uyumak: to sleep, to fall asleep

The idea

The stem uyu- ends in a vowel, and that decides every ending. The present -yor attaches directly: uyuyorum, not uyuuyorum. Endings that begin with a vowel take a buffer y, as in the future uyuyacağım, where the k of -acak softens to ğ before a vowel. The past starts with d, since the stem does not end in a voiceless consonant: uyudum. The negative -ma- rounds to -mu- after the u: uyumuyorum.

Examples

• Bebek odada uyuyor.The baby is sleeping in the room.The stem uyu- already ends in a vowel, so -yor attaches directly: uyu + yor, never uyuuyor.
• Dün gece erken uyudum.I fell asleep early last night.
• Yarın geç uyuyacağız.We will sleep late tomorrow.In the future a buffer y joins the vowel stem (uyu + y + acak), and the k of -acak softens to ğ before the vowel of -ız: uyuyacağız.
• Kedi her öğleden sonra uyuyor.The cat sleeps every afternoon.
• Sen neden uyumuyorsun?Why aren't you sleeping?The negative is stem + -ma- + -yor, and the vowel of -ma- narrows and rounds after the u: uyumuyorsun, not uyumayorsun.
• Hadi uyu, yarın okul var.Come on, go to sleep, there is school tomorrow.The imperative for sen is the bare stem: uyu. For siz it takes a buffer y: uyuyun.
• Çocuklar uyudu mu?Have the children fallen asleep?A plural noun subject usually takes a singular verb: uyudu, not uyudular. The question word mu is written apart, and its vowel follows the u of uyudu.
• Ben saat onda yatıyorum.I go to bed at ten o'clock.For getting into bed Turkish uses yatmak, not uyumak: uyumak means to be or fall asleep.

Watch out

Do not use uyumak for going to bed. Saat onda uyuyorum says you are asleep at ten; getting into bed is yatmak: Saat onda yatıyorum. Do not mix it up with uyanmak (to wake up), which looks almost the same.

Try it yourself

1. Conjugate uyu for you (singular) in the present continuous: you are sleeping.

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   uyuyorsun

   uyuyorsun: the stem ends in the vowel u, so -yor attaches directly, and -sun is the ending for you.

2. Conjugate uyu for we in the simple past: we slept.

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   uyuduk

   uyuduk: after a vowel the past starts with d; the back vowel u gives -du, and -k marks we.

3. Conjugate uyu for I in the future: I will sleep.

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   uyuyacağım

   uyuyacağım: a buffer y joins the vowel stem, then the k of -acak softens to ğ before the vowel of -ım.

4. Make uyu negative for I in the present continuous: I am not sleeping.

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   uyumuyorum

   uyumuyorum: the negative -ma- narrows to -mu- before -yor after the u, and the verb continues with -yor and -um.

Use it today

Write four sentences about when you sleep: present, past, future and one negative. Check that there is no extra vowel before -yor.