Simple present tense in turkish

1. ect
2014
SIMPLE
PRESENT TENSE
IN TURKISH
Yüksel Göknel

2. SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE IN TURKISH
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SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE IN TURKISH
Geniş Zaman
Turkish Simple Present Tense is generally used like the English Simple
Present Tense only with some exceptions. They will be dealt with after the
general explanations. The time morpheme of this tense is [İR], which has the
allomorphs of ♫ [ir, ır, ür, ur, er, ar], which are only used in positive sent-
ences. They are not used in negative and interrogative sentences. These
allomorphs are attached to all verb frames followed by subject allomorphs.
Positive:
The subject allomorphs are as follows:
(Ben) : [im, m, üm, um, em, am]
(Sen) : [sin, sın, sün, sun]
(O) : [Ø] morpheme. (No subject allomorphs are attached.)
(Biz) : [iz, ız, üz, uz]
(Siz) : [siniz, sınız, sünüz, sunuz]
(Onlar) : [ler, lar]
1. The first person subject allomorphs in simple present tense:
Al-ır-ım. (a*lı*rım) I take or buy.
Götür-ür-üm. (gö*tü*rü*rüm) I take … to.
Otur-ur-um. (o*tu*ru*rum) I sit.
Seç-er-im. (se*çe*rim) I choose.
Kaç-ar-ım. (ka*ça*rım) I run away.
Seçil-ir-im (şe*çi*li*rim) I am chosen. (Passive)
Pişir-ir-im (pi*şi*ri*rim) I cook.
As it is seen above, the entire verb frames end with single underlined
consonants, and The Simple Present Tense allomorphs start with vowels
written in bold face. When the Turkish sound system syllabicates them, it
detaches the last consonants of the verb frames, and attach them to the first
vowels of the Simple Present Tense allomorphs.
If the verb frames end with vowels, these end vowels and the first vowels
of the Simple Present Tense allomorphs happen to be identical, therefore
they are combined and verbalized as single vowels by the sound system
when they are syllabicated.
In short we can summarize that all the single underlined consonants detach
from their syllables and attach to the following vowels during the syllabicat-

3. SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE IN TURKISH
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ing process. The identical singularvowels that follow one another are
combined and verbalized as single vowels by the syllabicating process.
2. The first person singular subject allomorphs:
Bekle-er-im. (bek*le*rim) I wait.
Kurula-ar-ım.(ku*ru*la*rım) I dry.
Başla-ar-ım. (baş*la*rım) I start.
Uyu-ur-um. (u*yu*rum) I sleep.
Yürü-ür-üm. (yü*rü*rüm) I walk.
Ye-er-im. (ye*rim) I eat.
The second person singular subject allomorphs:
Al-ır-sın. (a*lır*sın) You take, You buy. (Sen)
Götür-ür-sün. (gö*tü*rür*sün) You take … to
Otur-ur-sun. (o*tu*rur*sun) You sit.
Yakala-ar-sın. (ya*ka*lar*sın) You catch.
Sat-ar-sın. (sa*tar*sın) You sell.
Seç-il-ir-sin. (se*çi*lir*sin) You are chosen. (Passive)
Ye-er-sin. (yer*sin) You eat.
The “he”, “she”, “it” do not have any subject allomorphs.
Yüz-er. (yü*zer) He (she, it) swims.
Al-ır. (a*lır ) He takes. He (she) buys.
Otur-ur. (o*tu*rur) He (she, it) sits.
Bak-ar. (ba*kar) He (she, it) looks.
Bekle-er. (bek*ler) He (she, it) waits.
Gör-ül-ür. (gö*rü*lür) He (she, it) is seen. (Passive)
Ye-er. (yer) He (she, it) eats.
The first person plural subject allomorphs;
Yüz-er-iz. (yü*ze*riz) We swim. (Biz)
Al-ır-ız. (a*lı*rız) We take or buy.
Götür-ür-üz. (gö*tü*rü*rüz) We take … to.
Otur-ur-uz. (o*tu*ru*ruz) We sit.
Bekle-er-iz. (bek*le*riz) We wait.
Başla-ar-ız. (baş*la*rız) We start.
Yen-il-ir-iz. (ye*ni*li*riz) We are beaten, defeated. (Passive)
Bekleş-ir-iz. (bek*le*şi*riz) We wait together. (Reciprocal)
The second person plural subject allomorphs:
Yüz-er-siniz. (yü*zer*si*niz) You swim. (Siz)
Al-ır-sınız. (a*lır*sı*nız) You take or buy.
Götür-ür-sünüz. (gö*tü*rür*sü*nüz) You take … to

