The Instrumental Converb (-mAkla)
To express how a result is achieved ("by doing X"), or to state that one action equates to another ("by doing X, you are effectively doing Y"), Turkish combines an infinitive verb (-mAk / -mek) with the instrumental postposition ile.
When attached as a suffix, ile follows 2-way vowel harmony: the i drops, leaving -la or -le.
-makile=-makla
-mekile=-mekle
| By closing the door, he provided security. | Kapıyı kapatmakla güvenliği sağladı. |
| By only complaining, you are not providing a benefit to anyone. | Sadece şikâyet etmekle kimseye fayda sağlamıyorsun. |
Causality and Trade-offs
This structure links an action to its direct impact, making it useful for discussing consequences and trade-offs.
| By delaying the decision, we are losing a lot of time. | Kararı geciktirmekle çok zaman kaybediyoruz. |
| By postponing the meeting, we are not preventing any problem. | Toplantıyı ertelemekle hiçbir sorunu önlemiyoruz. |
| It is possible to prevent stress by doing sports. | Spor yapmakla stresi önlemek mümkün. |
Unintended Consequences
You will frequently hear -mAkla used to point out unintended consequences or to criticize an approach.
| By neglecting the small details, you are making the biggest mistake. | Küçük detayları ihmal etmekle en büyük hatayı yapıyorsun. |
The phrase ödün vermek means to compromise or make a concession. Notice how -mAkla highlights these actions as the instruments of failure or success:
| By compromising on trust, you are harming each other. | Güvenden ödün vermekle birbirinize zarar veriyorsunuz. |
| By making sacrifices for each other, we saw a lot of benefit. | Birbirimiz için fedakârlık yapmakla çok fayda gördük. |
Evaluating Effectiveness
Use -mAkla to evaluate whether an action speeds things up (hızlandırmak) or serves a practical purpose (işe yaramak).
| We are not speeding up the solution by underestimating the problem. | Problemi küçümsemekle çözümü hızlandırmıyoruz. |
| By only keeping quiet, you are of no use at all. | Sadece susmakla hiçbir işe yaramıyorsun. |