Edilmelidir

Edilmelidir is a Turkish grammatical form used to express obligation or normative necessity, roughly translating to “should be done” or “must be done.” It is formed from the passive infinitive edilmek (to be done), derived from the verb etmek (to do), combined with the modal suffix -mel and the present copula -dir. The result, edilmelidir, is used in formal or official contexts to indicate that a particular action is required.

Morphology and formation: The base edil- comes from edilmek, the passive of etmek. The -mel suffix marks obligation or necessity, yielding a construction equivalent to “should/must.” The final -dir is a present-tense copular suffix that agrees with Turkish vowel harmony, producing variants such as edilmelidir, edilmelidir, edilmelidir in practice, with the exact surface form adapting to surrounding vowels. The overall construction functions as a finite verb expressing normative obligation.

Usage and nuance: Edilmelidir appears primarily in formal writing, regulations, manuals, and official instructions. It conveys a strong but impersonal obligation, often in guidelines or policy statements. An example: Bu belge zamanında teslim edilmelidir. (This document must be submitted on time.) In everyday speech, Turkish speakers commonly use daha basit equivalents such as yapılmalıdır or yapılması gerekir.

Variants and related forms: Other modal expressions of obligation include -meli/-malı with different syntactic constructions, such as yapılması gerekir (it is necessary that it be done). The past tense form edilmeliydi expresses a past obligation, meaning “should have been done.”