Use gelişmek to describe progress in a skill, the development of a place or the course of events. You will choose the subject carefully and describe ongoing, completed and expected development.
The idea
Gelişmek is intransitive: the person or thing developing is the subject, with no direct object. Türkçem gelişiyor means “my Turkish is improving”; it does not say that no effort caused the progress. The stem geliş- keeps its ş: gelişir, gelişiyor, gelişti. In gelişeceğim, the future ending’s k becomes ğ before the first-person ending. With olaylar, the verb can mean “unfold”, without implying improvement.
| Form | Third person singular | First person singular |
|---|---|---|
| Present continuous | gelişiyor | gelişiyorum |
| Completed past | gelişti | geliştim |
| Future | gelişecek | gelişeceğim |
| Aorist: general tendency | gelişir | gelişirim |
| Negative present continuous | gelişmiyor | gelişmiyorum |
| Negative past | gelişmedi | gelişmedim |
| Negative future | gelişmeyecek | gelişmeyeceğim |
| Negative aorist | gelişmez | gelişmem |
| Possibility / ability | gelişebilir | gelişebilirim |
Examples
- Türkçem bu dönem gelişti.My Turkish improved this term.
- Kasaba son yıllarda gelişiyor.The town has been developing in recent years.
- Dayanıklılığımız düzenli antrenmanla gelişir.Our endurance improves with regular training.
- Yeterince ışık almayan bitki iyi gelişmez.A plant that does not get enough light does not develop well.
- Bu alanda deneyim kazandıkça gelişeceğim.I will develop as I gain experience in this field.
- Olaylar beklediğimizden daha hızlı gelişti.Events unfolded faster than we expected.
- Yeni yöntemle okuma becerim gelişiyor.My reading skill is improving with the new method.
- Okuma becerimi kısa metinlerle geliştiriyorum.I am improving my reading skill with short texts.
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Watch out
Do not translate “I improve my Turkish” as Türkçemi gelişiyorum. Choose Türkçem gelişiyor for the progress itself, or Türkçemi geliştiriyorum for what you do to improve it. The latter uses the transitive verb geliştirmek; the final -i in Türkçemi marks the definite object.
Try it yourself
Bu dönem Türkçem çok ___. Complete with gelişmek in the completed past.
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gelişti
gelişti: the prompt asks for the completed past, and Türkçem is a third-person subject. After voiceless ş, the past ending begins with t, so the form ends in -ti.
Ben de bu alanda ___. Complete with gelişmek in the future, first person singular.
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gelişeceğim
gelişeceğim: ben requires the first person. Start from gelişecek; before the vowel of the personal ending, k softens to ğ. The separate de means “too” and is not part of the verb.
Bitki yeterince ışık almıyor; iyi ___. Complete with gelişmek in the negative present continuous.
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gelişmiyor
gelişmiyor: the plant is not developing well now, so a negative ongoing form fits. The negative vowel appears as i before -yor; gelişmedi would instead describe a past failure to develop.
Okuma becerimi kısa metinlerle ___. Choose gelişmek or geliştirmek; use the present continuous, first person singular.
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geliştiriyorum
geliştiriyorum: okuma becerimi is the definite object, while the implied subject is “I”. The sentence therefore needs the verb for improving something, followed by the ongoing first-person ending.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Bu dönem Türkçem çok ___. Complete with gelişmek in the completed past.
Ben de bu alanda ___. Complete with gelişmek in the future, first person singular.
Bitki yeterince ışık almıyor; iyi ___. Complete with gelişmek in the negative present continuous.
Okuma becerimi kısa metinlerle ___. Choose gelişmek or geliştirmek; use the present continuous, first person singular.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write two sentences about one skill: describe its progress with gelişmek, then your work on it with geliştirmek. Add a sentence about how events unfolded, without judging them as good or bad.