Using infinitives as gerunds (-ing nouns)

Where we would use a verb plus infinitive in English, in Azerbaijani it is common to use a verb plus a gerund which is derived from an infinitive. Confusing? Yeah. Let's look at an example:

To say "One needs a lot of time to learn Azerbaijani," you use a gerund rather than the infinitive "to learn".

Azərbaycancanı öyrənməyə çox vaxt lazımdır. The bold word looks like an infinitive but is not. It is a gerund in the dative (to) case - to the learning. The infinitive öyrənmək has been turned into a gerund - k changes to y with the -ə ending. So, the sentence literally means Toward learning Azerbaijani [object / accusative case], much time is needed. 


Some of these constructions are fairly straightforward and you find yourself using them without thinking - Yeməkdən sonra, mən teatrə gedirəm. (After eating I am going to the theater.) But once you change an infinitive into a noun form, you can do all the things to it that you can do to a noun. You can use post-positions with it (as in the example above - sonra), possessive nouns and pronouns, and adjectives. Participles as well can be turned into nouns, as in the common signs around Baku: Sizi narahat etdiyimizə görə üzr istəyirik. We'll tackle participles later. For now let's concentrate on how an infinitive can be declined (that is, have case endings added to them so that they can be used as nouns). For anyone who has studied Latin, declining nouns makes sense. It is challenging for native English speakers. Throw in the added fact that the nouns are derived from verbs and it can be very challenging indeed. However, this is a common feature of Azerbaijani, so Gələn gedək!

Declining an infinitive as a gerund (using Latin case names):

1. Nominative case - answers the question Nə? (What? - subject)
2. Genitive case - answers the question Nəyin? (Of what? - possessive)
3. Dative case - answers the question Nəyə? (To what?)
4. Accusative case - answers the question Nəyi? (What? - object)
5. Locative case - answers the question Nədə? (On what? In what?)
6. Ablative case - answers the question Nədən? (From what?)

So, let's decline a verb...

Getmək
1. getmək - Getmək lazımdır. - Going is necessary.
2. getməyin - Sənin getməyinə görə onlar heç bir qəpik də ziyana düşməyəcəklər. - They will not incur losses on account of your going.
3. getməyə -  Yəmən prezidenti getməyə hazırlaşır. - The president of Yemen prepares to go.
4. getməyi - Ərəb Liqası Mübarəkdən istefaya getməyi tələb etdi. - The Arab League demanded a resignation from Mubarak.
5. getməkdə - Qəddafiyə çatdırmışıq ki, ona seçdiyi istənilən ölkəyə getməkdə kömək edəcəyik. - We have delivered to Gaddafi that we will help him go to any country that is selected.
6. getməkdən - Məşhur kişi jurnalı “Playboy”un yaradıcısı, 85 yaşlı Hyu Hefnerin nişanlısı toya dörd gün qalmış ona ərə getməkdən vaz keçib. - With only four days until their wedding, the fiancé of the famous creator of the men's magazine "Playboy" (the 85 year old Hugh Hefner) has given up on getting married.