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CONJUNCTIONS, TRANSITIONAL PHRASES and INTENSIFIERS IN TURKISH

Yksel Gknel

2013

CONJUNCTIONS, TRANSITIONAL PHRASES AND INTENSIFIERS

CONJUNCTIONS AND TRANSITIONAL PHRASES


Conjunctions are the words that join sentences, clauses or words. There are two kinds of conjunctions in English: Coordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions. The coordinating conjunctions are words like "and", "but", "or", "for" or "yet". The subordinating conjunctions, however, are the words that are used preceding simple sentences to form syntactic adverbs (adverb clauses) in English, such as, "although", "until", "before", "after", "while", "when", etc., all of which have been explained in the previous chapters. Transitional words and phrases, however, link sentences and paragraphs by carrying over a thought coherently from one sentence or paragraph to another. Some of the most frequently used Turkish coordinating conjunctions and transitional adverbials and phrases are as follows:

akas: in plain words, in short, frankly speaking


Bann ardn ve evde bir sr yapacak ii olduunu sylyor. Akas, bizimle gezmeye gitmek istemiyor. She says she has a headache and has so many things to do at home. In plain words, she does not want to go for a walk with us.

aksi takdirde, (yoksa): otherwise


u televizyonu kapat. Aksi takdirde (aksi halde) (yoksa), ne yapacam biliyorsun. Turn the TV off; otherwise (if not) you know what Ill do.

aksine, bilakis: on the contrary


Ben televizyonda futbol seyretmeyi seviyorum. Aksine, lum ma seyretmekten nefret ediyor. I like watching football on television. On the contrary, my son hates watching football matches.

ama: but, yet, still, really, truly


Aklldr ama biraz tembeldir. She is clever, but rather lazy.

ancak: but, however, yet


ok gzel bir kz, ancak baarl deil. She is a beautiful girl; yet, she is not successful.

CONJUNCTIONS, TRANSITIONAL PHRASES AND INTENSIFIERS Jack Marye ak. Ancak, Mary Jacke ak deil. Jack is in love with Mary. However, Mary is not in love with him.

aslnda : in fact
Mary ev iini kendisinin yaptn syyor. Ama aslnda, iin ounu kocas yapyor. Mary says that she does the housework herself. In fact, her husband does most of the housework.

ayn biimde : likewise


teki sorulara ayn ekilde (biimde) cevap verebilirsin. You can answer the other questions likewise.

baka bir deyile: in other words, bilhassa: in particular, particularly, specifically, above all bir yandan: on the one hand bu amala: for this purpose bu dorultuda: accordingly
retmen rencilere sessiz olmalarn syledi, ve onlar da bu dorul tuda davrandlar. The teacher told the students to be quiet, and the students acted accordingly.

bu durumda, yleyse: in that case


Sabahleyin sana ev devinde yardm etmemi istiyorsun. yleyse yarn sabah daha erken kalk. You want me to help you with your homework in the morning. In that case, get up earlier tomorrow morning.

bu srada, bu arada: meanwhile


Sen mutfakta yemek yapmaya devam et. Bu arada ben de oturma odasnda biraz kestireyim. You go on cooking in the kitchen. Meanwhile let me have a nap in the sitting room.

bunun iin: because of this, for this reason, therefore


Onun ok kez yalan syledigini duydum. Bunun iin ona artk inanmyorum. I have heard him tell lies so many times; for this reason, I dont be lieve him anymore.

CONJUNCTIONS, TRANSITIONAL PHRASES AND INTENSIFIERS

bunun yerine : instead


Adam bana cevap vermedi. Bunun yerine salakmm gibi yzme bakt durdu. The man did not answer; instead, he stared at me as if I were a fool.

bu yzden: therefore, for that reason, so, that is why


Hindistana hi gitmedim; bu yzden sana akl veremem. I have never been to India; therefore, I cannot advise you. Yrye kmak iin sokaa ktmda yamur yamaya balad. Bu yzden, ben de sinemaya gitmeye karar verdim. When I left home to go for a walk, it began to rain, so I decided to go to the cinema.

bu artlar altnda: under these circumstances (conditions)


Bu artlar altnda artk sizinle alamam. I can't work with you any more under these conditions.

nk : because
Televizyonu kapatsan iyi olur, nk iime devam edemiyorum. You had better turn off the TV because I cant go on with my work.

