Past Tense for verb in Turkish
Past Tense for verb in Turkish
Master the Turkish Past Tense: A Simple Guide to Verb Conjugation
The Definite Past Tense is used for actions that were completed in the past. The speaker is certain about the action because they witnessed it, experienced it, or know it to be a definite fact.
The Golden Rule: The past tense suffix is -dı/-di/-du/-dü. However, this changes to -tı/-ti/-tu/-tü if the verb root ends in one of the hard consonants: f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p (Remember the code word: FıSTıkÇı ŞaHaP).
After the past tense suffix, you must add a personal suffix to show who did the action.
Turkish Past Tense Verb Conjugation Table 🎯
| Person 👤 | Verb: Bakmak (to look) 👀 | Verb: Gitmek (to go) 🚶♂️ | Verb: Yemek (to eat) 🍽️ | Verb: Seçmek (to choose) ✅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I (Ben) | Baktım 🟢 | Gittim 🔵 | Yedim 🟠 | Seçtim 🔴 |
| You (Sen) | Baktın 🟢 | Gittin 🔵 | Yedin 🟠 | Seçtin 🔴 |
| He/She/It (O) | Baktı 🟢 | Gitti 🔵 | Yedi 🟠 | Seçti 🔴 |
| We (Biz) | Baktık 🟢 | Gittik 🔵 | Yedik 🟠 | Seçtik 🔴 |
| You (Formal) (Siz) | Baktınız 🟢 | Gittiniz 🔵 | Yediniz 🟠 | Seçtiniz 🔴 |
| They (Onlar) | Baktılar 🟢 | Gittiler 🔵 | Yediler 🟠 | Seçtiler 🔴 |
| Person 👤 | Verb: Anlamak (to understand) 💡 | Verb: Yazmak (to write) ✍️ | Verb: Okumak (to read) 📖 | Verb: Gülmek (to laugh) 😂 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I (Ben) | Anladım 🟣 | Yazdım 🟤 | Okudum 🩵 | Güldüm 💛 |
| You (Sen) | Anladın 🟣 | Yazdın 🟤 | Okudun 🩵 | Güldün 💛 |
| He/She/It (O) | Anladı 🟣 | Yazdı 🟤 | Okudu 🩵 | Güldü 💛 |
| We (Biz) | Anladık 🟣 | Yazdık 🟤 | Okuduk 🩵 | Güldük 💛 |
| You (Formal) (Siz) | Anladınız 🟣 | Yazdınız 🟤 | Okudunız 🩵 | Güldünüz 💛 |
| They (Onlar) | Anladılar 🟣 | Yazdılar 🟤 | Okudular 🩵 | Güldüler 💛 |
Past Tense for verb in Turkish
| 🇹🇷 Turkish Sentence | 🇬🇧 English Meaning | 🤔 Grammar FAQ: “Why This Suffix?” (English Explanations) |
|---|---|---|
| Ben öptüm. | I kissed. | Q: Why is it “-tü-m” and not “-di-m”? A: 🚨 Consonant Harmony Alert! The verb root is öp-. It ends with a HARD consonant -p. When a verb root ends in f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p, the soft -di changes to a hard -ti/-tı/-tü/-tu. Here, it’s -tü because of the vowel -ö in the root. |
| Sen aldın. | You took. | Q: Why is it “-dı-n” and not “-tı-n”? A: ✅ Soft Consonant Rule! The verb root is al-. It ends with a SOFT consonant -l. When the root ends in a soft consonant (like l, m, n, r, y), the past tense suffix stays as -dı/-di/-du/-dü. Here, it’s -dı because of the vowel -a in the root. |
| O güzeldi. | She was beautiful. | Q: Why is it “-di” with no personal suffix? A: 1️⃣ Adjective Rule: The adjective güzel ends with a soft consonant -l, so it takes -di.2️⃣ He/She/It Rule: For the 3rd person singular (“O”), we use NO personal suffix. Just the past tense suffix is enough. |
| O manyaktı. | He was a maniac. | Q: Why is it “-tı” and not “-dı”? A: 🚨 Consonant Harmony Again! The noun manyak ends with a HARD consonant -k. So, -dı changes to -tı. The vowel is -ı because of the last vowel -a in the noun. |
