Past tense in Turkish (geçmiş zaman)
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The past tense shows completed events in the past. The past tense is called 'geçmiş zaman' in Turkish. There are two suffixes that are used in the past tense in Turkish:
- '-di' (definite past tense)
- '-miş' (indefinite past tense).
The difference between those suffixes is depending on whether the speaker witnessed the event or not.
Lesson outline
Hide- 1.Definite past tense (-di'li geçmiş zaman)
- 1.1.How to form the definite past tense
- 1.1.1.Positive form
- 1.1.2.Negative form
- 1.1.3.Question form
- 2.Indefinite past tense
- 2.1.How to form the indefinite past tense
- 2.1.1.Positive form
- 2.1.2.Negative form
- 2.1.3.Question form
- 3.Exercises
- 3.1.Multiple choice exercise on the definite past tense
- 3.2.Multiple choice exercise on the indefinite past tense
- 3.3.Fill in the blanks exercise about the definite past tense
- 3.4.Fill in the blanks exercise about the indefinite past tense
Definite past tense (-di'li geçmiş zaman)
The definite past tense is used when you have personal knowledge or directly experienced something. This tense shows events that are witnessed by the speaker. The suffix '-di' is used and can be formed as ''-dı -du, -dü, -ti, -tı -tu, -tü'' according to the vowel harmony rules.
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How to form the definite past tense
The 3 forms of the definite past tense are:
- Positive form
- Negative form
- Question form
Positive form
According to the verb's last vowel, one of the following suffixes "-dı, -di, -du, -dü" are added to the verb root and then the personal suffix is added.
Verb root + -di (dı/du/dü) + personal suffix
| Last vowel of the verb root -> | a/ı | e/i | o/ö | u/ü |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Add this suffix -> | -dı | -di | -du | -dü |
Examples
- Al (buy) -> İki ekmek aldı. (She bought two breads.)
- İzle (watch) -> Biz film izledik. (We watched a movie.)
- Sor (ask) -> Bana soru sordular. (They asked me a question.)
- Gül (smile) -> Sen bana güldün. (You smiled at me.)
If the last letter of the verb root is one of "ç, f, h, k, s, ş, t, p", the letter "d" is replaced with a "t". Then the suffixes become "-tı, -ti, -tu, -tü".
| Seçmek (to choose) | |
|---|---|
| Ben seçtim. | I chose. |
| Sen seçtin. | You chose. |
| O seçti. | He/she/it chose. |
| Biz seçtik. | We chose. |
| Siz seçtiniz. | You chose. |
| Onlar seçtiler. | They chose. |
Negative form
The negative suffix '-madı' or '-medi' is added to the verb root according to the vowel harmony rules and then the personal suffix is added.
Verb root + (-medi/-madı) + personal suffix
| Last vowel of the verb root -> | a, ı, o, u | e, i, ö, ü |
|---|---|---|
| Add this suffix-> | -madı | -medi |
Examples
- Oku (read) -> Biz kitabı okumadık. (We didn't read the book.)
- Konuş (speak) -> Onlar dün konuşmadılar. (They didn't talk yesterday.)
- Git (go) -> Biz işe gitmedik. (We didn't go to work.)
- Öğren (learn) -> Bir şey öğrenmedim. (I didn't learn anything.)
Question form
According to the verb's last vowel, one of the "-mı, -mi, -mu, -mü" are added after the verb and they are always written as a seperate word.
Verb root + -di (dı/du/dü)+ personal suffix + mi (mı/mu/mü)
Examples
- Arkadaşın geldi mi? (Did your friend come?)
- Seni geri aradı mı? (Did she call you back?)
- Kek yapıyor mu? (Did she make a cake?)
- Kuşu gördün mü? (Did you see the bird?)
Indefinite past tense
The indefinite past tense is used for reporting an event that somebody did not witness in person. The suffix '-miş' is used and can be formed as ''-muş, -mış, -müş'' according to the vowel harmony rules.
How to form the indefinite past tense
The 3 forms of the indefinite past tense are:
- Positive form
- Negative form
- Question form
Positive form
According to the verb's last vowel, one of the following suffixes "-mış, -miş, -muş, -müş" is added to the verb root and then the personal suffx is added.
Verb root + -miş (mış/muş/müş) + personal suffix
| Last vowel of the verb root -> | a/ı | e/i | o/u | ö/ü |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Add this suffix -> | -mış | -miş | -muş | -müş |
Examples
- Al (buy) -> İki ekmek almış. (She bought two breads.)
- İzle (watch) -> Siz film izlemişsiniz. (You watched a film.)
- Sor (ask) -> Bana soru sormuşlar. (They asked me a questions.)
- Gül (smile) -> Sen bana gülmüşsün. (You smiled at me.)
