The Present Continuous Tense
This tense takes the form of - "be doing, be not doing, be saying, be not saying, be going, etc. I am going, are you thinking? we are not staying, are they not trying? etc."
This tense takes the form of - "be doing, be not doing, be saying, be not saying, be going, etc. I am going, are you thinking? we are not staying, are they not trying? etc."
The Tense sign of the Present Continuous Tense is -iyor- -ıyor- -üyor- -uyor-
which is added to the verb root. The tense endings are completed by adding the personal suffixes.
When the verb root itself ends in a vowel, as in bekle-mek - to wait, expect becoming bekl-iyor, then this vowel is also dropped as the head vowel of the -iyor tense sign replaces it.
The first letter -i- of -iyor- is subject to vowel harmony with the verb stem's final vowel. The Tense Sign -iyor- can be likened to the English Tense sign -ing.
| The Personal Endings -Present Continuous | |
|---|---|
| geliyorum [geliyor-um] | I am coming |
| bakıyorsun [bakıyor-sun] | you are looking |
| giriyor [giriyor] | he, she, it is entering |
| çıkıyoruz [çıkıyor-uz] | we are going out |
| buluyorsunuz [buluyor-sunuz] | you are finding |
| gülüyorlar [gülüyor-lar] | they are laughing |
| gelmek - [gel -mek] - to come | gelmemek - [gelme -mek] - not to come |
|---|---|
| geliyorum - I am coming | gelmiyorum - I am not coming |
| geliyorsun - you are coming | gelmiyorsun - you are not coming |
| geliyor - he is coming | gelmiyor - he is not coming |
| geliyoruz - we are coming | gelmiyoruz - we are not coming |
| geliyorsunuz - you are coming | gelmiyorsunuz - you are not coming |
| geliyorlar - they are coming | gelmiyorlar - they are not coming |
The vowel of gelmek (E-Dotted group) is -e- therefore the tense sign begins with Dotted i -iyor-. The infinitive verb ending -mek is dropped from the verb stem and -iyor- is added together with the personal endings to form the tense.
All Negative Verb roots that end in a vowel as in: gelmemek - [gelme -mek] - not to come also drop this final vowel from the vowel stem so that when the tense sign -iyor- is added two vowels do not occur together. [gelmeiyorum is incorrect]. The Rule is that Negative Verbs drop the final vowel of the root along with -mek or -mak.
Note that the final vowel of any verb stem is dropped when adding -iyor in order to keep two vowels apart. This applies to all negative Verbs - in both the A-UnDotted Vowel and the E-Dotted Groups - as they all end in a vowel of the -me or -ma negative particle. As an example see bilme-mek becomes bil-m-iyor in table above.
| Examples of the E-Dotted vowel group of Verbs | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| vermek | to give | veriyor | he/she/it is giving |
| vermemek | not to give | vermiyor | he/she/it is not giving |
| bilmek | to know | biliyor | … knowing |
| bilmemek | not to know | bilmiyor | … not knowing |
| görmek | to see | görüyor | … seeing |
| görmemek | not to see | görmüyor | … not seeing |
| gülmek | to laugh | gülüyor | … laughing |
| gülmemek | not to laugh | gülmüyor | … not laughing |
Note that the final vowel of any verb is dropped when adding -iyor in order to keep two vowels apart. This applies to all positive Verbs. (in both A-Nodots and E-Dotted Groups). As an example see kuru -mak becomes kur -uyor and ağrı -mak becomes ağr -ıyor in table above. All negative verb stems lose their final stem vowel as they end in the negative particle -me or -ma.
| Examples of the A-UnDotted vowel group of Verbs | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| yapmak | to do, make, perform | yapıyor | he/she/it is doing |
| yapmamak | not to do.. etc | yapmıyor | he/she/it is not doing |
| ağrımak | to ache | ağrıyor | … aching |
| ağrımamak | not to ache | ağrımıyor | … not aching |
| kopmak | to snap | kopuyor | … snapping |
| kopmamak | not to snap | kopmuyor | … not snapping |
| kurumak | to dry | kuruyor | … drying |
| kurumamak | not to dry | kurumuyor | … not drying |
| Examples of Verb Root ending in a Vowel | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| beklemek | to wait, expect | beklememek | to not wait, expect |
| bekliyorum | I am waiting | beklemiyorum | I am not waiting |
| bekliyorsun | you are waiting | beklemiyorsun | you are not waiting |
| bekliyor | he/she/it is waiting | beklemiyor | he/she/it is not waiting |
| bekliyoruz | we are waiting | beklemiyoruz | we are not waiting |
| bekliyorsunuz | you are waiting | beklemiyorsunuz | you are not waiting |
| bekliyorlar | they are waiting | beklemiyorlar | they are not waiting |
The root of this verb is bekle- but we must also drop this final vowel -e before adding the tense sign-iyor- in order that two vowels do not occur together. [bekleiyorum would be incorrect]. The Rule is that the final vowel of verb stem is dropped along with -mek or -mak
The positive verb is bakmak - to look. The negative verb is bakmamak - not to look.
