You will use aramak to say what you are looking for and whom you phone, in the present, the past and the future.
The idea
Aramak means to look for something or someone, and to phone someone: anahtarı arıyorum, annemi aradım. The stem ara- ends in a vowel. In the present continuous its last a drops before -ıyor, and the back vowel a asks for ı: arıyorum. The past keeps the whole stem: aradım. The future puts a buffer y before -acak, and the k turns into ğ before a vowel: arayacağım. What you look for or whom you call is the object, and a particular one takes the accusative: annemi, doktoru.
| Person | Present continuous | Past | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| ben | arıyorum | aradım | arayacağım |
| sen | arıyorsun | aradın | arayacaksın |
| o | arıyor | aradı | arayacak |
| biz | arıyoruz | aradık | arayacağız |
| siz | arıyorsunuz | aradınız | arayacaksınız |
| onlar | arıyorlar | aradılar | arayacaklar |
Examples
- Annemi akşam aradım.I called my mother in the evening.The person you call is the object and takes the accusative: annem + i gives annemi, never anneme. The pronoun ben is dropped.
- Yarın doktoru arayacağım.I will call the doctor tomorrow.
- Çocuklar bahçede topu arıyor.The children are looking for the ball in the garden.
- Neden beni aramadın?Why didn't you call me?The negative -ma comes before the past -dı: ara + ma + dı + n. The person you did not call is still in the accusative: beni.
- Ev arıyoruz.We are looking for a house.Something you look for without a particular one in mind takes no accusative: ev arıyoruz, any house. A particular house would be evi arıyoruz.
- Annem arıyor.My mother is calling.
- arıyorumI am looking forarıyor-iyor / -ıyor / -uyor / -üyor: happening nowum-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we are
- arayacağızwe will callarayBuffer -y-: the y that joins vowelsacağ-ecek / -acak: will, going toız-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we are
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Watch out
The person you phone is the object, not a destination. Many languages say "call to someone", and learners then write anneme aradım; Turkish says annemi aradım. And do not keep the a of the stem before -ıyor: arayorum does not exist, the present is arıyorum.
Try it yourself
Write aramak in the present continuous for ben: Now I am looking for you.
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arıyorum
arıyorum: the final a of ara- drops before the ending, the back vowel gives -ıyor, and -um means "I".
Write aramak in the past for ben: Yesterday I called my father.
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aradım
aradım: the stem ends in a vowel, so the past ending starts with d; the back vowel a gives -dı, and -m means "I".
Write aramak in the future for biz: Tomorrow we will call you.
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arayacağız
arayacağız: after the vowel a a buffer y joins -acak, and its k becomes ğ before -ız, which starts with a vowel.
Write “my mother” in the accusative: I called my mother.
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annemi
annemi: the mother you called is the object; annem ends in a consonant and its last vowel is e, so the accusative is -i.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Write aramak in the present continuous for ben: Now I am looking for you.
Write aramak in the past for ben: Yesterday I called my father.
Write aramak in the future for biz: Tomorrow we will call you.
Write “my mother” in the accusative: I called my mother.
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 am looking for
Tap the parts in order to build this word: we will call
Keep your progress
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Write three sentences: something you are looking for, a person you called yesterday and a person you will call tomorrow. Mark each accusative.