Turkish Simple Tense Positive
Turkish Simple Tense Positive
Turkish Simple Tense Positive
Called the
Geniş Zaman Wide Tense in Turkish grammar.In Grammar it is known as the Aorist [Untimed] Tense
(1)Turkish Habitual Action
The Simple Tense signifies a timeless situation:
It does not specify a time of the present, past or future.
It is used to denote action that is habitual or untimed.
- Her gun denizde yüzerim.
I swim in the sea every day. - Ayşe hanım dondurmayı cok sever.
Miss Ayshe likes ice cream a lot. - Her gece eve dönerim.
I come back home every night. - Her gün düzenli olarak traş olur.
He shaves regularly each day. - Genelikle et yeriz.
Generally we eat meat. - Her hafta sonunda futbol oynarlar.
They play football every weekend.
(2) Turkish Consent or Willingness
The Simple Tense shows consent or willingness.
It is considered as a gentle tense and is used as a polite imperative or request.
- Kapıyı açar mısınız?
Would you open the door please?
[a polite request.] - Buna bakar mısınız?
Would you look at this please
[a polite command.] - Evet, onu yaparım.
Yes, I will do the job
[a willing consent.]
In Turkish would you..? and please.. are not translated.
These meanings are understood within the tense itself.
Turkish Polite Command
- Bakar mısınız?
Would you look, please? - Bekler misiniz?
Would you wait, please?
[ENG: Would you mind waiting...?]
This is the polite way to get attention of a waiter or any person.
It is similar to the Welsh "Look you?" in that it is not rude.
Turkish Polite Request
It is a polite way of asking questions or giving minor orders to strangers.
- Bir çay rica ederim
A tea, please
[Lit: I request a tea.] - Pencereyi kapatır mısınız?
Would you close the window, please?
Turkish Polite Consent
This is a nice way of accepting the responsibility of something.
- Ben onu yaparım
I'll do it.
(3)Turkish Untimed Future
The Simple Present is used for future events which are not timed.
- Saatin altında seni beklerim.
I'll be waiting under the clock for you. - Parkın yanındaki bankayı tabii ki bulursunuz.
You'll find the bank all right, next to the Park. - Yarın ofiste buluşuruz.
We'll see each other in the office tomorrow. - İki gecelik bir oda tutarız
We will take a room for two nights.
Turkish Simple Tense Positive Formation
For all verbs ending in a vowel the tense sign is -r-
The Personal suffixes are added to the tense sign to complete the verb in number.
| Sing. Syl. | Verbs | ending in | Vowels |
|---|---|---|---|
| demek | to say | başlamak | to begin |
| derim | I say | başlarım | I begin |
| dersin | you say | başlarsın | you begin |
| der | he says | başlar | he begins |
| deriz | we say | başlarız | we begin |
| dersiniz | you say | başlarsınız | you begin |
| derler | they say | başlarlar | they begin |
- demekto say → der
Dünya yuvarlaktır derler.
They say the world is round. - yemekto eat → yer
Her gün ekmek yeriz.
We eat bread every day. - beklemek to wait → bekler
Her gün köşede beklersiniz, değil mi?
Every day you wait at the corner, don't you? - söylemek to speak → söyler
Her zaman "hayır'ı" derler.
They say (the) "No" every time.
Turkish Simple Tense Regular Single Syllable Verb Formation
For verbs of one syllable which end in a consonant the positive tense sign is -ar or -er
There are some exceptions to this general rule.
This tense is the only one which shows some irregularity in its formation.
- atmakto throw adds tense sign -ar → atar
- atarım[at-ar-ım]I throw
- geçmekto pass adds tense sign -er → geçer
- geçersiniz[geç-er-iniz]you pass
Turkish Single Syllable Verbs
| Sing. Syl. | Verbs | ending in | Consonants |
|---|---|---|---|
| yapmak | to do, make | kesmek | to cut |
| yaparım | I do | keserim | I cut |
| yaparsın | you do | kesersin | you cut |
| yapar | he does | keser | he cuts |
| yaparız | we do | keseriz | we cut |
| yaparsınız | you do | kesersiniz | you cut |
| yaparlar | they do | keserler | they cut |
Turkish Single Syllable Irregular Verbs
There are thirteen irregular single syllable verbs in the Simple Present which do not take the regular tense sign-ar -er.
