Kapı kapatıldı.
English: The door was closed.
- Language
- Turkish
- Level
- B2
- Unit
- Fiil kipleri ve çatılar
- Practice types
- 0
What this grammar point covers
The passive voice in Turkish (-edilgen çatı) is used when the subject of the sentence is not doing the action, but is affected by it. The action is done by someone else, or the doer is not mentioned.
When to use it
Use the passive voice in Turkish when you want to focus on the action or the object, not the person doing it. It's common in news, instructions, and when the doer is unknown or unimportant.
Key forms
- Verb stem + -il/-ıl/-ul/-ül + tense/person endings
- Examples: yapılmak, görülmek, yazılmak
Examples
Mektup yazıldı.
English: The letter was written.
Çocuklar okula götürüldü.
English: The children were taken to school.
Yemek hazırlandı.
English: The food was prepared.
Soru cevaplandı.
English: The question was answered.
Tips
- Remember to use the correct passive suffix (-il, -ıl, -ul, -ül) depending on the last vowel of the verb stem.
- The doer of the action is usually not mentioned in passive sentences.
- Do not use 'tarafından' (by) unless you really need to show who did the action.
Exceptions and edge cases
- Some verbs are rarely used in the passive form.
- If the verb stem ends with 'l', only the passive suffix is added without repeating 'l' (e.g., 'bulunmak').