Turkish Language - The Simple Present Tense - Positive
The Simple Present Tense is also known as the Aorist (Boundless) Tense in some grammar books.
It is known as the Geniş Zaman - Wide Tense - in Turkish grammar.
It does not specify a time of the present, past or future.
This tense is known as the Wide Tense Tense in Turkish grammatical terms as it signifies an unbounded time situation. In Turkish it is called Geniş Zaman - The Wide Tense. It is also considered as a gentle tense and is used as a polite imperative or polite request. The three uses of the Simple Present are as follows:
(1) Habitual Action
This tense is used where verbs are required to signify a timeless situation in meaning:
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.
In the sentences above there is no indication of future, past or present time. The tense then is used to denote action that is habitual or ongoing.
(2) Consent or Willingness
The tense also shows consent or willingness.
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.]
İki gecelik bir oda tutarız - We will take a room for two nights.
In Turkish - would you..? and please.. - are not translated as it is inherent within the tense itself. This tense is a polite tense.
The Polite Command
Bakar mısınız? - Would you look, please?
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.
The Polite Request
Bir çay rica ederim - A tea, please - [Lit: I request a tea.]
Pencereyi kapatır mısınız? - Would you close the window, please?
This is the polite way of asking questions or giving minor orders to strangers.
The Polite Consent
Ben onu yaparım - I'll do it.
This is a nice way of accepting the responsibility of something.
(3) Uncertain Future
The Simple Present is also 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.
Positive Form
The tense sign is -r which is added directly to the verb stem as follows:
Single Syllable Verbs
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.
Exceptions to Single Syllable Verbs
Some 13 single syllable verbs take the tense sign as -ir -ır -ür -ur these verbs are listed below.
Multi Syllable Verbs
For verbs consisting of more than one syllable the tense sign is -ir -ır -ür -ur - according to Vowel harmony.
Verb Stems Which end in a vowel
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..
| Single Syllable Verb Root ending in a consonant In this case -ar or -er is added after dropping -mak or -mek | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| yapmak | to do, to 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 |
| The Five Verbs which Show Consonant Mutation Remember also that the five verbs that soften their final -t to -d when a vowel is added in the suffix: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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.. |
| Exceptions to Single Syllable Verbs These 13 single syllable verbs are exceptions as form the tense with -ir or -ır or -ur or -ür. Aide memoir: All these verb stems end in -r or -l - except one - sanmak. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Verb Stems which end in a Vowel In this case the Tense sign -r is added after dropping -mak or -mek | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| demek | to say, mean | anlamak | to understand |
| derim | I say | anlarım | I understand |
| dersin | you say | anlarsın | you understand |
| der | he says | anlar | he understands |
| deriz | we say | anlarız | we understand |
| dersiniz | you say | anlarsınız | you understand |
| derler | they say | anlarlar | they understand |
Some Examples - the tense sign is -r
demek - der - to say
Dünya yuvarlaktır derler - They say the world is round.
yemek - yer - to eat
Her gün ekmek yeriz - We eat bread every day.
beklemek - bekler - to wait
Her gün köşede beklersiniz, değil mi? - Every day you wait at the corner , don't you?
söylemek - söyler - to speak
Her zaman "hayır'ı" derler - They say "No" every time. [the word "hayır'ı" is a Direct Object]
| Multi Syllable Vowels Which end in a Consonant Verbs consisting of more than one syllable in the verb stem take tense sign -ir -ır -ür -ur according to vowel harmony. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Some Examples - the tense sign is -ir -ır -ür -ur
kazanabilmek - kazanabilir - to be able to win
Her hafta Milli Piyango'yu kazanabilirsin - You can win the lottery every week.
-a tırmanmak - to climb (to, up to..)
Her yıl Nemrut Dağı'na tırmanırız - We climb (to)Mount Nemrut every year.
Note: - tırmanmak - to climb (to, up to) - takes a Dative Object in -a or -e as this verb shows "movement towards..."
götürmek - götürür - to bring
Mehmet, yemeğini her gün evden götürür - Mehmet, brings his lunch from home every day.
beğenmek - beğenir - to like, approve
Türk kahvesini beğenirler - They like Turkish coffee.
Translation of - "used to.."
If the past tense endings are added to the Wide Tense Positive -r verb stem then the meaning is habitual in the past. This translated by - used to ... - in English. However in Turkish the Simple Present Tense is used with the past tense personal endings habitual in the past.
- Sık sık buraya gelirdim.
- I used to come here very often
- ** Gençken çok gülerdin
- You used to laugh a lot when [Lit: while..] you were young.
This is another way of saying: ** Genç olduğun zaman çok gülerdin. - When you were young you used to laugh a lot. - Kuşadada (Kuşadasında) kalırken her zaman denizde yüzerdi
- He always used to swim in the sea when staying at Kuşadası.
Note: Locally people say Kuşadada - "in Kuşadası" - but grammatically it should be - Kuşadasında - "in Kuşadası" - 1950 yılından önce Türkiyede kola içilirdi.
- Coca-cola used to be drunk in Turkey before 1950.
- Dersler bittikten sonra uzun zaman/süre beni beklerdin.
- You always used to wait for me a long time after school finished.
- Tatilde kamp yaparken hep/daima iyi uyurlardı
- They always used to sleep very well while on holiday while camping.
We should note that although iken translates as while.. in English, it is very often better to translate it as - "when..", although this is not literally correct [see * and ** above]
Thanks to Nurcan Akaltun Çiftçi for corrections to the above section - JG - May 2008.Proverbs - "Atasözler"
Turkish Proverbs are usually written in the Wide Tense habitual tense. Here are some examples in the positive form of the 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.
- Emek ver, kulak ver, bilgi ver, ama hiçbir zaman boş verme. - [the final - verme - is negative]
- Give labour, ear and knowledge, but never give notice. [never don't bother..].
- Fakirlik ayıp değil tembellik ayıp.
- Poverty is no shame but idleness is.
- Güzel gören güzel düşünür. Güzel düşünen hayattan lezzet alır.
- An observer of beauty thinks of beauty. Those who think beauty taste life.
- 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.
See Turkish proverbs A to Z
- at Wikipedia Website.
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