-den bak : except for


Snf, iki istekli renciden baka (iki renciyi saymazsak) botu. The classroom was empty except for two eager students.

dier (baka) bir deyile: in other words, to put it differently


Evde yemek yapacak kimse yok. Baka bir deyile, ben yemek yapmak zorunda kalacaim. There is nobody to cook at home. In other words, I will have to cook.

doal olarak: naturally


Bu blgedeki baz gller kurudu. Bu yizden, doal olarak baz kular l kenin deiik yrelerine g edecekler. Some lakes dried up in this area. Some birds naturally will migrate to different parts of the country.

-e nazaran : in comparison to (with), compared to (with)


Erkek ocuklar kzlar-a (kz*la*ra) nazaran matematik-te daha iyidirler. Boys are better at mathematics compared to girls.

CONJUNCTIONS, TRANSITIONAL PHRASES AND INTENSIFIERS

en nihayet : after all esasen: in fact, as a matter of fact fakat: but, yet, however
Btn yl alt fakat bir araba satn almak iin yeterince para birikti remedi. He worked hard all the year long, but he could not save enough money to buy a car.

farzet ki, diyelim ki : supposing


Diyelim ki isizim, benimle evlenir miydin? Supposing I was unemployed, would you marry me?

garip belki ama : strange to say, strangely enough


Garip belki ama peri onu kurbaaya dntrd. Strange to say, the fairy changed him into a frog.

genel anlamda : generally speaking genel hatlar (izgileri) ile : in general terms genellikle: as a rule, on the whole, generally gsterildii gibi: as has been indicated, as has been noted halbuki, oysa, ne var ki : whereas, but, however
Ben oturup kitap okumay severim; oysa eim seyahat etmeyi yeler. I like sitting and reading books; whereas, my wife prefers traveling.

hari: excluding, except for, apart from hatta, stelik : even, moreover, besides, even more, furthermore
Kzm be yl nce evlendi; hatta (stelik) iki olu bile var. My daughter got married five years ago; besides, she has two sons.

hem hem (de): both . and


Hem kadnlar hem erkekler ailelerini geindirmek iin almaldr. Both men and women must work to support their families. Hem Ahmet hem Mehmet ayn brada alyorlar. Both Ahmet and Mehmet work in the same office.

CONJUNCTIONS, TRANSITIONAL PHRASES AND INTENSIFIERS

Her ey gz nne alnd takdirde : all things considered ile (le, la): and
Ahmetle Mehmet ayn brada alyorlar. Ahmet and Mehmet work in the same office.

ilk nce : to begin with, first of all kh kh : sometimes sometimes


Kh gleriz, kh alarz ackl kaderimize. Sometimes we laugh, sometimes we cry for our miserable faith.

ki: that
Korkarm (ki) pastan kedi yedi. Im afraid (that) the cat has eaten up your cake. nanrm (ki) haklsn. I believe (that) you are right.

ksaca : in short, in brief, briefly madem (ki): since, seeing that, considering that, as
Madem (ki) ok altn, snav geebilirsin. Seeing that you have studied hard, you can pass the exam.

meer: it seems that, apparently, to my surprise


Meer evliymi. It seemed that he was married.

mesel, rnein: for example, for instance


Baz hayvanlar insanlara sadktr; rnein, kpeklerle kediler. Some animals are loyal to human beings; for example cats and dogs.

ne... ne (de): neither . nor


Ne sen, ne ben ince anlyoruz Neither you nor I understand Chinese. Mutfakta ne domates ne soan var. There are neither tomatoes nor onions in the kitchen. Onu ne grdm, ne de onunla konutum. I have neither seen nor talked to him.

CONJUNCTIONS, TRANSITIONAL PHRASES AND INTENSIFIERS

neyse: anyway, in any case, at any rate


Neyse, biz almaya devam edelim. Anyway, lets go on working.

o kadar ki: so + adj (adv) + that


Bu gnlerde fiyatlar o kadar yksek ki, kimse bir ey satn almak iste miyor. Nowadays the prices are so high that nobody wants to buy anything.

olsun olsun: whether or


Zengin olsun fakir olsun herkes kanuna uymak zorundadr. Whether rich or poor everybody has to obey laws.

oysa: but, yet, however, whereas


Hereyden bktn sylyorsun. Oysa, ben inanyorum ki sen btn glklerin stesinden gelebilirsin. You say you are tired of everything, but I believe, you can overcome all difficulties.

rnein: for example, for instance te yandan: on the other hand yle bile olsa : even so yleyse: in that case, if so, then
Uykulu hissettiini sylyorsun. yleyse, git bir fincan kahve i. You say you are feeling sleepy. If so, go and have a cup of coffee.

zellikle, bilhassa: in particular, particularly zetliyecek olursak: to sum up sanki: as if


