B1 Gerunds & Infinitives 1 min read Leicht

Infinitive Complements

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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

In Kazakh, when you want to say 'I want to go' or 'I like to read', you use the infinitive suffix -у.

  • Use the -у suffix to turn a verb into a noun: 'оқу' (to read/reading).
  • Add the dative case -ға/-ге/-қа/-ке when the second verb follows a modal verb: 'оқуға келді' (came to read).
  • The main verb (want, can, like) always comes at the very end of the sentence.
Subject + (Object) + [Verb + у + (ға/ге)] + [Main Verb]

Meanings

Infinitive complements allow you to link two actions together, where the first action acts as the object or purpose of the second.

1

Purpose

Explaining why you are doing something.

“Мен тамақ ішуге бардым.”

“Ол демалуға кетті.”

2

Object of Preference

Stating what you like or dislike doing.

“Мен жүзуді жақсы көремін.”

“Оған ән айту ұнайды.”

Infinitive Suffixation

Verb Stem Infinitive (-у) Preference (-ды) Purpose (-ға)
оқы оқу оқуды оқуға
жаз жазу жазуды жазуға
кел келу келуді келуге
іш ішу ішуді ішуге
бар бару баруды баруға
көр көру көруді көруге

Reference Table

Reference table for Infinitive Complements
Form Structure Example
Affirmative Stem + у + case + verb Мен жүзуді ұнатамын
Negative Stem + у + case + neg_verb Мен жүзуді ұнатпаймын
Question Stem + у + case + verb + ба? Сен жүзуді ұнатасың ба?
Purpose Stem + у + ға/ге + verb Мен жүзуге бардым
Past Stem + у + case + verb_past Мен жүзуді ұнаттым
Future Stem + у + case + verb_future Мен жүзуді ұнататын боламын

Formalitätsspektrum

Formell
Мен кітап оқуды ұнатамын.

Мен кітап оқуды ұнатамын. (Talking about hobbies.)

Neutral
Мен оқуды ұнатамын.

Мен оқуды ұнатамын. (Talking about hobbies.)

Informell
Оқу ұнайды.

Оқу ұнайды. (Talking about hobbies.)

Umgangssprache
Оқығанды ұнатам.

Оқығанды ұнатам. (Talking about hobbies.)

Infinitive Usage Map

Verb Stem

Suffix

  • -у Infinitive

Case

  • -ды/-ді Preference
  • -ға/-ге Purpose
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Beispiele nach Niveau

1

Мен оқуды ұнатамын.

I like reading.

1

Ол тамақтануға барды.

He went to eat.

1

Біз қазақша сөйлеуді үйренуге тырысамыз.

We try to learn to speak Kazakh.

1

Оның жұмыс істеуге уақыты жоқ.

He has no time to work.

1

Ол өмір сүруге деген құлшынысын жоғалтты.

He lost his desire to live.

1

Бұл мәселені шешуге қатысты пікірлер әртүрлі.

Opinions regarding solving this problem are varied.

Leicht verwechselbar

Infinitive Complements vs. Infinitive vs. Participle

Both use verb stems, but have different functions.

Infinitive Complements vs. Accusative vs. Dative

Learners mix up -ды and -ға.

Infinitive Complements vs. Negation placement

Negating the infinitive instead of the main verb.

Häufige Fehler

✗

Мен оқу ұнатамын

✓

Мен оқуды ұнатамын

Missing the accusative case marker.
✗

Мен бардым оқуға

✓

Мен оқуға бардым

Incorrect word order.
✗

Мен оқуға ұнатамын

✓

Мен оқуды ұнатамын

Wrong case for preference.
✗

Мен оқуды бардым

✓

Мен оқуға бардым

Wrong case for purpose.
✗

Ол келді тамақтану

✓

Ол тамақтануға келді

Verb order.
✗

Мен оқуды ұнатпаймын

✓

Мен оқуды ұнатпаймын

Wait, this is correct. The mistake is often negating the infinitive.
✗

Мен оқуге бардым

✓

Мен оқуға бардым

Vowel harmony error.
✗

Ол сөйлеуді келді

✓

Ол сөйлеуге келді

Wrong case for motion.
✗

Мен оны оқуды ұнатамын

✓

Мен оны оқуды ұнатамын

Redundant object.
✗

Ол оқуға қалайды

✓

Ол оқуды қалайды

Wrong case for desire.
✗

Ол оқуға деген құлшыныс жоғалтты

✓

Ол оқуға деген құлшынысын жоғалтты

Missing possessive suffix.
✗

Бұл мәселені шешуді келді

✓

Бұл мәселені шешуге келді

Wrong case.
✗

Ол оқуды барғысы келеді

✓

Ол оқуға барғысы келеді

Wrong case.

Satzmuster

Мен ___ды ұнатамын.

Мен ___ға бардым.

Ол ___ге тырысады.

Біз ___ды армандаймыз.

Real World Usage

Texting very common

Оқығым кеп тұр.

Job Interview common

Мен жұмыс істеуге дайынмын.

Social Media common

Сурет салуды ұнатамын.

Ordering Food common

Тамақтануға келдім.

