Negative passive order

Level 4

Root + Passive (-ıl/-n) + Negation (-ma/-mə) + Tense + Person

How It Works

To express that an action was not performed on a subject, Azerbaijani combines the passive voice and negation into a single verb form.

1. The Passive Suffix:
Depending on the verb root, you use one of the following:

  • -ıl, -il, -ul, -ül: Used after most consonants, including roots ending in 'n' (e.g., inan-ıl-maq). Note that irregular vowel-stems like de- (say) and ye- (eat) also use this form (deyilmək, yeyilmək).
  • -n: Used after most roots ending in a vowel (e.g., oxu-n-maq).
  • -ın, -in, -un, -ün: Used after roots ending in 'l' to maintain harmony (e.g., al-ın-maq).

2. The Negation Suffix:
The suffix -ma/-mə follows the passive marker. Note that the 'a/ə' vowel may drop or change depending on the tense that follows (e.g., in the present tense -mır).

3. Impersonal Passive:
Azerbaijani often uses the impersonal passive with negation to express general prohibitions or states where there is no specific subject (e.g., Burada siqaret çəkilmir - Smoking is not allowed here).

4. Stress and Harmony:
The negation suffix is non-stressable. The stress falls on the syllable immediately preceding it (for example the passive suffix in yazılmayıb). Additionally, the negation suffix must follow vowel harmony with the last vowel before it. That is the passive suffix's vowel after -ıl or -ın, but the root's vowel after -n (as in oxunmayıb).

Examples (6)

  1. Bu məktub hələ yazılmayıb.

    This letter has not been written yet.

    Word by Word: This letter yet write-passive-negation-perfective.

    Here, 'yaz' (write) is followed by the passive suffix and then negation.

  2. Qərar hələ alınmadı.

    The decision was not taken yet.

    Word by Word: Decision yet take-passive-negation-past.

    For roots ending in 'l' like 'al-', the passive suffix -ın is used before the negation -madı.

  3. Bu kitablar hələ oxunmayıb.

    These books have not been read yet.

    Word by Word: These books yet read-passive-negation-perfective.

    Since 'oxu' ends in a vowel, the passive suffix -n is used before the negation.

  4. Burada yatılmır.

    One does not sleep here.

    Word by Word: Here-at sleep-passive-negation-present.

    This is an impersonal passive construction where an intransitive verb like 'yatmaq' (to sleep) is used to make a general statement.

  5. Ona heç vaxt inanılmadı.

    He was never believed.

    Word by Word: Him-to never believe-passive-negation-past.

    Even though 'inan-' ends in 'n', it takes the -ıl suffix rather than the single '-n' used for vowels.

  6. Bu yemək yeyilmədi.

    This food was not eaten.

    Word by Word: This food eat-passive-negation-past.

    The verb 'ye-' (to eat) is irregular and uses the -il suffix instead of the standard vowel-stem '-n'.

Common Mistakes

  • Reversing the suffix order (Negation before Passive).

    Qapı açmayıldı.
    Qapı açılmadı.

    Learners often try to negate the root first, but in Azerbaijani, the passive marker must be closer to the root than the negation.

  • Incorrect vowel harmony for the negation suffix.

    Görülmadı.
    Görülmədi.

    The negation suffix must harmonize with the passive suffix (-ül), not the root (gör).

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Negative passive orderLevel 4

Learn This First

To understand the negative passive order, a learner must first be familiar with how to form passive verbs using suffixes like -ıl/-il/-ul/-ül and how to negate verbs in common tenses like the past and present. This pattern specifically teaches the morphological ordering where the passive marker precedes the negation marker.

Words in This Pattern

-il-mə