what is it?
In Turkish, reported (indirect) speech does not use a subordinate finite clause the way English does. Instead, the reported verb is turned into a nominalised clause using one of two suffixes: -DIK for non-future events, or -AcAK for future events. That nominalised clause takes a possessive suffix that agrees with the reported subject, and then the accusative case suffix -(y)I, because the whole clause functions as the direct object of the reporting verb (typically söylemek or belirtmek). Nominal and copular predicates (e.g. «I am ill») cannot be nominalised directly; they require the verb ol- as a carrier, giving the fixed pattern olduğunu.
when to use it
Reporting an action or state (non-future). Use -DIK when the reported event was presented as happening in the present or past relative to the moment of speaking — including habitual facts, ongoing states, and completed actions.
Reporting a future intention or prediction. Use -AcAK when the reported event was presented as something that will happen — equivalent to English «said that he would …».
Reporting a nominal or copular predicate. When the original statement had no verb (e.g. «I am tired», «She is a doctor»), insert ol- and nominalise it with -DIK to produce olduğunu (or the appropriate possessive variant).
Person backshift. The possessive suffix on the nominalised clause must reflect the reported subject, not the speaker. If the original speaker said «I will come» (1st person), the reported clause uses the 3rd-person possessive: geleceğini (his/her coming), not geleceğimi.
formation
The structure of an indirect statement is:
[verb stem] + -DIK/-AcAK + [possessive] + accusative -(y)I + söyledi / belirtti …
The suffix -DIK follows four-way vowel harmony (dık / dik / duk / dük; tık / tik / tuk / tük after voiceless consonants). -AcAK follows two-way harmony (acak / ecek). The possessive suffix then attaches, and the accusative -(y)I closes the chain. The table below shows the full set of possessive forms for the verb gel- (to come) in both tenses.
| reported subject | non-future (-DIK) | future (-AcAK) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. (ben) | geldiğimi | geleceğimi |
| 2nd sg. (sen) | geldiğini | geleceğini |
| 3rd sg. (o) | geldiğini | geleceğini |
| 1st pl. (biz) | geldiğimizi | geleceğimizi |
| 2nd pl. (siz) | geldiğinizi | geleceğinizi |
| 3rd pl. (onlar) | geldiklerini | geleceklerini |
Nominal predicates. Replace the copula with ol- and apply the same pattern. The most common form is 3rd-person singular: ol- + -duk + -u + -(n)u → olduğunu. Example: hasta olduğunu söyledi (he said he was ill).
examples in context
common pitfalls
Keeping the original speaker's possessive. If someone said «I will come», learners often write geleceğimi söyledi — which means «he said my coming», i.e. the reporter's own coming. The possessive must shift to match the reported subject: geleceğini söyledi (his/her coming).
Dropping the accusative suffix. The nominalised clause is the direct object of söylemek and must carry the accusative. Writing hasta olduğu söyledi is ungrammatical; the correct form is hasta olduğunu söyledi.
Using a finite copula for nominal predicates. Turkish cannot embed a finite copular form such as hastayım or hastadır inside a reported-speech clause. The predicate must be nominalised with ol-: hasta olduğunu söyledi. This applies to all nominal predicates, including adjectives, nouns, and locative phrases used predicatively.