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Türkmen Language

E-Dictionary by
Balicity Studio

13.0 Expressing Needs and Desires

Although in Turkmen there is a way to express a wish to do something that parallels the English use of infinitives, such as Men çaý içmek isleýärin (I want to drink tea), a far more common way to express desires involves a construction unlike any in English, utilizing the verb gelmek as a helping verb: Meniň çaý içesim gelýär (My-tea-drinking-comes).This would roughly translate as "I want to drink tea." or "I feel like drinking tea." The main verb içmek has the personal ending -esim added to the stem, with gelmek in the 3rd person singular, gelýär. Note the use of posessive pronouns rather than personal pronouns in the following charts:

-mak verbs

Meniň	ýaz-asym	gelýär	I 'd like to write
Seniň	ýaz-asyň	gelýär	You 'd like to write
Onuň	ýaz-asy	gelýär	S/he 'd like to write
Biziň	ýaz-asymyz	gelýär	We 'd like to write
Siziň	ýaz-asyňyz	gelýär	You 'd like to write
Olaryň	ýaz-asy	gelýär	They 'd like to write

-mek verbs

Meniň	gel-esim	gelýär	I 'd like to come
Seniň	gel-esiň	gelýär	You' 'd like to come
Onuň	gel-esi	gelýär	S/he 'd like to come
Biziň	gel-esimiz	gelýär	We 'd like to come
Siziň	gel-esiňiz	gelýär	You 'd like to come
Olaryň	gel-esi	gelýär	They 'd like to come

The negative is formed by changing the gelýär to gelmeýär or gelenok:

Meniň hiç zady iýesim gelenok. I don't feel like eating anything.

The past tense is also possible, as such:

Meniň bir zady bilesim geldi. I wanted to know something.

14.0 Indicating Possibility: mümkin

The word mümkin is used to indicate possibility or to ask permission for an action, using infinitive verbs, such as:

Çilim çekmek mümkinmi? Is it possible to smoke? (May I smoke?)

Girmek mümkinmi? May I come in?

Jaň etmek mümkinmi? May I make a call?

Grammatically, it can be used to signify "may" or "might," as in:

Men ertir siziň mekdebiňize geläýmegim mümkin.
I might come to your school tomorrow.

Men hat ýazaýmagym mümkin.
I might write a leter.

-mak verbs

Men	ýaz-aýmagym	mümkün	I might write
Sen	ýaz-aýmagyň	mümkün	You might write
Ol	ýaz-aýmagy	mümkün	S/he might write
Biz	ýaz-aýmagymyz	mümkün	We might write
Siz	ýaz-aýmagyňyz	mümkün	You might write
Olar	ýaz-aýmagy	mümkün	They might write

-mek verbs

Men	gel-äýmegim	mümkün	I might come
Sen	gel-äýmegiň	mümkün	You' might come
Ol	gel-äýmegi	mümkün	S/he might come
Biz	gel-äýmegimiz	mümkün	We might come
Siz	gel-äýmegiňiz	mümkün	You might come
Olar	gel-äýmegi	mümkün	They might come

The negative is formed as such:

Men ertir mekdebiňize gelmezligim mümkin.
I might not come to your school tomorrow.

Men hat ýazmazlygym mümkin.
I might not write a letter.

-mak verbs

Men	ýaz-mazlygym	mümkün	I might not write
Sen	ýaz-mazlygyň	mümkün	You might not write
Ol	ýaz-mazlygy	mümkün	S/he might not write
Biz	ýaz-mazlygymyz	mümkün	We might not write
Siz	ýaz-mazlygyňyz	mümkün	You might not write
Olar	ýaz-mazlygy	mümkün	They might not write

-mek verbs

Men	gel-mezligim	mümkün	I might not come
Sen	gel-mezligiň	mümkün	You' might not come
Ol	gel-mezligi	mümkün	S/he might not come
Biz	gel-mezligimiz	mümkün	We might not come
Siz	gel-mezligiňiz	mümkün	You might not come
Olar	gel-mezligi	mümkün	They might not come

15.0 -dygy/ digi

Men oňa alty-da geljekdigimi aýtdym.
I told him I would come at 6:00.

Siz maňa näme isleýändigiňizi aýdyň.
Tell me what you want.

Ol maňa köp zat öwrenýändigini aýtdy.
He told me he's learning a lot.

Ol maňa seniň gelendigiňi aýtdy.
She told me that you came (had come).

Köwüşiň bahasynyň näçcdigini aýdyp biljekmi?
Can you tell me how much your shoes cost?

Mugallymyň nirededigini bilýärsiňmi?
Do you know where the teacher is?

Men ol gyzyň menden ulydygyny bilýärin.
I know that girl is taller than I.

Men seniň kitabyň meniňkiden gowydygyny bilýärin.
I know your book is better than mine.

Biz şu kitabyň sözlükdigini bilýäris.
We know this book is a dictionary.

16.0 Double Verbs

Whereas in English we conjugate all verbs and place "and" between them when two actions are done at once or at relatively the same time, Turkmen employs a structure that puts the two verbs together. The first verb is reduced to its stem and the participial ending -yp or -ip, according to vowel harmony, is added. The ending of the second verb determines the doer of the action indicated, as below.

Biz iýip gelýäris.
We ate before coming. (lit. We-eat-come)

Nahar iýip okuwa gidiň!
Eat before going to school. (lit. Food-eat-to-school-go)

Swedi öçürip gaýt.
Go turn off the light. (lit. Light-turn off-come back)

The participlial -ip and -yp endings have negative counterparts, -män and -man, also added to the stem of the first verb

Çagalar iýmän okuwa gitdiler.
The children went without eating.

Okuwçylar okaman sapaga gelýärler.
The pupils come to the lesson without studying.

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