GENIŞ ZAMAN
We use the present simple tense for actions that we do all the
time. It is used for actions that we have done in the past, that
we still do now and that we will continue to do in the future.
Eg.:
I write
I eat
He thinks
She uses
They draw
In Turkish, we indicate the present simple tense by attaching certain
suffixes to the verb root. We obtain the verb root by removing the
"mak/mek" from the infinitive form. For example, the verb root of
"yazmak" would be "yaz", "kullanmak" would be "kullan" and
"yemek" would be "ye".
We can express the present simple tense in four ways:
1. Positive (Eg. I eat)
2. Negative (Eg. I do not eat)
3. Positive Question (Eg. Do I eat?)
4. Negative Question (Eg. Do I not eat?)
POSITIVE
We form a positive present simple tense verb in one of three ways,
depending on the structure of the verb root. In all three cases the
suffix that we attach to the verb root includes the letter "r". Each
case attaches it in a different way. The key is to always remember
the "r".
We focus on two attributes of the verb root: whether its last letter
is a vowel or consonant and the number of syllables it's made up
of.
POSITIVE 1 - ENDS IN VOWEL: ("-R")
The first case is when the verb root has:
• A vowel at the end of it
For example: başlamak (başla), yemek (ye), okumak (oku).
This case applies to verbs with any amount of syllables, the
only condition is that the letter at the end of the verb root is a
vowel.
To form the positive present simple tense verb, all we do is
attach "r" to the verb root followed by the personal suffix.
POSITIVE 2 - ENDS IN A CONSONANT AND HAS
ONE SYLLABLE: ("-AR/-ER")
The second case is when the verb root:
• Ends in a consonant
• Has exactly one syllable
For example: yazmak (yaz), çizmek (çiz), sormak (sor),
gülmek (gül). The helping verb "etmek" (et) also falls under
this category.
We attach one of "ar/er" based on the last vowel found in
the verb root. Then we attach the personal suffix.
POSITIVE 3 - ENDS IN A CONSONANT AND HAS
MORE THAN ONE SYLLABLE: ("-IR/-IR/-UR/-ÜR")
The last case is when the verb root:
• Ends in a consonant
• Has more than one syllable
For example: kullanmak (kullan), öğrenmek (öğren), oturmak (otur), düşünmek
(düşün). We attach one of "ır/ir/ur/ür" depending on the verb root's last vowel.
Thereafter we attach the personal suffix.
NEGATIVE
There is just one way of forming the negative present simple tense verb. We
attach one of "maz/mez" to the verb root depending on its last vowel. We then
attach the personal suffix.
"Ben" and "Biz" are a bit different. For "Ben" we attach "mam/mem" instead of
"maz/mez". For "Biz" we attach "mayız/meyiz".
POSITIVE QUESTION
While there are three different ways of forming a positive present simple tense verb,
we can use one short method to turn them all into questions.
The key is to focus on the "r" that was added when the positive verb was formed.
The first thing we do is split the verb after the "r". To this we add "mı/mi/mu/mü"
separately, based on the vowel before the "r". Lastly we attach the personal suffix.
For "Onlar", the personal suffix remains attached to the "r". All we do is add "mı" or
"mi" to it at the end. Furthermore, for "Ben" and "Biz" we add a "y" before the
personal suffix to prevent having two vowels side by side.
NEGATIVE QUESTION
To form a negative question, we attach "maz/mez" to the verb root depending
on its last vowel. We then separately add "mı/mi" together with the personal
suffix.
For "Onlar", the personal suffix gets attached to "maz/mez" instead.
Furthermore, for "Ben" and "Biz" we add a "y" before the personal suffix to
prevent having two vowels side by side.
