Editing Turkish language (section)

== Syntax ==
=== Sentence groups ===
Turkish has two groups of sentences: [[verb|verbal]] and [[nominal sentences]]. In the case of a verbal sentence, the predicate is a finite verb, while the predicate in nominal sentence will have either no overt verb or a verb in the form of the [[Copula (linguistics)|copula]] {{lang|tr|ol}} or {{lang|tr|y}} (variants of "be"). Examples of both are given below:<ref name=":14">{{Cite book|title=Turkish: A Comprehensive Grammar|last1=Goksel|first1=Asli|last2=Kerslake|first2=Celia|publisher=Routledge|year=2005|isbn=0-415-11494-2}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
!Sentence type
! colspan="2" |Turkish
!English
|-
|
|Subject
|Predicate
|
|-
|Verbal
|Necla
|{{lang|tr|okula gitti}}
|Necla went to school
|-
|Nominal (no verb)
|Necla
|{{lang|tr|öğretmen}}
|Necla is a teacher
|-
|(copula)
|Necla
|{{lang|tr|ev-de-'''y'''-miş}} (hyphens delineate suffixes)
|Apparently Necla is/was at home
|}

==== Negation ====
The two groups of sentences have different ways of forming negation. A nominal sentence can be negated with the addition of the word {{lang|tr|değil}}. For example, the sentence above would become {{lang|tr|Necla öğretmen değil}} ('Necla is not a teacher'). However, the verbal sentence requires the addition of a negative suffix {{lang|tr|-me}} to the verb (the suffix comes after the stem but before the tense): {{lang|tr|Necla okula gitmedi}} ('Necla did not go to school').<ref name=":03">{{Cite book|title=Turkish Grammar|last=Underhill|first=Robert|publisher=The MIT Press|year=1976|isbn=0-262-21006-1|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts}}</ref>

==== Yes/no questions ====
In the case of a verbal sentence, an interrogative clitic {{lang|tr|mi}} is added after the verb and stands alone, for example {{lang|tr|Necla okula gitti mi?}} ('Did Necla go to school?'). In the case of a nominal sentence, then {{lang|tr|mi}} comes after the predicate but before the personal ending, so for example {{lang|tr|Necla, siz öğretmen misiniz}}? ('Necla, are you [formal, plural] a teacher?').<ref name=":03" />

===Word order===
Word order in simple Turkish sentences is generally [[subject–object–verb]], as in Korean and [[Latin]], but unlike English, for verbal sentences and subject-predicate for nominal sentences. However, as Turkish possesses a case-marking system, and most grammatical relations are shown using morphological markers, often the SOV structure has diminished relevance and may vary. The SOV structure may thus be considered a "pragmatic word order" of language, one that does not rely on word order for grammatical purposes.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Thompson|first=Sandra|date=April 1978|title=Modern English from a Typological Point of View: Some Implications of the Function of Word Order|journal=Linguistische Berlichte|volume=1978|issue=54|pages=19–35|via=ProQuest}}</ref>

==== Immediately preverbal ====

Consider the following simple sentence which demonstrates that the focus in Turkish is on the element that immediately precedes the verb:<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Function of Word Order in Turkish Grammar|last=Erguvanlı|first=Eser Emine|publisher=University of California Press|year=1984|isbn=0-520-09955-9|series=Linguistics Vol. 106|location=Berkeley}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
! Word order
! width=50% | Example
! width=50% | Focus
|-
|SOV
|{{interlinear
 |Ahmet yumurta-yı yedi
 |Ahmet egg.ACC ate
 |Ahmet ate the egg}}
|unmarked
|-
|SVO
|{{interlinear
 |Ahmet yedi yumurta-yı
 |Ahmet ate egg.ACC
 |Ahmet ate the egg}}
|the focus is on the subject: Ahmet (it was Ahmet who ate the egg)
|-
|OVS
|{{interlinear
 |Yumurta-yı yedi Ahmet
 |egg.ACC ate Ahmet
 |Ahmet ate the egg}}
|the focus is on the object: egg (it was an egg that Ahmet ate)
|}

==== Postpredicate ====

The postpredicate position signifies what is referred to as background information in Turkish — information that is assumed to be known to both the speaker and the listener, or information that is included in the context. Consider the following examples:<ref name=":14" />
{| class="wikitable"
!Sentence type
!Word order
!
!
|-
|Nominal
|S-predicate
|{{lang|tr|Bu ev güzelmiş}} (apparently this house is beautiful)
|unmarked
|-
|
|Predicate-s
|{{lang|tr|Güzelmiş bu ev}} (it is apparently beautiful, this house)
|it is understood that the sentence is about this house
|-
|Verbal
|SOV
|{{lang|tr|Bana da bir kahve getir}} (get me a coffee too)
|unmarked
|-
|
|
|{{lang|tr|Bana da getir bir kahve}} (get me one too, a coffee)
|it is understood that it is a coffee that the speaker wants
|}

==== Topic ====

There has been some debate among linguists whether Turkish is a subject-prominent (like English) or [[Topic-prominent language|topic-prominent]] (like Japanese and Korean) language, with recent scholarship implying that it is indeed both subject and topic-prominent.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.turkofoni.org/files/a_typological_approach_to_sentence_structure_in_turkish-yilmaz_kili_arslan_trakya_uni.pdf|title=A Typological Approach to Sentence Structure in Turkish|last=Kiliçasaslan|first=Yılmaz|access-date=2017-07-28|archive-date=2015-05-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150530055431/http://www.turkofoni.org/files/a_typological_approach_to_sentence_structure_in_turkish-yilmaz_kili_arslan_trakya_uni.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> This has direct implications for word order as it is possible for the subject to be included in the [[Verb phrase|verb-phrase]] in Turkish. There can be S/O inversion in sentences where the topic is of greater importance than the subject.