Language/Turkish/Grammar/How-to-Use-Have

Turkish Grammar - How to Use "Have"

Hi Turkish learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn how to use "have" in Turkish grammar. It is a very useful verb that is used in everyday conversations. We will also discover some interesting cultural facts along the way. Let's get started!

After mastering this lesson, these related pages might interest you: Conditional Mood & Negation.

Basic Concept

"Have" in Turkish is "sahip olmak". It is used to indicate possession or ownership. It is conjugated according to the subject like any other verb in Turkish.

Here are the simple present tense conjugations for "sahip olmak":

Pronoun	Verb form	Example sentence
Ben (I)	sahipim	Ben bir ev sahibiyim. (I am a homeowner.)
Sen (You)	sahipsin	Sen bir arabaya sahipsin. (You have a car.)
O (She/He/It)	sahip	O bir köpeğe sahip. (She/He/It has a dog.)
Biz (We)	sahibiz	Biz bir şirkete sahibiz. (We own a company.)
Siz (You)	sahipsiniz	Siz bir yatırıma sahipsiniz. (You have an investment.)
Onlar (They)	sahipler	Onlar bir aileye sahipler. (They have a family.)

Notice that when "sahip olmak" is used in its simple present tense form, the "-mek" ending is dropped and "-im/-sin/-iz/-ler" is added as is the case for regular present tense verbs.

Here's an example dialogue:

• Person 1: Arabam var. (I have a car.)
• Person 2: Benim de! (I do too!)

In this dialogue, Person 1 is using "var" to indicate possession, but Person 2 also says "Benim de!" which is short for "Benim de arabam var!" (I also have a car!)

Compound Tenses

When "sahip olmak" is used in compound tenses, it becomes "sahip olmuş". This is formed by adding the past participle "-muş" to "sahip olmak". Here's an example:

• Türkiye'de tatil yaptım ve güzel bir anı biriktirdim. (I went on vacation in Turkey and have a beautiful memory.)

In this sentence, "biriktir-" means "to accumulate" and "biriktirdim" means "I accumulated". Therefore "güzel bir anı biriktirdim" means "I accumulated a beautiful memory". The word "sahip" is not used here because it is understood that the person already has the memory.

Here's another example:

• Bu ülkenin tüm harikalarını görmek için çok zaman harcadım ama şimdi hepsinin fotoğraflarını sahip olmuşum. (I spent a lot of time to see all the wonders of this country, but now I have pictures of all of them.)

In this sentence, the speaker is saying that they have accumulated pictures of all the wonders of the country she previously visited. Here, "sahip olmuşum" means "I have collected (pictures)", not "I have ownership of the pictures".

Interesting Fact

In Turkish culture, it is customary to say "hoş geldiniz" when welcoming someone into your home or business. This phrase means "you are welcome" or "may you come with happiness" and is considered a sign of hospitality.

Here's another dialogue:

• Person 1: Hoş geldiniz, evdeymiş. (Welcome, I am at home.)
• Person 2: Teşekkür ederim, çok naziksiniz. (Thank you, you are very kind.)

In this dialogue, "hoş geldiniz" is used as a polite greeting in a social setting to indicate welcome to Person 2, who responds with gratitude.

Practice Examples

Let's practice with some examples:

Turkish	Pronunciation	English
Bende iyi bir arabam var.	Ben-de ee-yi beer ara-bam var	I have a good car.
Senin kız arkadaşın çok güzel bir saç modeline sahip.	Se-nin kız arkadaş-ın choook gü-zel beer saç mo-de-lee-ne sa-hip	Your girlfriend has a very beautiful hairstyle.
Annem iki kediye sahip olmuş.	Annem i-ki ke-di-ye sa-hip ol-mush	My mother has accumulated two cats.
Senin buluşman için bir fikir biriktirdim.	Se-nin buluşman için eer fikir beerik-tir-dim	I accumulated an idea for your meeting.
Bizim ailemizde pek çok resim var.	Bee-zim ai-lem-iz-de pek choook re-sim var	In our family, there are a lot of pictures.

Feel free to practice some more and create your own dialogue using "sahip olmak"! Don't forget that you can use the Polyglot Club website to find native speakers and ask them any questions.

Conclusion

Congratulations! 🎉 You have learned how to use "have" in Turkish. We hope this lesson has been helpful and informative. To improve your Turkish Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

---

➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Congratulations on finishing this lesson! Explore these related pages to keep learning: Quantity in Turkish & Plurals.

Other Lessons

• Gender
• Greetings in Turkish
• Past Tense
• Questions
• SIFATLARDA KÜÇÜLTME
• Pronouns
• Possessive Case in Turkish
• The Accusative Case in Turkish
• Nouns
• Be Polite

Sources

• Turkish Grammar 101: Your Guide to Turkish Grammar Rules ...
• Turkish grammar - Wikipedia
• Turkish Grammar - How to Use "Have"