Ali saçını kestirdi.
English: Ali had his hair cut (made someone cut his hair).
- Language
- Turkish
- Level
- B2
- Unit
- Fiil kipleri ve çatılar
- Practice types
- 0
What this grammar point covers
In Turkish, reflexive verbs (dönüşlü fiiller) show that the subject does the action to itself, while causative verbs (ettirgen fiiller) indicate that the subject causes someone else to do the action. At B2 level, you learn more advanced uses and combinations of these forms.
When to use it
Use reflexive verbs when the subject acts on itself. Use causative verbs when the subject makes someone else perform the action. Advanced usage includes double forms and less common verbs.
Key forms
- Reflexive: verb stem + -in/-in/-un/-ün/-n (e.g. yıkanmak, giyinmek)
- Causative: verb stem + -dir/-tir/-dur/-tür/-ir/-er/-ar (e.g. yazdırmak, temizletmek)
Examples
Çocuk kendi başına giyindi.
English: The child dressed himself.
Annem evi temizletti.
English: My mother made someone clean the house.
Köpeğini yıkattı.
English: He/she had the dog washed.
Ben de bazen erken uyanıyorum.
English: I sometimes wake up early myself.
Tips
- Don't confuse reflexive and passive forms; reflexive is when the subject acts on itself.
- Causative forms can be used with many verbs, but not all verbs accept causative or reflexive endings.
- Some verbs change meaning when reflexive or causative forms are added.
Exceptions and edge cases
- Some verbs have irregular causative forms.
- A few verbs do not take reflexive or causative endings.