare imperative Dur! is the everyday "Stop!" / "Wait!". The verb also means "remain / be left": Yemek buzdolabında duruyor ("the food is sitting in the fridge"). Location takes the locative (-DA).
Anahtarlar hâlâ kapının üstünde duruyor, al gitme unutma.
The keys are still sitting on top of the door — grab them, don't forget.
oturmak: sit down, be seated, reside
otur- is the richest of the four, because it spans three readings English keeps apart:
- sit down (the action): Buyurun, oturun ("Please, sit down").
- be sitting / be seated (the state): Pencerenin yanında oturuyor ("she's sitting by the window").
- reside, live (long-term): Üç yıldır Ankara'da oturuyorum ("I've been living in Ankara for three years").
The third sense — "to live, reside" — is the one learners forget, and it is extremely common; nerede oturuyorsun? ("where do you live?") is a first-week question. Location is locative for the "reside" and "be seated" senses; the place you sit down onto can take the dative (sandalyeye oturdu, "sat down onto the chair").
Nerede oturuyorsun? Yakınsa seni bırakırım.
Where do you live? If it's nearby, I'll drop you off.
Lütfen şu koltuğa oturun, doktor birazdan gelecek.
Please sit down in that armchair — the doctor will come shortly.
Akşamları balkonda oturup çay içmeyi seviyoruz.
In the evenings we like to sit on the balcony and drink tea.
yatmak: lie down, go to bed, be admitted
yat- means "lie down," "go to bed / sleep," and by extension "be hospitalised" or "be in prison" (to "lie" somewhere institutional). Aorist is regular: yatar. Place is locative; the surface you lie down onto takes the dative.
Çok yorgunum, bu akşam erken yatacağım.
I'm exhausted — I'm going to bed early tonight.
Çocuk kanepeye yatmış, mışıl mışıl uyuyor.
The child has lain down on the sofa and is sleeping soundly.
Babam üç gün hastanede yattı ama şimdi iyi.
My father was in hospital for three days, but he's fine now.
That last sense — hastanede yatmak ("to be in hospital as an inpatient") — is the standard phrase; you don't say *hastanede oldum. Note too the polished evening farewell iyi geceler, hadi yat artık ("good night, off to bed now").
kalkmak: get up, stand up, set off
kalk- is the natural opposite of otur- and yat-: "rise, get up, stand up." It also means "set off / depart" (a vehicle kalkar = "leaves"), and "be lifted / abolished" (a rule kalkar). Aorist is regular: kalkar.
Her sabah altıda kalkıyorum, alarma bile gerek yok.
I get up at six every morning — I don't even need an alarm.
Tren tam dokuzda kalkıyor, geç kalma sakın.
The train leaves at exactly nine — don't you dare be late.
O kural çoktan kalktı, artık öyle bir zorunluluk yok.
That rule was abolished long ago — there's no such requirement now.
The causatives: oturtmak, yatırmak, kaldırmak
This is where the family pays off. Each position verb has a causative — "to make someone/something take that position" — and these are not exotic forms; they are daily vocabulary.
| Base verb | Causative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| oturmak (sit) | oturtmak | to seat (someone), sit (someone) down |
| yatmak (lie) | yatırmak | to lay (someone) down, put to bed; to deposit (money) |
| kalkmak (get up) | kaldırmak | to lift, raise, pick up; to remove, abolish |
| durmak (stand/stop) | durdurmak | to stop (something), bring to a halt |
The causative adds a causer (the subject) and demotes the original subject to an accusative object: çocuk oturdu ("the child sat") → çocuğu oturttum ("I sat the child down"). Two of these have specialised everyday senses worth flagging: yatırmak also means "to deposit (money in a bank)" — para yatırmak — and kaldırmak is the all-purpose "lift / pick up / clear away."
Misafirleri en güzel masaya oturttuk, çok memnun kaldılar.
We seated the guests at the nicest table — they were very pleased.
Bebeği yatırdım, lütfen sessiz olun.
I've put the baby to bed — please be quiet.
Maaşımı her ay hesaba yatırıyorlar.
They deposit my salary into the account every month.
Şu ağır kutuyu yerden kaldırabilir misin?
Can you lift that heavy box off the floor?
Common Mistakes
❌ Nerede yaşıyorsun? sorusuna 'evde oturuyorum' yerine 'evde duruyorum' dedim.
To 'reside' is oturmak, not durmak: evde oturuyorum. Durmak is 'stand/stop.'
✅ Şu an ailemle evde oturuyorum.
Right now I'm living at home with my family.
❌ Dur'un aoristi 'durar' sandım.
durmak is an irregular -Ir monosyllable: the aorist is durur, not *durar.
✅ O saatte hiçbir otobüs orada durmaz.
No bus stops there at that hour.
❌ Bebeği yattım.
To put the baby to bed is the causative yatırmak: bebeği yatırdım. Yattım means 'I lay down.'
✅ Bebeği yatırdım.
I put the baby to bed.
❌ Hastanede oldum üç gün.
To be an inpatient is hastanede yatmak: üç gün hastanede yattım.
✅ Üç gün hastanede yattım.
I was in hospital for three days.
❌ Çocuğu oturdum sandalyeye.
To seat someone is the causative oturtmak with an accusative object: çocuğu sandalyeye oturttum.
✅ Çocuğu sandalyeye oturttum.
I sat the child down on the chair.
Key Takeaways
- These position verbs each cover both the state and the act of taking a position; context and case decide which.
- durmak "stand/stop/stay put" — irregular aorist durur; kalkmak "get up/depart/be abolished"; both common as imperatives.
- oturmak crucially also means "reside, live": nerede oturuyorsun? = "where do you live?"
- yatmak = "lie down / go to bed," and hastanede yatmak = "be in hospital (as an inpatient)."
- The position you move onto takes the dative (sandalyeye oturdu); where you are takes the locative (balkonda oturuyor).
- The causatives are everyday: oturtmak "seat," yatırmak "lay down / deposit," kaldırmak "lift / clear away," durdurmak "stop (something)" — the person/thing positioned becomes the accusative object.
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Start learning Turkish→Related Topics
- The Causative -DIr / -t / -IrB1 — How Turkish builds 'make/have someone do' with the causative suffix, which allomorph each verb takes, and how the suffix adds a new causer and demotes the old subject.
- The Locative -DA: At / In / OnA1 — The locative case -DA marks static location (at, in, on) and powers the var/yok possession construction; unlike English at/in, it can never express motion toward a place.
- durmak, kalmak, oturmak (to stop, stay, sit/live)B1 — Three Turkish stative verbs that English keeps confusing — durmak (stop/stand still), kalmak (stay/be left), and oturmak (sit/reside) — with their cases and idioms.
- How to Use the Verb ReferenceA2 — How to read the Turkish verb-reference pages — stem, key forms, governed case, and the irregular-feeling details they highlight.