Passive Voice | Hafiza

Formation

Turkish has two main passive suffixes:

1. -il/-ıl/-ul/-ül (i-type harmony) - for most verbs

2. -n - for verbs ending in vowels or certain consonants

Pattern: Verb stem + passive + tense + personal ending

yap-ıl-dı

it was done

yap + ıl + dı

gör-ül-dü

it was seen

gör + ül + dü

de-n-di

it was said

de + n + di (vowel stem)

Choosing the Right Suffix

Use -n for:

- Verbs ending in vowels (demek, aramak)

- Some verbs ending in l, r (bilmek, görmek exceptions)

Use -il/-ıl/-ul/-ül for:

- Most other verbs

- Follow i-type vowel harmony

ara-n-dı

it was searched

ara ends in vowel → n

bil-in-ir

it is known

bil takes -in (irregular)

kes-il-di

it was cut

kes → il

Uses of Passive

Turkish passive is used for:

1. Unknown or unimportant agent

2. General statements

3. Formal/written language

Much more common than English passive. Note: Turkish also has reflexive verbs (ending in -in/-ın/-ün/-un) which are different from passive.

Kitap yazıldı

The book was written

Agent unknown/unimportant

Türkçe konuşulur

Turkish is spoken

General statement

Exercises

passive

Make passive: açmak (to open) in past

Answer: açıldı

aç + ıl + dı = açıldı (it was opened)

translation

Translate: It was read

Answer: Okundu

oku + n + du = okundu (vowel stem → n)

fill in-blank

Complete: Ev __ (The house was built)

Answer: yapıldı

yap + ıl + dı = yapıldı