-den beri / -dir In Turkish (Since /For)

WHAT IS -dir AND -den beri IN TURKISH?

The structures -den beri and-dir add to the sentence the meaning that an action started in the past and is still going on. The action began at a time in the past and is still going on in the present. We use these structures to tell when something or a verb started OR how long it has been going on.

⇒İki saattir konuşuyor.

S/he has been talking for two hours.

⇒İki saatten beri konuşuyor.

S/he has been talking for two hours.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN -den beri AND-dir IN TURKISH?

We said that there are two cases where you can use these structures:

1. To indicate when it started? This tells when the event started, the starting point of the event is clear. (Like “since …” in English. He’s been watching me since morning.)
2. To indicate how long it has been going on? Here the exact starting point of the event is not clear. It just emphasizes how long the event has been going on. (Like “for …” in English. He’s been watching me for hours.)

You can use “-dan beri” for these two cases. It doesn’t matter if it says when it started or how long it’s been going on. (1. and 2. cases)

But you have to use “-dir” if it’s not clear when started it. It just says how long it has been going on. The starting point is not clear. (2. case)

1. CASE	Starting point (since)	-den beri
2. CASE	How long (for)	-den beri / -dir

FOR EXAMPLE

1. CASE	It’s clear when i started to waiting for you. I started to waiting for you on Monday!	⇒Pazartesiden beri seni bekliyorum. (I’ve been waiting for you since Monday.)
2. CASE	It’s NOT clear which day i started to waiting for you. But i am telling you that I’m waiting for you for two days	⇒İki günden beri seni bekliyorum. (I’ve been waiting for you for two days) ⇒İki gündür seni bekliyorum.  (I’ve been waiting for you for two days)

 

 

GRAMMAR RULES (-den beri, -dir)

• “-den” is a suffix in the structure -den beri. This suffix can take 2 different forms: -den, -dan. According to vowel harmony: If the last vowel of word before suffix is “a, ı, o  or   u” in this case suffix must contain “a” (-dan beri). If the last vowel of word before suffix is “e, i, ö  or   ü” in this case suffix must contain “e” (-den beri).

LAST VOWEL	SUFFIX	EXAMPLES
a, ı, o, u	-dan beri	(akşam>last vowel is “a”) akşam+dan beri (since evening)
e, i, ö, ü	-den beri	(gece>last vowel is “e”) gece+den beri (since night)

• The suffix -dır can take 4 different forms: –dır, -dir, -dur, -dür. Again we are going to check vowel harmony, but this time 4 way vowel harmony. Cause the suffix has 4 different forms! If the last vowel of word before suffix is “a  or  ı” in this case suffix must contain “ı” (-dır). If the last vowel of word before suffix is “o or u” suffix must contain “u” (-dur). If the last vowel of word before suffix is “e or i” suffix must contain “i” (-dir). If the last vowel of word before suffix is “ö or ü” suffix must contain “ü” (-dür).

LAST VOWEL	SUFFIX	EXAMPLES
a, ı,	-dır	(yıl>last vowel is “ı”) iki yıl+dır (for two years)
o, u	-dur
e, i,	-dir	(günler>last vowel is “e”) günler+dir  (for days)
ö, ü	-dür	(gün>last vowel is “ü”) üç gün+dür (for three days)

• Also we choose the first letter of suffix according to consonant harmony. According to consonant harmony: If word before suffix end with any of them: f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p; in this case suffix must start with “t” (tan beri / –ten beri, –tır, –tir, –tur, –tür). If word before suffix doesn’t end with any of them: f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p; in this case suffix must start with “d” (-dan beri/-den beri, –dır, –dir, –dur, –dür).

LAST LETTER	SUFFIX	EXAMPLES
F, S, T, K, Ç, Ş, H, P	start with “T” (-ten beri, –tan beri, tır, tir, –tur, –tür)	⇒Beş saat+tir (for five hours) ⇒Ocak+tan beri (since January)
NOT – f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p	start with “D” (-den beri, –dan beri, dır, dir, –dur, –dür)	⇒Beş gün+dür (for five days) ⇒Temmuz+dan beri (since July)

 

Now you know what -den beri is and what -dir is in Turkish! If you have any question about -dir / -den beri in Turkish or any subject about Turkish language just let me know in the comment below. Btw we also share all Turkish grammar lessons, some daily usefull tips, Turkish idioms and more about Turkish language and Turkish culture on YouTube channel! You can watch all lessons for free now! Just click here and subscribe to don’t lose our videos.  See you in another lesson!