Use oynamak for games, playing on a team and acting a role. Compare a game happening now with a regular pastime, then describe a past game and a future plan.
The idea
The stem is oyna-: its final a narrows to u in oynuyorum, but remains in oynarım and oynadım. The future is oynayacağım, with linking y and k changing to ğ before the personal ending. Say tavla oynamak for the activity, but bu oyunu oynamak for a specific game. A role can also be the object: doktor rolünü oynamak.
| Person | Present continuous | Aorist (habit) | Past | Future | Negative present |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ben | oynuyorum | oynarım | oynadım | oynayacağım | oynamıyorum |
| sen | oynuyorsun | oynarsın | oynadın | oynayacaksın | oynamıyorsun |
| o | oynuyor | oynar | oynadı | oynayacak | oynamıyor |
| biz | oynuyoruz | oynarız | oynadık | oynayacağız | oynamıyoruz |
| siz | oynuyorsunuz | oynarsınız | oynadınız | oynayacaksınız | oynamıyorsunuz |
| onlar | oynuyorlar | oynarlar | oynadılar | oynayacaklar | oynamıyorlar |
Examples
- Teneffüste bahçede oynuyoruz.We are playing in the garden during the break.
- Akşamları dedemle tavla oynarım.I play backgammon with my grandfather in the evenings.
- Dün bu oyunu oynadım.I played this game yesterday.
- Yarın okul takımında oynayacağım.I will play on the school team tomorrow.
- Ablam bu oyunu oynamıyor.My older sister is not playing this game.
- Bu sahnede doktor rolünü oynuyor.He or she plays the doctor in this scene.
- Ablam gitar çalıyor, ben satranç oynuyorum.My older sister is playing the guitar; I am playing chess.
- Bizimle saklambaç oynar mısın?Would you play hide-and-seek with us?
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Watch out
Playing an instrument takes çalmak: gitar çalmak, not gitar oynamak. Also keep the negative oynamıyorum distinct from oynuyorum. In the invitation oynar mısın?, the question particle is written separately.
Try it yourself
Complete with “I am playing” in the present continuous.
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oynuyorum
oynuyorum: şimdi places the action in progress, and ben requires the first-person ending. The rounded vowel in oynuyor- is u.
Complete with “I play” in the aorist to describe a habit.
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oynarım
oynarım: her pazar means every Sunday; the requested aorist presents this as a habit. The stem already ends in a vowel, so it takes -r.
Complete with “I will play” in the future.
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oynayacağım
oynayacağım: yarın points to tomorrow. For ben, start from oynayacak and change its final k to ğ before -ım.
Choose the verb for playing a guitar and use the third-person singular present continuous.
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çalıyor
çalıyor: the activity is making music on a guitar. The older sister is the third-person subject, so the form has no first-person ending.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Complete with “I am playing” in the present continuous.
Complete with “I play” in the aorist to describe a habit.
Complete with “I will play” in the future.
Choose the verb for playing a guitar and use the third-person singular present continuous.
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 about a game you usually play, one you played yesterday and one you will play tomorrow. Add a sentence about someone playing an instrument, choosing the appropriate verb.