Turkish -arak / -erek Converb: By Doing, While Doing
The Turkish converb -(y)ArAk, "by doing / while doing" — how it builds an adverb of manner and means, the two-way harmony that picks -erek or -arak, the buffer -y- in yürüyerek and okuyarak, the t that voices in ederek, and the rule that the converb clause and the main clause must share one subject.
Ekle ·
This converb turns a verb into an adverb of manner: it names how the main action is performed, or by what means, with both clauses sharing one subject and running at the same time.
What this converb does
Turkish folds "by doing" and "while doing" into a single word. Add the ending to a verb stem and it becomes an adverb that leans on the main verb: koşmak "to run" gives koşarak "running", and koşarak geldi is "he came running".
The action it names and the main verb belong to one and the same subject, and the two unfold together in a single stretch of time. In gülerek anlattı, "she told it laughing", one person both laughs and tells — the laughing colours the telling.
Vowel harmony picks the ending
The suffix vowel copies the front or back quality of the stem's last vowel. Front vowels — e, i, ö, ü — take -erek, so gülmek becomes gülerek. Back vowels — a, o, u and dotless ı — take -arak, so bakmak becomes bakarak.
| Last vowel | After a consonant | After a vowel |
|---|---|---|
| e · i · ö · ü | -erek | -yerek |
| a · ı · o · u | -arak | -yarak |
Only the front/back split of the last vowel matters here; whether it is rounded plays no part. That is why the ending has two vowel shapes and not four — -erek after a front vowel, -arak after a back one.
A buffer and a softened consonant
When the stem already ends in a vowel, a buffer -y- slides in so the two vowels never meet: yürümek becomes yürüyerek and okumak becomes okuyarak. Those buffered forms are the third column of the table above — -yerek and -yarak are simply -erek and -arak with the glide in front.
etmek "to do" builds its converb on a stem ending in t, and that t voices to d before the vowel-initial ending, giving ederek "by doing". The softened consonant is what you hear at the seam.
Five worked forms
Read each of these as an answer to "how?" or "by what means?" — the adverb of the sentence it drops into.
| Turkish | Parts | English |
|---|---|---|
| koşarak | koş + arak | running, by running |
| gülerek | gül + erek | laughing, with a laugh |
| bakarak | bak + arak | by looking, judging by |
| binerek | bin + erek | by getting on, by taking |
| ederek | ed + erek | by doing, by making |
One subject for both clauses
The single firm rule of this converb is a matter of who acts. The action it names and the main verb have to belong to the same subject. otobüse binerek gittik works because one "we" does both — boards the bus and travels — so the converb can bind the two clauses into one.
- koşarak geldi — "he came running". One person runs and arrives, so the converb holds.
- Ben otobüse binerek arkadaşım gitti — here "I" board but a friend goes. Two subjects, so the converb collapses, and Turkish falls back on a full finite clause.
- gülerek anlattı — "she told it laughing". One person laughs and tells, and the converb is fine.
- Ben gülerek annem anlattı — here "I" laugh but a mother tells. Again two subjects, and again the converb cannot stand.
Describing the manner
One job of the converb is to paint the manner of the main action — the way it is carried out. koşarak tells you the coming was done at a run, gülerek that the telling was done with a laugh, bakarak that it was done with the eyes on something.
| Turkish | Parts | English |
|---|---|---|
| koşarak | koş + arak | running, at a run |
| gülerek | gül + erek | laughing, with a laugh |
| bakarak | bak + arak | looking, with one's eyes on it |
Describing the means
The very same form names the means — the method by which the goal is reached. otobüse binerek gittik says the going was done by boarding the bus; yürüyerek means "on foot", and okuyarak "by reading".
| Turkish | Parts | English |
|---|---|---|
| binerek | bin + erek | by getting on, by boarding |
| yürüyerek | yürü + y + erek | on foot, by walking |
| okuyarak | oku + y + arak | by reading |
Frequently asked questions
- What does the -erek ending do?
- It turns a verb into an adverb of manner or means — "by doing" or "while doing" something. koşarak is "running", gülerek "laughing". The action it names shares one subject with the main verb and happens at the same time. It has two shapes: -erek after a front-vowel stem and -arak after a back-vowel one.
- When does the ending become -yerek or -yarak?
- After a stem that ends in a vowel. A buffer -y- steps in so the two vowels do not collide, giving yürüyerek from a walking verb and okuyarak from a reading verb. A stem ending in a consonant takes the plain ending, as in koşarak.
- Do both actions need the same subject?
- Yes — this is the defining rule. The converb and the main verb must share one subject. otobüse binerek gittik, "we went by getting on the bus", works because a single "we" does both. Give the two clauses different subjects, as in Ben otobüse binerek arkadaşım gitti, and the converb is no longer grammatical; Turkish then uses a full finite clause.
- How is this converb different from the one that means 'while'?
- Both are converbs that set the scene for the main verb, and both can be read as "while doing". The difference is the subject. This one, -erek and -arak, demands that the converb and the main verb share a single subject; the "while" converb happily lets its own clause carry a subject of its own. So koşarak geldi, with one runner-and-arriver, is this converb's home ground, while a two-subject background belongs to the other.