Turkish: A Comprehensive Grammar

(55) Ahmet [araba kullanmasın]ı sever.
‘Ahmet likes [driving].’
24.4.1.3 The oblique case-marked forms: -mAyA, -mAktA (-mAdA) and -
mAktAn
(i) These forms occur where the verb in the main clause is one that requires an oblique
object (13.1.2.2). The dative-marked form -mAyA is sometimes spelt -mAğA (8.5.1.2).
Verbs such as başla- ‘begin’, karar ver-‘decide’, devam et- ‘continue’, çalış- ‘try’ require
the dative case:
(56) [Her gün beş sayfa yaz-may]-a çalış-ıyor-um.
every day five page write-VN-DAT try-IMPF-1SG
‘I try [to write five pages every day].’
Some verbs such as zorla- ‘force’, ikna et- ‘persuade’ require a human direct object in
addition to the oblique object:
(57) Beni [konuşmay]-a zorlama!
‘Don’t force me [to talk]!’
Noun clauses 361
Verbs such as diren-/diret-/ısrar et- ‘insist (on)’ and yarar gör- ‘see benefit/ point (in)’
require the locative case:
(58) Demet [otobüs-le git-mek]-te diren-iyor.
Demet bus-INS go-VN-LOC insist.on-IMPF
‘Demet is insisting on [going by bus].’
Some speakers use the form -mAdA in the same function as -mAktA.
Verbs such as vazgeç- ‘stop’, ‘decide not (to)’, kork- ‘be afraid (of/to)’, çekin- ‘be
reluctant (to)’, kaçın- ‘avoid’, nefret et- ‘hate’ take an ablative-marked object:
(59) [Sigara iç-mek]-ten vazgeç-meli-siniz.
cigarette smoke-ABL give.up-OBLG-2SG/PL
‘You must give up [smoking].’
A few verbs take as their oblique object a -mAk clause marked with the
comitative/instrumental marker -(y)lA, such as övün- ‘boast (of)’, suçla-‘accuse [s.o.]
(of)’:
(60) Ayten’i [eski bilgisayarını bana vermek]-le suçluyorlar.
‘They are accusing Ayten of [giving her old computer to me].’
(ii) Locative marking occurs also in existential sentences with fayda/ yarar ‘benefit’,
‘point’, ‘use’ as the subject. As with non-case-marked -mAk (24.4.1.1), the subject of the
noun clause in these constructions may be entirely unspecified, as in (61), or may be
implied in the context, as in (62).
(61) [Yaşlıları dinlemek]-te fayda var.
‘There is benefit in [listening to old people].’