You will tell a small story in the past: what was going on, and what happened in the middle of it.
The idea
Put the scene in -yordu and the event that cuts into it in -dı: Ders çalışıyordum, telefon çaldı. Two verbs in -yordu describe two things going on side by side: Ben ders çalışıyordum, babam uyuyordu. The same -yordu also gives a past habit inside a time frame: O yıllarda her cumartesi pazara gidiyorduk. The shapes of the ending itself are in the suffix lesson.
| Verb | Event (-dı) | Scene (-yordu) |
|---|---|---|
| çalmak | çaldı | çalıyordu |
| yağmak | yağdı | yağıyordu |
| yürümek | yürüdü | yürüyordu |
| gitmek | gitti | gidiyordu |
| izlemek | izledi | izliyordu |
| girmek | girdi | giriyordu |
Examples
- Dışarıda yağmur yağıyordu.It was raining outside.
- Ben kitap okuyordum, birden telefon çaldı.I was reading a book when the phone suddenly rang.The scene is okuyordum and the sudden event is çaldı. The pronoun ben may be dropped.
- Biz sahilde yürüyorduk, yağmur başladı.We were walking along the shore when the rain started.
- Ben eve girdim, babam gazete okuyordu.I went into the house; my father was reading the newspaper.girdim is the event; okuyordu is the scene that was already going on when you arrived.
- Dedem uyumuyordu, radyo dinliyordu.My grandfather was not sleeping; he was listening to the radio.
- O yıllarda her cumartesi pazara gidiyorduk.In those years we went to the market every Saturday.
- Dün akşam film izledim.Yesterday evening I watched a film.With -dı the film is finished. Dün akşam film izliyordum would say that you were in the middle of watching it.
- Sen o gün nerede çalışıyordun?Where were you working that day?
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Watch out
Do not use -yordu for the event that interrupts. Kitap okuyordum, telefon çalıyordu says that the phone was ringing all the time you read; the sudden ring is telefon çaldı. And do not use -dı for a scene: Dün akşam film izledim means you watched the film, film izliyordum that you were in the middle of it.
Try it yourself
I was studying and the phone rang. Write the verb for the sudden event.
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çaldı
çaldı: the ring is one sudden event that cuts into the studying, so it takes -dı (after the vowel a and the voiced l).
We were watching television while my father was asleep. Write the verb for the scene in progress.
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izliyorduk
izliyorduk: this is the scene in progress; izle- drops its e before -iyor (izliyor), then come -du and -k for "we".
The bus arrived; we were still waiting at the stop.
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bekliyorduk
bekliyorduk: hâlâ ("still") shows that it was going on; bekle- becomes bekliyor, then -du and -k for "we".
Who were you (plural) talking with yesterday evening?
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konuşuyordunuz
konuşuyordunuz: the last vowel o asks for -uyor; after -du comes -nuz for "you (plural)".
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
I was studying and the phone rang. Write the verb for the sudden event.
We were watching television while my father was asleep. Write the verb for the scene in progress.
The bus arrived; we were still waiting at the stop.
Who were you (plural) talking with yesterday evening?
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 four sentences about a rainy evening: two scenes in -yordu and two events in -dı. Mark which verb is the scene.