Present continuous tense in Turkish (şimdiki zaman)
The present continuous tense is used to show what is happening now at this moment and also used to express something that will happen in the near future. The present continuous tense is called as 'şimdiki zaman' in Turkish. The present tense suffix "-iyor" (-ing) does not follow the vowel harmony rules and always retains in the "-yor" form.
Lesson Outline
HideHow to form the present continuous tense
The 3 forms of the present continuous tense are:
- Positive form
- Negative form
- Question form
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Positive form
To form a positive verb in the present continuous tense, the suffix '-(i)yor is added to the verb root and then personal suffix is added. The letter -(i) can take a shape as "ı/u/ü" according to the verb root's last vowel.
Verb root + -(i)yor + personal suffix
| Last vowel of the verb root-> | a/ı | e/i | o/ö | u/ü |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Add-> | -ıyor | -iyor | -uyor | -üyor |
Example table
| yaz (write) | git (go) |
|---|---|
| Ben yazıyorum. (I am writing.) | Ben gidiyorum. (I am going.) |
| Sen yazıyorsun. (You are writing.) | Sen gidiyorsun. (You are going.) |
| O yazıyor. (He/she/it is writing.) | O gidiyor. (He/she/it is going.) |
| Biz yazıyoruz. (We are writing.) | Biz gidiyoruz. (We are going.) |
| Siz yazıyorsunuz. (You are writing.) | Siz gidiyorsunuz. (You are going.) |
| Onlar yazıyorlar. (They are writing.) | Onlar gidiyorlar. (They are going.) |
Negative form
One of the following suffixes are used "-mı, -mi, -mu, -mü" after the verb root according to the last vowel of the verb root.
verb root + -me(negative suffix) + -(i)yor + personal suffix
| Last vowel of the verb root-> | a/ı | e/i | o/u | ö/ü |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Add-> | -mı | -mi | -mu | -mü |
Example table
| Verb | Negative example |
|---|---|
| yaz (write) | Ben yazmıyorum. (I am not writing.) |
| izle (watch) | Onlar izlemiyorlar. (They are not watching.) |
| otur (sit) | Biz oturmuyoruz. (We are not sitting.) |
| yüz(swim) | O yüzmüyor. (She is not swimming.) |
Question form
The suffix '-mu' is added between the present continuous case suffix and personal suffix. The suffix '-mu' is always written as a seperate word with the personal suffix.
verb root + -(i)yor + -mu + personal suffix
Example table
| Question form of the verb 'yaz' (write) | |
|---|---|
| Ben yazıyor muyum? | Am I writing? |
| Sen yazıyor musun? | Are you writing? |
| O yazıyor mu? | Is he/she/it writing? |
| Biz yazıyor muyuz? | Are we writing? |
| Siz yazıyor musunuz? | Are you writing? |
| Onlar yazıyorlar mı? | Are they writing? |
Exercises
- Multiple choice exercise on the present continuous tense
- Fill in the blanks exercise about the present continuous tense
Multiple choice exercise on the present continuous tense
Fill in the blanks exercise about the present continuous tense
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