-il/-in (edilgen)

The Passive Voice

Level 4

Turkish uses the passive voice (edilgen çatı) to describe actions where the 'doer' is unknown or unimportant. It is formed by adding suffixes to the verb stem based on the final sound of that stem.

How It Works

To form the passive voice, you must look at the last letter of the verb stem:

  • Stems ending in a vowel: Add -n (e.g., oku-n-mak).
  • Stems ending in 'l': Add -in/-ın/-un/-ün (e.g., bil-in-mek).
  • Stems ending in 'n' or any other consonant: Add -il/-ıl/-ul/-ül (e.g., aç-ıl-mak, yaz-ıl-mak).

Irregularities: The common verbs yemek (to eat) and demek (to say) often take a double passive form: yenilmek and denilmek.

When a sentence becomes passive, the original object becomes the subject and loses its accusative case marking.

Impersonal Passive: Turkish allows intransitive verbs (verbs that don't take objects) to become passive for general rules. For example, Buraya girilmez (No entry / One does not enter here) or Bu yoldan gidilir (One goes by this road).

Mentioning the Doer: Use tarafından (by) for individuals. For institutions or groups, the suffix -ce/-ca is often used (e.g., Meclisçe kabul edildi - It was accepted by the Parliament).

Note: The -in suffix is also used for reflexive verbs. You must use context to distinguish if someone is doing an action to themselves or if the action is being done to them.

Examples (5)

  1. Bu mektup dün yazıldı.

    This letter was written yesterday.

    Word by Word: This letter yesterday was-written.

    The verb 'yazmak' (to write) ends in 'z', so it takes the '-ıl' suffix to become passive.

  2. Kapı yavaşça açıldı.

    The door was opened slowly.

    Word by Word: Door slowly was-opened.

    Here, the focus is on the door opening, not who opened it.

  3. Pazar günleri geç kalkılır.

    On Sundays, one gets up late.

    Word by Word: Sunday days late is-gotten-up.

    This is an impersonal passive using the intransitive verb 'kalkmak' (to get up).

  4. Bütün ödevler yapıldı mı?

    Have all the homeworks been done?

    Word by Word: All homeworks were-done [question]?

    The passive suffix '-ıl' is followed by the past tense and the question particle.

  5. Bu kitap çok okundu.

    This book was read a lot.

    Word by Word: This book much was-read.

    Since 'oku-' ends in a vowel, we add '-n' to make it passive.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'olmak' to translate 'was' or 'is' in passive sentences.

    Mektup yazıldı oldu.
    Mektup yazıldı.

    In Turkish, the passive suffix itself carries the meaning of 'to be done'. You do not need to add 'olmak' (to be/become) as an auxiliary verb.

  • Keeping the accusative case on the subject of a passive sentence.

    Evi boyandı.
    Ev boyandı.

    When 'Ev' (house) becomes the subject of a passive verb, it must be in the nominative (plain) case, not the accusative.

How It Connects

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-il/-in (edilgen)Level 4The Passive Voice

Learn This First

To understand the passive voice (-il/-in), you need to be comfortable with four-way vowel harmony for suffix selection. You also need a solid grasp of Turkish sentence structure, specifically how subjects and objects function, as the passive voice transforms the object of an active sentence into the subject. Finally, knowing the order of suffixes is crucial since the passive marker is placed immediately after the verb root.

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-il