2.0 The Case System

Like Russian or German, Turkic languages have a system of grammatical cases. Cases are defined by changes that occur to a word when it is placed in different grammatical context. English has cases for personal prounouns. For example: "I see him", "He sees me". Not: "Me sees he", "Him sees I". Turkmen, however, has six cases, and these cases are used for all words, not just personal prounouns. The six Turkmen cases are: the nominative, used for the subject of the sentence; the possessive, similar to English possessives; the dative, used to show directed action; the accusative, which is similar to the English "direct object"; the time/place, which shows locality; and the instrumental, which is used to show origin.

While six cases might seem a bit overwhelming at first, it should be noted that the case suffixes simply replace our English prepositions such as "from," "at," "with," "in," "on," and "to". Also, the rules for their use are remarkably simple and inflexible, unlike those of the Russian cases.

2.1 Cases of Pronouns

These follow fairly straightforwardly from the regular case endings. The only unusual exceptions being the mutation of ol to on in all cases, and the dative pronouns maña, saña, and oña.

Nomnative	men I	sen you (singular informal)	ol he, she, it	biz we	siz you (plural or formal)	olar they
Poss.	meniñ my	seniñ your	onyñ his, her, its	biziñ our	siziñ your	olaryñ their
Dative	maña ≈to me	saña ≈to you	oña ≈to him, her, it	bize ≈to us	size ≈to you	olara ≈to them
Accus.	meni ≈ me	seni ≈ you	ony ≈ him, her, it	bizi ≈ us	sizi ≈ you	olary ≈ them
T/Place	mende ≈ upon me	sende ≈ upon you	onda ≈ upon him, her, it	bizde ≈ upon us	sizde ≈ upon you	olarda ≈ upon them
Instrum.	menden ≈ from me	senden ≈ from you	ondan ≈ from him, her, it	bizden ≈ from us	sizden ≈ from you	olardan ≈ from them

3.0 Verbs

Like English, Turkmen has a great variety of verb tenses. Verbs in Turkmen are conjugated in plural and singular for first, second, and third persons. As in Romance languages and Russian, the subject of a sentence is often not spoken if it is obvious.

Following is a selection of verb tenses and forms. All verbs are conjugated on the model of ÿazmak, to write.

3.1a- Present Comprehensive, long form

Translates to the English Present Simple or Present Progressive

Verb Form Translation Form w/ MAK verbs MEK verbs

Men ÿazÿaryn I write/I am writing. stem +(ÿar)yn +(ÿär)in

Sen ÿazÿarysyñ You write/You are writing. stem +(ÿar)syñ +(ÿär)siñ

Ol ÿazÿar He writes/He is writing. stem +(ÿar) +(ÿär)

Biz ÿazÿarys We write/We are writing stem +(ÿar)ys +(ÿär)is

Siz ÿazÿarsyñyz You write/You are writing. stem +(ÿar)syñyz +(ÿär)siñiz

Olar ÿazÿarlar They write/They are writing. stem +(ÿar)lar +(ÿär)ler

To form the negative, add -ma or -me after the stem:

Men ÿazmaÿaryn = I am not writing. I don't write.

Men iÿmeÿärin = I am not eating. I don't eat.

3.1b - Present Comprehensive, short form

Translates to the English Present Simple or Present Progressive

Verb Form Translation Form w/ MAK verbs MEK verbs

Men ÿazÿan I write/I am writing. stem +ÿan +ÿän

Sen ÿazÿañ You write/You are writing. stem +ÿañ +ÿäñ

Ol ÿazÿar He writes/He is writing. stem +ÿar +ÿär

Biz ÿazÿas We write/We are writing. stem +ÿas +ÿäs

Siz ÿazÿañyz You write/You are writing. stem +ÿañyz +ÿäñiz

Olar ÿazÿarlar They write/They are writing. stem +ÿarlar +ÿärler

To form the negative, add -ma or -me after the stem:

Men ÿazmaÿan = I am not writing. I don't write.

Men içmeÿän = I am not drinking. I don't drink.