| Biz sorduk. | We asked. | Q: Why is it “-du-k” and not “-dı-k”? A: ✅ Vowel Harmony in Action! The verb root sor- ends with a soft consonant -r, so we use the -d set. The vowel is -u because the last vowel in the root is -o. (a, ı, o, u → use -dı/-du) |
| Siz güldünüz. | You laughed. | Q: Why is it “-dü-nüz” and not “-di-nüz”? A: ✅ Vowel Harmony Again! The verb root gül- ends with a soft consonant -l. The vowel in the suffix is -ü because the last vowel in the root is -ü. (e, i, ö, ü → use -di/-dü) |
| Onlar unuttular. | They forgot. | Q: Why is it “-tu-lar” and not “-tı-lar”? A: 1️⃣ Consonant: Root unut- ends with hard -t, so -di→-tu.2️⃣ Vowel: The last vowel is -u, so we use -tu.3️⃣ Person: “They” suffix -lar is added. |
| O evliydi. | He was married. | Q: Why is there a Y? Why “evliydi”? A: 🛑 The Buffer Y Rule! The adjective evli ends with a VOWEL -i. In Turkish, we cannot put two vowels together. We add a buffer letter -y- between them. So: evli + -di = evliydi. |
| Hatırlamadınız mı? | Didn’t you (all) remember? | Q: After “-ma-“, why does the vowel become “-ı” in “-madınız”? A: 🔄 Vowel Harmony Chain! The negative suffix -ma- has the vowel -a. This -a becomes the new “last vowel” that the following past tense suffix must obey. So, we get: hatırla + ma + dı + nız. |
| 🇹🇷 Turkish Example | 🔠 Syllable Breakdown | 🇬🇧 English Meaning & Grammar Explanation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben öptüm. | öp – tü – m | I kissed. Q: Why “-tü-m”? A: 🚨 Consonant Harmony! Root öp- ends with hard -p (from f,s,t,k,ç,ş,h,p). So, -di→-tü. Vowel is -ü due to vowel harmony from -ö. |
|
| Sen aldın. | al – dı – n | You took. Q: Why “-dı-n”? A: ✅ Soft Consonant! Root al- ends with soft -l. So, -dı stays. Vowel is -ı due to vowel harmony from -a. |
|
| O güzeldi. | güzel – di | It was beautiful. Q: Why “-di”? A: 1️⃣ Adjective Rule: güzel ends with soft -l. 2️⃣ He/She/It: No person suffix needed. |
|
| O manyaktı. | manyak – tı | He was a maniac. Q: Why “-tı”? A: 🚨 Consonant + Noun! Noun manyak ends with hard -k. So, -dı→-tı. Vowel is -ı from -a. |
|
| Biz sorduk. | sor – du – k | We asked. Q: Why “-du-k”? A: ✅ Vowel Harmony! Root sor- has vowel -o, so past suffix becomes -du. |
|
| Onlar unuttular. | unut – tu – lar | They forgot. Q: Why “-tu-lar”? A: 🚨 Consonant Harmony! Root unut- ends with hard -t. So, -di→-tu. |
|
| O evliydi. | evli – y – di | She was married. Q: Why “-y-di”? A: 🛑 Buffer Y! Adjective evli ends with vowel -i. We add buffer -y- to prevent vowel clash. |
|
| Hatırlamadınız mı? | hatırla – ma – dı – nız – mı | Didn’t you remember? Q: Why “-ma-dı-“? A: 🔄 Negative First! Negative suffix -ma- comes before past tense. Vowel -a in -ma- dictates -dı. |
|
| Babamı hatırlamadın mı? | **baba – m – ı | hatırla – ma – dı – n – mı** | Didn’t you remember my father? Q: Structure? A: 1️⃣ Object: babamı (my father – accusative case). 2️⃣ Verb: hatırlamadın mı? (didn’t you remember?). |
| Unuttun. | unut – tu – n | You forgot. Q: Why “-tu-n”? A: 🚨 Consonant Harmony! Root unut- ends with hard -t. So, -di→-tu. Vowel -u from root vowel -u. |
|
| Adam tam bir manyaktı. | **adam | tam |