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Otur-ur-sunuz. (o*tu*rur*su*nuz) You sit.
Oku-ur-sunuz. (o*kur*su*nuz) You read.
Uç-ar-sınız. (u*çar*sı*nız) You fly.
Anlaşır-sınız. (an*la*şır*sı*nız) You agree.
The third person plural subject allomorphs:
Yüzer-ler. (yü*zer*ler) They swim. (Onlar)
Alır-lar. (a*lır*lar) They take or buy.
Saklar-lar. (sak*lar*lar) They hide.
Götürür-ler. (gö*tü*rür*ler) They take … to
Oturur-lar. (o*tu*rur*lar) They sit.
Yürür-ler. (yü*rür*ler) They walk.
Kaçar-lar. (ka*çar*lar) They run away.
Anlaşır-lar. (an*la*şır*lar) They agree.
Bekleşir-ler. (bek*le*şir*ler) They wait together. (Reciprocal)
Negative:
3. The negation allomorphs for the first singular and plural persons are
[me and ma], which are attached to verb frames, and the subject
allomorphs attached to negation allomorphs for the first person singular
are [em, am], and for the first person plural are [/y/iz, /y/ız]:
Bekle-me-em. (bek*le*mem) I don’t wait. (Ben)
Sor-ma-am. (sor*mam) I don’t ask.
Götür-me-em. (gö*tür*mem) I don’t take … to.
Uyu-ma-am. (u*yu*mam) I don’t sleep.
Kaç-ma-am. (kaç*mam) I don’t escape.
Dokun-ma-am. (el*le*mem) I don’t touch.
Bekle-me-/y/iz. (bek*le*me*yiz) We don’t wait. (Biz)
Sor-ma-/y/ız. (sor*ma*yız) We don’t ask.
Sev-me-iyor-uz (sev*mi*yo*ruz) We don’t like.
Gel-me-/y/iz. (gel*me*yiz) We don’t come.
4. The negation allomorphs for the second person singular and plural
are [mez, maz], and the subject allomorphs for the second person
singular are [sin, sın], and for the second person plural are [siniz, sınız]
(si*niz), (sı*nız):
Bekle-mez-sin. (bek*le*mez*sin) You don’t wait. (Sen)
Unut--maz-sın. (u*nut*maz*sın) You don’t forget.-
Anlamıyor-sun. You don’t understand.
İstemiyor-sun. You don’t want.

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Bekle-mez-siniz. (bek*le*mez*si*niz) You don’t wait. (Siz)
Unut-maz-sınız. (u*nut*maz*sı*nız) You don’t forget.
Anlamıyor- sunuz. You don’t understand.
İste-mi-yor-sunuz. You don’t want.
5. The negation allomorphs for the third person singular are [mez, maz].
No subject allomorphs are used attached to the third person negation
allomorphs. The third person plural personal allomorphs are zero if a
subjective plural pronoun is used. If a subjective pronoun is not used the
[ler, lar] personal allomorphs are added to negation allomorphs. Some
Turkish sentences are in continuous forms and English sentences are in
simple present forms.
Bekle-mez. (bek*le*mez) He, she, it doesn’t wait. (O)
Unut-maz. (u*nut*maz) He, she, it doesn’t forget.
Anlamıyor (an*la*maz) He, she, it doesn’t understand.
İstemiyor (is*te*mez) He, she, it doesn’t want.
Onlar beklemez. (on*lar / bek*le*mez) They don’t wait. (Onlar)
Beklemez-ler. (bek*le*mez*ler) They don’t wait.
Onlar unutmaz. (on*lar / u*nut*maz) They don’t forget.
Unutmaz-lar. (u*nut*maz*lar) They don’t forget.
Anlamıyor-lar.(an*la*mı*yor*lar) They don’t understand.
Anlamaz-lar. (an*la*maz*lar) They don’t understand.
İstemiyor-lar. They don’t want.
Bilmiyor-lar..They don’t know.
Positive questions whose answers are “yes” or “no”:
The question allomorphs used in producing positive interrogative sentences
are [mi, mı, mü, mu], and the personal allomorphs attached to them are as
follows. The [mi, mı, mü, mu] allomorphs and the subject allomorphs are
written separately in these interrogative sentences. Be careful although
some Turkish sentences are in continuous forms their English forms are in
simple present form.
Biliyor mu-/y/um? (bi*lir / mi*yim) Do I know? (Ben)
Al-ır mı-/y/ım? (a*lır / mı*yım) Do I buy?
Anlıyor mu-yum? Do I understand?
Bekler mi-/y/im? (bek*ler / mi*yim) Do I wait?
Gör-ür mü-/y/üm? (gö*rür / mü*yüm) Do I see?
Oku-ur mu-/y/um? (o*kur / mu*yum) Do I read?