Negative form
The negative suffix '-mamış' or '-memiş' is added to the verb root according to the vowel harmony rules and then the personal suffix is added.
Verb root + -memiş/-mamış + personal suffix
| Last vowel of the verb root -> | a, ı, o, u | e, i, ö, ü |
|---|---|---|
| Add this suffix -> | -mamış | -memiş |
Examples
- Oku (read) -> Biz kitabı okumamışız. (We didn't read the book.)
- Konuş (speak) -> Onlar dün konuşmamışlar. (They didn't talk yesterday.)
- Git (go) -> Biz işe gitmemişiz. (We didn't go work.)
- Öğren (learn) -> Bir şey öğrenmemişim. (I didn't learn anything.)
Question form
According to the verb's last vowel, one of the "-mış mı-/ -miş mi/ -muş mu/ -müş mü" is added after the verb.
Verb root + -miş mi (muş mu...) + personal suffix
Examples
- Arkadaşın gelmiş mi? (Did your friend come?)
- Seni geri aramış mı? (Did she call you back?)
- Kek yapmış mı? (Did she make a cake?)
- Kuşu görmüş mü? (Did you see the bird?)
Exercises
- Multiple choice exercise on the definite past tense
- Multiple choice exercise on the indefinite past tense
- Fill in the blanks exercise about the definite past tense
- Fill in the blanks exercise about the indefinite past tense
Multiple choice exercise on the definite past tense
Multiple choice exercise on the indefinite past tense
Fill in the blanks exercise about the definite past tense
Fill in the blanks exercise about the indefinite past tense
Exercises
- Multiple choice exercise on the definite past tense
- Multiple choice exercise on the indefinite past tense
- Fill in the blanks exercise about the definite past tense
- Fill in the blanks exercise about the indefinite past tense
Multiple choice exercise on the definite past tense
Multiple choice exercise on the indefinite past tense
Fill in the blanks exercise about the definite past tense
Fill in the blanks exercise about the indefinite past tense
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I have experience in teaching Turkish in years. Furthermore, I speak English very well (TOEFL B2) and French (B1) it is advantage for students who are beginners.
Here my methodology when I teach Turkish:
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If students need to focus specific area like writing etc. I am designing my class according to that.
In addition, it is because I am using broad material about Turkish media, you will be familiar the culture and sociology of Turkey.
I like to do lesson in creative and in an organized way; therefore, I believe you will learn fast and you will enjoy learning Turkish with me!
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Then we should know students’ interests, needs, backgrounds and their level of English / Turkish. If we know the aforementioned things, it would be easier for us to decide what kind of materials we can use to attract their attention. Also, one of the key points is that we should motivate the students to learn. As teachers we should teach our students why they learn language/grammar/vocabulary etc. rather than just memorization. Regarding teaching methods we can use student-centered methods. We should use examples from real life so they can broaden students’ knowledge. Also using examples from real life, help students to internalize the examples. I strongly believe that we should make our students acquire the language from all aspects including reading, listening, writing, and speaking.
All in all, as a teacher we have lots of things to do. One of our most important responsibilities’ is to help students to understand that they have enough power and capacity to learn a language if they are determined enough....
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Hello,
I was born in İstanbul and I lived there. I hold a bachelor degree in cinema and television at İstanbul Şehir University. During my university years, my stories have been published in major Turkish literary magazines. After my graduation I have been specializing in children's book illustration and literature. I founded children's book publishing house in Turkey. The name is Yıldız Tozu Publishing and my books were released. I worked as an editor-in-chief in the company. I was finding books in the world and I was publishing them in Turkish. I am practically and professionally working on Turkish language and literature. Later on, I moved France to continue my education and works about literature and art. Currently, I am learning french.
I have experience in teaching Turkish in years. Furthermore, I speak English very well (TOEFL B2) and French (B1) it is advantage for students who are beginners.
Here my methodology when I teach Turkish:
I will use the grammar books and my presentations, time to time.
For speaking practice: illustrations, daily conversations
For listening practice: Turkish songs, movies, series
For reading practice: news and articles about Turkey (for advance students), stories, picture books (for intermediate students), texts from language books (for beginner and intermediate students.)
If students need to focus specific area like writing etc. I am designing my class according to that.
In addition, it is because I am using broad material about Turkish media, you will be familiar the culture and sociology of Turkey.
I like to do lesson in creative and in an organized way; therefore, I believe you will learn fast and you will enjoy learning Turkish with me!
I hope to see you in my class :)
Y. .
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Thank you. Yusuf is very enthusiastic and smart child to learn the language. I am really enjoying for teaching him Turkish.
Hi, my name is Ayşegül. I graduated from Hacettepe University in the department of English Language Teaching. I'm an English teacher in a private institution now. I can teach both English and Turkish.
