Imperative (Emir)

The imperative is the verb form used to give a direct command, instruction, or request. Turkish has two second-person imperative forms: a singular (2sg) form used with one person you address informally, and a plural/formal (2pl) form used either with more than one person or with a single person you address politely. The negative imperative tells someone not to do something.

• Direct commands — telling someone to do something immediately: Gel! (Come!)

• Instructions — steps in a process or directions: Burada bekleyin. (Wait here.)

• Prohibitions — telling someone not to do something: Gelme! (Don't come!)

• Polite requests — the 2pl/formal form softens a command when addressing one person respectfully.

The 2sg positive imperative is simply the bare verb stem — the infinitive minus -mek / -mak. No suffix is added.

The 2pl/formal positive imperative adds -(y)In to the stem. The vowel in this suffix follows four-way vowel harmony: -in / -ın / -un / -ün. When the stem ends in a vowel, a buffer consonant -y- is inserted between the stem and the suffix.

The negative imperative is formed by adding -mA to the stem (-me or -ma by two-way harmony) for the 2sg, and -mAyIn for the 2pl/formal.

• Adding -y- to consonant-final stems. The buffer consonant -y- is only inserted when the stem ends in a vowel. Stems ending in a consonant take -In directly: gelin, not *gelyin.

• Confusing the 2sg imperative with the optative -sIn. The bare stem gel means "Come!" (addressed to you). Gelsin uses the suffix -sIn and means "Let him/her come" — a third-person optative, not a direct command.

• Forming the negative with the bare stem or yok/değil. The negative imperative requires the suffix -mA attached directly to the stem: Gelme! Forms like *Gel yok or *Gel değil are not valid in Turkish.

• Using a fixed vowel in -In instead of applying four-way harmony. The suffix vowel must match the last vowel of the stem. Okuyun (back rounded → -un), not *okuyin; gelin (front unrounded → -in), not *gelün.