These 13 verbs add:-ir -ır -ur -ür
| Single | Syllable | Verb | Exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| almak | to take | alırım | I take |
| bilmek | to know | bilir | he knows |
| bulmak | to find | bulur | he finds |
| durmak | to stop, halt | dururuz | we stop |
| gelmek | to come | gelirsiniz | you come |
| görmek | to see | görürler | they see |
| kalmak | to stay | kalırım | I stay |
| olmak | to become | olursun | you become |
| ölmek | to die | ölür | it dies |
| sanmak | to suppose | sanırız | we suppose |
| vermek | to give | verirsiniz | you give |
| varmak | to arrive | varırlar | they arrive |
| vurmak | to hit | vururum | I hit |
Twelve of them end their root in -l or -r.
The single exception ( of the exceptions!) is sanırto suppose ending in -n
These 13 exceptions are in daily use and should be committed to memory.
Turkish Multi Syllable Verbs Simple Tense
For verbs consisting of more than one syllable the tense sign is ‑ir ‑ır ‑ür ‑ur.
| Multi Syl. | Verbs | ending in | Consonants |
|---|---|---|---|
| göndermek | to send | kazanmak | to win |
| gönderirim | I send | kazanırım | I win |
| gönderirsin | you send | kazanırsın | you win |
| gönderir | he sends | kazanır | he wins |
| göndeririz | we send | kazanırız | we win |
| gönderirsiniz | you send | kazanırsınız | you win |
| gönderirler | they send | kazanırlar | they win |
- kazanabilmek
to be able to win - Her hafta Milli Piyango'yu kazanabilirsin.
You can win the lottery every week. - -a tırmanmak
to climb up - Her yıl Nemrut Dağı'na tırmanırız.
We climb (to) Mount Nemrut every year. - götürmek
to bring - Mehmet, yemeğini her gün evden götürür.
Mehmet, brings his lunch from home every day. - beğenmek
to like, approve - Türk kahvesini beğenirler.
They like Turkish coffee.
The Five Verb Root Change Exceptions
There are five verb stems soften their final -t to -d when adding a vowel suffix.
| The 5 | Verb Stems | which | Mutate |
|---|---|---|---|
| gitmek | to go | gider | he goes |
| etmek | to do | ederim | I do |
| tatmak | to taste of | tadarlar | they taste of |
| ditmek | to shred | didersin | you shred |
| gütmek | to nourish | güderim | I nourish |
Turkish Simple Tense Positive Interrogative
The interrogative is formed by adding the personalized question particles after the simple tense verb stem ending in -r.
They are written separately, but follow vowel harmony rules.
| Simple Tense | Interrogative | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| bakmak | to look | bakar mıyım? | do I look? |
| kalmak | to stay | kalır mısın? | do you stay? |
| bitirmek | to finish | bitirir mi? | does he finish? |
| yazmak | to write | yazar mıyız? | do we write? |
| koşmak | to run | koşar mısınız? | do you run? |
| yürümek | to walk | yürürler mi? | do they walk? |
Turkish Translation of use to..
The Simple Past gives the meaning of "habitual in the past".
This translated by used to ... in English.
Turkish uses Simple Tense with the past tense personal endings.
- Sık sık buraya gelirdim.
I used to come here very often. - Gençken çok gülerdin.
You used to laugh a lot when/while you were young. - Kuşadada (Kuşadasında) kalırken her zaman denizde yüzerdi.
He always used to swim in the sea when staying at Kuşadası. - Dersler bittikten sonra uzun zaman/süre beni beklerdin.
You always used to wait for me a long time after school finished. - Tatilde kamp yaparken daima iyi uyurlardı.
They always used to sleep very well while on holiday while camping.
Turkish Proverbs Atasözler
Turkish Proverbs are usually written in the Wide Tense habitual / timeless tense.
These translations are not literal showing the difficulty of such interpretation from Turkish to English.
- Acele işe, şeytan karışır.
If you hurry, the devil intervenes. - Çabuk parlayan çabuk söner.
A flash is quickly extinguished. - Damlaya damlaya göl olur.
Lakes form drop by drop. - Fakirlik ayıp değil tembellik ayıp.
Poverty is no shame but idleness is. - İyilik eden iyilik bulur.
Those who do good find goodness themselves. - Ne ekersen onu biçersin.
You reap what you sow. - Önce düşün sonra söyle.
Think first, speak later. - Sağlam kafa sağlam vücutta bulunur.
A healthy mind is found in a healthy body. - Tok iken yemek yiyen, mezarını kendi kazar.
Those who eat when they are full dig their own grave.
