Adding “quick” or “easy” connotations to verbs (‑ıver/iver/uver/üver)

Prerequisites for this Turkish Grammar Lesson

Can you do something real quick?

This grammar form adds connotations of something being quick and/or easy to do. It is an uncommon form that is used by women more than by men.

Grammar form:

• Verb + (y) + i/ı/u/ü + ver + (command or desire tense)

Most commonly, the grammar form is used with the command/desire tense in order to say that the desired verb is a small thing or something not time consuming. In many cases, the addition of this “vermek” verb ending equates to “real quick,” “right quick” or “just” in English. When this form is used as a command or request of someone, it makes the sentence more polite.

Examples
Şuradan bir gazete alıp gelivereyim.
I’m coming; just let me grab a newspaper from over there real quick.

Ben bir sandviç yapıvereyim.
Let me make a sandwich right quick.

Bana bir çay veriversene.
Could you give me a cup of tea right quick?
Note: this form is uncommon, generally only used by older women addressing younger people.

Bir kahve yapıver.
Just make a cup of coffee real quick.

Ayağa kalmışken pencereyi de örtüverir misin?
Since you are already up, could you also close the curtains real quickly?

Ben yemeği bastırıvereyim geliyorum.
Let me just put the food into a container and then I’m coming.

Describing something quick or sudden

Grammar form:

• Verb + (y) + i/ı/u/ü + ver + (any tense)

In addition to the command/desire tense, this form can also be used with basically any other tense. This can be useful in describing something that was quick and/or easy to do. It can also be used to describe something that happened suddenly.

Examples
Dün sabah Ayşe’ye uğrayıverdim.
Yesterday morning I gave Ayşe a quick visit.

Kapı birden kapanıverdi.
The door just suddenly closed.

Kadın birden duruverdi! Arabayı durduramadım, o yüzden kaza oldu.
The woman just suddenly stopped! I couldn’t stop the car. That’s why the crash happened.

Negative form

Grammar form:

• Verb + ma/me + yi/yı + ver + (command or desire tense)

The negative form is also mainly used in the command/desire tense. When in the negative form, it means something like “so what if it doesn’t happen?” or “who cares if it doesn’t happen?” This form is most common in the second person (“so what if you don’t do it?”) or third person (“so what if he doesn’t do it?”). Keep in mind that just as this sort of sentence could potentially be offensive in English, they have the possibility of being offensive in Turkish as well.

Examples
Mehmet tatile gitmeyiversin.
So what if Mehmet doesn’t get to go on vacation?

Yarın da ofise gitmeyiver.
And so what if you don’t go to the office tomorrow?

Bu çayı da içmeyiver.
And so what if you don’t drink this tea?

Okula gitmeyivereyim. Ne olacak?
Who cares if I don’t go to school. What would happen?

Additional Resources

• Türkçe Öğreniyorum, Yüksek Türkçe: page 104 (Tezlik Eylemi).
  This page has a brief explanation in Turkish along with 8 fill-in-the-blank exercise questions.
  

This lesson is a prerequisite for: