When expressing that you did something so that someone else could do something else, Turkish uses a different structure than a standard infinitive. Today, we'll apply this to the work of biologists tagging and releasing wildlife.
Different-Subject Purpose Clauses
If the subject of the main action is different from the subject of the purpose action, use a verbal noun instead of a full infinitive.
Attach the verbal noun suffix -ma / -me to the verb stem, add the possessive suffix indicating who is performing the purpose action, and follow it with için (for / so that).
- takip et- (track) + -me
- -miz (our) = takip etmemiz
- takip etmemiz için (for us to track)
| The biologists attached a transmitter to the wolf for us to track its route. | Biyologlar rotasını takip etmemiz için kurda bir verici taktılar. |
Specifying the Subject
When the subject of the purpose clause is a specific noun (like a satellite or a deer), treat it like the "owner" in a standard possessive noun phrase. The noun takes the genitive case ending, and the verbal noun takes the third-person possessive ending (-sı / -si or -ı / -i).
- geyik (deer) + genitive = geyiğin
- hisset- (feel) + -me
- possessive = hissetmesi
- geyiğin rahat hissetmesi için (for the deer to feel comfortable)
| We chose a harmless chip for the deer to feel comfortable. | Geyiğin rahat hissetmesi için zararsız bir çip seçtik. |
| They released the bear into the wild for the satellite to record the data. | Uydunun verileri kaydetmesi için ayıyı yaban hayatına saldılar. |
This structure applies equally in questions and other complex sentences. Notice how the subject of the action (the chip, everyone) takes the genitive case to connect to the verbal noun:
| Is this harmless ring necessary for the chip to work? | Çipin çalışması için bu zararsız halka gerekli mi? |
| The biologist put a ring on the bird's foot for everyone to see it. | Herkesin onu görmesi için biyolog kuşun ayağına bir halka taktı. |