You will turn a verb into the negative aorist for every person and ask yes/no questions such as Gelmez misin?
The idea
The negative aorist is the verb stem plus -mez after a front vowel (e i ö ü) or -maz after a back vowel (a ı o u): gelmez, yapmaz. The personal endings follow: gelmezsin, gelmezsiniz, gelmezler. Only ben and biz change: the z drops, giving -mem/-mam and -meyiz/-mayız, as in gelmem and gelmeyiz. For a question, mi stands apart after the verb: Gelmez misin?
| Person | Front vowel (e i ö ü) | Example | Back vowel (a ı o u) | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ben | -mem | gelmem | -mam | yapmam |
| sen | -mezsin | gelmezsin | -mazsın | yapmazsın |
| o | -mez | gelmez | -maz | yapmaz |
| biz | -meyiz | gelmeyiz | -mayız | yapmayız |
| siz | -mezsiniz | gelmezsiniz | -mazsınız | yapmazsınız |
| onlar | -mezler | gelmezler | -mazlar | yapmazlar |
Examples
- Ben sabah kahve içmem.I don't drink coffee in the morning.For ben the ending is -mem, not -mezim: the z of -mez drops.
- Babam geç kalmaz.My father is never late.
- Bu çocuk sebze yemez.This child doesn't eat vegetables.
- Biz hafta sonu çalışmayız.We don't work at weekends.
- Sen hiç şaka yapmazsın.You never joke.
- Kediler suyu pek sevmez.Cats don't like water very much.
- Siz et yemez misiniz?Don't you eat meat?
- Yarın bize gelmez misin?Won't you come to our place tomorrow?The question word mi is a separate word and takes the person ending (misin). A negative question like this often sounds like a friendly invitation.
- Ben et yemem, ama balık yerim.I don't eat meat, but I eat fish.
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Watch out
Do not put -im after -mez: gelmezim is wrong, the form is gelmem. Write mi as a separate word: gelmezmisin is wrong, Gelmez misin? is right. This form also states a habit or general fact; for something you are not doing right now use -miyor: Kahve içmem means you never drink coffee, Kahve içmiyorum means you are not drinking it now.
Try it yourself
Give the negative aorist of gelmek (to come) for ben: I don't come.
Show answer or example answer
gelmem
gelmem: for ben the z of -mez drops and only -m is left, so gel + me + m.
Give the negative aorist of yapmak (to do) for sen: you don't do.
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yapmazsın
yapmazsın: the vowel a is a back vowel, so the negative is -maz, and sen adds -sın with the z kept.
Give the negative aorist of içmek (to drink) for biz: we don't drink.
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içmeyiz
içmeyiz: for biz the z drops and -yiz is added; the front vowel i gives -me-, so iç + me + yiz.
Give the negative aorist of sevmek (to love) for onlar: they don't love.
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sevmezler
sevmezler: the vowel e is a front vowel, so -mez, and onlar adds -ler after it.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Give the negative aorist of gelmek (to come) for ben: I don't come.
Give the negative aorist of yapmak (to do) for sen: you don't do.
Give the negative aorist of içmek (to drink) for biz: we don't drink.
Give the negative aorist of sevmek (to love) for onlar: they don't love.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
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Write three sentences about things you never do on a weekday: one with ben, one with biz and one with another person. Check the z in ben and biz and the vowel of -mez/-maz.