📘 Present Simple Tense in Turkish (Geniş Zaman)
1️⃣ What is Present Simple in Turkish?
🎯 Turkish Present Simple (Geniş Zaman)
| Category | Explanation & Examples |
|---|---|
| 🇹🇷 What is it? | The Present Simple tense is called “Geniş Zaman”. It is used for habits, routines, general truths, and timeless facts, just like in English. |
| ✅ When to Use | Habits: • Ben kahve içerim. (I drink coffee.)General Truths: • Su 100 derecede kaynar. (Water boils at 100 degrees.)Routines: • Sen okula gidersin. (You go to school.)Timeless Facts: • Güneş doğudan doğar. (The sun rises from the east.) |
| 🧩 Sentence Pattern | Subject + Verb Stem + Tense Suffix + Personal Ending
Tense Suffixes: -r / -ar / -er / -ır / -ir / -ur / -ür |
| 👤 Conjugation Examples | Ben gel + ir + im → Ben gelirim. (I come.) Sen oku + r + sun → Sen okursun. (You read.) O çalış + ır → O çalışır. (He/She works.) Biz bak + ar + ız → Biz bakarız. (We look.) Siz oyna + r + sınız → Siz oynarsınız. (You play.) Onlar koş + ar + lar → Onlar koşarlar. (They run.) |
Turkish Present Simple (Geniş Zaman) – Usage and Structure
| Category | Explanation | Examples (EN → TR) |
|---|---|---|
| 🔹 When to Use It | Used for habits, routines, general truths, and timeless facts. | Habit: I drink coffee. → Ben kahve içerim. General Truth: Water boils at 100 degrees. → Su 100 derecede kaynar. Routine: You go to school. → Sen okula gidersin. Timeless Fact: The sun rises from the east. → Güneş doğudan doğar. |
| 🔹 Sentence Structure | The “Cracked Pattern”: Subject + Verb Stem + Tense Suffix + Personal Ending |
I come: Ben gelirim. (gel + ir + im) You read: Sen okursun. (oku + r + sun) He works: O çalışır. (çalış + ır) |
| Conjugation Table | Personal Endings | Example: Bak- (to look) | Example: Oku- (to read) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben (I) | -im, -ım, -um, -üm | Bakarım (I look) | Okurum (I read) |
| Sen (You) | -sin, -sın, -sun, -sün | Bakarsın (You look) | Okursun (You read) |
| O (He/She/It) | – (no ending) | Bakar (He/She looks) | Okur (He/She reads) |
| Biz (We) | -iz, -ız, -uz, -üz | Bakarız (We look) | Okuruz (We read) |
| Siz (You formal/pl.) | -siniz, -sınız, -sunuz, -sünüz | Bakarsınız (You look) | Okursunuz (You read) |
| Onlar (They) | -lar, -ler | Bakarlar (They look) | Okurlar (They read) |
⚡ Important Notes
First, you should look at the verb root. How many suffixes are there? Then, you should look at the last vowel in the verb root. Based on this, you should decide which suffix to add.
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The tense suffix changes according to vowel harmony:
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Last vowel (a, ı, o, u) → use -ar / -ır / -ur
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Last vowel (e, i, ö, ü) → use -er / -ir / -ür
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Personal endings always come after the tense suffix.
Turkish Syllable Count & Present Simple (Aorist) Suffix Rules
| Category | Rule | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 🔹 How to Count Syllables | Core Rule: Every vowel (a, e, ı, i, o, ö, u, ü) equals one syllable. Consonants do not create syllables. | öp → 1 vowel (ö) → 1 syllable gör → 1 vowel (ö) → 1 syllable oku → 2 vowels (o, u) → 2 syllables düşün → 2 vowels (ü, ü) → 2 syllables |
| 🔹 Present Simple (Geniş Zaman) Suffix | 1-syllable verb roots: Typically take the short suffix form -ar/-er. | öp- → öperim (I kiss) bak- → bakarım (I look) |
| 2 (or more) syllable verb roots: Typically take the full suffix form -ir/-ır/-ur/-ür. | oku- → okurum (I read) düşün- → düşünürüm (I think) izle- → izlerim (I watch) |
⚠️ Important: There are exceptions! For example, gör- (1 syllable) still uses -ür → görürüm. But generally this rule helps learners a lot
Click for more grammer information(about sylables rule)
📊 Table of 10 Examples
| Turkish Sentence | English Translation | Grammar Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 😘 Ben seni öperim. | I kiss you. | Root öp- (1 syllable). Takes short form -er, then -im for “I”. |
| 🙌 Ben kapıyı tutarım. | I hold the door. | Root tut- (1 syllable). Takes short form -ar, then -ım. |
| 👀 Ben seni görürüm. | I see you. | Root gör- (1 syllable). Irregular: keeps full form -ür, then -üm. |
| 📩 Ben sana mektup veririm. | I give you a letter. | Root ver- (1 syllable). Irregular: uses full -ir, then -im. |
| 📖 Ben kitap okurum. | I read a book. | Root oku- (2 syllables). Uses full -ur, then -um. |
| 💭 Ben seni düşünürüm. | I think of you. | Root düşün- (2 syllables). Uses full -ür, then -üm. |
| ✍️ Ben mektup yazarım. | I write a letter. | Root yaz- (1 syllable). Takes short -ar, then -ım. |
| 🗣️ Ben Türkçe konuşurum. | I speak Turkish. | Root konuş- (2 syllables). Uses full -ur, then -um. |
| 🏃 Ben hızlı koşarım. | I run fast. | Root koş- (1 syllable). Takes short -ar, then -ım. |
| 🎶 Ben şarkı söylerim. | I sing a song. | Root söyle- (2 syllables). Uses full -er, then -im. |