3.2a - Present Perfect

Translates to the English Present Perfect.

Verb Form Translation Form w/ MAK verbs MEK verbs

Men ÿazypdyrym I have written. stem +(yp)dyrym (ip)dirim

Sen ÿazypsyñ You have written. stem +(yp)syñ (ip)siñ

Ol ÿazypdyr He/she has written. stem +(yp)dyr (ip)dir

Biz ÿazypdyrys We have written. stem +(ypdyrys (ip)diris

Siz ÿazypsyñyz You have written. stem +(yp)syñyz (ip)siñiz

Olar ÿazypdyrlar They have written. stem +(yp)dyrlar (ip)dirler

To form the negative, insert -man or -män in place of the -yp or -ip after the stem in the above endings:

Ol ÿazmandyr = He/she has not written.

Olar gelmänderler = They have not come.

3.2b - Present Perfect (neg.)/Habitual Present (neg.)

Translates to the negative English Present Perfect (or to a negative form of a "Habitual Present Tense")*, as such:

Verb Form Translation Form w/ MAK verbs MEK verbs

Men ÿazamok I have not written. stem +(a)mok +(e)mok

Sen ÿazañok You haven't written. stem +(a)ñok +(e)ñok

Ol ÿazanok He hasn't written. stem +(a)nok +(e)nok

Biz ÿazamzok We haven't written. stem +(a)mzok +(e)mzok

Siz ÿazañzok You haven't written. stem +(a)ñzok +(e)ñzok

Olar ÿazanoklar They haven't written. stem +(a)noklar +(e)noklar

*These forms can also indicate that a certain activity is generally not performed by the speaker:

Men ÿazamok = I don't write. (as a habit)

Men çilim çekemok = I don't smoke. (as a habit)

3.3 - Future Certain

Translates to the English Future Simple with the tone of certainty.

Verb Form Translation Form w/ MAK verbs MEK verbs

Men ÿazjak I will write. stem +jak +jek

Sen ÿazjak You will write. stem +jak +jek

Ol ÿazjak He will write. stem +jak +jek

Biz ÿazjak We will write. stem +jak +jek

Siz ÿazjak You will write. stem +jak +jek

Olar ÿazjak They will write. stem +jak +jek

To form the negative, add -däl after the verb:

Men ÿazjak däl = I will not write.

Men gitjek däl = I will not go.

3.4 - Future Indefinite

Translates to English Future Simple with a tone of probability.

Verb Form Translation Form w/ MAK verbs MEK verbs

Men ÿazaryn I (probably) will write. stem +(ar)yn +(er)in

Sen ÿazarsyñ You (probably) will write. stem +(ar)syñ +(er)siñ

Ol ÿazar He (probably) will write. stem +(ar) +(er)

Biz ÿazarys We (probably) will write. stem +(ar)ys +(er)is

Siz ÿazarsyñyz You (probably) will write. stem +(ar)syñyz +(er)siñiz

Olar ÿazarlar They (probably) will write. stem +(ar)lar +(er)ler

To negate, add -m after the stem, except in the third person, where -maz is used.

Men ÿazmaryn = I (probably) won't write. Ol ÿazmaz = He (probably) won't write.

Men gitmerin = I (probably) won't go. Olar gitmezler = They (probably) won't go.

3.5 - Conditional

Expresses hypothetical situations, used like the English "if". Usually followed by a statement in the Future Indefinite tense.

Verb Form Translation Form w/ MAK verbs MEK verbs

Men ÿazsam If I write... stem +(sa)m +(se)m

Sen ÿazsañ If you write... stem +(sa)ñ +(se)ñ

Ol ÿazsa If he writes... stem +(sa) +(se)

Biz ÿazsak If we write... stem +(sa)k +(se)k

Siz ÿazsañyz If you write... stem +(sa)ñyz +(se)ñiz

Olar ÿazsalar If they write... stem +(sa)lar +(se)ler

To form the negative, add -ma or -me after the verb stem.

Men ÿazmasam = If I do not write...

