When discussing strategies, especially in a game of chess, you often need to state which tactic or approach you favor. To express "in favor of," "on the side of," or "pro-" in Turkish, use the postposition yana preceded by a noun in the ablative case (-DAn).
To build this structure, take the concept or action you support, add the ablative ending (-dan, -den, -tan, or -ten according to vowel harmony and consonant mutation), and follow it with the separate word yana.
- hücumdan yana (in favor of attack)
- hamleden yana (in favor of the move)
- taktikten yana (in favor of the tactic)
Stating Your Stance: "I am in favor of..."
To say "I am in favor of" or "you are in favor of," simply attach the "to be" personal suffixes directly to the word yana. Because yana ends in a vowel, remember to use the buffer letter -y- before suffixes that start with a vowel (like -ım for "I").
- yanayım (I am in favor of)
- yanasın (you are in favor of)
- yana (he/she/it is in favor of)
To state that you are not in favor of something, use the separate negative word değil and attach the personal suffix to it, leaving yana unchanged.
Pairing with Action Verbs
While you can attach the "to be" suffixes directly to yana, it is also very common to use it with the auxiliary verb olmak (to be). Using -den yana olmak is especially useful for infinitive phrases, giving general advice, or constructing "if" statements.
You can also pair -den yana with other verbs that involve choices, such as karar vermek (to decide) or tercih yapmak (to make a choice), to express making a decision in favor of a specific option.