Yetitirilirdi

Yetitirilirdi is a Turkish verb form used to indicate that someone or something was being raised, brought up, or nurtured by others in the past. It is a passive construction derived from the verb yetitirmek (to raise, to rear) or from yetitilmek (to be raised). The form appears in historical, literary, or formal narration rather than in everyday speech, and it can describe upbringing carried out by families, communities, institutions, or other guardians.

Grammatical notes: Yetitirilirdi expresses a past-tense, passive action. In Turkish, the passive and causative processes are layered in forms like this, producing meanings such as “was being raised” or “used to be raised” depending on context. The exact nuance may vary with surrounding wording, but the core idea is that the subject received upbringing from an agent rather than causing the action themselves.

Usage and context: The construction is more common in descriptive or narrative writing, historical accounts, or texts discussing social practices of upbringing. It may appear in discussions of education, child-rearing norms, or animal husbandry when describing past conditions.

Related terms: The root can appear in related forms such as yetitilmek (to be raised in general) and yetitirmek (to raise someone or something). Other closely related verbs in everyday Turkish include yetiştirmek (to raise, cultivate, train) and yetişmek (to grow, mature).

Example: Köyde çocuklar yetitirilirdi. The sentence means “In the village, children were raised (by their families).” See also yetitilmek, yetitirmek, yetiştirmek.