gitmek: to go, and why git- turns into gid-

The idea

The stem of gitmek is git-. Before a suffix that begins with a vowel its final t softens to d: gid-iyor-um, gid-ecek, gid-er. Before a suffix that begins with a consonant it stays t: git-ti-m, git-me, git-miyor. The place you go to takes -e/-a: okula gidiyorum.

Examples

• Ben okula gidiyorum.I am going to school.The place you go to takes the ending -e/-a (okul → okula), never the locative -da. The pronoun ben may be dropped: Okula gidiyorum.
• Biz yarın Bursa'ya gideceğiz.We will go to Bursa tomorrow.Two softenings in one word: the stem becomes gid- before the vowel of -ecek, and the k of -ecek becomes ğ before the vowel of -iz: gideceğiz.
• Dün akşam sinemaya gittik.We went to the cinema last night.The past ending -ti begins with a consonant, so the stem keeps its t: git + ti + k gives gittik, with two t. After the vowel a, a buffer y joins the dative: sinema → sinemaya.
• Ali bugün işe gitmiyor.Ali is not going to work today.The negative -mi- begins with a consonant, so the stem stays git-: gitmiyor, never gidmiyor. The softening needs a vowel right after the stem.
• Eve gitmek istiyorum.I want to go home.The infinitive ending -mek begins with a consonant, so the dictionary form keeps its t: gitmek. The noun ev takes a plain -e for the destination: eve.
• Sen de gidiyor musun?Are you going too?The word de (also) and the question particle are written apart from the words around them. The particle follows vowel harmony: gidiyor musun.
• gidiyorumI am goinggid·iyor-iyor / -ıyor / -uyor / -üyor: happening now·um-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we are
• gideceğimI will gogid·eceğ-ecek / -acak: will, going to·im-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we are
• gittilerthey wentgit·ti-di, -dı, -du, -dü, -ti: the past (geldi, yaptı)·ler-ler / -lar: the plural suffix

Watch out

Learners keep the hard t and write gitiyorum or gitecek; both are wrong, because a vowel follows the stem, so say gidiyorum and gidecek. The opposite slip, gidtim or gidmiyor, also happens: before a consonant the stem stays git-.

Try it yourself

1. Fill in: I am going to school. Use the present continuous of gitmek.

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   gidiyorum

   gidiyorum: -iyor begins with a vowel, so the t of git- softens to d.

2. Fill in: We went to the cinema. Use the past tense of gitmek.

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   gittik

   gittik: the past ending -ti begins with a consonant, so the stem keeps its t, and both t letters are written.

3. Fill in: He or she will go to İzmir tomorrow. Use the future of gitmek.

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   gidecek

   gidecek: -ecek begins with a vowel, so git- becomes gid-; the final k stays because no vowel follows it.

4. Fill in: Ece is not going to school this week. Use the negative present continuous of gitmek.

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   gitmiyor

   gitmiyor: the negative -mi- begins with a consonant, so the stem stays git-; softening applies only before a vowel.

Use it today

Write three sentences about where you, a friend and your family go today, yesterday and tomorrow. Underline the stem in each verb and check whether a vowel or a consonant follows it.