Travel occasional

Мен саяхаттауды армандаймын.

Academic Writing common

Бұл мәселені шешуге болады.

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💡

Check Vowel Harmony

Always look at the last vowel of the verb stem to decide between -ға and -ге.
⚠️

Don't Negate the Infinitive

Negate the main verb at the end of the sentence, not the infinitive.
🎯

Use -ды for Hobbies

When talking about what you like, always use the accusative -ды/-ді.
💬

Be Polite

In formal settings, use full verb forms instead of shortened colloquial versions.

Smart Tips

Check if the first is the object or purpose.

Мен оқу ұнатамын → Мен оқуды ұнатамын

Use the -ғысы келеді construction with the infinitive.

Мен оқу қалаймын → Менің оқығым келеді

Ask: Is it a hobby (accusative) or a destination (dative)?

Мен оқуға ұнатамын → Мен оқуды ұнатамын

Use full forms to sound professional.

Оқуға бардым → Мен оқуға бардым

Aussprache

o-qu-gha (back), ke-lu-ge (front)

Vowel Harmony

The suffix -ға/-ге changes based on the last vowel of the infinitive.

Question Intonation

Сен оқуды ұнатасың ба? ↑

Rising pitch at the end for questions.

Einprägen

Eselsbrücke

Think of -у as a 'U-turn' that turns an action into a noun.

Visuelle Assoziation

Imagine a verb (like 'run') wearing a heavy backpack labeled '-у'. It can't run anymore; it has to sit down and be a noun.

Rhyme

Add a -у to make it a noun, then add the case to keep it sound.

Story

A boy named Arman wanted to play. He took the verb 'play' (ойна) and added -у. Now it was 'ойнау'. He added -ға because he was going to the park. He shouted: 'Мен ойнауға барамын!'

Word Web

оқужазуішужеукөрубару

Herausforderung

Write 5 sentences about your hobbies using the -у + -ды pattern in 5 minutes.

Kulturelle Hinweise

In formal settings, using full sentences with proper case markers is highly valued.

People often drop the 'Мен' (I) pronoun as the verb conjugation makes it clear.

Young people often use shortened forms in texting.

The -у suffix is an ancient Turkic nominalizer.

Gesprächseinstiege

“

Сен не істеуді ұнатасың?

“

Сен бүгін қайда баруға жоспарладың?

“

Сен қазақша сөйлеуді үйренуге неге тырысасың?

“

Болашақта не істеуді армандайсың?

Tagebuch-Impulse

Write about your favorite hobby.
Describe your plans for the weekend.
Why are you learning Kazakh?
What are your professional goals?
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Test Yourself

Fill in the blank.

Мен оқу___ ұнатамын.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Preference requires accusative.
Choose the correct sentence. Multiple Choice

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: b
Accusative is correct.
Correct the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Мен тамақтануды бардым.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Purpose requires dative.
Transform to negative. Sentence Transformation

Мен оқуды ұнатамын.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Negate the main verb.
Match the verb to the suffix. Match Pairs

Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Preference.
Build a sentence. Sentence Building

Мен / ұнатамын / жүзуді

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
SVO order.
Conjugate. Conjugation Drill

What is the infinitive of 'жаз'?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Infinitive suffix -у.
True or False? True False Rule

Infinitive complements always use the dative case.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: b
Depends on the main verb.

Score: /8

Ubungsaufgaben

8 exercises
Fill in the blank.

Мен оқу___ ұнатамын.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Preference requires accusative.
Choose the correct sentence. Multiple Choice

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: b
Accusative is correct.
Correct the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Мен тамақтануды бардым.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Purpose requires dative.
Transform to negative. Sentence Transformation

Мен оқуды ұнатамын.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Negate the main verb.
Match the verb to the suffix. Match Pairs

Match.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Preference.
Build a sentence. Sentence Building

Мен / ұнатамын / жүзуді

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
SVO order.
Conjugate. Conjugation Drill

What is the infinitive of 'жаз'?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Infinitive suffix -у.
True or False? True False Rule

Infinitive complements always use the dative case.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: b
Depends on the main verb.

Score: /8

FAQ (8)

It turns the verb into a noun so it can be an object.

Use it for purpose, like 'going to do something'.

No, that's for preference.

The suffix remains -у.

It's neutral and used everywhere.

Negate the main verb only.

Some verbs have fixed case requirements.

English uses 'to', Kazakh uses suffixes.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

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In Other Languages

Spanish moderate

Infinitivo

Kazakh requires case suffixes; Spanish does not.

French moderate

Infinitif

Kazakh uses agglutinative suffixes instead of prepositions.

German partial

zu + Infinitiv

German is prepositional; Kazakh is suffixal.

Japanese high

koto

Japanese uses a particle; Kazakh uses a suffix.

Arabic moderate

Masdar

Arabic Masdar is a separate word form; Kazakh is a suffix.

Chinese low

Verb + Verb

Chinese lacks the complex suffixation of Kazakh.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Previous
Gerunds in Sentences
Next
Verbal Noun Usage

Related Grammar Rules

B1

Verbal Nouns
B1

Gerunds in Sentences
B1

Verbal Noun Usage
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