inmek: to get off and to go down

The idea

The stem in- ends in the voiced consonant n and has the front vowel i, so the endings are -iyor, -di and -ecek: iniyorum, indim (with d, not t) and ineceğim (the k of -ecek softens to ğ before the vowel of -im). The negative is inmiyorum. What you leave takes the ablative: otobüsten inmek, trenden inmek. The stop where you get off takes the locative (durakta), and the place or value you reach, as with a landing aircraft or a falling temperature, takes the dative: Ankara'ya, sıfıra. The verb has no object; to bring something down you need indirmek.

Examples

• Ben bir sonraki durakta ineceğim.I will get off at the next stop.The stop where you get off takes the locative: durakta, with -ta because the k is voiceless. The pronoun ben may be dropped, since -im already says I.
• Biz dün akşam trenden indik.We got off the train yesterday evening.What you get off takes the ablative: trenden, not trende. The past of in- is indik, with d because n is voiced; after a voiceless consonant it would be t.
• Çocuk her sabah merdivenden iniyor.The child comes down the stairs every morning.Inmek also means to go down, and what you go down takes the ablative: merdivenden. Her sabah (every morning) can also come first.
• Uçak Ankara'ya inecek.The plane will land in Ankara.For an aircraft inmek means to land, and the place it reaches takes the dative: Ankara'ya. The k of -ecek stays because no ending follows it.
• Gece sıcaklık sıfıra indi.At night the temperature fell to zero.Inmek also says that a value falls, and the value it reaches takes the dative: sıfıra, with -a because the last vowel of sıfır is back.
• Neden inmiyorsun?Why aren't you getting off?The negative -mi- sits between the stem and -yor: in-mi-yor-sun. The question word neden (why) usually stands first.
• iniyorumI am getting offin·iyor-iyor / -ıyor / -uyor / -üyor: happening now·um-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we are
• ineceğimI will get offin·eceğ-ecek / -acak: will, going to·im-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we are
• otobüstenoff the busotobüs·ten-den / -dan / -ten / -tan: from, out of

Watch out

Do not say otobüste inmek or otobüse inmek for getting off a bus: what you leave takes the ablative, otobüsten inmek. The opposite verb binmek (to get on) takes the dative instead: otobüse binmek. Also write iniyorum, never inyorum (the ending -iyor keeps its vowel) or inıyorum (the stem vowel is front, so i, not ı).

Try it yourself

1. I am getting off here. Add the present continuous ending for ben to the stem in-.

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   iniyorum

   iniyorum: the stem ends in a consonant, so -iyor attaches directly with the front vowel i, and -um marks ben.

2. We got off yesterday evening. Add the past ending for biz to the stem in-.

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   indik

   indik: n is voiced, so the past starts with d and not t; the front vowel i gives -di, and -k marks biz.

3. At which stop will you get off? Add the future ending for sen to the stem in-.

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   ineceksin

   ineceksin: the front vowel gives -ecek; the k stays because -sin starts with a consonant, so nothing softens it.

4. Add the ablative to vapur (ferry): get off the ferry.

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   vapurdan

   vapurdan: you leave the ferry, so the ablative; vapur ends in the voiced r, hence d, and the back vowel u gives -dan.

Use it today

Write four sentences about a journey: present, past, future and one negative. Check that every vehicle you leave ends in an ablative suffix.