Present Simple / Aorist (Geniş Zaman)
The aorist tense (geniş zaman) in Turkish expresses habits, general truths, and timeless statements.
It can also be used for scheduled future events or conditional clauses.
Unlike in English, Turkish does not distinguish between “do” and “will do” — context determines the meaning.
Mood:
- Indicative mood = statements of fact, habits, and general truths
Aspect:
- Simple (non-progressive) — describes habitual or timeless actions rather than ongoing ones.
Voice:
- Active voice is the standard.
Passive, reflexive, and causative forms can be created with additional suffixes, but they don’t affect the tense.
Formation
The Aorist is formed by adding the suffix -r / -ar / -er (according to vowel harmony) to the verb stem, followed by personal endings.
Some verbs drop the final vowel of the stem (etmek → ederim).
If the stem ends in a vowel, a buffer -r is used (anla → anlarım).
Example verb: gelmek (“to come”)
| Person | Form | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben (I) | gelirim | Ben gelirim. | I come / I usually come |
| Sen (you sg.) | gelirsin | Sen her gün gelirsin. | You come every day |
| O (he/she/it) | gelir | O erken geli*r.* | He/She comes early |
| Biz (we) | geliriz | Biz sık sık geliriz. | We come often |
| Siz (you pl./formal) | gelirsiniz | Siz hep birlikte gelirsiniz. | You (all) come together |
| Onlar (they) | gelirler | Onlar sık sık gelirler. | They often come |
Usage
Habits and repeated actions
- Her sabah kahve içerim. (I drink coffee every morning.)
- O her gün yürür. (He walks every day.)
General truths or facts
- Su 100 derecede kaynar. (Water boils at 100 degrees.)
- Güneş doğudan doğar. (The sun rises in the east.)
Scheduled or regular future events
- Yarın tren saat dokuzda kalkar. (The train leaves at nine tomorrow.)
In conditional or subordinate clauses
- Eğer hava güzel olursa, gideriz. (If the weather is nice, we go / we will go.)
Examples
- Affirmative: Erken gelirim. (I come early.)
- Negative: Erken gelmem. (I don’t come early.)
- Interrogative: Erken gelir misin? (Do you come early?)
Notes
- Vowel harmony determines whether the suffix is -r, -ar, or -er.
- yazarım (I write), gelirim (I come), okurum (I read).
- Negation is formed with -me / -ma before the suffix:
- gelmem, yazmam, okumam.
- Questions use the separate particle mi / mı / mu / mü, which agrees with vowel harmony:
- Geli*r misin?* (Do you come?)
- The 3rd person singular has no personal ending: gelir, yazar, okur.
- The Aorist sometimes expresses a softened future (like English “will”):
- Akşam gelirim. (I’ll come this evening.)
Common Expressions
| Expression | Example |
|---|---|
| her zaman (always) | Her zaman doğruyu söylerim. (I always tell the truth.) |
| bazen (sometimes) | Bazen erken kalkarım. (Sometimes I get up early.) |
| genellikle (usually) | Genellikle evde kalarız. (We usually stay home.) |
| eğer ... olursa (if ...) | Eğer isterse, yardım ederim. (If he wants, I help / will help.) |
Irregular / Notable Verbs
There are no true irregulars, but a few show stem changes:
- etmek → ederim, edersin
- demek → derim, dersin
- yemek → yerim, yersin
