Factive Statements with "ki"
When you want to express a fact, observation, or finding, you often use verbs like "know," "see," "show," or "notice" followed by a complete statement. In English, we link these with the word "that" (as in "I know that..."). In Turkish, you can do this using the complementizer ki.
The structure is very straightforward: state your main verb, add ki as a separate word, and follow it with a complete, independent noun clause.
| Research shows that whales are mammals, not fish. | Araştırmalar gösteriyor ki balinalar balık değil, memelidir. |
| I noticed that dolphins do not use gills. | Fark ettim ki yunuslar solungaç kullanmıyor. |
This pattern is especially common in formal, scientific, or academic contexts—such as sharing data about marine biology. Verbs used for reporting, like tespit etmek (to determine or identify), frequently pair with ki to introduce new findings.
| to determine / to identify (to detect or pinpoint) | tespit etmek |
| Biologists determined that the fish population is decreasing. | Biyologlar tespit etti ki balık popülasyonu azalıyor. |
| They proved that whales return to this region because of the plankton. | Kanıtladılar ki balinalar planktondan dolayı bu bölgeye dönüyor. |
Notice that the statement after ki acts as a normal, standalone sentence. It has its own subject and takes its own verb endings and tenses, completely independent of the main verb that introduced it.
| We know that dolphins are mammals and love swimming a lot. | Biliyoruz ki yunuslar memelidir ve yüzmeyi çok sever. |