Ben geçici izin aldım.

I received temporary permission.

Breakdown of Ben geçici izin aldım.

• ben: I
• almak: to take
• izin: the permission
• geçici: temporary

Questions & Answers about Ben geçici izin aldım.

Why is ben used in this sentence? Is it necessary?

ben means “I.” In Turkish you can drop subject pronouns because the verb ending (-m in aldım) already shows who’s doing the action. Here ben adds emphasis or clarity (“I, in particular, got temporary permission”). You can omit it and say Geçici izin aldım without changing the core meaning.

What does izin aldım literally translate to, and how does that compare to the English idiom?

Literally, izin is “permission/leave,” and almak is “to take/get.” So izin aldım is “I took permission” or “I got permission.” In English we’d normally say “I got permission” or “I took leave,” but the Turkish phrasing is equally natural.

What tense and person is aldım, and how is it formed?

aldım is first-person singular in the simple past tense. It’s built as: • al- (verb stem “take/get”) • -dI (past tense suffix, with vowel harmony can appear as -dı/-di/-du/-dü) • -m (first-person singular ending) Together: al + dI + m = aldım (“I took/got”).

Why does geçici come before izin? Are adjectives always placed there?

Yes. Turkish follows the pattern adjective + noun, just like English. geçici (“temporary”) modifies izin (“permission/leave”), so you say geçici izin. You cannot reverse that order.

Can izin be plural? Why is it singular in this example?

izin is generally an uncountable noun meaning “permission” or “leave,” so it’s most often used in the singular. You can pluralize it as izinler, but that usually refers to multiple separate permissions or different types of leave, not the general concept.

Is izin almak a fixed expression in Turkish? Can you give other examples of verb-noun combinations like this?

Yes, izin almak (“to get permission/leave”) is a very common collocation. Other examples include: • teşekkür etmek (“to give thanks,” literally “to do thanks”)
• yardım etmek (“to help,” literally “to do help”)
• ödev yapmak (“to do homework,” literally “to make homework”)

How would you say “I asked for temporary permission” instead of “I got it”?

You replace almak (“to get”) with istemek (“to ask/request”):
• Geçici izin istedim.
That means “I asked for temporary permission/leave.”

What’s the difference between geçici izin and yıllık izin?

• geçici izin = “temporary permission/leave” (short-term, for a specific purpose)
• yıllık izin = “annual leave” (the paid leave employees get each year)

How would you ask “May I get temporary permission?” in Turkish?

Use the able-to conditional form of almak plus a question marker:
• Geçici izin alabilir miyim?
Literally: “Temporary permission can I get?”