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In English, when you want to express a fact about a state or description, you use "that" followed by a clause: "I know **that the building is old**." Because "the building is old" does not contain an action verb, it is a nominal sentence.

To embed a nominal sentence as an object in Turkish, use the helper verb **olmak** (to be) together with the factive **-dIk** suffix.

### Forming Nominal Factive Clauses

To say "that [Subject] is [Adjective/Noun]" in Turkish, follow this structure:

1. The subject of the embedded clause takes the **genitive** case (e.g., **binanın**, the building's).
2. The adjective or noun describing it stays in its plain form (e.g., **eski**, old).
3. Add **olduk** (the verb *olmak* + the *-dIk* participle).
4. Attach a possessive suffix to **olduk** that matches the subject (usually the 3rd person singular **-u**, softening the *k* and becoming **olduğu**).
5. Attach the case ending required by the main verb. For verbs like knowing, seeing, or thinking, this is the accusative case (**-nu**).

| Subject (Genitive) | Predicate | Helper Verb + Possessive + Case | Main Verb | English Translation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Binanın** | **eski** | **olduğunu** | **biliyorum.** | I know that the building is old. |

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Let's apply this structure using vocabulary related to urban planning and architecture:

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### Nouns as Predicates

The predicate doesn't have to be an adjective; it can also be a noun. The structure remains exactly the same. Conceptually, "that the houses are shanties" is phrased as "the houses' shanty being" in Turkish.

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### Complex Subjects

The subject of your embedded clause might already have its own suffixes, such as a noun compound or a possessive phrase. Simply add the genitive case to the very end of the subject phrase before continuing to the predicate and **olduğu**.

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### Different Case Endings on "Olduğu"

Most verbs that express thinking, knowing, stating, or realizing (like **bilmek**, **düşünmek**, **fark etmek**) take a direct object. This is why **olduğu** almost always takes the accusative case (**olduğunu**).

However, if your main verb requires a different case, the suffix on **olduğu** must change to match. For example, the verb **inanmak** (to believe) requires the dative case (**-a** / **-e**). Therefore, "that it is" takes the dative suffix and becomes **olduğuna**.

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Factive nominal clauses (olduğu)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

postposition

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstrative pronouns (bu, şu, o)

Basic question words (kim, ne)

Plural nouns (-lar, -ler)

I am and you are (-(y)ım, -sın)

We, you, and they are (-(y)ız, -sınız)

Negative statements (değil)

Yes and no questions (mı, mi, mu, mü)

Questions with 'to be' (mısın, mıyım)

Numbers 1 to 10 (bir, iki, üç)

Numbers 11 to 20 (on bir, on iki)

Numbers by tens to 100 (otuz, kırk...)

Counting objects (tane)

The locative case (-da, -de)

Consonant assimilation (-ta, -te)

Asking where (nerede)

There is / there are (var)

There is not / there are not (yok)

Asking how many (kaç)

Infinitive verbs (-mak, -mek)

Informal commands (git, gel)

Negative commands (-ma, -me)

Polite and plural commands (-In, -InIz)

Basic word order

Present continuous for consonant roots (-iyor)

Present continuous for vowel roots (-iyor)

Present continuous personal suffixes (-iyorum)

Negative present continuous (-miyor)

Present continuous questions (-iyor mu)

Future plans with present continuous

The dative case (-(y)a, -(y)e)

Consonant mutation (k, t, p, ç to ğ, d, b, c)

From or out of (-dan / -den)

Directional question words (nereye, nereden)

First and second person possessives (-(i)m, -(i)n)

Third person possessive (-(s)i)

Plural possessives (-imiz, -iniz, -leri)

The genitive case (-(n)in)

Definite noun compounds (-nin ... -si)

Indefinite noun compounds (bare noun + -(s)i)

Possessive buffer letter (n)

Spatial postpositions (içinde, üstünde)

The definite direct object (-(y)ı, -(y)i)

Object question words (kimi, neyi)

