# "seyretmek" and other t -> d verbs



## meraklı kanadalı

Hello. I'm a beginner, and I'm using the _Turkish Self-Study Course_ from Birsen Çankaya _et al._ (it's a three-book course), along with a few Internet sources. I'm currently learning the very basic present continuous tense, and I have a question about irregular verbs...

The book I'm using says that when the verbs _gitmek_ and _etmek_ are used in the present continuous, the final _t_ in the root becomes a _d_, so you get _gidiyor_ and _ediyor_, and not _gitiyor_ and _etiyor_. One Internet source I use adds _tatmak_ to that list of irregular verbs (_tadıyor_). However, further in the exercises, I am asked to conjugate the verb _seyretmek_, and it seems this is also a verb that changes its _t_ to a _d_, because the answer is _seyrediyor _and not _seyretiyor_. I've confirmed this by searching in Google. Now, my question is, how many other such verbs are there? 5? 10? 100? Is there a list somewhere? Is there a way to recognize them, or is it simply a question of memorization?

I'm a bit disappointed that the course said only _etmek_, _gitmek_ and _tatmak _change the _t _to a _d_, and then ask me to conjugate _seyretmek_ and buzz me because I wrote _seyretiyor_. They're giving me false information, it seems. 

Thanks for your help.


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## veronica55

There isn't actually a list that I know. There's no strict regularity about that kind of verbs but mostly if the last letter is "t" it becomes "d" but sometimes it doesn't, there are random exceptions.


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## Volcano

*In these words, t becomes d because of consonant softening.*


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## fahte

_seyretmek_ is a compound verb in structure: _seyir_ + _etmek. _So, it conforms to the rule that you've mentioned.


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## Revontuli

Hello meraklı kanadalı,
Welcome to the forum.

What you're talking about, I guess, is one of the problems that most confuses Turkish learners.

There's a reason why the last consonant of the verb stem, *"t"*,changes to *"d"* in present continous tense. The rule is:

There are two types of consonants in Turkish: *hard and soft*. "t" is included in the hard. So, when "t" is followed by a vowel, it turns into "d". "d" is the soft equivalent of "t". So, when you conjugate the verb "seyretmek", you'll follow the same rule: *seyrediyorum*.

*But please, keep in mind that there aren't many verbs like "etmek, tatmak" in Turkish.  The rule I've explained above doesn't apply to most of the verb stems that has "t" sound at the end. Like:*

eritmek (melt sth) => eritiyorum
yatmak (go to bed) => yatıyorum
atmak (throw) => atıyorum
itmek (push) => itiyorum

I've seen that your native language is French and it's not an easy one either. For example, there's some rule but you can't apply it to every example, can you? So, I guess you can understand the same happens in Turkish as well.

Hope I could help you.

Revontuli


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## meraklı kanadalı

fahte said:


> _seyretmek_ is a compound verb in structure: _seyir_ + _etmek. _So, it conforms to the rule that you've mentioned.



Ah! I wasn't aware that it was a compound verb. Thanks for that information, fahte, I'm relieved to see the rule is unbroken.  I had looked up the verb in Seslisözlük, but they didn't mention it was a compound verb. I did have a doubt, but I didn't know the first part was _seyir_ (my vocabulary is still very limited), so I obviously found nothing in the dictionary when I typed _seyr_. I guess I'll have to find a more advanced dictionary that explains these things (compound verbs).

Thanks again for your help, fahte, and thanks to everyone else who answered also.


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## meraklı kanadalı

Revontuli said:


> Hello meraklı kanadalı,
> Welcome to the forum.



Thanks. 



Revontuli said:


> I've seen that your native language is French and it's not an easy one either. For example, there's some rule but you can't apply it to every example, can you? So, I guess you can understand the same happens in Turkish as well.
> 
> Hope I could help you.
> 
> Revontuli



Yes, French is a language full of exceptions.  I can handle exceptions, I'm not afraid of them.  But I wish the course had mentioned that _seyretmek_ was a compound verb of _seyir _and _etmek_. It would have been very helpful.

Thanks for mentioning the phenomenon of consonent softening. I have noticed it in some words, like _buzdolabı_, so I'll keep this in mind. It seems the Turkish language is very preoccupied with being harmonious to the ear (vowel harmony, consonent softening, buffer letters...). It's quite interesting.


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## Volcano

*This rule is not in the verbs but also the nouns

Kitap-ı >>> Kitabı
Yurt-u >>> Yurdu
Ağaç-ı >>> Ağacı*


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## meraklı kanadalı

I add this link in case it can be of use to others. By the way, it seems I can't post links yet, so I'll try to write the URLs in a way that you will be able to see them...

t u r k i s h . p g e o r g a l a s . gr / C o n j u g a t i o n S e t E n . h t m

It's a site that helps one conjugate verbs in Turkish, and it indicates when a verb is a compound of _etmek_, _gitmek_, _tatmak _and _gütmek_, so one can tell if the final _t_ in the root needs to be changed to a _d_ in the present continuous tense. I didn't conduct an extensive review of the conjugation tools available on the Internet, but this site seems a lot better than Verbix ( w w w . v e r b i x . c o m / l a n g u a g e s / t u r k i s h . s h t m l), which has a lot of mistakes in my opinion (e.g. oynamuyor instead of oynamıyor, gütiyor instead of güdüyor, etc.). I don't understand why a site like Verbix exists if its creators don't make sure it's error free.


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## donreno

meraklı kanadalı said:


> (e.g. oynamuyor instead of oynamıyor, gütiyor instead of güdüyor, etc.). I don't understand why a site like Verbix exists if its creators don't make sure it's error free.


You're right, it's a disaster I think 
gütiyor & oynamuyor (sound like the names of two characters)


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## Artigh

As we have many people having trouble here, I decided to check every verb in Turkish. I read the verb lists I found in the sites. And it's just these 4 verbs:
*
1. etmek*, and all the verbs containing it, like: seyretmek, affetmek, ahdetmek,....etc
*2. tatmak*
*3. gitmek*
*4. gütmek*

The verb *Yaratmak* (to create) is a little problematic. Sometimes we see it used like: Havva Adem'den yaradıldı.

I made some research, and this usage is wrong, maybe it was correct in the past , but now the only admitted form is : Yara*t*ıyorum, Yara*t*ıyorsun,... etc.

The noun form:  "Yaradılış"  is also wrong.

The only standord form is *Yaratılış*.


So basically, your question's answer is 4.

we have 4 verbs that have their last vowel softened.

not too hard to memorize them huh? ^^

_If I ever find another verb like this, which I 99% won't, I'll post it here. _

Hope it helps =)


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## meraklı kanadalı

Artigh said:


> So basically, your question's answer is 4.
> we have 4 verbs that have their last vowel softened.
> not too hard to memorize them huh? ^^



Nope, it's very possible to memorize those four.  The problem was that I hadn't realized _etmek_ was used to form compound verbs, so what I thought was a different verb (_seyretmek_) was actually _seyir_ + _etmek_. It was a false alarm.


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