The same event can be presented as a known fact or as something learned indirectly. You will choose a past form by asking how the speaker found out, not how long ago the event happened.
The idea
Use -miş to present an event through a report, an inference from its result, or a later discovery. Ece dün taşınmış can pass on news; Gece kar yağmış can be a conclusion from snow on the ground. Anahtarımı evde unutmuşum presents a realization about your own action. The ordinary past in -di presents an event as a fact, often from direct experience; it is not restricted to eyewitness accounts. Context identifies the source: -miş alone does not name who told you.
Examples
- Ece dün taşınmış.Ece moved yesterday, I hear.
- Gece kar yağmış.It seems it snowed during the night.
- Anahtarımı evde unutmuşum.I have left my key at home, I have just realized.
- Ece dün taşındı.Ece moved yesterday.
- Meğer yanlış otobüse binmişiz.It turns out we got on the wrong bus.
- Ece toplantıya katılmamış.Ece did not attend the meeting, I hear.
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Watch out
Do not translate every -miş as “maybe” or reserve it for other people. You can be sure of a conclusion and still use this form. Unutmuşum highlights discovering the forgotten key; unuttum simply states that you forgot it. Surprise is possible, but not required.
Try it yourself
Ece told you about her move by phone. Mark it as received news: Ece dün ___. Choose taşındı / taşınmış.
Show answer or example answer
taşınmış
taşınmış: the requested perspective is news received by phone. This form passes on that information instead of presenting the move as your own direct account.
You wake up to white ground without having seen the snowfall. Express the inference: Gece kar ___. Choose yağdı / yağmış.
Show answer or example answer
yağmış
yağmış: the white ground is the result you see now. You infer the snowfall during the night; you did not watch it fall.
At the door you check your pocket and only now realize what happened. Express the discovery: Anahtarımı evde ___. Choose unuttum / unutmuşum.
Show answer or example answer
unutmuşum
unutmuşum: checking your pocket triggers the realization. The first-person ending still identifies you as the person who left the key at home.
You helped Ece move. Narrate your direct experience as a fact: Ece dün ___. Choose taşındı / taşınmış.
Show answer or example answer
taşındı
taşındı: you helped with the move and are narrating that experience as a fact. Taşınmış would shift the presentation toward something learned or discovered.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Ece told you about her move by phone. Mark it as received news: Ece dün ___. Choose taşındı / taşınmış.
You wake up to white ground without having seen the snowfall. Express the inference: Gece kar ___. Choose yağdı / yağmış.
At the door you check your pocket and only now realize what happened. Express the discovery: Anahtarımı evde ___. Choose unuttum / unutmuşum.
You helped Ece move. Narrate your direct experience as a fact: Ece dün ___. Choose taşındı / taşınmış.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Describe one piece of news, one conclusion from visible evidence and one discovery about yourself. Add a sentence explaining how you found out. Then retell one event as a fact with the ordinary past.