A story can look backwards from a moment in the past. You will identify that reference point, say what had happened before it, and distinguish this from events told in order. The focus here is the time relationship, not a full suffix chart.
The idea
Use -mişti to present an event as completed before a past reference point: Biz gelince film çoktan başlamıştı. The film started first; our arrival came later. The reference point can also be a clock time or come from the surrounding story. Negation says the event had not happened by then: henüz kalkmamıştı. A question asks whether it had: duymuş muydu? For a simple sequence, ordinary past forms suffice: Önce pencereyi kapattık, sonra lambayı söndürdük. This lesson practises the earlier-event use; the construction has other uses in recollections too.
Examples
- Biz gelince film çoktan başlamıştı.When we arrived, the film had already started.
- Ben dönünce ablam yemeği hazırlamıştı.When I returned, my older sister had prepared the meal.
- Ders başlayınca öğrenciler kitaplarını açmıştı.When the lesson began, the students had opened their books.
- Saat beşte otobüs henüz kalkmamıştı.At five, the bus had not left yet.
- Zeynep bu haberi daha önce duymuş muydu?Had Zeynep heard this news before?
- Önce pencereyi kapattık, sonra lambayı söndürdük.First we closed the window, then we turned off the light.
- Biz gelince film başladı.When we arrived, the film started.
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Watch out
Do not read -mişti as necessarily meaning “apparently” or “someone told me”: it can describe events you experienced yourself. Also, -dikti is not a general past-perfect ending for every person. Forms such as geldikti occur as “we had come” in some colloquial or regional usage; recognise them, but practise gelmiştik here.
Try it yourself
Complete with the earlier past: the concert had already started when we entered the hall.
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başlamıştı
başlamıştı: the concert began before we entered, so its beginning is viewed from the later arrival.
Complete the negative: at eight the shop had not closed yet.
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kapanmamıştı
kapanmamıştı: at eight the shop was still open; henüz and the negative show that closing had not happened by that time.
Ask one person whether they had tried this recipe before. Fill the whole gap.
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denemiş miydin
denemiş miydin: the question concerns your earlier experience with the recipe. The separate miydin carries the past and the second-person ending.
Continue the sequence in the simple past: first we bought the ticket, then we boarded the train.
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bindik
bindik: boarding follows buying the ticket. This is the next event in the story, and -k identifies “we”.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Complete with the earlier past: the concert had already started when we entered the hall.
Complete the negative: at eight the shop had not closed yet.
Ask one person whether they had tried this recipe before. Fill the whole gap.
Continue the sequence in the simple past: first we bought the ticket, then we boarded the train.
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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Choose one past moment, such as arriving home. Write what had already happened, what had not happened yet, and a question about an earlier event. Then write two events in chronological order.