Turkish: A Comprehensive Grammar

(51)
Turkish: A comprehensive grammar 294
‘The students were (usually/always) cheerful.’
(a) Bu akşam film var.
There’s a film this evening.’
(b) Bazı akşamlar film oluyor.
‘Some evenings there’s a film.’
21.3.4.3 Other meanings of oluyor
The copular form oluyor is sometimes used in sentences expressing an identification or
classification, and has the effect of making a statement sound less abrupt or less
categorical. This is a stylistic refinement which is in decreasing use:
(52) Halil benim dayızadem (oluyor).
‘Halil is my cousin.’ (son of my maternal uncle)
(53) En ucuzu bu (oluyor) galiba.
‘This one seems to be the cheapest.’
In some instances of this optional usage of oluyor an element of habituality can be
detected.
(54) Ortak dilimiz Fransızcaydı/Fransızca oluyordu.
‘Our common language was French.’
Another optional usage of oluyor occurs where a speaker wants to
emphasize the ongoing, subjective experience of a situation, process or
activity.
(55) Anne babaları arasındaki bu gerginlik, çocuklar için zor (oluyor) tabii.
‘This tension between their parents is, of course, hard for the children.’
21.4 MODALITY
Unlike tense and aspect, modality is not related to the concept of time. It is concerned
with whether a situation is presented as a directly known fact, or in some other way. A
main clause that is marked by one of the following tense/aspect/modality suffixes is
modally neutral, that is to say it is presented as reflecting a fact directly known to the
speaker:
(i) in verbal sentences: -DI, -(I)yor, -mAktA
(ii) in nominal sentences: no marker or -(y)DI.
Modalized utterances are of various kinds. They may present:
(i) a generalization, general rule, or statement of principle: -(A/I)r/ -mAz, -DIr
(21.4.1.1)