Expressing Necessity/ Obligation

The reading in section 2 included many examples of expressions of need, necessity, and obligation. In this section we will go over the various ways that are used to express these in Turkish.

• The necessitative suffix -mAlI
• The nominal predicates lazım, gerek(li), şart
• The verbal predicate gerek–

Necessity/Obligation marked by the suffix -mAlI.

A common way to express necessity is through the use of the suffix –mAlI. Necessitative –mAlI is best translated into English as have to, should or must.

Yarın annemi aramalıyım.

I have to call my mom tomorrow.

Final sınavı için çok calışmalıyız.

We must study hard for the final exam.

Bu filmi mutlaka görmelisin!

You have to watch this movie!

Dişçiye altı ayda bir gitmeliyiz.

We should go to the dentist once in six months.

The negative form of necessitative –mAlI follows standard verbal negation rules (i.e., the negative suffix –mA is used) :

Toplantıya geç kalmamalıyım.

I must not be late for the meeting.

Ona bu kadar çok güvenmemelisin.

You shouldn’t trust him/her/them that much.

Sağlığımız için çok abur cubur yememeliyiz.

We shouldn’t eat too much junk food.

Note: The negative form of the necessitative –mAlI is best translated into English as either shouldn’t or mustn’t. It cannot be translated as not have to.

To form yes/no questions with necessitative –mAlI, use the mI question particle and follow its standard rules:

Sence onu aramalı mıyım?

Do I have to call him/ her/ them (you think)?

Tuğçe için mezuniyet partisi düzenlemeli miyiz?

Should we organize a graduation party for Tuğçe?

Onlara yardım etmemeli miyiz?

Should we not help them?

-mAlI forms

Aktivite A: İnceleme

Examine the following sentences, specifically focusing on the bolded words and the order of their various suffixes, including that of necessitative –mAlI:

• Okulda kavga ed-il-me-meli-y-di.
• Derste arkadaşlarımı o kadar çok gül-dür-me-meli-y-di-m.

What can you say about the order of suffixes relative to the necessitative –mAlI?

Aktivite B: İnceleme

Examine the three questions below. Then choose the correct statements below.

• Yarın işe gitmeli misin?
• Yarın işe mi gitmelisin?
• Yarın mı işe gitmelisin?

Expressing Necessity via Nominal Predicates

Necessity is not exclusively expressed through suffixes but can also be expressed through lexical means. For example, a common way to indicate necessity lexically is by using nominal predicates such as gerek/lazım and şart.

Benim kütüphaneye gitmem gerek/ lazım/ şart.

I must/ need/ have to go to the library.

Senin daha çok ders çalışman gerek/ lazım/ şart.

You must/ need/ have to study harder.

When expressing necessity through nominal predicates gerek/lazım and şart, the action that is seen as necessary forms a noun clause and is the subject of the sentence.

Let’s look at the sentence Benim kütüphaneye gitmem lazım, which translates literally as My going to the library is necessary.  The grammatical subject of the sentence is the entire clause Benim kütüphaneye gitmem, with gitmem containing both the nominalizer -mA and the 1st person possessive marker -(I)m, which agrees with the 1st person genitive marker -im that we see in benim.  The word lazım is a nominal predicate agreeing with the preceding clause, which is always in the third person. 

Expressing Necessity via Verbal Predicates

Necessity can also be expressed through the verb gerek-.

• Onun bu yaz mutlaka staj yapması gerekiyor.
• Benim onu görmem gerekiyor.

To indicate necessity in the past or future tenses, verbal gerek– is used far more often than nominal gerek(li)/ lazım and şart:

• Bizim onlara yardım etmemiz gerekti.
• Benim dün eczaneye uğramam gerekti.
• Yeni işinize başlamadan önce birkaç form doldurmanız gerekecek.
• Onun yarın işe erken gitmesi gerekecek.

Note that gerek- can only be in the third person singular. This is because the action that is seen as necessary is expressed via a noun clause and it is that noun clause that is the subject of the sentence:

Let’s look at the sentence Benim kütüphaneye gitmem gerekiyor, which translates literally as My going to the library is necessary just as Benim kütüphaneye gitmem gerek did above.  The grammatical subject of the sentence is still the clause Benim kütüphaneye erken gitmem, with gitmem containing both the nominalizer –mA and the 1st person possessive suffix –m, which agrees with the genitive suffix-im that we see in benim.  The only difference between the two sentences (i.e., gerek vs. gerekiyor) is that gerekiyor is a verbal predicate that contains specification for tense (Present Continuous tense in the example here).

It is also far more common to use the negative form gerek– than the negative form of gerek(li)/ lazım and şart.

