# fiş istemez



## Rachunko

In the film "Issız adam" at some point the protagonist buys a book at a bookstore and says to the shop assistant:
 "fiş istemez". 

Why isn't the passive "istenmez" used here? Can you guys give more examples of "istemez" being used this way?


----------



## snoopymanatee

Hello Rachunko,

*If *we think that "*fiş*" is the object of the active sentence and the sentence "*Fiş istemez.*" is the passive form of that sentence, then you are right, it is grammatically wrong, it should be passive.

But, it is not passive and he says that sentence in this sense: *the person who says that sentence doesn't want a receipt*.

When we say that sentence, we mean "*I *don't want a receipt."/"There is no need to get a receipt."

By the way, I say "_Fiş istemiyorum._" instead of "_Fiş istemez._"


----------



## Rallino

snoopymanatee said:


> By the way, I say "_Fiş istemiyorum._" instead of "_Fiş istemez._"



 'istemez' is very impolite in most contexts.


----------



## ancalimon

When you say "istemez", it's somehow like you are not directly communicating with the person.

Fiş istemez: He doesn't want a receipt.

Usually when you say this, you are not even looking at the eyes of the person you are speaking to.  If you are looking at the eyes of the person while saying this, the man would feel threatened.


----------



## Rachunko

Thank you, I understand it now... but it still seems somewhat strange talking about yourself in the 3rd person.


----------



## ancalimon

It's a bit like an English talking about someone in the room hiding something from the people in the room while everybody knows who that person is:  

ex:  Well,well... It seems like somebody's hiding something from us...


----------



## Guner

Here is another idea:
I'd translate this to : 
"(This transaction/sale) does not warrant a receipt!" rather than 
"I don't want a receipt!". 
Hence grammatically it might be a shortened version of the full sentence rather than a grammatically wrong sentence.

I also disagree that this usage is mostly impolite. In the next two examples, it really depends how you say it. 
If you say it abruptly, it will be impolite. Otherwise it will be just fine. Third one is usually impolite anyway as you are rejecting help 

1- "Şeker istemez..." - to tell that you don't want sugar in your tea
2- "Para istemez..." - to tell that you don't need to be paid for whatever you have just provided/sold
3- "Yardim istemez..." - to tell that you don't need help


Hope this helps.


----------

