THE WORLD LEXICON

Present Tense

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Chapter 3a:

The Present Tense

Present Continuous (Perfect)

The Present Continuous or Present Perfect tense is the tense used to describe actions which are in the process of being done. Here are the endings for this tense:

Person: Singular Plural
1st -yorum -yoruz
2nd -yorsun -yorsunuz
3rd -yor -yor

These will make different meanings based on the ending:

Language: Root: First Person Second Person Third Person Plural
Turkish bilmek biliyorum biliyorsun biliyor biliyoruz
English to know I know you know knows we know
Language: Root: First Person Second Person Third Person Plural
Turkish yazmak yazıyorum yazıyorsun yazıyor yazıyoruz
English to write I am writing you are writing writing we are writing

Note the vowel harmony which occurs when morphing from the infinitive to the present continuous form, as a in "yazmak" morphs to ı. Now, for some examples of some sentences utilizing the present continuous case.

Şimdi bir kitap yazıyorum.

I am writing a book.

Amerikaya uçakla gidiyorum.

I am going to America by plane.

Ben seni dinliyorum.

I am listening to you.

Present Imperfect

The Present Imperfect tense is the tense used to describe actions which are happening specifically in the present, though possibly intermittently. It may describe a behavior someone does. Here are the endings for this tense:

Person: Singular Plural
1st -(r)im -(r)iz
2nd -(r)sin -(r)siniz
3rd none none
Language: Root: First Person Second Person Third Person Plural
Turkish yemek yerim yersin yer yerimiz
English to eat I eat you eat eat we eat
Language: Root: First Person Second Person Third Person Plural
Turkish yürümek yürürüm yürürsün yürü yürürüz
English to walk I walk you walk walk we walk

Knowing when to use perfect and imperfect is very tough, as the two are very similar. In most cases, the past perfect will work better than the past imperfect. It can be useful when telling a story from a first person view, or answering someone's questions about a certain action.

Şehri bakarım.

I look at the sky.

Kitap okurum.

I read a book.

Alkol içerim.

I drink alcohol.

Command

Command tense is used when telling someone to do something, or initiating an action. The way to do this is to remove the -mak ending from the infinitive

Git!

Go!

Türkçe öğren!

Learn Turkish!

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3b. Past Tense >