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### The Infinitive Suffix: -mak and -mek

When you look up a verb in a Turkish dictionary, you will find it in its infinitive form. In English, the infinitive is expressed with the word "to" (like "to read" or "to learn"). In Turkish, it is formed by attaching the suffix **-mak** or **-mek** directly to the root of the verb.

Which suffix you use depends on the two-way vowel harmony rule:
- If the last vowel of the verb root is a back vowel (**a, ı, o, u**), add **-mak**.
- If the last vowel is a front vowel (**e, i, ö, ü**), add **-mek**.

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### Using Verbs as Subjects

In Turkish, infinitive verbs also function as verbal nouns. This means you can use them exactly like English "-ing" words (gerunds) to talk about the action itself, such as "reading," "learning," or "eating." You can easily make an infinitive the subject of a simple sentence and describe it with an adjective.

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### Adding Objects and Locations

Because these words are still verbs at their core, they can take objects and locations. In Turkish, these context words always come *before* the verb. To say "reading a book" or "working in the office," you simply state the noun or the location (using the locative case you learned previously) right before the infinitive.

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### Questions, Negation, and Rules

You can turn these statements into questions or negative sentences using **mu / mi** and **değil**, just as you do with regular nouns.

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You can also use the word **yok** (there is not) directly after an infinitive to state that an action is strictly prohibited in a specific place, similar to saying "No doing [X]" in English.

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Infinitive verbs (-mak, -mek)

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)

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)

First person plural optative (-(y)AlIm)

Question	Answer
to read	okumak
Reading a book is very nice.	Kitap okumak çok güzel.
Reading a book in the library is nice.	Kütüphanede kitap okumak güzel.
to write	yazmak
Writing here is very easy.	Burada yazmak çok kolay.
Is writing a book hard?	Kitap yazmak zor mu?
to work / to study	çalışmak
Working in the office is not hard.	Ofiste çalışmak zor değil.
Working a lot is good.	Çok çalışmak iyi.
to learn	öğrenmek
Learning is very nice.	Öğrenmek çok güzel.
Learning now is very easy.	Şimdi öğrenmek çok kolay.
to sleep	uyumak
Sleeping in bed is very good.	Yatakta uyumak çok iyi.
Sleeping in the car is very hard.	Arabada uyumak çok zor.
to eat	yemek
Eating apples is good.	Elma yemek iyi.
Eating a lot is bad.	Çok yemek kötü.
to drink	içmek
Drinking cold water is nice.	Soğuk su içmek güzel.
Drinking coffee is not bad.	Kahve içmek kötü değil.
to speak / to talk	konuşmak
No talking in the classroom.	Sınıfta konuşmak yok.
Is talking here a problem?	Burada konuşmak problem mi?
to do / to make	yapmak
Doing a lot of work is hard.	Çok iş yapmak zor.
Making coffee is very easy.	Kahve yapmak çok kolay.
to sit	oturmak
Sitting in the garden is nice.	Bahçede oturmak güzel.
Sitting in the park is very nice.	Parkta oturmak çok güzel.
to cook	yemek yapmak
Cooking is nice.	Yemek yapmak güzel.
Cooking is not hard.	Yemek yapmak zor değil.
to draw, to paint	resim yapmak
Drawing is easy.	Resim yapmak kolay.
Drawing and reading are nice.	Resim yapmak ve okumak güzel.