In this lesson you’ll learn turkish present tense with all its aspects. Yes, this tense’s name is present tense but there are a lot of places that Turkish people use present tense. So now let’s get start where can you use Turkish present tense / geniş zaman then let’s learn rules of this tense and finish the lesson with a lot of example sentences!
1. This is the most basic mean of Turkish present tense: The time that indicates that an action is done continuously or in general is called “present tense (geniş zaman)”. It covers the time that has been done in the past and now, and will likely continue in the future. So, we can call the time that covers all the “past, present, future” tenses that we learned before “present tense (geniş zaman).” In short, this structure is used for events that exist at all times.
- Ben her zaman okula yürüyerek giderim. (I always walk to school.)
- Hafta sonları spor salonuna giderim. (I go to the gym on the weekends.)
2. This tense (geniş zaman) is used when talking about daily routines, habits, hobbies, likes and dislikes.
- Ben kahveyi çok severim. (l love coffee)
- Ben çayı şekersiz içerim. (I drink tea without sugar.)
3. The simple present tense is preferred in situations that are accepted as correct by all. For example, the unchanging rules, law of nature and scientific facts.
- Güneş doğudan doğar. (The sun rises from the east.)
- Işık saniyede 300.00 kilometre hızla gider. (Light travels at 300.00 kilometers per second.)
4. This tense (geniş zaman) can be used for events that will take place in the future. But this events are not as clear as the future tense! Maybe it will happen, maybe it won’t. Note that the suffix used is a simple present tense, but if you look at it as a meaning, it points to the future tense.
- Yarın büyük ihtimalle size gelirim. (I’ll probably come to you tomorrow.)
- Önümüzdeki hafta işlerimi bitiririm. (I’ll finish my work next week.)
5. This time is used when listing things to do when talking about something to do in the future. We already learned above that the suffix simple present tense is used in the sense of the future tense.
- İstanbul’a gideceğimiz zaman önce sandviç yeriz. (When we’ll go to Istanbul, we’ll eat sandwiches first.)
- Sonra vapura bineriz, oradan Galata Kulesi’ne çıkarız. (Then we’ll get on the ferry, from there we’ll go up to the Galata Tower.)
6. The Turkish present tense is sometimes used to indicate the past tense in Turkish, especially in biographies and fictional works.
- Köyün kahramanı kızıl saçlı kadına aşık olur. (The hero of the village fell in love with the red-haired woman.)
- Kızıl saçlı kadının heyecandan elleri titrer. (The red-haired woman’s hands trembled with excitement.)
7. In imperative sentences, simple present tense in Turkish means asking politely.
- Tuzu bana verir misin? (Can you give me the salt?)
- Lütfen kapıyı sen açar mısın? (Could you please open the door?)
Rules
- 4 different suffixes are used in verbs with two or more syllables:”-ır -ir -ur -ür”. We are going to choice according to vowel harmony. You already know Turkish vowel harmony. But if you have questions please click here to study Turkish vowel harmony. According to this rule; if the last vowel of the word is “a or ı” the simple present tense suffix will be “-ır”. If the last vowel of the word is “e or i” the simple present tense suffix will be “-ir”. If the last vowel of the word is “o or u” the simple present tense suffix will be “-ur”. If the last vowel of the word is “ö or ü” the simple present tense suffix will be “-ür”.
- If the verb ends with any vowel, only the suffix “-r” is used.
- In the simple tense, -ar or -er suffixes are used at the end of one-syllable words. If the last vowel of the word is “a, ı, o or u” the simple present tense suffix will be “-ar”. But if the last vowel of the word is “e, i, ö or ü” the simple present tense suffix will be “-er”.
- We have 13 words below that do not follow the rule about Turkish present tense suffix I mentioned above.
You also need to learn these. Because these one-syllable 13 verbs take one of the suffixes “-ır -ir -ur -ür”. Let’s figure out how to bring these suffixes according to vowel harmony. If the last vowel of the word is “a or ı” the simple present tense suffix will be “-ır”. If the last vowel of the word is “e or i” the simple present tense suffix will be “-ir”. If the last vowel of the word is “o or u” the simple present tense suffix will be “-ur”. If the last vowel of the word is “ö or ü” the simple present tense suffix will be “-ür”.
Sample Sentences About Turkish Present Tense / Geniş Zaman
- Ben her hafta kütüphaneden bir kitap alırım. (I take a book from the library every week.)
- Yeğenim her hafta sonu bizde kalır. (My niece stays with us every weekend.)
- Okula her sabah saat sekizde varırım. (I arrive at school at eight o’clock every morning.)
- Bana kitabını verir misin? (Can you give me your book?)
- Dayım yurt dışından bizi her yaz ziyarete gelir. (My uncle comes to visit us from abroad every summer.)
- Öğretmenimiz her şeyi bilir. (Our teacher knows everything.)
- İnsanlar genellikle kışları grip olur. (People usually get the flu in the winter.)
- Hemşireler hastalara iğne vururlar. (Nurses give injections to patients.)
- Trafikte kırmızı ışıkta durur, yeşil ışıkta geçeriz. (In traffic, we stop at the red light and pass at the green light.)
- İnsan sora sora her adresi bulur. (Human can find any address by asking questions.)
- Kelebekler bir gün yaşar sonra ölür. (Butterflies live for a day and then die.)
- Köpekler bazı renkleri insanlardan farklı görür. (Dogs see certain colors differently than humans.)
- Genellikle sebze yemekleri yerim. (I usually eat vegetable dishes.)
- Eti pek sevmem. (I don’t like meat very much.)
- Babam hafta sonları arkadaşlarıyla balık tutmaya gider. (My father goes fishing with his friends on the weekends.)
- Bazen beni de götürür. (Sometimes he takes me too.)
- Seni hiçbir zaman affetmez. (He will never forgive you.)
- Ayşe hiçbir zaman yalan söylemez. (Ayşe never lies.)
- Seni hiç unutur muyum? (Do i ever forget you?)
- Ayşe çok çalışkandır, sınavlardan hep yüksek not alır. (Ayşe is a hard worker, she always gets high marks in exams.)
- Alışverişi genellikle babam yapar. (My father usually does the shopping.)
- Annem babama ara sıra eşlik eder. (My mother accompanies my father from time to time.)
- Kendinde hiç hata aramaz. Her zaman beni suçlar. (He does not look for any fault in himself. He always blames me.)
If you have any question about Turkish simple present tense / geniş zaman 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!