How do you make the difference between must not and doesn´t have to?

How do you make the difference between must not and doesn´t have to?

must+V = V+-malı/-meli

have to V = V+-mak/-mek zorunda olmak

you must not go = gitme-meli-sin

you don´t have to go = 

and also note the following:

gitme-mek zorunda-sın = You are forced (by some cause) to not go

gitme-mek zorunda değil-sin = You are not forced (by some cause) to not go

Cool. Thanks.

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Yani, zorunda olmak roughly answers to both needs (even though it is maybe more concrete in meaning) but -meli- goes for obligation only. What about a sentence like

                                 Babam şimdiye kadar evde olmalı.

Can -meli- be used as expression of certainty (what is said in the sentence must be true)?

zorunda olmak literally means "have an obligation to do something" or "be forced (by some cause) to do something".

-malı/-meli also conveys many meaning: necessity, obligation, probability.

Babam şimdiye kadar evde olmalı.

= My father must have come home by now (strong probability)

or

= My father should/need/has to come home by now (necessity/obligation/etc)

Thank you, si++. I am very interested in modalities. They were a central subject in my own studies (in the time of dinosaurs). What is fascinating about it is that there are very strong universals between historically non-related languages in the way that meanings like obligation, ability, probability, certainty etc. are expressed. I can easily find counterparts for both -meli- and zorunda olmak and their negated forms in my own language. It´s something in the human logic which works for all of us.

I think there must be a relation in the long distant past. Your language (Finnish, right?) and Turkish may be grouped according to the Nostratic theory.

And there are some other similar ways:

V+-ma/-me +poss gerek/lazım

git-me-m gerek/lazım = my going is necessary = I need to go

V+ -sa/-se + personal suffix iyi olur

git-se-m iyi olur = I had better go

V+-mak/-mek durumunda olmak (similar to zorunda olmak)

git-mek durumundayım = I need to go (lit. I am in a state in which my going is necessary or better than staying etc)

     Yes, si++, my mother tongue is Finnish. The similarities between Turkish and Fenno-Ugric languages, which you probably know, are remarkable: agglutinated grammatical elements in the end of the words, vowel harmony, similar consonant changes, word order SOV (which is actually lost from Finnish due to Swedish influence), various participle and infinitive structures (even though in modern language indoeuropean type subclauses are preferred), lack of grammatical gender and articles.

     Yet the historical connection, if there is one, cannot be proved. What bothers me the most as an amatour is lack of old common vocabulary. There is none as far I know. You know, there is nothing humiliar to my ear in Hungarian, but in the bottom there is a group of very basic words which occur in both languages.

      Sorry, I´m getting off topic (actually I did a long time ago) but the other day I amused myself and checked the Turkish loan words in Finnish. They were just a few: kasakka (English Cossack, I don´t know what the origin is), kauhtana (kaftan), kaviaari (havyar), kioski (köşk, ´a small shop´ and musliini (muslin). All these probably came through other languages. But there is one word which was taken straight from Turkish to Finnish: kalabalık. Carl XII´s soldiers took it with them from a fight against the Osman army which took place in Rumanian village called Bender in 1713. Until today we even conserved the meaning: when there is a terrible mess and tangle, it is called kalabaliikki.

Greetings Abla,

There may not be many similar words between Turkish and Finnish but I am sure when one studies the other´s grammar, there would be many grammatical similarities as you already pointed out. That would also make it possible for one to learn the other´s grammar relatively easilier. I guess you also may find learning Turkish (since you are doing it) easier than say French or German, right?

And, I have also noticed some similarities.

Personal pronouns

Ben/Men - Mina

Sen - Sina

and their genitives

Benim (old. menin) - minun

Senin - sinun

Finnish: MINUN UNAOHTAMATON NUKKU SINUN OLKOON
Turkish: BENIM UNUTULMAYAN UYKUM SENIN OLSUN
English: My unforgettable dream be yours

"to work hard", past tense, Finnish / Turkish

1 uurastin / uğraştım
2 uurastit / uğraştın
3 uurasti / uğraştı
11 uurastimme / uğraştık
22 uurastitte / uğraştınız
33 uurastivat / uğraştılar

So sweet. I am wiping my tears. I also paid attention to unohtaa and uurastaa, but until now nukkua slipped my attention. This is an example of what a creating mind can produce.

Seriously, I don´t know if these similarities in grammar make it easier to learn a new language. Maybe in the beginning you understand the system with less struggling but as you continue you very soon will have to deal with the differences instead of feeling relaxed with the similarities. If I was asked, key point in any learning is motivation. If you are motivated enough (or you can fool yourself there is nothing more interesting than this) you can just walk through the walls.