Negation in Turkish (-me/-ma vs. değil)

Turkish maintains a strict structural dichotomy in its negation system between verbal predicates and nominal/adjectival predicates:

1. Verbal Negation with -mA: To negate any verb in any tense or mood, the negative suffix -me / -ma is attached immediately after the verb root, preceding all tense and aspect markers: gel-mek (to come) → gel-me-di (he did not come); bak-mak (to look) → bak-mı-yor (he is not looking — note that before -iyor, -me/-ma narrows to -mı/-mi/-mu/-mü by phonological reduction); yap-ma-yacak (he will not do). 2. Nominal Negation with değil: Nominal sentences, adjectives, and locational states are negated using the independent word değil ('not / is not'). Personal suffixes attach to değil: Öğrenci değilim (I am not a student), Hasta değilsin (You are not sick), Evde değiller (They are not at home).

Crucially, değil is also used to negate contrastive phrases: Bugün değil, yarın gel (Come tomorrow, not today). Do not confuse verbal negation (gitmedim = I didn't go) with nominal negation (öğretmen değilim = I am not a teacher). Never use değil to negate a finite verb.