bakmak - to look - is a verb of the A-UnDotted Group therefore the tense sign also begins with an undotted ı -ıyor-. The tense sign -ıyor- is then added under vowel harmony rules.
| A-Undotted verbs ending in a consonant | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| bakmak | to look, to look at | bakmamak | not to look, not to look at |
| bakıyorum | I am looking | bakmıyorum | I am not looking |
| bakıyorsun | you are looking | bakmıyorsun | you are not looking |
| bakıyor | he is looking | bakmıyor | he is not looking |
| bakıyoruz | we are looking | bakmıyoruz | we are not looking |
| bakıyorsunuz | you are looking | bakmıyorsunuz | you are notlooking |
| bakıyorlar | they are looking | bakmıyorlar | they are not looking |
For verbs of the A-UnDotted Group with a i o u in verb stem the suffix -mak signifies the positive verb - while -mamak is used for the negative verb. The positive verb is bakmak - to see. The negative verb is bakmamak - not to see
The positive verb is yürümek - to walk. The negative verb is yürümemek - not to walk.
yürümek - to walk - is a verb of the E-Dotted Group therefore the tense sign also begins with an dotted ü -üyor-. This verb also has a final vowel in the verb stem which is dropped along with the infinitive sign -mek. The tense sign -üyor- is then added under vowel harmony rules.
| E-Dotted verbs ending in a vowel | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| yürümek | to walk | yürümemek | not to walk |
| yürüyorum | I am walking | yürümüyorum | I am not walking |
| yürüyorsun | you are walking | yürümüyorsun | you are not walking |
| yürüyor | he is walking | yürümüyor | he is not walking |
| yürüyoruz | we are walking | yürümüyoruz | we are not walking |
| yürüyorsunuz | you are walking | yürümüyorsunuz | you are not walking |
| yürüyorlar | they are walking | yürümüyorlar | they are not walking |
For verbs of the E-Dotted Group with e ı ö ü in verb stem the suffix -mek signifies the positive verb while -memek is used for the negative verb. The positive verb is yürümek - to walk. The negative verb is yürümemek - not to walk
This example contains vowels of the A-Undotted Group, so the first vowel of -ıyor is also undotted. The final vowel of the negative particle -ma is also dropped (to keep two vowels apart)
| Negative Verb Example | |
|---|---|
| yapmamak | not to do, not to make, not to perform |
| yapmıyorum | I am not doing |
| yapmıyorsun | you are not doing |
| yapmıyor | he is not doing |
| yapmıyoruz | we are not doing |
| yapmıyorsunuz | you are not doing |
| yapmıyorlar | they are not doing |
To form questions the question particle mi? - (which is subject to Vowel harmony) - is used after -iyor. It is written separately and the personal ending is added making a question tag. However the third person plural is slightly different in that the question particle mi? is always placed last for reasons of ease of pronunciation. The question particle mi? is subject to vowel harmony so can have four forms mi?, mı?, mu?, mü?. It retains its vowel harmonization even when not attached as a suffix.
A Note about Question Formation Generally
The Question Particle - mı? mi? mu? mü? - is placed after the item that you are questioning: It is NOT always the VERB that is in question. - This is the same for English.
Examples of Question Particle Positioning
Mehmet, şimdi eve gidiyor mu? - Is Mehmet going home now? [Mehmet, is he going home now?] - Question on the verb. [to go - gitmek]
Mehmet, eve mi gidiyor?- Is it home that Mehmet is going to? - Question on the Object - [home - ev]
Mehmet mi, eve gidiyor? - Is it Mehmet who is going home? - - Question on The subject - [Mehmet]
Bisiklet, ters mi duruyor? - Is the bicycle upside down? - [The bicycle, is it upside down? - Here the position of the bicycle is in question]
Mehmet, kemen mi çalıyor? - Is Mehmet playing the violin? - [Is it the violin? That he is playing. Here the "violin" is in question.]
The verb - çalmak has two meanings: (1) To play a musical instrument and (2) To steal something - O, kemen mi çalıyor? - Could mean - Is it a violin that he is stealing? or Isit a violin that he is playing?
