-esi gelmek
Feeling Like Doing Something
The -esi gelmek pattern describes a sudden, often involuntary desire that 'comes over' you. It is more about a mood or a whim than a planned intention.
How It Works
The -esi gelmek pattern is a high-level idiomatic expression in Turkish. While it looks complex, it functions as a single unit to describe a state of mind.
1. Formation:
- Verb Stem: The base of the action.
- -(y)esi: The suffix follows two-way vowel harmony (-ası or -esi). If the verb ends in a vowel, use the buffer consonant -y-.
- Possessive Suffix: Because the suffix ends in a vowel, use the vowel-root possessive endings: -m (my), -n (your), -miz (our), -niz (your pl.), or -leri (their). For the third person singular, no extra suffix is added (e.g., gidesi geldi).
- Auxiliary: Usually gelmek (to come), but tutmak (to hold/catch) is used for sudden or inconvenient urges. You can also use var or yok to describe the presence or absence of the feeling.
2. Negation:
To express that you do not feel like doing something, you negate the auxiliary verb (e.g., yapasım gelmiyor) or use yok (e.g., yapasım yok). The verb stem itself is not negated.
3. Nuance vs. -mek istemek:
While -mek istemek expresses a general want or a conscious decision, -esi gelmek implies the feeling happened to you spontaneously. For example, you might want to study for an exam (istemek), but you rarely feel like it (çalışasım gelmiyor).
4. Sound Changes:
Remember that consonant softening applies only to a few verb stems. For example, git- becomes gidesim (not gitesim), but most verbs keep their consonant (yapasım, çıkasım).
Examples (5)
- Onu öyle çaresiz görünce ağlayasım geldi.
When I saw him so helpless, I felt like crying.
Word by Word: Him that way helpless when-seeing, my-to-cry came.
Here, the urge to cry is spontaneous and involuntary, triggered by the sight of someone in distress.
- Bugün hava çok güzel, hiç ders çalışasım yok.
The weather is so beautiful today; I don't feel like studying at all.
Word by Word: Today weather very beautiful, at-all lesson my-to-work there-is-not.
Using 'yok' expresses the total absence of the urge or mood to study. Note that negation is applied to the auxiliary, not the verb stem.
- Durup dururken neden öyle diyesin geldi?
Why did you suddenly feel like saying that out of the blue?
Word by Word: Stopping stopping why that-way your-to-say came?
The possessive suffix '-n' in 'diyesin' indicates that the 'you' (singular) is the one who felt the urge.
- Tam evden çıkacakken uyuyası tuttu.
Just as he was about to leave the house, he suddenly felt like sleeping.
Word by Word: Just house-from when-about-to-leave his-to-sleep held.
The auxiliary 'tutmak' is used here to describe a sudden, often inconvenient or random urge.
- Çocukların bugün oyun oynayasıları var.
The children feel like playing games today.
Word by Word: The-children's today game their-to-play there-is.
This demonstrates the 3rd person plural form using the suffix '-(y)esileri'.
Common Mistakes
Adding an extra possessive suffix for the third person.
Onun gidesisi geldi.Onun gidesi geldi.The suffix '-(y)esi' already contains the third-person singular marker. Adding an additional '-si' (like 'gidesisi') is incorrect.
Omitting the possessive suffix for other persons.
Dışarı çıkası geldi.Dışarı çıkasım geldi.If you want to say 'I felt like going out,' you must include the first-person possessive suffix '-m'. Without it, 'çıkası geldi' defaults to the third person: 'He/she felt like going out.'
Using it in formal business requests.
Sizinle konuşasım geldi.Sizinle konuşmak istiyorum.'-esi gelmek' is informal and implies a whim or a sudden urge. In a professional setting, it can sound overly personal. Use -mek istemek for standard requests.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To understand '-esi gelmek', you need to know how to form verbal nouns using the '-esi' suffix, how to attach possessive endings to these nouns to show the subject of the feeling, and how to conjugate the auxiliary verb 'gelmek' (usually in the past tense) to complete the expression.
- -im (iyelik, 1. tekil)My
The pattern '-esi gelmek' requires possessive suffixes to be attached to the '-esi' verbal noun to indicate who 'feels like' doing the action (e.g., yiyesim, yiyesin).
Level 1 - -di/-dı (görülen geçmiş)Simple Past
The auxiliary verb 'gelmek' in this construction is most commonly conjugated in the past tense ('geldi') to express a sudden feeling or urge.
Level 2
Related Patterns
- -mek istemekWanting to Do Something
The standard way to express 'wanting,' whereas '-esi gelmek' is for spontaneous moods.
Level 1 - varThere Is / There Are
Used with the '-esi' form to state that an urge currently exists.
Level 1 - yokThere Is Not
Used with the '-esi' form to state that one does not feel like doing something.
Level 1 - -y-Buffer Consonant -y-
Required when the verb stem ends in a vowel before adding the '-esi' suffix.
Level 1 - Vowel Harmony: Front and Back
Determines whether the suffix will be '-ası' or '-esi' based on the verb stem's vowels.
Level 1 - Consonant Softening
Causes stems ending in 't' (like git-) to change to 'd' (gidesim) when the suffix is added.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice -esi gelmek in Bubblegum
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