The tense takes the form of be doing, be saying, be going
The Tense sign of the Present Continuous Tense is:
‑iyor‑ ‑ıyor‑ ‑üyor‑ ‑uyor‑
which is added to the verb root.
The tense endings are completed by adding the personal suffixes.
The Tense Sign ‑iyor‑ can be likened to the English Tense sign ‑ing.
The initial ‑i‑ of ‑iyor‑ is subject to vowel harmony with the verb stem's final vowel.
Turkish Present Continuous Positive Conjugation
| Turkish | English |
|---|---|
geliyorum[gel-iyor-um] | I am coming |
bakıyorsun[bak-ıyor-sun] | you are looking |
gidiyor[gid-iyor] | he is going |
yürüyoruz[yür-üyor-uz] | we are walking |
buluyorsunuz[bul-uyor-sunuz] | you are finding |
yazıyorlar[yaz-ıyor-lar] | they are writing |
Turkish Present Continuous Negative
Negative verb stems are formed by adding the negating suffix -ma- -me- to the verb stem.
- gelmekto come →
gelmemekto not come. - bakmakto look →
bakmamakto not look.
All Negative Verbs gelmemek drop the first letter of suffix
-(i)yor to keep vowels apart:[gelmeiyorum is incorrect.]Turkish Present Continuous Negative Conjugation
| Turkish | English |
|---|---|
gelmiyorum[gelm-iyorum] | I am not coming |
bakmıyorsun[bakm-ıyorsun] | you are not looking |
almıyor[alm-ıyor] | he is not taking |
çıkmıyoruz[çıkm-ıyor-uz] | we are not going out |
bulmuyorsunuz[bulm-uyor-sunuz] | you are not finding |
gülmüyorlar[gülm-üyor-lar] | they are not laughing |
Turkish Verb Roots ending in a Vowel - Present Continuous
The final vowel of verb stem is dropped along with -mek/-mak.
[vowels should not occur together]The root of beklemek is bekle-
Adding tense sign-iyor- the final vowel -e of the verb stem is dropped.
[bekleiyorum is incorrect]Turkish Verb Roots ending in a Vowel
| Positive Verb | Negative Verb | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| beklemek | to wait, expect | beklememek | to not wait, expect |
| bekliyorum | I am waiting | beklemiyorum | I am not waiting |
| bekliyorsun | you are waiting | beklemiyorsun | you are not waiting |
| bekliyor | he/she/it is waiting | beklemiyor | he/she/it is not waiting |
| bekliyoruz | we are waiting | beklemiyoruz | we are not waiting |
| bekliyorsunuz | you are waiting | beklemiyorsunuz | you are not waiting |
| bekliyorlar | they are waiting | beklemiyorlar | they are not waiting |
Forming Positive Questions
The question particle mu? is used after -iyor
It is written separately.
The personal ending is added to make a question tag.
The Question Particle mı? mi? mu? mü? is placed after the item that you are questioning:
It is NOT always the VERB that is in question.
This is the same for English.
- Question on the verb:
Mehmet, şimdi eve gidiyor mu?
Is Mehmet going home now? - Question on the Object:
Mehmet, eve mi gidiyor?
Is it home that Mehmet is going to? - Question on the Subject:
Mehmet mi, eve gidiyor?
Is it Mehmet who is going home? - Question on the Position of the Bicycle:
Bisiklet, ters mi duruyor?Is the bicycle upside down? - Question on the Playing of the Violin:
Mehmet, kemen mi çalıyor?
Is Mehmet playing the violin?
Turkish Question Tags
| Positive | Negative | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| gelmek | to come | gelmemek | to not come |
| geliyor muyum? | am I coming? | gelmiyor muyum? | aren't I coming? |
| geliyor musun? | are you coming? | gelmiyor musun? | aren't you coming? |
| geliyor mu? | is he coming? | gelmiyor mu? | isn't he coming? |
| geliyor muyuz? | are we coming? | gelmiyor musunuz? | aren't you coming? |
| geliyor musunuz? | are you coming? | gelmiyor muyuz? | aren't we coming? |
| geliyorlar mı? | are they coming? | gelmiyorlar mı? | aren't they coming? |
Turkish Question Tags Examples
The question tags muyum?, musun? etc are written separately from the verb itself.
The tags follow vowel harmony rules.
The negative questions are formed in the same manner using the negative verb stem.
- Yarın şehre gidiyorum.
Tomorrow I am going to town. - Yarın şehre gitmiyorum.
Tomorrow I am not going to town. - Benimle gelmiyor musunuz?
Aren't you coming with me? - Küçük odada uyumuyorlar mı?
Aren't they sleeping in the small room? - Evi boyuyor
He is painting the house. - Mehmet kendi evini boyamıyor.
Mehmet is not painting his own house.
Turkish uses the Present Continuous Tense as a Future Tense of Intention.
English is the same:
"We are going to Turkey next month."Spelling Exceptions Turkish Basic Verb Stems
Only four verbs change their root spelling from -t to -d when adding a vowel :
- gitmekto go → gidiyorumI am going
- ditmekto shred → didiyorhe shreds
[often used in recipes] - tatmakto taste (of) → tadıyorit tastes of
- etmekto do/perform → ediyorumI am doing etc.
The verb etmek includes all verbs containing etmek
- Examples with etmek
- zannetmekto suppose
- zannedersemif I suppose
- Also used separated: zan edersem
- affetmekto pardon, to excuse
- affederim I apologize
Also used separated: af ederim - All other verbs retain their original spelling:
- bitmekto end → bitiyorit is finishing
[NOT bidiyor] - batmakto sink → batıyorit is sinking
[NOT badıyor]
Turkish Present Progressive Tense
This tense is especially used in newspapers, but is also being used in conversation.
Its base is formed by adding the locative suffix -de / -da to the infinitive.
The personal endings of the verb "to be" are then added.
It means: "I am presently doing something and I am still doing it at the moment."
It is best translated into English as
"I have been doing" [and am still doing]Example: beklemekto wait
- Beklemekteyim!I have been waiting!
[beklemek-te-yim] - Saat beşten beri bankada seni beklemekteyim.
I have been waiting for you in the bank since five o'clock
[and I am still waiting.] - Futbol takımımız İtalya'da oynamaktadır.
Our football team are presently playing in Italy. - Bu ülkeler arasında, Amerika, Fransa, Danimarka başlıca rol oynamaktadırlar.
Among these countries, America, France, and Denmark are presently playing a major role.
[have been playing]
Turkish Past Progressive Tense
The past tense endings can also be added to change the tense:
- Mehmet evde beni beklemekteydi.
Mehmet had waited for me at home.
[had been waiting] - Yaz aylarında, bu bögleye sadece türk değil yabancı turistler de gelmektedi.
In the summer months, not only Turks but also foreign tourists have come to this district.
[have been coming]
