This is a problem with mek/mak/me/ma.
I have asked this question previously somewhere else but still didnt understand the answer i was given, so i'll try here.

Some examples:

*Due to bad weather we had "to change" the program
Kotu hava yuzunden programi degistirMEK zorunda kaldik

(This sentence uses the MEK ending)

*He is prepared "to hear" the bad news
Kotu haberi isitmeye hazirlikidir

(This sentence uses the ME ending)

Now I can't see the difference between the way "To change" and the
way "To hear" is used. When I think I understand it, it just escapes
me once more.

A tutor gave me this example:

*It is my duty "to see" mistakes
Hatalari gorMEK benim isimdir

*I go to play tennis - Oynama(ya) (to)

I just need to know the rules of when to use one or the other.
If anyone can shed some light on this i'd be very grateful, I'm sure
it's something simple that i'm missing. Thank you.

I think these examples are a bit confusing. For instance the one with "go to" looks discussable to me. The more I look at the second sentence (I go to play tennis), to more strange it appears to me.

1. I go to Ankara. (Ankara'ya gidiyorum.)
2. I go to play tennis. (Tenis oynamaya gidiyorum.)

The question is "are these to's identical or different? In other words, the second to, is it part of the infinitive or is it the same to as in sentence one? Their translation into Turkish is done the same way.

There are many smillar to's in English, are't there? For instance like these ones:

have to
need to
try to
forget to
prepared to
requested to
used to
be ready to

I never thought too much about these to's and just accepted them as they are. I'm not sure whether or not they belong to the precing word or the next word if they are followed by a verb. The answer you are looking for could be in these details. I'm not sure.

You could think the other way. Lets assume there is a -mek, -mak form which needs to be translated into English.

tenis oynamak...
to play tenis...

okula gitmek...
to go to the school...

yüzmek...
to swim...

duymak...
to hear...

gitmek...
to go...

Now, for any of these uncompleted sentences can you complete the English sentence in such a way that the -mek, -mak form is incorrect? I guess whenever the infinitive is clearly stated in the English sentence, it is possible to translate it with the mek, mak form. In other words, if you used the verbs "to hear" or "to go" in such sentences where the infinitive is clearly stated it would be possible to translate them with the -mek, -mak form.

It's very nice to hear your voice.
Sesini duymak çok güzel.


I guess it would be a good idea to give samples for the ones I mentioned:

have to
You have to go. Gitmek zorundasın. (Gitmelisin)

need to
I need to know. Bilmem gerekiyor. (Bilmeliyim)
You need to stay here. Burada durman gerekiyor. (Burada durmalısın)

try to
Try to understand. Anlamaya çalış.
What you are trying to do is impossible. Yapmaya çalıştığın şey imkansız.
Try to calm down. Sakin olmaya çalış

forget to
I have forgotten to mention this. Bunu bahsetmeyi unuttum.
I forgot to buy milk. Süt almayı unuttum.

prepared to
I'm prepared to leave. Gitmeye hazırım.

used to
I used to smoke. Eskiden sigara içerdim.
I used to talk a lot. Eskiden çok konuşurdum.

be ready to
Are you ready to leave? Gitmeye hazır mısın?
I'm ready to start. Başlamaya hazırım.

I'm not an expert of English. My English level is average, but I feel like we are talking of two different things here considering the verbs on each set below.

1. I would like to see this.
2. 'To see' it from by eyes you need to look carefully.

1. You need to understand that these two things are different.
2. 'To understand' the difference between the two is tricky.

1. I have to leave now.
2. It wasn't very nice 'to leave' so early.

1. Before you start to play tennis, you need to warm up.
2. You need to warm up 'to play' tennis properly.

Thank you for the detailed reply. I know this is problem which includes the understanding of my native language English, as well well as Turkish. I don't know why, but the use of the infinitive has always confused me.

This may sound stupid, but I still can't get it straight. When we say "To Go" Gitmek or "To Swim" Yüzmek are we saying it like "To go somewhere, you have to move" or "To swim, you have to flap your arms."

Is it when there is a need, or a have to, you'd use the full infinitive? the mek/mak ending. It seemed you other examples of "forget to" "ready to" etc don't use the infintive.

Now i see with my origional examples, they HAD to change the program so it was degistirMEK. But when he was just prepared to hear something, it was isitmeYE.

So hopefully it has to do with necessity, then I think I can understand. Like I said it definately involves the knowledge of English too.

iv never really thought about this subject actually.. i think that being in a türk environment for a few months just helped me to pick that up natrually
however.. i thank you for this thread as i didnt even think about this:

prepared to
I'm prepared to leave. Gitmeye hazırım.

used to
I used to smoke. Eskiden sigara içerdim.
I used to talk a lot. Eskiden çok konuşurdum.

be ready to
Are you ready to leave? Gitmeye hazır mısın?
I'm ready to start. Başlamaya hazırım.


come to think of it, i dont know how i would have structured those sentences.. hihi.. thanks! look.. im learning without even trying!! wowwww