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Questions & Answers about Meclis karar veriyor.
What is karar vermek and why is karar placed before vermek?
karar is the noun “decision” and vermek is the verb “to give.” Together, karar vermek literally means “to give a decision,” i.e. “to make a decision” or “to decide.” In Turkish, many such verb phrases are formed by putting a noun before a verb.
Why is veriyor used here instead of verdi or verecek?
The suffix -iyor marks the present continuous tense (“is …-ing”). So veriyor means “is giving” (here “is deciding”). verdi would be simple past (“decided”), and verecek is simple future (“will decide”).
Is veriyor the continuous or simple present? How do I tell?
Turkish doesn’t have a separate simple‐present like English; it has:
- -iyor for present continuous (“is deciding”)
- -r for a habitual or narrative present (“decides regularly”)
Here, veriyor shows the action is ongoing right now.
Why isn’t there a 3rd-person suffix on veriyor to agree with Meclis?
In Turkish, the 3rd-person singular ending is zero (no extra suffix) after tense/aspect markers. So veriyor alone can mean “he/she/it is ….” The noun Meclis clearly shows who the subject is, so no additional ending is needed.
Why is the suffix -iyor and not -ıyor, -uyor, or -üyor?
Turkish vowel harmony dictates that the present‐continuous suffix matches the last vowel of the root. The root ver- has the front vowel e, so we use the front‐vowel suffix -iyor.
Can I also say Meclis karar alıyor? Are karar vermek and karar almak the same?
Yes. karar almak (“to take a decision”) is another common phrase. karar vermek (“to give a decision”) is more frequently used, but both effectively mean “to decide” in most contexts.
How do I specify what decision is being made, for example “The parliament is deciding the budget”?
Use … hakkında karar vermek (“to make a decision about …”). For example:
Meclis bütçe hakkında karar veriyor.
(literally “The parliament is making a decision about the budget.”)
Is the word order fixed? Could I say Karar veriyor meclis?
Turkish has fairly flexible word order. Karar veriyor meclis is grammatical and puts emphasis on karar veriyor. The neutral, unmarked order is Meclis karar veriyor (Subject–Object–Verb).
How would I express past or future versions of this sentence?
– Past (“decided”): replace -iyor with -di → Meclis karar verdi.
– Future (“will decide”): use -ecek → Meclis karar verecek.
– Past continuous (“was deciding”): -iyordu → Meclis karar veriyordu.