You will build negative past forms such as gelmedim and okumadınız and pick the right one of two shapes.
The idea
Put -me (after e i ö ü) or -ma (after a ı o u) on the verb stem, then the matching past -di or -dı, then the person ending: gel-me-di-m, oku-ma-dı-n. Only two shapes exist, -medi and -madı, and the past always starts with d here because -me/-ma ends in a vowel.
| Pronoun | Front last vowel | Back last vowel |
|---|---|---|
| ben | gelmedim | almadım |
| sen | gelmedin | almadın |
| o | gelmedi | almadı |
| biz | gelmedik | almadık |
| siz | gelmediniz | almadınız |
| onlar | gelmediler | almadılar |
Examples
- Dün okula gitmedim.I did not go to school yesterday.
- Ali bugün bize gelmedi.Ali did not come to our place today.
- Biz sabah kahvaltı yapmadık.We did not have breakfast this morning.
- gelmedimI did not comegelmedi-medi / -madı: the negative pastmPast person endings: -m, -n, -k, -niz, -ler
- okumadınızyou did not read (plural or formal)okumadı-medi / -madı: the negative pastnızPast person endings: -m, -n, -k, -niz, -ler
- gitmedilerthey did not gogitmedi-medi / -madı: the negative pastlerPast person endings: -m, -n, -k, -niz, -ler
- Dün gece hiç uyumadım.I did not sleep at all last night.Hiç (at all) goes with a negative verb and adds no second negation of its own. The stem uyu ends in the back vowel u, so the suffix is -madı.
- Neden cevap vermedin?Why did you not answer?The front vowel e of ver gives -medi. The ending -n means you (one person) and is added to -di: vermedin.
- okumadımI did not readokumadı-medi / -madı: the negative pastmPast person endings: -m, -n, -k, -niz, -ler
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Turkish voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Turkish device voice is available. You can still read the text.
Watch out
The negative comes before the tense: gelmedim, not geldimme. After -me/-ma the past is always d, never t, so gitmedim, not gitmetim, and the stem does not soften: not gidmedim.
Try it yourself
Say “I did not come” with gel (come).
Show answer or example answer
gelmedim
gelmedim: gel ends in the front vowel e, so -me and -di; -m means I.
Say “you did not read” (plural) with oku (read).
Show answer or example answer
okumadınız
okumadınız: the last vowel u is back, so -ma and -dı; -nız marks you (plural or formal).
Say “we did not see” with gör (see).
Show answer or example answer
görmedik
görmedik: ö is front, so -medi; the ending -k means we.
Say “they did not take” with al (take).
Show answer or example answer
almadılar
almadılar: the back vowel a gives -madı, and -lar marks they.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Say “I did not come” with gel (come).
Say “you did not read” (plural) with oku (read).
Say “we did not see” with gör (see).
Say “they did not take” with al (take).
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: I did not come
Tap the parts in order to build this word: you did not read (plural or formal)
Keep your progress
Sign up for free to save your practice results in your account.
Sign up to saveI already have an accountUse it today
Write three sentences about what you did not do yesterday. Mark -me/-ma, -di/-dı and the person ending in each verb.