Turkish Language - The Simple Present

Tense - Positive
(1) Habitual Action(2) Consent or Willingness(3) Uncertain
FuturePositive FormSome Examples - the tense sign is -rSome
Examples - the tense sign is -ir -r -r -urThe Positive Interrogative
FormTranslation of - "used to.."Proverbs - "Ataszler"
The Simple Present Tense is also known as the Aorist (Boundless)
Tense in some grammar books.
It is known as the Geni Zaman - Wide Tense - in Turkish
grammar.
It does not specify a time of the present, past or future.
This tense is known as the Wide Tense Tense in Turkish
grammatical terms as it signifies an unbounded time situation. In
Turkish it is called Geni Zaman - The Wide Tense. It is also
considered as a gentle tense and is used as a polite imperative or
polite request. The three uses of the Simple Present are as follows:

(1) Habitual Action

This tense is used where verbs are required to signify a
timeless situation in meaning:
Her gun denizde yzerim. - I swim in the sea every day.
Aye hanm dondurmay cok sever. - Miss Ayshe likes ice
cream a lot.
Her gece eve dnerim. - I come back home every night.
Her gn dzenli olarak tra olur. - He shaves regularly each
day.
Genelikle et yeriz. - Generally we eat meat.
Her hafta sonunda futbol oynarlar. - They play football
every weekend.
In the sentences above there is no indication of future, past or
present time. The tense then is used to denote action that is
habitual or ongoing.
Thanks to Nurcan Akaltun ifti for corrections to the above section - JG May 2008.

(2) Consent or Willingness

The tense also shows consent or willingness.

Kapy aar msnz? - Would you open the door please? - [a
polite request.]
Buna bakar msnz? - Would you look at this please - [a
polite command.]
Evet, onu yaparm. - Yes, I will do the job - [a willing consent.]
ki gecelik bir oda tutarz - We will take a room for two
nights.
In Turkish - would you..? and please.. - are not translated as it
is inherent within the tense itself. This tense is a polite tense.
The Polite Command
Bakar msnz? - Would you look, please?
This is the polite way to get attention of a waiter or any person. It
is similar to the Welsh - Look you? - in that it is not rude.
The Polite Request
Bir ay rica ederim - A tea, please - [Lit: I request a tea.]
Pencereyi kapatr msnz? - Would you close the window,
please?
This is the polite way of asking questions or giving minor orders to
strangers.
The Polite Consent
Ben onu yaparm - I'll do it.
This is a nice way of accepting the responsibility of something.

(3) Uncertain Future

The Simple Present is also used for future events which
are not timed.
Saatin altnda seni beklerim - I'll be waiting under the
clock for you.
Parkn yanndaki bankay tabii ki bulursunuz - You'll find
the bank all right, next to the Park.
Yarn ofiste buluuruz - We'll see each other in the office
tomorrow.

Positive Form
The tense sign is -r which is added directly to the verb stem as
follows:

Single Syllable Verbs

For verbs of one syllable which end in a consonant - the positive
tense sign is -ar or -er. There are some exceptions to this general
rule. This tense is the only one which shows some irregularity in
its formation.
Exceptions to Single Syllable Verbs
Some 13 single syllable verbs take the tense sign as -ir -r -r -ur
these verbs are listed below.
Multi Syllable Verbs
For verbs consisting of more than one syllable the tense sign is -ir
-r -r -ur - according to Vowel harmony.
Verb Stems Which end in a vowel
For all verbs ending in a vowel the tense sign is -r-. The Personal
suffixes are added to the tense sign to complete the verb in
number..
Single Syllable Verb Root ending in a consonant
In this case -ar or -er is added after dropping -mak or -mek
yapmak
to do, to make
kesmek
to cut
yaparm
I do
keserim
I cut
yaparsn
you do
kesersin
you cut
yapar
he does
keser
he cuts
yaparz
we do
keseriz
we cut
yaparsnz
you do
kesersiniz
you cut
yaparlar
they do
keserler
they cut
The Five Verbs which Show Consonant Mutation
Remember also that the five verbs that soften their final -t
to -d when a vowel is added in the suffix:
gitmek
to go
gider
he goes
etmek
to do
ederim
I do
tatmak
to taste of
tadarlar
they taste of
ditmek
to shred
didersin
you shred
gtmek
to nourish
gderim
I nourish..
Exceptions to Single Syllable Verbs
These 13 single syllable verbs are exceptions as they form
the tense with -ir or -r or -ur or -r.
Aide memoir: All these verb stems end in -r or -l - except
one - sanmak.
almak
to take
alrm
I take
bilmek
to know
bilir
he knows

bulmak
durmak
gelmek
grmek
kalmak
olmak
lmek
sanmak
vermek
varmak
vurmak

to find
bulur
he finds
to stop, halt
dururuz
we stop
to come
gelirsiniz
you come
to see
grrler
they see
to stay
kalrm
I stay
to become
olursun
you become
to die
lr
it dies
to suppose
sanrz
we suppose
to give
verirsiniz
you give
to arrive
varrlar
they arrive
to hit
vururum
I hit
Verb Stems which end in a Vowel
In this case the Tense sign -r is added after dropping -mak
or -mek
demek
to say, mean
anlamak
to understand
derim
I say
anlarm
I understand
dersin
you say
anlarsn
you understand
der
he says
anlar
he understands
deriz
we say
anlarz
we understand
dersiniz you say
anlarsnz you understand
derler
they say
anlarlar
they understand

