You will conjugate yemek in the present, the past and the negative, and see which forms change the stem.
The idea
The stem of yemek is ye-. Directly before -yor its e narrows to i: yiyorum, yiyorsun, yiyor. Everywhere else the stem keeps its e: yedim, yemiyorum, yemek.
| Person | Present | Past | Negative present | Negative past |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ben | yiyorum | yedim | yemiyorum | yemedim |
| sen | yiyorsun | yedin | yemiyorsun | yemedin |
| o | yiyor | yedi | yemiyor | yemedi |
| biz | yiyoruz | yedik | yemiyoruz | yemedik |
| siz | yiyorsunuz | yediniz | yemiyorsunuz | yemediniz |
| onlar | yiyorlar | yediler | yemiyorlar | yemediler |
Examples
- Ben elma yiyorum.I am eating an apple.Before -yor the stem ye- narrows to yi-: yiyorum, never yeyorum. The pronoun ben may be dropped.
- Biz akşam yemeği yiyoruz.We are having dinner.The noun yemek also means 'meal'. In the compound akşam yemeği (dinner) its final k softens to ğ before the possessive -i.
- Çocuklar kahvaltıda yumurta yedi.The children ate eggs at breakfast.In the past the stem keeps its e: yedi, not yidi. With a plural subject both Çocuklar yedi and Çocuklar yediler are correct.
- Sen ne yiyorsun?What are you eating?
- Annem et yemiyor.My mother does not eat meat.The negative -mi- comes between the stem and -yor, so the stem keeps its e: yemiyor, not yimiyor. Narrowing happens only when -yor touches ye-.
- yiyorumI am eatingyiyor-iyor / -ıyor / -uyor / -üyor: happening nowum-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we are
- yemiyorumI am not eatingyemiyor-miyor / -mıyor / -muyor / -müyor: not doing nowum-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we are
- yedikwe ateyedi-di, -dı, -du, -dü, -ti: the past (geldi, yaptı)kPast person endings: -m, -n, -k, -niz, -ler
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Watch out
Learners build the present from the plain stem and write yeyorum, or they overcorrect and write yimiyorum or yidi. Only the positive -yor narrows the stem: yiyorum, but yemiyorum and yedi.
Try it yourself
Now I am eating bread. Put yemek (to eat) into the present continuous.
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yiyorum
yiyorum: -yor follows the stem directly, so ye- narrows to yi-, and -um marks ben.
Last night we ate rice. Put yemek (to eat) into the past tense.
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yedik
yedik: the past -di does not narrow the stem, and -k is the ending for biz: ye-di-k.
I am not eating fish. Use the negative present continuous of yemek (to eat).
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yemiyorum
yemiyorum: the negative -mi- sits between the stem and -yor, so -yor never touches ye- and the e stays.
You did not eat an egg yesterday. Use the negative past of yemek (to eat).
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yemedin
yemedin: the negative past is ye-me-di-n; no -yor is there to narrow the stem, and -n marks sen.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Now I am eating bread. Put yemek (to eat) into the present continuous.
Last night we ate rice. Put yemek (to eat) into the past tense.
I am not eating fish. Use the negative present continuous of yemek (to eat).
You did not eat an egg yesterday. Use the negative past of yemek (to eat).
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the parts in order to build this word: I am eating
Tap the parts in order to build this word: I am not eating
Keep your progress
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Write four sentences: two about what you are eating now and two about what you did not eat yesterday. Check that every positive present has yi-.