Turkish grammar: fiil çatısı (etken, edilgen)

What this grammar point covers

In Turkish, 'fiil çatısı' refers to the voice of verbs: active (etken) and passive (edilgen). This shows who is doing the action and who receives it.

When to use it

Use the active voice (etken) when the subject does the action. Use the passive voice (edilgen) when the subject receives the action or when the doer is unknown or unimportant.

Key forms

• Etken: Verb stem + normal ending (yazar, okur, yapar)
• Edilgen: Verb stem + -l/-n + ending (yazılır, okunur, yapılır)

Examples

Tips

• The passive voice in Turkish often uses the endings -l or -n after the verb stem.
• In passive sentences, the person who does the action is usually not mentioned.
• Do not confuse the passive ending with other verb endings.

Exceptions and edge cases

• Some verbs do not take passive endings naturally.
• Some verbs use -n, some use -l for passive; check the verb’s structure.