A1 · The present: -iyor and the aorist · about 7 minutes
The present in “-iyor”
I am coming, I am doing
Stem, “-iyor”, person ending — for everything going on now or firmly planned.
Do you know this already?
“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 3 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need6
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- beklemekto wait (for), to expect
- konuşmakto speak, to talk
- karsnow
- anlamakto understand
- müzikmusic
- dinlemekto listen (to)
Understand
RememberStem, -iyor, person: gel-iyor-um — and a vowel at the end of the stem makes way.
- When
- Before the past
- The past
- Past linked to the present
- The present
- The future
- Completed in the future
The present — What holds at the moment, what is under way, or what is always the case.
- Signal words
- şu an
- şimdi
- bugün
- yarın
The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Turkish. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) tense marker person ending
| I am coming | (ben) geliyorum |
| you are coming | (sen) geliyorsun |
| he, she, it is coming | (o) geliyor |
| we are coming | (biz) geliyoruz |
| you are coming (plural, polite) | (siz) geliyorsunuz |
| they are coming | (onlar) geliyorlar |
| I am waiting | (ben) bekliyorum |
| you are waiting | (sen) bekliyorsun |
| he, she, it is waiting | (o) bekliyor |
| we are waiting | (biz) bekliyoruz |
| you are waiting (plural, polite) | (siz) bekliyorsunuz |
| they are waiting | (onlar) bekliyorlar |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
-iyor says what is happening now.
Şu an yemek yapıyorum.I am cooking at the moment.
The i of -iyor follows four-way vowel harmony; yor always stays the same.
Çocuklar bahçede oturuyor.The children are sitting in the garden.
A vowel at the end of the stem drops.
Seni bekliyorum.I am waiting for you.
With gitmek and etmek, t becomes d.
Okula gidiyoruz.We are going to school.
-iyor can also name a fixed plan.
Yarın Ankara'ya gidiyorum.Tomorrow I am going to Ankara.
Example sentences
Ne yapıyorsun?What are you doing?
Annem telefonda konuşuyor.My mother is on the phone.
Kar yağıyor.It is snowing.
6 more example sentences
Sizi anlıyorum.I understand you.
Elif ve Can müzik dinliyor.Elif and Can are listening to music.
Otobüs geliyor!The bus is coming!
Bu akşam ne yiyoruz?What are we eating this evening?
Kardeşim İstanbul'da oturuyor.My brother lives in İstanbul.
Herkes seni bekliyor.Everyone is waiting for you.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
If you simply attach the ending to the stem, you write bekleiyor or anlaıyor. But Turkish does not let two vowels collide like that: the vowel at the end of the stem drops, and the i of -iyor follows the vowel before it.
Quick check
A warm-up: 2 questions, answered straight away. They do not count towards your progress.
Practise
9 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
Now write it yourself9 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
Well done
How well do you know this topic?
This is filled in automatically after you practise. You can change it here at any time.
Next on the path: 16 · And, but, or: “ve”, “ama”, “ya da”Back to the learning path
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
With -iyor you say what is happening now: Ne yapıyorsun? “What are you doing?” — Kitap okuyorum. “I am reading a book.” As in English, the same form can also name a fixed plan: Yarın geliyorum. “I am coming tomorrow.”
Take the stem — the infinitive without -mek or -mak — and add -iyor: gel → geliyor. The i in front follows four-way vowel harmony (geliyor, alıyor, oturuyor, görüyor); the yor never changes.
Then comes the person: -um, -sun, nothing, -uz, -sunuz, -lar. Because the o of yor always comes before them, these endings always have u or a: geliyorum, geliyorsun, geliyor, geliyoruz, geliyorsunuz, geliyorlar.
If the stem ends in a vowel, that vowel drops and the vowel before it decides the harmony: bekle → bekliyor, oyna → oynuyor, anla → anlıyor. With gitmek and etmek the t becomes d: gidiyor, ediyor.
A closer look
For habits too
Unlike the English continuous, -iyor is also used in conversation for what someone does regularly: Her gün spor yapıyorum. “I do sport every day.” That is correct. It also covers states English never puts in the “-ing” form: anlıyorum“I understand”biliyorum“I know”seviyorum“I love” The aorist (yaparım) sounds more general, like a characteristic — more on that in the next topics.
The third person plural
If the subject is already plural, -lar is often left out, especially with things and animals: Çocuklar oynuyor. With people you hear both: Misafirler geliyor and Misafirler geliyorlar. If there is only onlar or no subject at all, you need -lar.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
Compared with English
“I am coming” is three words in English, one in Turkish: geliyorum. Like the English present continuous, -iyor can express a near, fixed plan without any future form.
Yarın geliyorum.I am coming tomorrow.
Worth knowing
You already know the endings
The person endings are the same as for “to be”: yorgunum“I am tired”geliyorum“I am coming” So the only new thing is -iyor.
Yorgunum ama çalışıyorum.I am tired, but I am working.
The verbs on this page, in every form: gitmek · oturmak · beklemek · yağmak · konuşmak · dinlemek