This temporal construction puts the affirmative and negative aorist of the same verb side by side. The event does happen; the negative-looking second word helps express that the next action follows immediately. The three word chains below isolate the affirmative halves of passive pairs used in the sentences.
The idea
Write two separate words: görür görmez. Use -r after a vowel; consonant stems take -ar/-er or -ır/-ir/-ur/-ür according to their aorist form. Most one-syllable stems use -ar/-er, but learn exceptions such as alır and gelir; longer consonant stems use the high-vowel forms. Repeat the stem with -maz after a back vowel (a ı o u) or -mez after a front vowel (e i ö ü). Both words keep any passive suffix: açılır açılmaz. In gider gitmez and eder etmez, only the affirmative has d. The main verb supplies tense and person.
| Affirmative ending | Negative ending | Verb | Pair |
|---|---|---|---|
| -r | -maz | aramak | arar aramaz |
| -r | -mez | beklemek | bekler beklemez |
| -ar | -maz | bakmak | bakar bakmaz |
| -er | -mez | geçmek | geçer geçmez |
| -ır | -maz | almak | alır almaz |
| -ir | -mez | gelmek | gelir gelmez |
| -ur | -maz | olmak | olur olmaz |
| -ür | -mez | görmek | görür görmez |
| -er | -mez | gitmek | gider gitmez |
| -er | -mez | etmek | eder etmez |
| -r | -mez | demek | der demez |
| -r | -mez | yemek | yer yemez |
Examples
- Haberi alır almaz dışarı çıktık.As soon as we got the news, we went outside.
- Sen gider gitmez toplantı başlayacak.The meeting will start as soon as you leave.
- Kapı açılır açılmaz içeri girdik.As soon as the door was opened, we went in.
- Yeni başkan seçilir seçilmez toplantı başladı.As soon as the new chair was elected, the meeting began.
- Adres yazılır yazılmaz kâğıdı katladım.As soon as the address was written down, I folded the paper.
- Ben eve gelir gelmez kediyi besleyeceğim.I will feed the cat as soon as I get home.
- açılıris openedaçılPassive suffix: -ıl / -il / -ul / -ülır-ir / -ar / -er: the aorist (gelir, yapar)
- seçiliris chosenseçilPassive suffix: -ıl / -il / -ul / -ülir-ir / -ar / -er: the aorist (gelir, yapar)
- yazılıris writtenyazılPassive suffix: -ıl / -il / -ul / -ülır-ir / -ar / -er: the aorist (gelir, yapar)
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Watch out
Do not put a first-person ending on either half: for “as soon as I arrive”, use ben gelir gelmez, not gelirim gelmem. Keep -z in the second half even with ben. The two actions may have different subjects, as in Sen gider gitmez toplantı başlayacak.
Try it yourself
Form the two-word expression: as soon as someone sees.
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görür görmez
görür görmez: the rounded front vowel ö gives ü in the affirmative, but the negative suffix has the unrounded vowel e. The second word therefore ends in -mez.
Form the two-word expression: as soon as someone leaves.
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gider gitmez
gider gitmez: before the vowel of -er, the stem-final t becomes d. Before the consonant of -mez, the stem remains git-; the two spellings belong to the same verb.
Complete with two words: We went in as soon as the door was opened.
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açılır açılmaz
açılır açılmaz: the door is being opened, so both halves retain passive -ıl. Removing it would make the door the opener. Entering follows the opening immediately.
Complete with two words: I will feed the cat as soon as I get home.
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gelir gelmez
gelir gelmez: ben identifies the person arriving, while besleyeceğim expresses the future action and first person. The temporal pair itself takes no person ending.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Form the two-word expression: as soon as someone sees.
Form the two-word expression: as soon as someone leaves.
Complete with two words: We went in as soon as the door was opened.
Complete with two words: I will feed the cat as soon as I get home.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the parts in order to build this word: is opened
Tap the parts in order to build this word: is chosen
Keep your progress
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Write one sentence about what you did immediately after receiving news and one about what you will do on arriving home. Keep each two-word pair together and mark tense and person on the main verb.