Third-person commands (-sIn / -sInlAr)

Third-Person Commands (Let him / Let it)

In Turkish, you can give an indirect order or instruction about a third party. This translates to "Let him [do it]", "Have her [do it]", or "Let it [happen]", and is especially useful for delegating tasks.

To form the third-person singular imperative, add the suffix -sın to the verb stem. This suffix follows four-way vowel harmony (-sın, -sin, -sun, -sün).

Verb StemVowel HarmonySuffixExample
yap- (do)a, ı-sınyapsın (let him do)
git- (go)e, i-singitsin (let him go)
oku- (read)o, u-sunokusun (let him read)
gör- (see)ö, ü-süngörsün (let him see)

Collective nouns that represent a group—like ekip (team) or personel (staff)—are grammatically singular and take this singular ending.

Let the team research the details.
Ekip detayları araştırsın.
Let the personnel implement the instructions.
Personel talimatları uygulasın.

You can use this form on multiple verbs in a single sentence to give a sequence of instructions.

Let the secretary copy and organize the files.
Sekreter dosyaları kopyalasın ve düzenlesin.

Plural Third-Person Commands (Let them)

For plural third-party instructions, attach the plural suffix -lar or -ler to the singular imperative form (-sınlar, -sinler, -sunlar, or -sünler).

Let the engineers research the new project.
Mühendisler yeni projeyi araştırsınlar.

Pronouns like herkes (everybody) are grammatically singular and take the singular ending, even though they refer to multiple people.

Let everybody implement this instruction immediately.
Herkes bu talimatı hemen uygulasın.

If the subject is obvious from context, you can drop the pronoun entirely.

Let them organize the reports and forward them to us.
Raporları düzenlesinler ve bize iletsinler.

If a plural subject is explicitly stated (like misafirler or gruplar), using the plural suffix on the verb is optional but emphasizes that multiple individuals are involved.

Let the guests wait inside the office.
Misafirler ofisin içinde beklesinler.
Let the new groups implement the rules.
Yeni gruplar kuralları uygulasınlar.