Present continous tense This tense is mainly used for talking about what is happening now. In English, the verb would be changed by adding the suffix ing, and using it in conjunction with the correct form of the verb to be. For example, the verb to go is changed as follows: I am going you are going he/she/it is going we are going you are going they are going In Turkish, the suffix used to convey the meaning of something happening now is the iyor suffix. This suffix follows the i-type vowel harmony, so there will be four variations. Just as in English, this will be used in conjunction with the to be endings. In order to use the present tense, 1. take off the mek ending from the verb 2. put the iyor ending onto the verb stem 3. put the correct to be ending at the end Örnek gelmek to come gelmek gel gel + iyor geliyor + um geliyorum I am coming ben gel iyor um geliyorum I am coming sen gel iyor sun geliyorsun you are coming o gel iyor geliyor he/she/it is coming biz gel iyor uz geliyoruz we are coming siz gel iyor sunuz geliyorsunuz you are coming onlar gel iyor lar geliyorlar they are coming Turkish For Beginners Page 1 Lesson 25
Örnekler oturmak to sit oturuyorum I am sitting içmek to drink içiyorum I am drinking bakmak to look bakıyorum I am looking öpmek to kiss öpüyorum I am kissing If there is a vowel at the end of the verb stem, creating a vowel clash with iyor, then the vowel at the end of the verb stem is removed. başlamak to start başla + iyor başlıyor + um başlıyorum I am starting yemek to eat ye + iyor yiyor + um yiyorum I am eating uyumak to sleep uyu + iyor uyuyor+ um uyuyorum I am sleeping Other uses This tense can be used in several ways as well as to explain what is happening right now. It can be used for the following purposes: 1. To say what is happenning now. kitap okuyorum I am reading a book 2. Stating an unchanging fact. sigara kullanmıyorum I don t smoke 3. Describing something that happens often her gün plaja gidiyorum I go to the beach every day 4. Describing something that will happen soon bu akşam sinemaya gidiyorum I am going to the cinema this evening Turkish For Beginners Page 2 Lesson 25
Alıştırmalar Use the three words given to make up three sentences, as in the example. Use the first word with to be endings to say what you are. Use the second word with the possessive ending to say what you have got. Use the third word with the location suffix to say where you work. Translate each sentence. denizci / gemi / deniz Ben denizciyim. Gemim var. Denizde I am a sailor. I have a ship. I work at sea. 1. şoför / araba / İstanbul Ben şoförüm. Arabam var. İstanbul da I am a chauffeur. I have a car. I work in Istanbul. 2. bankacı / para / banka Ben bankacıyım. Param var. Bankada I am a banker. I have money. I work in a bank. 3. doktor / hastalar / hastane Ben doktorum. Hastalarım var. Hastanede I am a doctor. I have patients. I work in a hospital. 4. öğretmen / öğrenciler / okul Ben öğretmenim. Öğrencilerim var. Okulda I am a teacher. I have students. I work in a school. 5. polis / tabanca / karakol Ben polisim. Tabancam var. Karakolda I am a policeman. I have a handgun. I work at the police station. 6. bakkal / bakkal / bakkal Ben bakkalım. Bakkalım var. Bakkalda I am a shopkeeper. I have a shop. I work in a shop. 7. aşçı / lokanta / mutfak Ben aşçıyım. Lokantam var. Mutfakta I am a chef. I have a restaurant. I work in a kitchen. 8. garson / tepsi / lokanta Ben garsonum. Tepsim var. Lokantada I am a waiter. I have a tray. I work in a restaurant. 9. asker / silah / ordu Ben askerim. Silahım var. Orduda I am a soldier. I have a weapon. I work in the army. 10. çiftçi / hayvanlar / çiftlik Ben çiftçiyim. Hayvanlarım var. Çiftlikte I am a farmer. I have animals. I work on a farm. Turkish For Beginners Page 3 Lesson 25
Negative sentences We have already seen how to negate a verb when we looked at the command form. To tell someone not to do something, the suffix me was added to the verb stem. gelme don t come! When you want to say something is not happenning, the same suffix is used. So in order to change the above command to present continous tense iyor needs to be added to the end. gelme + iyor + um But there is a vowel clash! In order to deal with this type of vowel clash, the e is removed from the me. So that the word becomes gelme + iyor + um gelmiyorum I am not coming ben gel m iyor um gelmiyorum I am not coming sen gel m iyor sun gelmiyorsun you are not coming o gel m iyor gelmiyor he/she/it is not coming biz gel m iyor uz gelmiyoruz we are not coming siz gel m iyor sunuz gelmiyorsunuz you are not coming onlar gel m iyor lar gelmiyorlar they are not coming Örnekler oturmak oturmuyorum I am not sitting içmek içmiyorum I am not drinking bakmak bakmıyorum I am not looking öpmek öpmüyorum I am not kissing Turkish For Beginners Page 4 Lesson 25
Alıştırmalar Change the positive sentences into negative sentences. Then translate both sentences. Örnek Positive: oturuyorum I am sitting Negative: oturmuyorum I am not sitting 1. Positive: geliyorum I am coming Negative: gelmiyorum I am not coming 2. Positive: satıyorum I am selling Negative: satmıyorum I am not selling 3. Positive: sürüyorum I am driving Negative: sürmüyorum I am not driving 4. Positive: yazıyorum I am writing Negative: yazmıyorum I am not writing 5. Positive: alıyorum I am buying Negative: almıyorum I am not buying 6. Positive: koşuyorum I am running Negative: koşmuyorum I am not running 7. Positive: bakıyorum I am looking Negative: bakmıyorum I am not looking 8. Positive: veriyorum I am giving Negative: vermiyorum I am not giving 9. Positive: gidiyorum I am going Negative: gitmiyorum I am not going 10. Positive: gülüyorum I am laughing Negative: gülmüyorum I am not laughing Turkish For Beginners Page 5 Lesson 25
Alıştırmalar Complete the postcard by using the verbs in the present tense form. Change the verbs to present tense positive statement first, then put them in the correct gaps. What does the postcard say? geçmek gitmek içmek istemek oturmak yazmak to pass to go to drink to want to sit to write Sevgili Duygu, Sana İstanbul dan yazıyorum. Şimdi Boğaz da bir lokantada oturuyorum ve kahve içiyorum. Deniz, manzara ve hava çok güzel. Tatil güzel geçiyorum. Yarın İzmir e gidiyorum. Orada bir hafta kalmak istiyorum. Efes e de gitmek istiyorum. Sevgilerle, Hakan Dear Duygu, I am writing to you from Istanbul. I am sitting in a restaurant on the Bosphorus and drinking coffee at the moment. The sea, the view and the weather are lovely. The holiday is going well. Tomorrow I am going to Izmir. I want to stay there for a week. I want to go to Efes. With love, Hakan Turkish For Beginners Page 6 Lesson 25