First and foremost, I want to start with one of my favourite quotation from Richard Henry Dana(!) (I'm not sure whether this quotation belongs to him or not, but I liked it. :) “He who dares to teach must never cease to learn.” First of all, we as teachers must improve ourselves about everything such as cultural knowledge, technology, best seller books new novels etc. We should keep up with the times and try to understand our students.
Then we should know students’ interests, needs, backgrounds and their level of English / Turkish. If we know the aforementioned things, it would be easier for us to decide what kind of materials we can use to attract their attention. Also, one of the key points is that we should motivate the students to learn. As teachers we should teach our students why they learn language/grammar/vocabulary etc. rather than just memorization. Regarding teaching methods we can use student-centered methods. We should use examples from real life so they can broaden students’ knowledge. Also using examples from real life, help students to internalize the examples. I strongly believe that we should make our students acquire the language from all aspects including reading, listening, writing, and speaking.
All in all, as a teacher we have lots of things to do. One of our most important responsibilities’ is to help students to understand that they have enough power and capacity to learn a language if they are determined enough....
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Hi. I am Hatice. I am a Turkish teacher. I graduated from the faculty of education last year. I took courses to teach Turkish in this faculty. I also attended various courses to teach the Turkish language. Speaking, listening, understanding... I have a certificate to teach Turkish to foreigners. I have been giving online Turkish lessons for about a year. Sometimes we practice Turkish with my students. Sometimes I teach them grammar. I do my lessons in three parts. In the first part, we repeat last week's lesson and prepare for the new lesson. In the second part of the lesson, we learn grammar. We listen to video and audio recordings to make the lesson effective. In the last part of the lesson, we practiced. I encourage you to speak Turkish. Don't be afraid to learn Turkish and take a trial lesson. It will be my pleasure to tell you about Turkish culture and the Turkish language.
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Hi, my name is Ayşegül. I graduated from Hacettepe University in the department of English Language Teaching. I'm an English teacher in a private institution now. I can teach both English and Turkish.
First and foremost, I want to start with one of my favourite quotation from Richard Henry Dana(!) (I'm not sure whether this quotation belongs to him or not, but I liked it. :) “He who dares to teach must never cease to learn.” First of all, we as teachers must improve ourselves about everything such as cultural knowledge, technology, best seller books new novels etc. We should keep up with the times and try to understand our students.
Then we should know students’ interests, needs, backgrounds and their level of English / Turkish. If we know the aforementioned things, it would be easier for us to decide what kind of materials we can use to attract their attention. Also, one of the key points is that we should motivate the students to learn. As teachers we should teach our students why they learn language/grammar/vocabulary etc. rather than just memorization. Regarding teaching methods we can use student-centered methods. We should use examples from real life so they can broaden students’ knowledge. Also using examples from real life, help students to internalize the examples. I strongly believe that we should make our students acquire the language from all aspects including reading, listening, writing, and speaking.
All in all, as a teacher we have lots of things to do. One of our most important responsibilities’ is to help students to understand that they have enough power and capacity to learn a language if they are determined enough....
F. B.
As a complete beginner, I am very lucky to have Aysegül as my Turkish tutor. Learning from her is like being in Turkey with a polite, patient and knowledgeable guide. Aysegül is tremendously understanding and always encouraging. Oftentimes, she will ask me a question in Turkish, and due to my baby-level skills in the language, I'll often give her a blank, clueless stare. This does not bother her. She never judges or becomes annoyed at my lack of skills. She just smiles and asks me again or gives hints in English to get me to understand what is being said. Then I don't feel bad or foolish. The thing I like about her immersive approach is this is what foreigners will encounter when in Turkey. If you are serious about learning Turkish, you must speak Turkish most of the time. In order to learn the language, you must listen - and respond - in the language you want to learn. This is her approach and I love it, even if I look like a clueless potato when she asks me questions. Most of the lessons with Aysegül are structured in an immersive way and it is ideal. Since I am not in Turkey, talking with her regularly is the next best thing. Plus, she will kindly correct me when I make a mistake (unlike many of the tremendously polite Turkish population). Her lesson plans are highly structured, logical and abundant. She will go through the materials slowly with you until you understand it. She is always willing to answer questions without annoyance or judgment. After my first lesson, she sent me a ton of materials at no extra charge and without me asking for it. One was a really cool program which helps you learn vocabulary. 100% generous! Aysegül is one of the hardest working and helpful people I have encountered. She is generous to a fault, and despite me trying to compensate her for the extra free hour of time she spent on tutoring me, she refuses any additional payment. (I'll find a way to compensate her, though, just wait!) I am positive your experience will also delight you, so give her a try. You will learn great amounts of Turkish in no time at all. I look forward to many more lessons with her as long as she will allow me to be her eager student.
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