The necessitative is Turkish's built-in "must / should." Its suffix is -mAlI, and once it is on the verb the personal information rides on copular endings — the very same set you use on a noun or adjective predicate, because -mAlI behaves like one. That single fact explains the whole paradigm, its negative, its question, and — most usefully — its past -mAlIydI, which is exactly the "should have (done)" of hindsight and regret. This page lays out the full grid; for the conceptual introduction see necessitative -mAlI, and for how it competes with gerek and lazım see -mAlI vs gerek vs lazım.
The full present paradigm
| Person | Ending | gel- (come) | çalış- (work/study) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ben (I) | -mAlIyIm | gelmeliyim | çalışmalıyım |
| sen (you, sg.) | -mAlIsIn | gelmelisin | çalışmalısın |
| o (he/she/it) | -mAlI (+ -DIr formal) | gelmeli | çalışmalı |
| biz (we) | -mAlIyIz | gelmeliyiz | çalışmalıyız |
| siz (you, pl.) | -mAlIsInIz | gelmelisiniz | çalışmalısınız |
| onlar (they) | -mAlIlAr | gelmeliler | çalışmalılar |
The suffix -mAlI harmonises two ways (a / e): gel-meli, çalış-malı. After it come the ordinary present copular endings — -(y)Im, -sIn, -Ø, -(y)Iz, -sInIz, -lAr — with the buffer -y- appearing before the endings that start with a vowel (-meliyim, -meliyiz). The 3sg has no ending at all (gelmeli, like a bare predicate); in formal or written register you may see the copula -DIr added: gelmelidir "must come."
Bu raporu yarına kadar bitirmeliyim, başka şansım yok.
I have to finish this report by tomorrow — I have no other option.
Daha çok su içmelisin, bütün gün ayaktasın.
You should drink more water — you've been on your feet all day.
Çocuklar bu saatte çoktan uyumalılar aslında.
The kids really ought to be asleep by this hour.
The negative: gelmemeliyim ("I shouldn't")
To say "should not," insert the verbal negative -mA- before -mAlI. So gelmeliyim "I should come" becomes gelmemeliyim "I should not come." Note the stem ends up with two similar-looking syllables — gel-me-meli-yim — but they are different suffixes: the first -me- is the negative, the second is part of -meli.
| Person | Negative gel- | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ben | gelmemeliyim | I shouldn't come |
| sen | gelmemelisin | you shouldn't come |
| o | gelmemeli | he/she shouldn't come |
| biz | gelmemeliyiz | we shouldn't come |
| siz | gelmemelisiniz | you shouldn't come |
| onlar | gelmemeliler | they shouldn't come |
Bu kadar geç saatte kahve içmemelisin, sonra uyuyamıyorsun.
You shouldn't drink coffee this late — afterwards you can't sleep.
Karar vermeden önce acele etmemeliyiz.
We shouldn't rush before making a decision.
The question: gelmeli miyim? ("should I?")
To ask, the question particle mI splits off as a separate word right after -mAlI, and the copular ending hops onto the particle: gelmeli miyim? "should I come?", gelmeli misin? "should you come?". The particle harmonises four ways and is always written separately.
Bu akşamki yemeğe gerçekten gelmeli miyim?
Do I really have to come to tonight's dinner?
Doktora gitmeli miyiz, yoksa bir gün daha bekleyelim mi?
Should we go to the doctor, or shall we wait one more day?
The past -mAlIydI: "should have" (hindsight and regret)
This is the form English speakers most often miss, and it is one of the most useful in the language. Stack the past copula -(y)DI after -mAlI and you get -mAlIydI — the "should have (done)" of hindsight: an obligation that existed in the past, usually one that went unfulfilled, said with a sting of regret.
| Person | Past gel- | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ben | gelmeliydim | I should have come |
| sen | gelmeliydin | you should have come |
| o | gelmeliydi | he/she should have come |
| biz | gelmeliydik | we should have come |
| siz | gelmeliydiniz | you should have come |
| onlar | gelmeliydiler | they should have come |
Where English builds "should have" out of three pieces (modal + have + participle), Turkish has one tidy stack: -mAlI + -(y)DI + person. This is the form for kicking yourself after the fact.
Sana baştan dürüst olmalıydım, özür dilerim.
I should have been honest with you from the start — I'm sorry.
Bu kadar para harcamamalıydık, ay sonu zor geçecek.
We shouldn't have spent this much money — the end of the month will be hard.
Trafiği düşünüp daha erken çıkmalıydın.
You should have thought about the traffic and left earlier.
Common mistakes
❌ Ben gelmeli.
Incorrect — the 3sg-shaped gelmeli can't carry 'I'; first person needs the copular ending: gelmeliyim.
✅ Ben gelmeliyim.
I should come.
The bare gelmeli is only the third person. For "I/you/we" you must add the copular ending, exactly as you would on a predicate noun.
❌ Daha erken çıkmalı oldum.
Incorrect — 'I should have left' is not 'should' + a separate 'was'; it is the stack çıkmalıydım.
✅ Daha erken çıkmalıydım.
I should have left earlier.
This is the key one. English speakers reach for a separate past verb to render "have." Turkish folds it into -(y)DI: çıkmalıydım, not çıkmalı oldum.
❌ Gelmemeli miyim için sordum.
Incorrect — the question particle isn't a subordinator; just say gelmeli miyim?
✅ Gelmeli miyim?
Should I come?
❌ Çok kahve içmemeliydin değil mi yaptın.
Incorrect — the negative obligation goes inside the verb (-mA- before -mAlI): içmemeliydin.
✅ Bu kadar kahve içmemeliydin.
You shouldn't have drunk this much coffee.
Key takeaways
- -mAlI "must/should" takes the ordinary copular endings: gelmeliyim, gelmelisin, gelmeli, gelmeliyiz, gelmelisiniz, gelmeliler.
- The 3sg is the bare gelmeli (optionally formal gelmelidir); the other persons need their ending.
- Negate by inserting -mA- before -mAlI: gelmemeliyim "I shouldn't come."
- Question with the split particle: gelmeli miyim? "should I?".
- The past -mAlIydI is the dedicated "should have" of hindsight: gelmeliydim "I should have come" — one suffix-stack, not a phrase.
- For the gerek / lazım alternatives to -mAlI, see necessity with gerek and -mAlI vs gerek vs lazım.
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- The Necessitative -mAlI ('must/should')A2 — A single suffix, -mAlI, covers English 'must', 'should', and 'ought to' — gitmeliyim 'I must/should go', çalışmalısın 'you should study' — and also the inferential 'must be' of deduction (Yorgun olmalısın 'You must be tired'), with the past -mAlIydI giving 'should have'.
- Necessity with gerek and lazımB1 — Besides the suffix -mAlI, Turkish expresses 'need to' with a nominalized clause: a verbal noun plus gerek or lazım — Gitmem gerek / Gitmem lazım 'I need to go' — where the verb becomes a noun (gitmem 'my going') carrying a possessive ending.
- -mAlI vs gerek vs lazım: NecessityB1 — Three ways to say must, should, and need to in Turkish — when each one fits and how their grammar differs.
- Present Copula: Zero and Personal EndingsA1 — The present 'to be' is a set of person endings glued onto the predicate — doktorum 'I am a doctor', doktorsun 'you are' — with no ending at all in the third-person singular: Bu ev güzel.