SACE Stage 2 Turkish (continuers) cheat sheet

Turkish is agglutinative: meaning is built by suffix chains on a stem (ev → evler → evlerimiz → evlerimizde), so parse from the stem outward, rightmost suffix last.

Vowel harmony governs suffix choice: two-way harmony uses -e/-a or -i/-ı after the last vowel; four-way harmony adds -ü/-u for rounded vowels.

Consonant assimilation: a suffix-initial c becomes ç and d becomes t after voiceless consonants (kitap+da → kitapta; geldi but gitti).

Case suffixes mark grammatical role: nominative (bare), accusative -(y)I, dative -(y)A, locative -DA, ablative -DAn, genitive -(n)In.

Buffer consonants y, n, s appear between vowels (kapı+y+ı, onun ev+i, ikişer) - identify them before segmenting morphemes.

Infer unknown words from context by checking the root plus suffix meaning: -CI agent, -lIk abstract/container, -sIz without, -lI with.

Distinguish formal written register (plural verb agreement, longer sentences, passive constructions) from informal spoken register (dropped suffixes, vowel reduction).

Address forms: sen (informal singular), siz (formal or plural), sizler (plural formal); verb agreement must match the chosen pronoun.

Politeness is carried by the -r aorist and -Abilir possibility plus plural agreement: 'Rica etsem…', 'Alabilir miyim?', 'Yardımcı olabilir misiniz?'.

Requests soften with 'lütfen', 'acaba', 'mümkünse'; refusals typically open with an apology plus a reason ('Maalesef… çünkü…').

Question particle mı/mi/mu/mü is written separately and harmonises with the preceding word; it also marks confirmation questions.

Conversational back-channelling uses 'tabii', 'evet', 'anlıyorum', 'haklısınız', 'aynen'; turn-taking is signalled by 'peki', 'şey', 'yani'.

Imperative singular is the bare stem (gel); polite imperative adds -In (gelin); negative imperative uses -mA (gelme / gelmeyin).

Greetings vary by time and setting: 'Merhaba' general, 'Günaydın' morning, 'İyi akşamlar' evening, 'Hoşça kal' to the leaver, 'Güle güle' to the one staying.

Identify text type by formal markers: haber reports use inverted sentences and -DI past; deneme uses first-person reflection; şiir uses line breaks, metre and repetition.

Locate the main idea in the final or opening paragraph of expository texts; supporting details follow with connectors 'ayrıca', 'bunun yanı sıra', 'örneğin'.

Contrast connectors 'ancak', 'fakat', 'ama', 'oysa', 'halbuki' signal a counterpoint to the previous clause - useful for author's stance.

Cause-effect is marked by '-DIğI için', '-dAn dolayı', 'bu nedenle', 'dolayısıyla', 'sonuç olarak'.

Voice: passive -(I)l / -In removes the agent and shifts responsibility; identify who is omitted to evaluate bias.

Quoted speech uses direct quotation with 'dedi' or indirect with '-DIğInI söyledi'; check whether a claim is the writer's or an attributed source's.

Evaluate tone with lexical choice: diminutives (-CIk), intensifiers (çok, son derece) and loaded adjectives indicate emotional colouring.

Turkish has no grammatical gender and no definite article; definiteness is shown by the accusative case and by word order.

Word order is Subject–Object–Verb; moving an element to pre-verbal or post-verbal position changes focus or emphasis, not grammaticality.

Consonant alternation in suffixes: final p, ç, t, k soften to b, c, d, ğ before a vowel (kitap → kitabı, ağaç → ağacı).

Possessive suffixes: -(I)m, -(I)n, -(s)I, -(I)mIz, -(I)nIz, -lArI; possessive + case combines as evimde, evimizden.

Compound nouns take a third-person possessive on the second element (otobüs durağı, Türkçe öğretmeni).

Postpositions govern fixed cases: ile and için with nominative, sonra and önce with ablative, göre and kadar with dative.

Key cultural reference points: 29 October Cumhuriyet Bayramı, 19 Mayıs Atatürk'ü Anma Gençlik ve Spor Bayramı, 23 Nisan Ulusal Egemenlik ve Çocuk Bayramı.

Forms of address and kinship terms carry social meaning: abi/ağabey, abla, teyze, amca, dayı distinguish age and side of family.