Negative subject relative clauses (-mayan / -meyen)
To describe someone or something that does not perform an action (like "the voters who do not vote"), use the negative subject relative participle.
To form it, add the negative suffix (-ma or -me), the buffer -y-, and the relative suffix (-an or -en) to the verb stem. Because the negative suffix ends in a vowel, this always results in -mayan or -meyen, depending on vowel harmony.
| Verb | Negative Participle | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| çalışmak | çalışmayan | who doesn't work |
| gitmek | gitmeyen | who doesn't go |
| vermek | vermeyen | who doesn't give |
Place the participle directly before the noun it describes.
| There is an election in May and the voters who do not vote are sitting at home. | Mayıs'ta seçim var ve oy vermeyen seçmenler evde oturuyor. |
| No voter who does not vote likes the result. | Oy vermeyen hiçbir seçmen sonucu beğenmiyor. |
Describing candidates and campaigns
During an election (seçim), you can use this structure to describe actions that candidates or politicians do not take.
| The candidate who does not work in the campaign is losing the election. | Kampanyada çalışmayan aday seçimi kaybediyor. |
| My candidate is an honest politician who does not tell lies. | Benim adayım yalan söylemeyen dürüst bir siyasetçi. |
Civic participation and outcomes
The negative relative clause works the exact same way for other topics, like whether citizens head to the ballot box (sandık).
The participle itself never changes for singular or plural subjects; only the noun it describes takes a plural marker if needed.
| The officer who does not go to the ballot box gets a punishment. | Sandığa gitmeyen memur ceza alıyor. |
| Let the government that does not help the public not expect a good result. | Halka yardım etmeyen hükümet iyi bir sonuç beklemesin. |