You will finish a past-tense verb by adding who did it: I, you, we, you all or they, and know that he, she and it get nothing.
The idea
After the past marker -di comes the person ending: -m (ben), -n (sen), nothing (o), -k (biz), -niz (siz) and -ler/-lar (onlar): geldim, geldin, geldi, geldik, geldiniz, geldiler. Only -niz and -ler/-lar follow vowel harmony (-nız, -nuz, -nüz; -lar after a back vowel): okudunuz, aldılar. The endings -m, -n and -k never change and attach straight to the vowel of -di: gördüm, gördün, gördük.
| Person | Ending | gel- | yap- | gör- | oku- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ben | -m | geldim | yaptım | gördüm | okudum |
| sen | -n | geldin | yaptın | gördün | okudun |
| o | – | geldi | yaptı | gördü | okudu |
| biz | -k | geldik | yaptık | gördük | okuduk |
| siz | -niz / -nız / -nuz / -nüz | geldiniz | yaptınız | gördünüz | okudunuz |
| onlar | -ler / -lar | geldiler | yaptılar | gördüler | okudular |
Examples
- Dün akşam eve geldik.We came home yesterday evening.The ending -k already says we, so the pronoun biz is usually dropped: geldik alone means “we came”.
- Bu sabah çay içtin.You drank tea this morning.
- Onlar okuldan erken döndüler.They came back from school early.
- geldinizyou camegeldi-di, -dı, -du, -dü, -ti: the past (geldi, yaptı)nizPast person endings: -m, -n, -k, -niz, -ler
- gittimI wentgitti-di, -dı, -du, -dü, -ti: the past (geldi, yaptı)mPast person endings: -m, -n, -k, -niz, -ler
- aldılarthey tookaldı-di, -dı, -du, -dü, -ti: the past (geldi, yaptı)larPast person endings: -m, -n, -k, -niz, -ler
- gelmedikwe did not comegelmedi-medi / -madı: the negative pastkPast person endings: -m, -n, -k, -niz, -ler
- Otobüs geç geldi.The bus came late.Nothing is added for he, she or it: geldi alone is the third person singular.
- Dün bizi aradınız mı?Did you call us yesterday?Siz takes -nız after -dı, and the same form politely addresses one person. The particle mı is written apart.
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Watch out
Do not borrow the present-tense endings: geldisin, geldiz and geldisiniz are wrong. After -di the short endings stand: geldin, geldik, geldiniz. He, she and it have no ending at all, because geldi already is the third person.
Try it yourself
Complete the past-tense verb: You came yesterday.
Show answer or example answer
geldin
geldin: the subject is sen, so the short ending -n follows -di.
Complete the past-tense verb: We went to the cinema.
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gittik
gittik: git ends in a voiceless t, so the marker is -ti, and biz takes -k, giving gittik.
Complete the past-tense verb: You (plural) read the book.
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okudunuz
okudunuz: siz takes -niz, and the last vowel u of -du turns it into -nuz.
Complete the past-tense verb: They bought the ticket.
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aldılar
aldılar: onlar takes -lar because the vowel of -dı is a back vowel.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Complete the past-tense verb: You came yesterday.
Complete the past-tense verb: We went to the cinema.
Complete the past-tense verb: You (plural) read the book.
Complete the past-tense verb: They bought the ticket.
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: you came
Tap the parts in order to build this word: I went
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Write four sentences about yesterday: what you, a friend, your family and your neighbours did. Underline each verb and name its person ending.