Bir hirsiz arabamı çaldı - A thief stole my car.
| The Positive - Interrogative - Forming Negative Questions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| gelmek | to come | gelmemek | to not come |
| geliyor muyum? | am I coming? | gelmiyor muyum? | aren't I coming? |
| geliyor musun? | are you coming? | gelmiyor musun? | aren't you coming? |
| geliyor mu? | is he coming? | gelmiyor mu? | isn't he coming? |
| geliyor muyuz? | are we coming? | gelmiyor musunuz? | aren't you coming? |
| geliyor musunuz? | are you coming? | gelmiyor muyuz? | aren't we coming? |
| geliyorlar mı? | are they coming? | gelmiyorlar mı? | aren't they coming? |
The question tags muyum?, musun? etc are always written separately from the verb itself. The tags do however follow vowel harmony rules even that they are not directly suffixed to the verb stem itself.
The negative questions are formed in the same manner using the negative verb stem. Note that the vowel harmonized question tag is still written separated from the verb stem
Some Examples
yarın şehre gidiyorum - tomorrow I am going to town
yarın şehre gitmiyorum - tomorrow I am not going to town
benimle gelmiyor musunuz? - aren't you coming with me?
küçük odada uyumuyorlar mı? - aren't they sleeping in the small room?
evi boyuyor - he is painting the house - [ev-i - Lit: the house - direct object.]
Mehmet kendi evini boyamıyor - Mehmet is not painting his own house - [ev-i-n-i - Lit: the house of him - possessed direct object.]
From Example (1) above it can be seen that Turkish uses the Present Continuous Tense as a Future Tense of Intention, just as we do in English - ie. - We are going to Turkey next month - [Future of Intention]
Spelling Exceptions - Basic Verb Stems
Only four verbs change their root spelling from -t to -d when adding a vowel :
gitmek - to go - becomes - gidiyorum - I am going
ditmek - to shred - (this verb is often used in recipes) - becomes - didiyor - he shreds
tatmak - to taste (of) - becomes - tadıyor - it tastes (of..)
etmek - to do/perform - becomes - ediyorum - I am doing etc.
Note: This verb - etmek - includes all verbs containing - etmek such as kaybetmek - to lose and affetmek - to pardon, to excuseAll other verbs retain their original spelling, for instance:
bitmek - to end - bitiyor - it is finishing - [NOT bidiyor]
batmak - to sink - batıyor - it is sinking - [NOT badıyor]
This tense is coming into use more and more each day. It is especially used in newspapers, but is also being used in conversation. Its base is formed by adding the locative suffix to the infinitive, to which the personal endings of the verb "to be" are then added.
It means "I am presently doing something and I am still doing it at the moment". It is best translated into English as "I have been doing (and am still doing)"
Let us take an example beklemek - to wait
beklemekteyim [beklemek-te-yim] - I have been waiting (and am still waiting..)
Saat beşten beri bankada seni beklemekteyim - I have been waiting for you in the bank since five o'clock (and I am still waiting)
A newspaper might print - Futbol takımımız İtalya'da oynamaktadır. - Our football team are presently playing in Italy (and are still there). We mention this tense as it is used very much in newspaper talk, so you should recognize it as such.
Abstract from an Academic Thesis on Differences between -Iyor and -mAktA
This work examines the verb units –Iyor and –mAktA in the concept of their running in daily language dialogues and monologs and in academicals texts-speeches with a enunciative approach. These two parts are the markers of the two different qualities of forming the statement by linguistic subject, two different enunciation’s modes (enunciation’s states): The enunciator uses –Iyor when forming an unfinished statement in which he/she does not keep aloof (in enunciation style) with both content and adressee, when forming an unfinished statement in which he/she keeps aloof the enunciator uses –mAktA. In Turkish –Iyor is the unfinished unit without aloofness and –mAktA is the unfinished unit with aloofness. These two parts are opposed as the markers of the two different enunciation modes (enunciation states) and the opposition between them is enunciative. Using –Iyor means "speaking for yourself" and expressing a personal content, attributing the content to yourself, "incident" narration, having a relationship of "me"-"you"; direct address etc.; using –mAktA means attributing the content to another, "speaking for another" and expressing a non-personal content, topic narration (informing by transfer) and not having a relationship of "me"-"you"; reported speech etc. The enunciator is an "internal eye"; a narrator; a person (an invidivual) with –Iyor whereas he is an "external eye"; a presenter; a reporter (observer), an authority (abstract collective personality) with –mAktA.
Talat AKASLAN - http://www.turkishstudies.net/DergiTamDetay.aspx?ID=3538
The past tense endings can also be added to change the tense - Mehmet evde beni belemekteydi - Mehmet had been waiting for me at home.