The Order of Voice Suffixes

Level 5

Turkish allows you to stack multiple voice suffixes (like causative and passive) on a single verb. The usual order is: Root + [Reflexive/Reciprocal] + [Causative] + [Passive].

How It Works

Turkish morphology is highly logical. When stacking voice suffixes, they follow a specific 'valency' chain:

1. Slot 1: Reflexive (-(I)n) or Reciprocal (-(I)ş). These are closest to the root because they often change the core meaning of the verb (e.g., sev- 'to love' vs sevin- 'to be happy').

2. Slot 2: Causative (-DIr, -t, -Ir). You can even have a double causative here (e.g., yaz-dır-t- 'to make someone have something written').

3. Slot 3: Passive (-(I)l or -(I)n). The passive suffix usually 'closes' the chain. Once a verb is made passive, you normally do not add another voice suffix after it.

Phonological Note: The passive suffix becomes -n if the stem ends in a vowel, and -in if the stem ends in the letter 'l'. Otherwise, it is -il.

Examples (4)

  1. Onları görüştürdüm.

    I brought them together (I made them see each other).

    Word by Word: Them see-each-other-cause-past-I.

    Here, the reciprocal suffix (-iş) comes before the causative suffix (-tür).

  2. Mektup müdüre yazdırıldı.

    The letter was caused to be written to the manager.

    Word by Word: Letter manager-to write-cause-pass-past.

    The causative (-dır) is followed by the passive (-ıl). The passive 'closes' the verb.

  3. Çocuk hediye ile sevindirildi.

    The child was cheered up (was made to be happy) with a gift.

    Word by Word: Child gift with love-reflexive-cause-pass-past.

    This shows a triple stack: reflexive (-in), causative (-dir), and passive (-il).

  4. Bu ödev Ali'ye yaptırtıldı.

    This homework was made to be done by Ali (via someone else).

    Word by Word: This homework Ali-to do-cause-cause-pass-past.

    A complex stack using a double causative (-tır and -t) followed by the passive (-ıl).

Common Mistakes

  • Placing the passive suffix before the causative suffix.

    Mektup yazıl-dır-ıldı.
    Mektup yaz-dır-ıldı.

    The passive suffix is normally the last voice suffix in the chain. You cannot 'cause' a passive action; you 'passivize' a causative action.

  • Using the wrong case for the agent in a causative-passive construction.

    Ali'yi ödevi yaptırdım.
    Ali'ye ödevi yaptırdım.

    When a transitive verb becomes causative, the person being made to do the action takes the dative case (-e/-a), not the accusative.

How It Connects

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The Order of Voice SuffixesLevel 5

Learn This First

To understand the order of voice suffixes, you must first be familiar with the individual voice suffixes themselves, specifically the causative and the passive. Additionally, a general understanding of how Turkish suffixes stack (agglutination) is necessary to grasp why the causative must precede the passive.