Turkish/Present Tense

The all-purpose present tense suffix in Turkish is -(i)yor. This suffix used to be a full verb yormak, but has turned into a suffix in modern Turkish. Because of this, the o in the suffix is invariable, and does not harmonize with the stem. Instead, an ı, i, u or ü is added before the suffix, making the full form of the suffix -ıyor/-iyor/-uyor/-üyor. Formation In verbs ending with consonants When the verb stem ends in a consonant, the ending -iyor is added to the stem, with respect to 4-way vowel harmony. The personal ending harmonizes with the o in the suffix.Verb stem + appropriate form of yor no + personal ending purple ben purple kır breakıyor b noum purple no I am breaking sen purple kır breakıyor b nosun purple no you are breaking o purple kır breakıyor b nopurple no he/she is breaking biz purple kır breakıyor b nouz purple no we are breaking siz purple kır breakıyor b nosunuz purple no you are breaking onlar purple kır breakıyor b no(lar) purple no they are breaking ben purple gel comeiyor b noum purple no I am coming sen purple gel comeiyor b nosun purple no you are coming o purple gel comeiyor b nopurple no he/she is coming biz purple gel comeiyor b nouz purple no we are coming siz purple gel comeiyor b nosunuz purple no you are coming onlar purple gel comeiyor b no(lar) purple no they are coming ben purple sor askuyor b noum purple no I am asking sen purple sor askuyor b nosun purple no you are asking o purple sor askuyor b nopurple no he/she is asking biz purple sor ask}uyor b nouz purple no we are asking siz purple sor askuyor b nosunuz purple no you are asking onlar purple sor ask}uyor b no(lar) purple no they are asking ben purple öl dieüyor b noum purple no I am dying sen purple öl dieüyor b nosun purple no you are dying o purple öl dieüyor b nopurple no he/she is dying biz purple öl dieüyor b nouz purple no we are dying siz purple öl dieüyor b nosunuz purple no you are dying onlar purple öl dieüyor b no(lar) purple no they are dying An important special case arises with the verbs etmek to do/make and gitmek to go, where the t in the stem softens to d when the suffix is added. ed do/makeiyor b noum purple no I am doing gid goiyor b noum purple no I am coming In verbs ending with vowels When the stem ends with a or e, the last vowel is dropped, and is replaced with ı, i, u or ü depending on the previous vowel. If the stem already ends with ı, i, u or ü; the suffix -yor is simply added without changing the stem, followed by the personal ending. Verb stem + appropriate form of yor no + personal ending purple ben purple ödü payyor b noum purple no I am paying sen purple ödü payyor b nosun purple no you are paying o purple ödü payyor b nopurple no he/she is paying biz purple ödü payyor b nouz purple no we are paying siz purple ödü payyor b nosunuz purple no you are paying onlar purple ödü payyor b no(lar) purple no they are paying ben purple oku readyor b noum purple no I am reading sen purple oku readyor b nosun purple no you are reading o purple oku readyor b nopurple no he/she is reading biz purple oku readyor b nouz purple no we are reading siz purple oku readyor b nosunuz purple no you are reading onlar purple oku readyor b no(lar) purple no they are reading An important special case to note is the verbs demek to say and yemek to eat, which do not have a second-to-last vowel to harmonize with. di sayyor b noum purple no I am saying yi eatyor b noum purple no I am eating Negative form Since the usual negative suffix -ma/-me ends in a vowel, it turns into -mı/-mi/-mu/-mü when used with the present tense. bak lookmı darkred noyor b noum purple no I am not looking gör seemü darkred noyor b noum purple no I am not seeing Interrogative/Question form The question partice mu comes after the suffix, but before the personal ending. It is spelled separately from the stem. A y is appended before the personal ending in the first singular and plural person. dön returnüyor b no mu darkgreen noyuz purple no Are we returning? yan burnıyor b no mu darkgreen no Is it burning? Negative questions are also possible. kalk get upmı darkred noyor b no mu darkgreen noyuz purple no Aren't we leaving (Literally: Aren't we getting up) Pronunciation Stress In the affirmative form, the ı/i/u/ü part of the suffix is usually stressed. In the interrogative form, the stress shifts to the yor part of the suffix. In the negative and negative interrogative form, the stress is on the last syllable of the verb stem. Geliyorum Gelmiyorum Geliyor musun? Dropping of the r in informal speech The r in the suffix is often dropped in spoken language, so it is declined like this: ben purple iç drinkiyo b nom purple no I am drinking sen purple iç drinkiyo b non purple no you are drinking o purple iç drinkiyo b no he/she is drinking biz purple iç drinkiyo b noz purple no we are drinking siz purple iç drinkiyo b nonuz purple no you are drinking onlar purple iç drinkiyo b no(lar) purple no they are drinking In very informal contexts, such as texting/online chatting, the suffix is often spelled without the y, like bakıom (bakıyorum). Usage -yor is one of the most common suffixes in Turkish, because it can be used on a wide array of situations. Progressive For events happening in the present, we use the present progressive. This largely corresponds to the English present continuous tense. Ne yapıyorsunuz? What are you doing? Sofrayı hazırlıyorum. I'm preparing the table. Niçin böyle düşünüyorsun? Why are you thinking like this? -makta/-mekte In very formal speech, the suffix -makta/mekte may be used as the present continuous as well. This may also be used to stress the continuity of the action in informal speech as well. Meclis, yeni bir kanun tasarısını tartışmakta. The Parliament is currently debating a new bill. Habitual Turkish/Aorist The present tense covers many cases of the English simple present as well. -yor may be used habitually, as well as narratively. Sabahları okula metroyla gidiyorum. Every morning, I go to school with the subway. Genelde bu işlere zamanım yetmiyor. I don't usually have time for stuff like this. Türkçe öğrenmek çok emek istiyor. Learning Turkish requires a lot of effort. However, -yor contrasts with the Aorist -ar in this usage, so these distinctions will be further examined in that article. Future Turkish/Future Tense