Past Simple (Geçmiş Zaman)
The past simple tense (geçmiş zaman) in Turkish expresses completed actions in the past that the speaker personally witnessed or knows directly.
It corresponds to the English “did” or “was/were” for completed actions.
Mood:
- Indicative mood = describing definite, witnessed past events.
Aspect:
- Perfective (completed) — the action is finished and viewed as a whole.
Voice:
- Active voice is standard.
Passive and causative forms can be made with other suffixes.
Formation
The past simple is formed by adding the suffix -di (with vowel harmony variants: -dı, -di, -du, -dü and voiceless forms -tı, -ti, -tu, -tü) to the verb stem, followed by personal endings.
Example verb: gelmek (“to come”)
| Person | Form | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben (I) | geldim | Ben gel*dim.* | I came |
| Sen (you sg.) | geldin | Sen gel*din.* | You came |
| O (he/she/it) | geldi | O gel*di.* | He/She came |
| Biz (we) | geldik | Biz gel*dik.* | We came |
| Siz (you pl./formal) | geldiniz | Siz gel*diniz.* | You came |
| Onlar (they) | geldiler | Onlar gel*diler.* | They came |
Usage
Completed past actions
- Dün okula gittim. (I went to school yesterday.)
Past facts or experiences
- Geçen yıl Türkiye’ye gittik. (We went to Turkey last year.)
Narrating events
- Kapı çaldı, ben açtım. (The door rang, I opened it.)
Polite or formal past statements
- Sizi tanıdım. (I got to know you / Nice to meet you.)
Examples
- Affirmative: Kitap okudum. (I read a book.)
- Negative: Kitap okumadım. (I didn’t read a book.)
- Interrogative: Kitap okudu musun? (Did you read a book?)
Notes
- Vowel harmony determines -dı / -di / -du / -dü.
- yazdım, geldim, okudum, gördüm.
- Voiceless stems (ending in p, ç, t, k, f, s, ş, h) take -tı / -ti / -tu / -tü.
- gittim, yaptım, baktım.
- Negation: add -me / -ma before the tense suffix:
- gelmed**im, yazmad**ım.
- Questions: use mi / mı / mu / mü:
- Gel*di misin?* (Did you come?)
- Used only for directly known or witnessed past actions (unlike -miş past).
Common Expressions
| Expression | Example |
|---|---|
| dün (yesterday) | Dün geldim. (I came yesterday.) |
| geçen hafta (last week) | Geçen hafta film izledik. (We watched a movie last week.) |
| geçen yıl (last year) | Geçen yıl çok çalıştım. (I worked a lot last year.) |
| az önce (just now) | Az önce aradım. (I just called.) |
Irregular / Notable Verbs
No true irregulars, but minor stem changes occur in:
- etmek → ettim
- demek → dedim
- yemek → yedim
