Which verb? etmek, yapmak, olmak…

Many everyday Turkish verbs are a noun plus a short light verb. The noun carries the meaning, the light verb takes all the endings, and each noun has its own fixed partner, so learn them as pairs:

• etmek: yardım etmek (to help), dikkat etmek (to be careful), teşekkür etmek (to thank)
• yapmak: spor yapmak (to do sport), ödev yapmak (to do homework), hata yapmak (to make a mistake)
• olmak: hasta olmak (to get ill), memnun olmak (to be pleased), mezun olmak (to graduate)
• vermek: karar vermek (to decide), söz vermek (to promise), kilo vermek (to lose weight)
• almak: kilo almak (to put on weight), nefes almak (to breathe)
• çekmek: fotoğraf çekmek (to take a photo), acı çekmek (to suffer)

Before a vowel, etmek becomes ed-: yardım ederim, dikkat edin.