Susturmaya

Susturmaya is a Turkish verbal form derived from the verb susturmak, which means to silence, mute, or suppress. The form is created by adding the infinitive/gerund suffix -maya to the stem sustur-, producing susturmaya, the equivalent of “to silence” in contexts where a verb phrase needs an infinitive.

In Turkish usage, susturmaya functions as a verbal noun or infinitive and is commonly found in phrases where another verb governs the action. It is often seen with verbs that express attempt, intention, or direction, such as susturmaya çalışmak (to try to silence) or susturmaya yönelik (aimed at silencing). It can also appear in constructions indicating purpose or motivation, for example birini susturmaya çalışırken (while attempting to silence someone) or susturmaya karşı (against silencing).

Grammatical notes: susturmaya is not typically used as a standalone noun; its role is to name the action of silencing within larger verbal structures. The form can take additional suffixes or be combined with case phrases and modifiers, depending on its syntactic function in a sentence. It illustrates Turkish’s tendency to form infinitives that serve as arguments or complements of other verbs.

Examples:

- Polis, protestoları susturmaya çalıştı. (The police tried to silence the protests.)

- Susturmaya yönelik politikalar ifade özgürlüğünü zedeledi. (Policies aimed at silencing silenced freedom of expression.)

- Bu yasa, eleştiri susturmaya yöneliktir. (This law is aimed at silencing criticism.)

See also: Turkish grammar, verbal noun and infinitive forms, susturmak.