koşmak: to run, with a stem that never changes
Koşuyorum, koştum, koşacağım: the stem koş- stays put, the past takes -tu after ş, and running in a place (-da) differs from running to it (-a).
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durmak: to stop and to stand still
Dur! is only the start: durmak gives duruyorum, durdum and duracağım, and it never takes an object (that needs durdurmak).
Read and practisebeklemek: to wait for someone or something
Waiting for a bus or a friend: beklemek has no word for "for", its object ends in -i, and the e of bekle- drops in bekliyorum but returns in bekledim.
Read and practisearamak: to look for, to call
Calling your mother or hunting for keys? Aramak does both: see arıyorum, aradım and arayacağız, and why the person you phone takes the accusative.
Read and practiseaçmak: to open and to turn on
Because aç- ends in a voiceless ç, the past is açtım, not açdım. Learn the forms of açmak, when it means turn on, and why a door that is open is açık.
Read and practisekapatmak: to close and to switch off
Close a door, switch off the light, hang up on a call: kapatmak takes its object with -ı, and what closes by itself is kapanmak.
Read and practisedinlemek: to listen
Not dinleyorum but dinliyorum: the final e of dinle- narrows in the present. Plus how listening on purpose, dinlemek, differs from simply hearing, duymak.
Read and practisedüşünmek: to think, with düşünüyorum and düşündüm
Seni düşünüyorum, not sana: whom you think of takes the accusative. Plus düşünüyorum, düşündüm, düşüneceğim and düşünmüyorum with their ü.
Read and practisesormak: to ask, to ask about
Ask a person or ask about a thing? With sormak the person takes -e/-a and the thing asked takes -i: Ali'ye sordum, Ali'yi sordum. Forms: soruyorum, sordum.
Read and practiseyaşamak: to live
Where you live and whether someone is alive: yaşamak says both. See yaşıyorum, yaşadım, yaşayacağım and yaşamıyorum, with the city in -da.
Read and practisegirmek: to enter a room, a shop or a job
Odaya, not odayı: girmek takes the dative for the place you enter, and its stem gir- never changes in giriyorum, girdi and gireceğim.
Read and practiseçıkmak: to go out, leave, climb and appear
Evden çıkıyorum, dağa çıktık: one verb, two directions. See how -den marks the place you leave and -e/-a the one you climb, with a stem that never softens.
Read and practisebinmek: getting on a bus, a train or a horse
Otobüse, not otobüsü: binmek always marks the vehicle with -e/-a. Forms such as biniyorum, bindim and bineceğim, plus how it differs from inmek.
Read and practiseinmek: to get off and to go down
Down the stairs, off the bus, onto the runway: inmek covers all three. See iniyorum, indim and ineceğim, and why the vehicle you leave takes -den.
Read and practisedönmek: to return, to turn
Eve dönüyorum, sağa dön: the ö keeps rounding the endings (dönüyor, döndü, dönmüyor), and the place you return to takes the dative -e/-a.
Read and practisegülmek: to laugh, and laugh at
Bana gülme means don't laugh at me: the person laughed at takes -e/-a. Also gülüyorum, güldüm, güleceğim and the negative gülmüyorum.
Read and practiseağlamak: to cry, and the soft ğ that stays
Ağlıyorum, ağladım, ağlayacağım: the stem ağla- keeps its soft ğ and loses its final a before -yor. Learn to say who cries, when, and about what.
Read and practisegiymek: to wear, to put on
Coat, dress or shoes: giymek is the verb for clothes. See giyiyorum, giydim and giyeceğim, and why glasses and watches take takmak.
Read and practisesatmak: to sell
Sattım, not satdım: the voiceless t of sat- decides the past ending. Learn the forms of satmak, who gets what you sell, and how it differs from satın almak.
Read and practiseödemek: to pay
Paying a bill in Turkish: conjugate ödemek in three tenses and see why its stem becomes ödüyor- in the present and ödeyeceğim in the future.
Read and practisebuluşmak: to meet up with someone
Meeting a friend at six? Buluşmak marks the person with ile/-le, not the accusative: seninle buluşuyorum. Forms such as buluştum and buluşacağız.
Read and practisetanışmak: to meet someone, and the ile it needs
Ayşe'yle tanıştım, not Ayşe'yi: tanışmak never takes an object. Learn tanıştım, tanışıyorum and tanışacağım, and how -le/-la marks the person you meet.
Read and practisegeçmek: passing, crossing and time going by
Sınavdan geçtim, yoldan geçiyor: geçmek takes the ablative for what you pass, plus geçiyorum, geçtim, geçeceğim and why it is not "to spend time".
Read and practisegezmek: to stroll, to tour, with geziyorum and gezdim
Müzeyi gezdim, not müzeye: what you tour takes the accusative, while a place to wander in takes -de/-da. Forms: geziyorum, gezdim, gezeceğim.
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