Some Examples - the tense sign is -r

demek - der - to say
Dnya yuvarlaktr derler - They say the world is round.
yemek - yer - to eat
Her gn ekmek yeriz - We eat bread every day.
beklemek - bekler - to wait
Her gn kede beklersiniz, deil mi? - Every day you wait
at the corner , don't you?
sylemek - syler - to speak
Her zaman "hayr'" derler - They say "No" every time. [the
word "hayr'" is a Direct Object]
Multi Syllable Vowels Which end in a Consonant
Verbs consisting of more than one syllable in the verb
stem take tense sign -ir -r -r -ur according to vowel
harmony.
gndermek
to send
kazanmak
to win

gnderirim
gnderirsin
gnderir
gndeririz
gnderirsiniz
gnderirler

I send
you send
he sends
we send
you send
they send

kazanrm
kazanrsn
kazanr
kazanrz
kazanrsnz
kazanrlar

I win
you win
he wins
we win
you win
they win

Some Examples - the tense sign is -ir -r -r

-ur
kazanabilmek - kazanabilir - to be able to win
Her hafta Milli Piyango'yu kazanabilirsin - You can win the
lottery every week.
-a trmanmak - to climb (to, up to..)
Her yl Nemrut Da'na trmanrz - We climb (to)Mount
Nemrut every year.
Note: - trmanmak - to climb (to, up to) - takes a Dative Object
in -a or -e as this verb shows "movement towards"
gtrmek - gtrr - to bring
Mehmet, yemeini her gn evden gtrr - Mehmet, brings
his lunch from home every day.
beenmek - beenir - to like, approve
Trk kahvesini beenirler - They like Turkish coffee.

The Positive Interrogative Form

The interrogative is formed by adding the personalized
question particles after the simple tense verb stem ending
in -r. They are written separately, but follow vowel
harmony rules.
bakmak
to look
bakar mym?
do I look?
kalmak
to stay
kalr msn?
do you stay?
bitirmek
to finish
bitirir mi?
does he finish?
yazmak
to write
yazar myz?
do we write?
komak
to run
koar msnz?
do you run?
yrmek
to walk
yrrler mi?
do they walk?

Translation of - "used to.."

If the past tense endings are added to the Wide Tense Positive -r
verb stem then the meaning is habitual in the past. This
translated by - used to ... - in English. However in Turkish the
Simple Present Tense is used with the past tense personal endings
habitual in the past.
Sk sk buraya gelirdim.
I used to come here very often
** Genken ok glerdin
You used to laugh a lot when [Lit: while..] you were young.
This is another way of saying: ** Gen olduun zaman ok
glerdin. - When you were young you used to laugh a lot.
Kuadada (Kuadasnda) kalrken her zaman denizde yzerdi
He always used to swim in the sea when staying at Kuadas.
Note: Locally people say Kuadada - "in Kuadas" - but
grammatically it should be - Kuadasnda - "in Kuadas"
1950 ylndan nce Trkiyede kola iilirdi.
Coca-cola used to be drunk in Turkey before 1950.
Dersler bittikten sonra uzun zaman/sre beni beklerdin.
You always used to wait for me a long time after school
finished.
Tatilde kamp yaparken hep/daima iyi uyurlard
They always used to sleep very well while on holiday while
camping.
We should note that although iken translates as while in English,
it is very often better to translate it as - "when", although this is
not literally correct [see * and ** above]
Thanks to Nurcan Akaltun ifti for corrections to the above section - JG May 2008.

Proverbs - "Ataszler"
Turkish Proverbs are usually written in the Wide Tense habitual
tense. Here are some examples in the positive form of the
timeless tense. These translations are not literal showing the
difficulty of such interpretation from Turkish to English.
Acele ie, eytan karr.
If you hurry, the devil intervenes.
abuk parlayan abuk sner.
A flash is quickly extinguished.
Damlaya damlaya gl olur.
Lakes form drop by drop.
Emek ver, kulak ver, bilgi ver, ama hibir zaman bo verme. [the final - verme - is negative]
Give labour, ear and knowledge, but never give
notice. [never don't bother..].
Fakirlik ayp deil tembellik ayp.
Poverty is no shame but idleness is.
Gzel gren gzel dnr. Gzel dnen hayattan lezzet
alr.
An observer of beauty thinks of beauty. Those who
think beauty taste life.
yilik eden iyilik bulur.
Those who do good find goodness themselves.
Ne ekersen onu biersin.
You reap what you sow.

 nce dn sonra syle.

Think first, speak later.
Salam kafa salam vcutta bulunur.
A healthy mind is found in a healthy body.
Tok iken yemek yiyen, mezarn kendi kazar.
Those who eat when they are full dig their own grave.
See Turkish proverbs A to Z - at Wikipedia Website.