Men gitmesem = If I do not go.

3.6 - Past Definite

Translates to the English Past Simple.

Verb Form Translation Form w/ MAK verbs MEK verbs

Men ÿazdym I wrote. stem +(dy)m +(di)m

Sen ÿazdyñ You wrote. stem +(dy)ñ +(di)ñ

Ol ÿazdy He wrote. stem +(dy) +(di)

Biz ÿazdyk We wrote. stem +(dy)k +(di)k

Siz ÿazdyñz You wrote. stem +(dy)ñyz +(di)ñiz

Olar ÿazdylar They wrote. stem +(dy)lar +(di)ler

To form the negative, add -ma or -me after the stem.

Men ÿazmadym = I didn't write.

Men gitmedim = I didn't go.

3.7 - Obligatory Form

Translates to English "must," "should," or "ought to" with a verb.

Verb Form Translation Form w/ MAK verbs MEK verbs

Men ÿazmaly I must write. stem +maly +meli

Sen ÿazmaly You must write. stem +maly +meli

Ol ÿazmaly He must write. stem +maly +meli

Biz ÿazmaly We must write. stem +maly +meli

Siz ÿazmaly You must write. stem +maly +meli

Olar ÿazmaly They must write. stem +maly +meli

To form the negative, add -däl after the verb.

Men ÿazmaly däl = I must (should) not write.

Men gitmeli däl = I must (should) not go.

3.8 - Imperative Forms

In the singular and plural "you" forms, the verbs are simply rendered as commands, with the varying levels of politeness as noted below. Note that the personal pronouns are parenthetical, indicating that they are not spoken as part of the command form, but indicate to whom the command is being delivered.

Verb Form Translation Form w/ MAK verbs MEKverbs

(Sen) ÿaz! Write! stem

(Sen) ÿazyñ! Write! stem +yñ +iñ

(Sen) ÿazsana! Write, please! (polite) stem +sana +sene

(Siz) ÿazyñ Write! stem +yñ +iñ

(Siz) ÿazsañizlañ Write, please! (polite) stem +sañizlañ +señizläñ

The first person singular and plural forms translate not as commands, but more as expressions of "I'm going to," "may I," "let me," or "let us." The personal pronouns are necessary here.

Verb Form Translation Form w/ MAK verbs MEK verbs

Men ÿazaÿyn. May I write. stem +aÿyn +eÿin

Men geçeÿin. Let me pass.

Biz ÿazalyñ Let's write!. stem +alyñ* +eliñ*

Biz gideliñ Let's go!

*In colloquial speech, the endings are sometimes shortened to -aly and -ely.

To form the plural negative, add -ma or -me after the stem:

Hat ÿazmalyñ = Let's not write a letter.

Bazara gitmeliñ = Let's not go to the bazaar.

The third person forms are also not commands as much as they are urges or wishes, translated roughly as "let..." or "would that..."

Verb Form Translation Form w/ MAK verbs MEK verbs

Ol ÿazsyn Let him write. stem +syn +sin

Ol geçsin Let him pass.

Olar ÿazsynlar Let them write! stem +synlar +sinler

Olar geçsinler Let them pass!

To form the negatives for all the above forms, add -ma or -me after the stems, according to vowel harmony:

Ol ÿazmasyn = May he not write.

Olar gitmesinler = May they not go.

3.9 - Intentional Form

Translates to the English "intend to."

Verb Form Translation Form w/ MAK verbs MEK verbs

Men ÿazmakçy I intend to write. stem +makçy mekçi

Sen ÿazmakçy You intend to write. stem +makçy mekçi

Ol ÿazmakçy He/she intends to write. stem +makçy mekçi

Biz ÿazmakçy We intend to write. stem +makçy mekçi

Siz ÿazmakçy You intend to write. stem +makçy mekçi

Olar ÿazmakçy They intend to write. stem +makçy mekçi

To form the negative, add after the verb.

Men ÿazmakçy däl = I do not intend to write.

Men gitmekçi däl = I do not intend to go.