• Bu havuza girmen için kulübe üye olman gerekmiyor.Biz sorunu telefon üzerinden hallettik.
• Sizin yarın bankaya gelmeniz gerekmeyecek.

To negate constructions with nominal predicates gerek/lazım and şart the negative particle değil is used:

• Bu havuza girmen için bu kulübe üye olman şart değil.

To form yes/ no questions with verbal predicate gerek-, use the mI question particle and follow its standard rules:

• Kampüs girişinde kimlik göstermemiz gerekiyor mu?
• Senin şimdi derste olman gerekmiyor mu?

Forms for Expressing Necessity

Aktivite C: Uygun Yapılar Oluşturma

Provide the negative and questions forms of the following sentence with gerek- and discuss with your partner their structural properties as well as their meanings and the context in which they may be used.

Aktivite Ç: Eşleştirme

Discuss the meaning difference between the two sentences below. The first sentence has a negation suffix in the matrix/ main clause. The second sentence contains a negation suffix in the dependent/ embedded clause:

Meaning Differences

Necessitative Suffix-mAlI vs. Lexicalized Constructions

The necessitative -mAlI expresses an obligation that is perceived or imposed by the speaker. On the other hand, the lexicalized constructions present an objective obligation, i.e., one arising from external factors (independently of the speaker). It is said that the difference between these two roughly corresponds to that between ‘must’ and ‘have to’ in English.

Okula gitmeliyim.

I must go to school.

Okula gitmem gerek.

I have to go to school.

Gerek/Lazım vs. Şart

The different versions of expressing necessity through lexical means can be used interchangeably in many contexts. However, the constructions with şart express a much stronger obligation than those with gerek/lazım or gerek-.

Benim okula gitmem gerek/lazım.

“I have to go to school.”

Benim okula gitmem şart.

“I am obliged to go to school./ It’s imperative that I go to school.”</dd

Impersonal (Objective) Necessity

Objective necessity can also be expressed impersonally, in which case the action that is seen as necessary is articulated as an infinitival–mAK clause and appears as the subject of lazım/gerek or gerek-.

In the example İnsan kaynaklarına da haber vermek lazım mı, which translates as Is it necessary to inform human resources, or as Does one have to inform human resources consists of a main clause and an embedded clause. The embedded verb vermek “to give” appears in its infinitival form and without any person agreement specifications. The lack of person agreement specification in the embedded clause indicates the lack of an overt subject subject in this clause and the impersonal behavior of such constructions. The predicate lazım in the main clause is in the 3rd person and agrees with the entire preceding embedded clause. Since this is a yes/no question, lazım is followed by the question particle mı:

• “Is it necessary to/Does one have to inform Human Resources?”

Impersonal (Speaker-Generated) Necessity

To form a speaker-generated impersonal meaning, –mAlI must be used with the 3rd person singular form.

• İş görüşmelerine bir an önce başla-malı–Ø.

Let’s look at the sentence İş görüşmelerine bir an önce başlamalı, which translates into One ought to start the job interviews as soon as possible. This sentence only consists of a main clause. The verb of the main clause is başla and it has the necessatative suffix -malı attached to it. Additionally, the verb has the 3rd person agreement suffix, which is zero. This indicates that this verb agrees with a non-overt subject that is in the 3rd subject. This explains why in the English translation the subject one is used, one being a 3rd person nominal similar to the 3rd person pronoun it but having animate properties.

Aktivite D: Dinleme, Yanıtlama

The song Olmalı mı Olmamalı mı was composed by artist Bülent Ortaçgil. Although it debuted in 1974, it is still immensely popular and has gained a cult status.

Listen to the song and determine how the necessitative –mAlI is used in the song. Why do you think that is?

Olmalı mı olmamalı mı

Olmalı mı olmamalı mı Yoksa hiç değişmemeli mi
Ama ben değişmezsem, ben olamam ki

Görmeli mi görmemeli mi
Yoksa hiç bakınmamalı mı
Ama ben bakınmazsam, hiç göremem ki

Sevmeli mi sevmemeli mi
Yoksa hiç beğenmemeli mi
Ama ben beğenmezsem, hiç konuşmam ki

Bilmeli mi bilmemeli mi
Yoksa hiç öğrenmemeli mi
Ama ben öğrenmezsem, hiç olamam ki

Olmalı mı olmamalı mı Yoksa hiç değişmemeli mi
Ama ben değişmezsem, ben olamam ki

Aktivite E: Konuşma, Tartışma

What kind of emotions or circumstances might have led to the writing of this song? First, discuss with your partner, then with the whole class.

Aktivite F: İnceleme, Yazma

Together with your partner write an additional verse that could easily be part of this song.

Aktivite G: Soruları Cevaplama