Adjectives modifying nouns

Manner and choice questions (nasıl, hangi)

Basic degree modifiers (çok, biraz)

Comparisons (daha, en)

Days of the week

Months of the year

The time question word (ne zaman)

Telling time (saat, buçuk)

Asking the time (saat kaç, saat kaçta)

Basic conjunctions (ve, ama, veya)

Causality conjunction (çünkü)

Means and accompaniment (ile, -(y)lA)

Purpose and beneficiaries (için)

Expressing desire (-mak istemek)

The past copula (-(y)DI)

The direct past tense (-DI)

Past tense personal suffixes (-DIm, -DIn)

Past tense negative (-mAdI)

Past tense questions (-DI mI)

Ordinal numbers (-(I)ncI)

Greetings and politeness

Saying 'too' (de, da)

Conversation fillers (şey, yani, hadi)

Conversational essentials

Reflexive pronouns (kendim, kendin)

Reciprocal pronouns (birbiri)

Indefinite pronouns for people (herkes, kimse)

Indefinite pronouns for things and places (her şey, hiçbir şey)

Conjunctions of consequence (bu yüzden, bu nedenle)

Correlative conjunctions (hem... hem, ne... ne)

Verbs taking the dative case (-e / -a)

Verbs taking the ablative case (-den / -dan)

Time origin (beri)

Time duration (-DIr)

Comparisons of similarity (gibi)

Comparisons of equality (kadar)

Perspectives (göre)

Verbal nouns (-mA / -mE)

Verbal nouns as objects (-mAyI / -mEyI)

Verbal nouns with the dative (-mAyA / -mEyA)

General necessity (lazım / gerek)

Personal necessity (-mAm lazım)

Third-person commands (-sIn / -sInlAr)

First person singular optative (-(y)AyIm)

Question	Answer
unplanned	çarpık
Everyone knows that this city is very unplanned.	Herkes bu şehrin çok çarpık olduğunu biliyor.
contractor	müteahhit
shanty	gecekondu
The contractor understood that the old houses are shanties.	Müteahhit eski evlerin gecekondu olduğunu anladı.
urban	kentsel
transformation	dönüşüm
We heard that the new project is an urban transformation.	Yeni projenin kentsel bir dönüşüm olduğunu duyduk.
inspection	denetim
The contractors reportedly confessed that the inspection is missing at the construction.	Müteahhitler inşaatta denetimin eksik olduğunu itiraf etmiş.
permit	ruhsat
They noticed that the building's permit is fake.	Binanın ruhsatının sahte olduğunu fark ettiler.
public (state, institutional)	kamu
planning	planlama
I suppose that the public planning is more successful.	Kamu planlamasının daha başarılı olduğunu sanıyorum.
Some say that the permit belongs to the public, some say it is private.	Kimisi ruhsatın kamuya ait olduğunu, kimisi özel olduğunu söylüyor.
fragile (flimsy, not durable)	dayanıksız
The engineer reportedly stated that the used materials are very fragile.	Mühendis, kullanılmış malzemelerin çok dayanıksız olduğunu belirtmiş.
Our teacher thinks that the most important problem is urban planning.	Öğretmenimiz, en önemli problemin kentsel planlama olduğunu düşünüyor.
Everyone knows that the abandoned shanties are a fragile structure.	Terk edilmiş gecekonduların dayanıksız bir yapı olduğunu herkes biliyor.
We believe that this transformation is a public benefit.	Bu dönüşümün bir kamu faydası olduğuna inanıyoruz.
The experts emphasize that the inspection in the system is very unplanned.	Uzmanlar, sistemde denetimin çok çarpık olduğunu vurguluyor.
I know that the building is old.	Binanın eski olduğunu biliyorum.
The engineer saw that the infrastructure was weak.	Mühendis altyapının dayanıksız olduğunu gördü.
We think that this region is modern.	Bu bölgenin modern olduğunu düşünüyoruz.
The contractor noticed that the foundation is sturdy.	Müteahhit temelin sağlam olduğunu fark etti.

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