Indirect commands (-masını)

Indirect Commands: Telling and Ordering

To report commands (like telling someone to wait), Turkish turns the commanded action into a direct object.

When using reporting verbs like söylemek (to tell), emretmek (to order), or tavsiye etmek (to advise), the person receiving the command takes the dative case (-a / -e or -ya / -ye).

The action itself uses the short verbal noun (-ma / -me), a possessive suffix indicating who is performing it (usually third-person -sı / -si), a buffer -n-, and the accusative case (-ı / -i) because it is the object of the reporting verb.

Notice how kaçak yolcuya (to the illegal passenger) is in the dative case, while beklemesini (his waiting) is in the accusative.

Immigration and Border Control

You can string multiple commands together with ve (and); both verbs will take the -masını / -mesini ending.

Indirect Requests with "İstemek"

You can use this same structure with istemek (to want) to express wanting someone else to do something.

However, because istemek is an internal desire rather than a direct communication, the person expected to do the action does not take the dative case. Instead, they take the genitive case (-ın / -in), acting as the grammatical "owner" of the action.

• adam*a beklemesini söyledi* (he told the man to wait - dative)
• adam*ın beklemesini istedi* (he wanted the man to wait - genitive)