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Present Continuous Tense
| Useful Verbs |
| gelmek - to come |
| gitmek - to go |
| yemek - to eat |
| sevmek - to love |
| yapmak - to do |
| olmak - to be |
| kalmak - to stay |
| istemek - to want |
The present continuous tense in English would be 'I am.....ing'. To form this tense, you must add the present progressive suffix '-(i)yorum' to the verb and then add the appropriate ending depending on vowel harmony.
There are 4 different endings that can be used;
if the last vowel in the verb is -
e/i - the suffix will be - '-iyorum'
a/ı - the suffix will be - '-ıyorum'
o/u - the suffix will be - '-uyorum'
ö/ü - the suffix will be - '-üyorum'
If the last letter in the verb is already either 'i/ı/u/ü', just add '-yorum'. If the last letter in the verb is either 'e/a/o/ö', change it to 'i/ı/u/ü' depending on vowel harmony.
For example; 'yemek' = 'to eat'. 'I am eating' = 'yiyorum'.
'okumak' = 'to read'. 'I am reading' = 'okuyorum'.
Personal suffixes for the present progressive tense
-iyorum = i am ...ing
-iyorsun = you are ...ing (singular/familiar)
-iyor = he/she/it is ...ing
-iyoruz = we are ...ing
-iyorsunuz = you are ...ing (plural/polite)
-iyorlar = they are ...ing
examples
to come = gelmek
i am coming = geliyorum
you are coming = geliyorsun
he is coming = geliyor
we are coming = geliyoruz
you are coming = geliyorsunuz
they are coming = geliyorlar
Using other words with their suffixes, we can now make sentences.
i am walking to my house = ev-im-e yürüyorum
i am coming from the bank = banka-dan geliyorum
you are staying at my house = ev-im-de kalıyorsun
what are you doing? - ne yapıyorsun?
where is he going? - nereye gidiyor?
why are they coming? - niye geliyorlar?
Negative present progressive tense
To turn a verb into the present progressive tense, for example 'i am not going', simply add the negative suffix '-me/ma- after the verb. Then you must change it according to vowel harmony so that it becomes either -mi/mı/mu/mü-, then add the appropriate ending.
examples
gelmiyorum - i am not coming
kalmıyorsun - you are not staying
düşünmüyor - he/she/it is not thinking
sormuyorlar - they are not asking
etc
Asking questions in the present progressive tense
To ask a question in this tense, for example 'are you coming?', the question marker '-mi- is placed after '-iyor' and before the personal suffix.
examples
kalıyor muyum? - am i staying?
geliyor musun? - are you coming?
gidiyor mu? - is he/she/it going?
ögreniyor muyuz? - are we learning?
yürüyor musunuz? - are you walking?
düşünüyorlar mı? - are they thinking?
(for 'they', the question marker always comes at the end after the personal suffix).
Negative questions follow the same formula;
kalmıyor musun? - are you not staying?
gelmiyor mu? - is he not coming?
etc
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