Turkish Language - the Formation of the Future Tense
The future tense sign is -ecek- or -acak- to which the personal suffixes are attached. When a personal ending which begins in a vowel is suffixed then the final -k- of this tense sign is softened to a -ğ- thus producing the forms to -eceğ- or -acağ-
Note that we are showing the third person singular pronoun - o - he/she/it - in the tables below.
Usages of the Future Tense
The Future Tense is used for :
Decisions - İlerde doktor olacağım. - I'm going to be a doctor.
Offers and Promises - Sana bisiklet alacağım. - I will buy you a bicycle.
Predictions - Hava yarın çok güzel olacak. - The weather will be fine tomorrow.
Commands - İlk önce bunu bitireceksin. - First of all you will finish this.
Obligations - Yarına ödeviniz bitecek. - By tomorrow our duty must finish.
Conjugation of the Future Tense
| Positive Verb - gelmek - to come | Negative Verb - gelmemek - not to come | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| geleceğim | I shall come | gelmeyeceğim | I shall not come |
| geleceksin | you will come | gelmeyeceksin | you will not come |
| O gelecek | he will come | O gelmeyecek | he will not come |
| geleceğiz | we shall come | gelmeyeceğiz | we shall not come |
| geleceksiniz | you will come | gelmeyeceksiniz | you will not come |
| gelecekler | they will come | gelmeyecekler | they will not come |
| In pronunciation the Future Negative is often pronounced gelmiyeceğim - that is: the Negative Particle -me- or -ma- abrades to -mi- or - mı- | |||
Verb Stem ends in a Vowel
The buffer letter -y- is used if the verb stem ends in a vowel in order to keep the vowels apart when the -ecek future suffix is added the verb.
| Positive Verb - aramak - to seek, look for | Negative Verb - aramamak - not look for |
|---|---|
| arayacağım [ara-y-acağım] - I shall look for | aramayacağım [arama-y-acağım] - I shall not look for |
| arayacaksın - you will look for | aramayacaksın - you will not look for |
| O arayacak - he will look for | O aramayacak - he will not look for |
| arayacağız - we shall look for | aramayacağız - we shall not look for |
| arayacaksınız - you will look for | aramayacaksınız - you will not look for |
| arayacaklar - they will look for | aramayacaklar - they will not look for |
In Conversation
If a verb stem ends in -a or -e as does ara-mak above, then the final -a or -e is somtimes pronounced as -ı and -i the positive future tense. eg:arıyacağım. Also as the stem of the positive verb ends in a vowel then a buffer letter -y- is inserted to separate two vowels ara-y-acağım. - (as written), or arı-y-acağım - (as spoken)
Some Examples of this Vowel Change
söyleyecek - he wil speak - (as written), becomes - söyliyecek - he will speak - (as spoken)
oksayacaklar - they will caress/stroke - (as written), becomes - oksıyacaklar - they will caress - (as spoken)
However, the verb stems which end with a final vowel -ı or -i or -o or -ö or -u or -ü do not mutate and retain their original vowel when the future tense sign is added to the verb stem. For Instance yürümek - to walk - retains its final -ü in the future tense - yürüyecek and uyumak - to sleep - becomes - uyuyacak
Also in fast, local talk (also in television programmes the -ecak/-acak future suffix offen gets abraded in converstation thus:
Gideceğim - gidicem - I will go
Gideceğiz - gidicez - we will go
Yazacağım - yazıcım - I will write
Yazacağız - yazıcım - We will write
Güleceğim - gülecim - I will laugh
Güleceğiz - güleciz - We will laugh
Example from the WWW net:
Uyuyakaldım koşa koşa ofise gidicim şimdi - I slept over, now I'll go to the office in a hurry - kept on sleeping - running, running
The Interrogative of the Future Tense
The interrogative is formed as usual by placing the interrogative personal pronouns after the future tense verb root written separately but observing vowel harmony rules.
The Positive Interrogative Future Tense
| yürümek - to walk - becomes - yürüyecek - future verb stem | |
|---|---|
| yürüyecek miyim? | Shall I walk? - Am I going to walk? |
| yürüyecek misin? | Will you walk? - Are you going to walk? |
| O yürüyecek mi? | Will he walk?- Is he going to walk? |
| yürüyecek miyiz? | Shall we walk? - Are we going to walk? |
| yürüyecek miysniz? | Will you walk? - Are you going to walk? |
| yürüyecekler mi? | Will they walk?- Are they going to walk? |
The Negative Interrogative Future Tense
| yazmamak - not to write - becomes - yazmayacak - future verb stem | |
|---|---|
| yazmayacak mıyım? | Shall I not write? - Am I not going to write? |
| yazmayacak mısın? | Will you not write? |
| O yazmayacak mı? | Will he not write? |
| yazmayacak mıyız? | Shall we not write? |
| yazmayacak mısınız? | Will you not write? |
| yazmayacaklar mı? | Will they not write? |
The Future of the verb - "to be"
- In the Present Tense - hazırım - I am ready - and the Past Tense - hazırdım - I was ready - the verb "to be" is suffix, which is affixed to the word it modifies. However there is no future tense of the verb "to be" in suffix form, it does not exist.
- Therefore the Future of the verb - olmak - to become - is employed to form the Future Tense of the verb "to be" - hazır olacağım - I shall be ready.
- As the verb - olmak - to become - is a word in its own right, then it is NOT affixed as a suffix to the word it modified, but is written separately.
Positive Future Tense of the Verb - to be
The Verb olmak - to be/to become - One of its most important auxiliary functions is its use as the Future Tense of the Verb - to be. Olmak is not a suffix, is written separately.
| Present Tense | Future Tense - with olmak | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| hazırım | I am ready | hazır olacağım | I shall be ready |
| zenginsin | you are rich | zengin olacaksın | you will be rich |
| yoksuldur | he is poor | yoksul olacak | he will be poor |
| yoksuldurlar | they are poor | yoksul olacaklar | they will be poor |
| bugün İstanbul'dayım | today I am in Istanbul | yarın İstanbul' da olacağım | tomorrow I shall be in Istanbul |
Negative Future Tense of the Verb - to be
The Negative Verb olmamak - not to be/not to become - One of its most important auxiliary functions is its use as the Negative Future Tense of the Verb - not to be. Olmamak is not a suffix, is written separately.
| Present Tense | Future Tense - with olmak | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| hazır değilim | I am not ready | hazır olmayacağım | I shall not be ready |
| zengin değilsin | you are not rich | zengin olmayacaksın | you will not be rich |
| yoksul değildi | he was not poor | yoksul olmayacak | he will not be poor |
| yoksul değiller | they are not poor | yoksul olmayacaklar | they will not be poor |
| Şimdi İstanbul'da değilim | I am not in Istanbul now | Yarın İstanbul' da olmayacağım | I shall not be in Istanbul tomorrow |
Building Extended Verb Forms - The Active and Passive Mood Future
Active - kesmek - to cut
O, yarın onu kesecek - He will cut it tomorrow
Passive - kesilmek - to be cut
O, yarın kesilecek - It will be cut tomorrow
Active Potential Future - kesebilmek - to be able to cut
O, yarın onu kesebilecek - He, will be able to cut it tomorrow
Passive Potential Future - kesilebilmek - To be able to be to be cut
O, yarın kesilebilecek - It will be able to be cut tomorrow
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