Turkish/Future Tense
Future tense is the main way of expressing future in Turkish. Turkish future tense is the equivalent of be going to and will.
Formation in written language[edit | edit source]
Affirmative - Olumlu[edit | edit source]
The suffixes -ecek or -acak (according to the vowel harmony) and the personal ending are added to the verb stem. The k in the suffixes become a ğ before the 1st personal endings:
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Negative - Olumsuz[edit | edit source]
Negative verb stem (verb-me/ma-), auxiliary consonant y (it is used to establish a connection between two vowels), the suffixes -ecek or -acak (according to the vowel harmony) and the personal ending are added to the verb stem. The k in the suffixes become a ğ before the 1st personal endings:
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Interrogative - Soru[edit | edit source]
This is a bit complicated. Look at the examples, notice that personal endings for 3rd person plural come before the interrogative particle mı/mi/mu/mü, while other personal endings come after mı/mi/mu/mü. Also "mi" changes according to the vowel harmony although it is written as a separate word. If 1st personal ending come after mı/mi, -y- consonant should be added to make a connection between two vowels.
Affirmative[edit | edit source]
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Negative[edit | edit source]
verb inflection • future tense gel
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|---|---|---|---|
| gelmemek | |||
| ben gelmeyecek miyim | won't I come | biz gelmeyecek miyiz | won't we come |
| sen gelmeyecek misin | won't you come | siz gelmeyecek misiniz | won't you come |
| o gelmeyecek mi | won't he/she/it come | onlar gelmeyecekler mi | won't they come |
verb inflection • future tense koş
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|---|---|---|---|
| koşmamak | |||
| ben koşmayacak mıyım | won't I run | biz koşmayacak mıyız | won't we run |
| sen koşmayacak mısın | won't you run | siz koşmayacak mısınız | won't you run |
| o koşmayacak mı | won't he/she/it run | onlar koşmayacaklar mı | won't they run |
Formation in colloquial language[edit | edit source]
While it is perfectly legibile to pronounce the future tense as it is written, this ending is often pronounced very differently in spoken language and in texting. This form of the ending is considerably more complicated than the written form, so it is completely acceptable to skip this part for a new learner.
Verbs ending in consonants[edit | edit source]
When the verb ends with a consonant, the first a/e in -acak/ecek drops, and the c respects consonant harmony, becoming -cak/cek/çak/çek.
| döncek | It will turn |
|---|---|
| kalcak | It will stay |
| iççek | It will drink |
| aççak | It will open |
Verbs ending in vowels[edit | edit source]
When the verb ends in a vowel, if the vowel is a/e, undergoes vowel narrowing, and becomes ı/i/u/ü. Meanwhile the a/e in the ending drops, but the y is retained, becoming -ycak/ycek.
| yiycek | It will eat |
|---|---|
| uzuycak | It will extend |
| dönmüycek | It will drink |
Personal endings[edit | edit source]
Similar to -yor, the ğ in the ending is often dropped, and the question particle comes after the personal ending.
| içmek | |
|---|---|
| ben iççem | I will drink |
| sen iççen mi | Will you drink? |
| o iççek | he/she will drink |
| biz iççez mi | Will we drink? |
| siz iççeniz mi | Will you drink? |
| onlar iççek(ler) | they will drink |
Some people say also içicem, dönücem, kalıcam or içecem, dönecem, kalacam, etc.
Usage[edit | edit source]
In Turkish, we have a lot of ways about talking about the future. Even though -acak/ecek is the default tense we use while talking about the future, both the Aorist (-ar/er/ır/ir/ur/ür) and the Present (-yor) may be used instead, and it is important to learn the distinctions between these tenses.
Present Tense vs Future Tense[edit | edit source]
Similar to English, -yor may be used to talk about scheduled or planned events in the future.
- Yarın sinemaya gidiyoruz. We are going to the cinema tomorrow.
- Tren 15 dakikaya kalkıyor. The train is leaving in 15 minutes.
Using the Present Tense here also shows confidence from the speaker that the event will take place as planned. Compare:
- Ne zaman sinemaya gideceğiz? When will we go to the cinema?
- Ne zaman sinemaya gidiyoruz? When are we going to the cinema?
In the second example, the speaker is sure that there is a plan to go to the cinema, and just wants to learn when it is. On the other hand, there isn't a set time to go to the cinema in the first example, and the speaker wants to determine it now.
Aorist[edit | edit source]
While talking about predictions, assumptions or hypotheticals, we use the Aorist instead of the Future.
- Senden iyi öğretmen olur. You'd make a good teacher.
- Deprem bizim evimizi etkilemez. Earthquakes won't effect our house.
Compare:
- Yarın yağmur yağmayacak. It won't rain tomorrow
- Yarın yağmur yağmaz. I don't think it will rain tomorrow.
In the first example, the speaker is sure that it won't rain tomorrow, but in the second one, the speaker doesn't beleive it will rain, but isn't completely sure about it.
- Yarın kalemini veririm. I'll return your pencil tomorrow.
- Yarın kalemini vereceğim. I'll return your pencil tomorrow.
When used in the first person, the Aorist implies a commitment or promise, while the Future implies certainty. In the second example, the speaker has already checked if they can return the pencil tomorrow, and is sure that they can return it, and thus uses the Future Tense to present it as a fact. Meanwhile the first example implies that the speaker will try their best to return the pencil, but isn't sure if there will be any obstacles preventing them.
The word herhâlde (probably) is often used in conjunction with this usage of the aorist.
- Herhâlde yağmur yağmaz. It probably won't rain.