Habire bana emir verip duruyor; sanki benim patronum! He is always ordering me around as if he were my boss.

sonra: then
Eve geldi, sonra mutfaa dald ve yemek hazrlamaya balad. She came home, then hurried into the kitchen, and started preparing dinner.

sonu olarak: as a result, as a consequence

CONJUNCTIONS, TRANSITIONAL PHRASES AND INTENSIFIERS

sonuta: in conclusion stelik : furthermore, in addition, what is more, even, besides,


moreover En kolay problemleri bile zemiyor; stelik kendini bir dh sanyor. He cant solve even the simplest problems, besides he thinks he is a genius.

phesiz ki: undoubtedly tam aksine: in contrast tam tersine: on the contrary tm bunlara ramen: for all that tmyle: on the whole ve: and velhasl: after all, in conclusion ve saire: etc. veya: or ya ya (da): either or
Ya beni dinle, ya da snf terket. Either listen to me, or leave the classroom.

yalnz: but, however, only


Seni affediyorum. Yalnz, bana bir daha yalan sylemeyeceine sz ver. I will forgive you now, but promise me you will not tell any lies any more.

yani: that is why, I mean, in other words, that is to say


Hastaym gibi rol yapyor; yani, okula gitmek istemiyor. He pretends as if he were ill; that is to say, he does not want to go to school.

yeter ki: provided that, providing


Sana bir bisiklet alacam; yeter ki sen snavlarn ge. I will buy a bicycle for you, provided that you pass your examinations.

yoksa: otherwise, or else, if not, or

CONJUNCTIONS, TRANSITIONAL PHRASES AND INTENSIFIERS Ko, yoksa otobs karacaz. Run, or else we will miss the bus.

zaten: anyway, in any case

INTENSIFIERS
Intensifiers are the adverbs that are used before adjectives or adverbs to strengthen or weaken their meanings. Besides these words, there are some prefixes, which are the only ones in Turkish that are attached to adjectives, nouns, and adverbs to strengthen their meanings : St ok scak. (st / ok / s*cak ) The milk is very hot. Sorular biraz gt. (so*ru*lar / bi*raz / g*t ) The questions were rather difficult. Sen tamamen haklsn. (sen / ta*ma:*men / hak*l*sn ) You are quite right. Baz kelebekler son derece gzeldir. (ba:*z / ke*le*bek*ler / son / de*re*ce / g*zel*dir ) Some butterflies are extremely beautiful. renciler sorulara ok dikkatli cevap verdiler. (*ren*ci*ler / so*ru*la*ra / ok / dik*kat*li / ce*vap / ver*di*ler ) The students answered the questions very carefully. Ev olduka iyi. (ev / ol*duk*a / i*yi ) The house is pretty good. Cevaplarn hepsi tamamen yanl. (ce*vap*la*rn / hep*si / ta*ma:*men / yan*l ) All the answers are completely wrong. Burada sigara imek kesinlikle yasaktr. (bu*ra*da / si*ga*ra / i*mek~ / ke*sin*lik*le / ya*sak*tr ) Smoking here is strictly forbidden. O ciddi bir ekilde hasta. (o / cid*di: / bir / e*kil*de / has*ta ) He is seriously ill.

CONJUNCTIONS, TRANSITIONAL PHRASES AND INTENSIFIERS yi bir i bulmak onun iin yaamsal derecede nemliydi. (i*yi / bir / i / bul*mak ~/ o*nun / i*in / ya*am*sal / de*re*ce*de / *nem*liy*di ) To find a good job was vitally important for him. Yabanc bir dil renmek fevkalde zordur. (ya*ban*c / bir / dil / *ren*mek~ / fev*ka*l:*de / zor*dur ) Learning a foreign language is extremely difficult. Arabas yepyeniydi. (a*ra*ba*s / yep*ye*niy*di ) His car was brand new. Hava buz gibi souktu. (ha*va / buz / gi*bi / so*uk*tu ) It was icy cold. ok fena bam aryordu. (ok / fe*na: / ba*m / a*r*yor*du ) I had an awful headache. Uyandmda her yer gnlk gnelikti. (u*yan*d*m*da / her / yer / gn*lk / g*ne*lik*ti ) When I woke up, it was broad daylight. Annem bana gcr gcr bir elli dolar verdi. (an*nem / ba*na / g*cr / g*cr / bir / el*li / do*lar / ver*di ) Mother gave me a crisp new fifty-dollar bill. Sorular srpriz bir ekilde kolayd. (so*ru*lar / srp*riz / bir / e*kil*de / ko*lay*d ) The questions were surprisingly easy. O beni olduka dzenli ziyaret eder. (be*ni / ol*duk*a / d*zen*li / zi*ya:*ret / e*der ) He visits me quite regularly. Konser gerekten iyiydi. (kon*ser / ger*ek*ten / i*yiy*di ) The concert was really good. Baz diller dierleriyle karlatrldnda nispeten daha karmaktr. Some languages are relatively complicated when compared with others.