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Biliyor mu-sun? Do you know? (Sen)
Alır mı-sın? (a*lır / mı*sın) Do you buy?
Anlıyor mu-sun? Do you understand?
Bekler mi-sin? (bek*ler / mi*sin) Do you wait? Will you wait?
Görüyor mu-sun? Do you see?
Otur-ur mu-sun? Do you sit? Will you sit?
Biliyor mu? Does he know? (O)
Alır mı? (a*lır / mı) Does he take? Does he buy?
Anlıyor mu? (an*lar / mı) Does he understand?
Bekler mi? (bek*ler / mi) Does he wait?
Görür mü? (gör*ür / mü) Does he see?
Oturur mu? (o*tu*rur / mu) Does he sit?
Biliyor mu-/y/uz? Do we know? (Biz)
Alır mı-/y/ız? (a*lır / mı*yız) Do we buy?
Anlıyor mu-/y/uz? Do we understand?
Bekler mi-/y/iz? (bek*ler / mi*yiz) Do we wait?
Görür mü-/y/üz? (gö*rür / mü*yüz) Do we see?
Oturur mu-/y/uz? (o*tu*rur / mu*yuz) Do we sit?
Biliyor mu-sunuz? Do you know? (Siz)
Alır mı-sınız? (a*lır / mı*sı*nız) Do you buy?
Anlıyor mu-sunuz? Do you understand?
Bekler mi-siniz? (bek*ler / mi*si*niz) Do you wait? Will you wait?
Görür mü-sünüz? (gö*rür / mü*sü*nüz) Do you see?
Oturur mu-sunuz? (o*tu*rur / mu*su*nuz) Do you sit? Will you sit?
Biliyor-lar mı? (bi*lir*ler / mi) Do they know? (Onlar)
Alır-lar mı? (a*lır*lar / mı) Do they buy?
Anlıyor-lar mı? Do they understand?
Bekler-ler mi? (bek*ler*ler / mi) Do they wait?
Görür-ler mi? (gö*rür*ler / mi) Do they see?
Oturur-lar mı? (o*tu*rur*lar / mı) Do they sit?
Note: Some verbs written above are not generally used in The Simple
Present Tense in Turkish; The Present Continuous Tense is used instead:
The symbols that are used in the sentences above are as follows:
1. The pronouns in (…) brackets are optional; they are not used unless they
are intentionally stressed.
2. The single underlined consonants detach from their syllables and attach
to the following vowels.

7. SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE IN TURKISH
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3. The identical vowels that combine and verbalize as single vowels are
written in bold face, such as “a-a”, “e-e”, “u-u”, “ü-ü”, “ı-ı”, “i-i”.
4. The syllabicated parts between brackets indicate the pronunciation of the
sentence. All the syllables are separated by “*” star symbols, and the syl-
lables that are written in bold face indicate the stressed syllables.
Negative questions whose answers are “yes” or “no”
:
In the negative interrogative sentences, only the ♫ [mez, maz] negation allo-
morphs are attached to the verb frames following the vowel harmony rules,
and in the second part of the negative interrogative sentence the same “mi-
/y/im”, “mı-/y/ım” words are used as they are used in the positive interroga-
tive sentences.
Bilmiyor mu /y/um? (bil*mez / mi*yim) Don’t I know? (Ben)
Al-maz mı-/y/ım? (al*maz / mı*yım) Don’t I buy?
Anlamıyor mu-/y/um? Don’t I understand?
Bilmiyor mu-/s/un? Don’t you know? (Sen)
Al-maz mı-sın? (al*maz / mı*sın) Don’t you buy?
Anlamıyor mu-/s/un? Don’t you understand?
Bilmiyor mu? Doesn’t he know? (O)
Almaz mı? (al*maz / mı) Doesn’t he buy?
Anlamıyor mu? Doesn’t he understand?
Bilmiyor mu /y/uz? Don’t we know? (Biz)
Almaz mı-/y/ız? (al*maz / mı*yız) Don’t we buy?
Anlamıyor mu-/y/uz? Don’t we understand?
Bilmiyor mu-sunuz? Don’t you know? (Siz):
Almaz mı-sınız? (al*maz / mı*sı*nız) Don’t you buy?
Anlamıyor mu- sunuz? Don’t you understand?
Bilmiyor-lar mı? Don’t they know? (Onlar)
Almaz-lar mı? (al*maz*lar / mı) Don’t they buy?
Anlamıyor-lar mı? Don’t they understand?
There are some verbs in Turkish that are usually used in continuous tenses
in place of The Simple Present Tense. Similarly, there are some English
verbs that are not normally used in continuous sentences, but they are used
in simple tenses instead. They are as follows:

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VERBS THAT ARE NOT USED IN SIMPLE TENSES
IN TURKISH
Some verbs that are not normally used in continuous tenses in English are
especially used in continuous tenses in Turkish, and strange to say, these
verbs are not generally used in simple tenses.
These verbs are as follows:
Adore (tapmak), appreciate (takdir etmek), believe (inanmak), care (umur-
samak), desire (arzu etmek), forgive (affetmek), hate (nefret etmek), hear
(işitmek), know (bilmek), like (hoşlanmak), love (sevmek), mean (anlama
gelmek), mind (umursamak), miss (özlemek), recall (hatırlamak), refuse
(reddetmek), remember (hatırlamak), see (görmek), smell (kokmek , kok-
lamak), seem (görünmek), think (düşünmek, sanmak), trust (güvenmek),
understand (anlamak), want (istemek), wish (arzu etmek, istemek).
Some English verbs that are used in simple sentences are used in
continuous sentences in Turkish. Compare the example sentences:
Sen-i affet-iyor-um.
(se*ni / af*fe*di*yo*rum)
I forgive you. (The /t/ changes into /d/.)
Sen-i sev-iyor-um. Ben-i sev-iyor mu-sun?
(se*ni / se*vi*yo*rum) (be*ni / se*vi*yor / mu*sun)
I love you. Do you love me?
Sana tap-ıyor-um.
(sa*na / ta*pı*yo*rum)
I adore you.
Hepiniz-i hatırla-ıyor-um. Ben-i hatırla-ıyor mu-sunuz?
(he*pi*ni*zi / ha*tır*lı*yo*rum) (be*ni / ha*tır*lı*yor / mu*su*nuz)
I remember all of you. Do you remember me?
Hepiniz-e güven-iyor-um. Bana güven-me-iyor mu-sun?
(he*pi*ni*ze / gü*ve*ni*yo*rum) (ba*na / gü*ven*mi*yor / mu*sun)
I trust all of you. Don't you trust me?
Siz-i anla-ıyor-um. Siz ben-i anla-ıyor mu-sunuz?
(si*zi / an*lı*yo*rum) (siz / be*ni / an*lı*yor / mu*su*nuz)
I understand you. Do you understand me?
Siz-i anla-ma-ıyor-um. Ben-i anla-ma-ıyor mu-sunuz?
(si*zi / an*la*mı*yo*rum) (be*ni / an*la*mı*yor / mu*su*nuz)
I don’t understand you. Don't you understand me?

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Bir fincan kahve iste-iyor-um.
(bir / fin*can / kah*ve / is*ti*yo*rum)
I want a cup of coffee.
Gramer kitaplar-ı oku-mak-tan nefret et iyor-um. (Liaison)
(gra*mer / ki*tap*la*rı / o*ku*mak*tan / nef*re*te*di*yo*rum)
I hate reading grammar books.
Ben-i özle-üyor mu-sun?
(be*ni / öz*lü*yor / mu*sun)
Do you miss me?
Sana inan-ma-ıyor-um.
(sa*na / i*nan*mı*yo*rum)
I don’t believe you.
Hiçbir şey işit-me-iyor-um.
(hiç*bir / şey / i*şit*mi*yo*rum)
I don’t hear anything.
Umursa-ma-ıyor-um. Umurumda değil. (Bana ne?)
(u*mur*sa*mı*yo*ru) (u*mu*rum*da / de*ğil) (ba*na / ne)
I don’t care.
Bu proje uygulan-abil-ir görün-üyor.
(bu / pro*je / uy*gu*la*na*bi*lir / gö*rü*nü*yor)
This project seems (looks) (sounds) feasible.
Siz-i takdir et-iyor-um. (Liaison)
(si*zi / tak*di:*re*di*yo*rum)
I appreciate you.
Bu mutfak balık kok-uyor.
(bu / mut*fak / ba*lık / ko*ku*yor)
This kitchen smells fish.
Bunu bil-iyor mu/y/-du-unuz?
(bu*nu / bi*li*yor / muy*du*nuz)
Did you know this?
The verbs that are given above can be used in The Simple Present Tense
(Geniş Zaman) in conditional sentences:

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Tekrar geç kal-ma-ma-/y/a söz ver-ir-se-en sen-i affet-er-im.
(tek*rar / geç / kal*ma*ma*ya / söz / ve*rir*sen / se*ni / af*fe*de*rim)
If you promise not to be late again, I will forgive you.
Bana yeni bir araba al-ır-sa-an sen-i daha çok sev-er-im.
(ba*na / ye*ni / bir / a*ra*ba / a*lır*san / se*ni / da*ha / çok / se*ve*rim)
If you buy me a new car, I will love you more.