binmek: getting on a bus, a train or a horse

The idea

Binmek means to get on or into a vehicle, and to ride a bicycle or a horse. What you board takes the dative: otobüse biniyorum, taksiye bindim, uçağa bineceğim. The stem bin ends in a consonant, so the endings attach directly: biniyorum, bindim (the past has d after the voiced n), bineceğim (the k of -ecek becomes ğ before a vowel). The negative puts -mi- before -yor: binmiyorum.

Examples

• Ben otobüse biniyorum.I am getting on the bus.The bus takes -e because binmek asks for the dative: otobüse, not otobüsü. The pronoun ben may be dropped.
• Sabah vapura bindik.We got on the ferry in the morning.
• Yarın trene bineceğim.I am going to get on the train tomorrow.
• Çocuklar bisiklete biniyor.The children are riding bicycles.Binmek also covers riding a bicycle or a horse: bisiklete binmek, ata binmek.
• Uçağa ne zaman biniyoruz?When do we board the plane?The k of uçak turns into ğ before the vowel of the ending: uçağa.
• Taksiye binmiyorum.I am not getting into a taxi.After a vowel the dative takes a buffer y (taksiye), and the negative -mi- comes before -yor.
• Okula otobüsle gidiyorum.I go to school by bus.For by bus, Turkish uses otobüsle (instrumental) with a movement verb. This sentence does not need binmek.
• biniyorumI am getting onbin·iyor-iyor / -ıyor / -uyor / -üyor: happening now·um-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we are
• bineceğimI will get onbin·eceğ-ecek / -acak: will, going to·im-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we are
• taksiyeinto the taxitaksi·yBuffer -y-: the y that joins vowels·e-e / -a / -ye / -ya: to, towards

Watch out

Do not mark the vehicle as an object or a place: otobüsü biniyorum and otobüste biniyorum are wrong; say otobüse biniyorum. The opposite verb is inmek, which takes the ablative: otobüsten indim. For "by bus" use otobüsle, not binmek.

Try it yourself

1. Add the case that binmek asks for to taksi (taxi): get into the taxi.

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   taksiye

   taksiye: taksi ends in a vowel, so a buffer y comes before the dative, and the front vowel i gives -e.

2. Add the case that binmek asks for to uçak (plane): get on the plane.

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   uçağa

   uçağa: the final k of uçak becomes ğ before a vowel, and the back vowel a gives -a.

3. Put bin- into the past for ben: I got on.

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   bindim

   bindim: the stem ends in the voiced n, so the past ending starts with d, and the front vowel i gives -di; -m marks ben.

4. Put bin- into the future for ben: I will get on.

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   bineceğim

   bineceğim: the stem bin ends in a consonant, so -ecek attaches directly, and its k becomes ğ before the vowel of -im.

Use it today

Write three sentences about how you get to school or work today, using binmek with a different vehicle each time. Check the case on each vehicle.