Turkish: A Comprehensive Grammar

‘I wonder who I should consult about this?’
(165) Acaba başka bir yere mi gitsek?
‘I wonder if we should go somewhere else?’
21.4.4.5 Requests and offers: second person aorist interrogative
Requests and offers are identical in form.
Requests:
(166) Ben-im-le hastane-ye gel-ir mi-sin?
I-GEN-COM hospital-DAT come-AOR INT-2SG
‘Would you [please] come with me to the hospital?’
The addition of the possibility suffix -(y)Abil makes the request more tentative:
Offers:
(167) Bana biraz yardım edebilir misiniz?
‘Could you [please] give me a bit of help?’
(168) Çay içer misiniz?
‘Will you have/Would you like some tea?’
Offers cast as a negative question are more persuasive in tone:
(169) Otur-maz mı-sınız?
sit.down-NEG.AOR INT-2PL
‘Won’t you sit down?’
21.4.4.6 Expression of commitment: first person aorist
The 1st person (usually singular) of the aorist is used to express a commitment or
promise entered into at the moment of, and by the act of, the utterance itself. This may
well be a response to a request (also expressed in the aorist, as explained in 21.4.4.5):
(170)
A.-Benimle evlenir misin?
‘Will you marry me?’
B.-Evlenirim
‘Yes, I will.’
In some contexts, ambiguity between the modality of commitment and the modality of
probability (21.4.1.4) may undermine the degree of confidence inspired by a 1st person
aorist utterance. The modally neutral -(y)AcAK form in (171b), presenting the promised
action as a matter of future fact, may carry more conviction, because it indicates a preexisting
plan on the part of the speaker, and also suggests that s/he has checked its
practicability.
(171)
Tense, aspect and modality 315