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CONJUNCTIONS, TRANSITIONAL PHRASES AND INTENSIFIERS Bugn biraz yorgunum. (bu / gn / bi*raz / yor*gu*num ) I'm a little tired today. Tamamen haklsn. (ta*ma:*men / hak*l*sn ) You're absolutely (quite) right. Fena halde yorgunum. (fe*na: / hal*de / yor*gu*num ) I'm awfully tired. Bizim sorularmz sizin sorularnzdan ok daha gt. (bi*zim / so*ru*la*r*mz / si*zin / so*ru*la*r*nz*dan / ok / da*ha / g*t ) Our questions were far more difficult than yours. Bugn gerekten yorgunum. (bu*gn / ger*ek*ten / yor*gu*num ) I am really tired today. Sana deli gibi am. (sa*na / de*li / gi*bi / a:**m ) I am madly in love with you. Kn bu daa trmanmak fevkalde tehlikelidir. (k*n / bu / da*a / tr*man*mak / fev*ka*l:*de / zor*dur ) Climbing this mountain in winter is extremely dangerous. Olduka az renci snav geti. (ol*duk*a / az / *ren*ci / s*na*v / ge*ti ) Quite a few students passed the exam. Zerre kadar ilgilenmiyorum. (zer*re / ka*dar / il*gi*len*mi*yo*rum ) I am not interested in the least. Araba tertemizdi. (a*ra*ba / ter*te*miz*di ) The car was spotlessly clean. Dosdoru yr. (dos*do*ru / y*r ) Walk straight ahead.

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CONJUNCTIONS, TRANSITIONAL PHRASES AND INTENSIFIERS Yal adamn bembeyaz sakal vard. (ya*l / a*da*mn / bem*be*yaz / sa*ka*l / var*d ) The old man had snow white beard. Marynin masmavi gzleri var. (me*ri*nin / mas*ma*vi / gz*le*ri / var ) Mary has deep blue eyes. Ev tamtakrd. (ev / tam*ta*kr*d ) The house was absolutely empty. Onun evinde smscak bir odas vard. (o*nun / e*vin*de / sm*s*cak / bir / o*da*s / var*d ) She had a cozy room in her house. Sorun apak. (so*run / a*pa*k ) The problem is obvious. (beyond dispute, clear) Sebzeler taptazeydi. (seb*ze*ler / tap*ta*zey*di ) The vegetables were as fresh as daisies. Korkudan kaskat kesildiler. (kor*ku*dan / kas*ka*t / ke*sil*di*ler ) They became rigid with fear. Iklar snnce her yer kapkaranlk oldu. (*k*lar / s*nn*ce / her*yer / kap*ka*ran*lk / ol*du ) Everywhere became pitch dark when the lights went off. Sen beni hie sayyorsun. (sen / be*ni / hi*e / sa*y*yor*sun ) You simply ignore me. Bunlar apayr kavramlar. (bun*lar / a*pay*r / kav*ram*lar ) These are quite different concepts. Oda karmakarkt. (o*da / kar*ma*ka*r*k*t ) The room was in a mess.

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CONJUNCTIONS, TRANSITIONAL PHRASES AND INTENSIFIERS Kuraklkta tarlalar kupkuruydu. (ku*rak*lk*ta / tar*la*lar / kup*ku*ruy*du ) During the draft (draught) the fields were as dry as a bone. Onlarn amac besbelliydi. (on*la*rn / a*ma*c / bes*bel*liy*di ) Their aim was obvious. Kk kz yapayalnzd. (k*k / kz / ya*pa*yal*nz*d ) The little girl was all alone. Senin gzel vazon parampara oldu. (se*nin / g*zel / va*zon / pa*ram*par*a / ol*du ) Your beautiful vase has been broken to pieces. Otobs tklm tklm doluydu. (o*to*bs / tk*lm / tk*lm / do*luy*du ) The bus was overcrowded. Gzleri masmaviydi. (gz*le*ri / mas*ma*viy*di ) Her eyes were deep blue.

Note: This document is a section of my book titled "TURKISH GRAMMAR UPDATED ACADEMIC EDITION YUKSEL GOKNEL SEPTEMBER 2013". If you wish to download and read this book free, you could find it on the internet. Yksel Gknel

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