Turkish 87 - Optative mood

The optative form of verbs is used to express an intention or desire, or to ask whether it is desirable to do something. It is mostly used for the first person and is -(y)Eyİm for the first person singular and -(y)Elİm for the first person plural.

Questions are often translated with shall I or shall we, whereas statements are often translated with let me or let's.

Beneath are some sample sentences to learn how the optative is used in Turkish.

Shall we go to the cinema?Sinemaya gidelim mi?
Let's eat.Yiyelim.
Shall I open the box?Kutuyu açayım mı?
Let me look.Bakayım.
Please, let me pay.Lütfen, ben ödeyeyim.
Shall I wear the red dress?Kırmızı elbiseyi giyeyim mi?
Let's quit smoking.Sigara içmeyi bırakalım.
Let's not do this.Bunu yapmayalım.
Shall we say it?Söyleyelim mi?

Pay attention, the verbs yemek and demek change the e in their stem to an i when followed by a y.

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