Turkish/Seen Past Tense

There are two past tenses in Turkish. One of them is görülen geçmiş zaman (seen or direct past tense) and the other one is duyulan geçmiş zaman (heard, indirect, reported or inferential past tense). Their names may vary according to different sources. But the main point is that the first one is used for events that you have witnessed, you have seen when the action was taking place, and the other one is used for actions that you haven't witnessed, you have heard from somebody else. Görülen means seen and duyulan means heard.

Formation

The declension of -di is quite different than most other tenses, it is important to be aware.

Affirmative - Olumlu

Appropriate form of the suffix –di (it changes according to the vowel and consonant harmonies) and the personal ending are added to the verb stem. An important thing to note here is that the personal endings are different from most other tenses.

Verb stem + appropriate form of di + personal ending

verb inflection • past tense gelmek ben geldim I came biz geldik we came sen geldin you came siz geldiniz you came o geldi he/she/it came onlar geldiler they came verb inflection • past tense almak ben aldım I took biz aldık we took sen aldın you took siz aldınız you took o aldı he/she/it took onlar aldılar they took

verb inflection • past tense görmek ben gördüm I saw biz gördük we saw sen gördün you saw siz gördünüz you saw o gördü he/she/it saw onlar gördüler they saw verb inflection • past tense gitmek ben gittim I went biz gittik we went sen gittin you went siz gittiniz you went o gitti he/she/it went onlar gittiler they went

Negative - Olumsuz

The suffixes -dı,-di (it changes according to the vowel harmony) and the personal ending are added to the negative verb stem.

Verb stem + appropriate form of me– + appropriate form of di + personal ending

verb inflection • past tense gelmek gelmemek ben gelmedim I didn't come biz gelmedik we didn't come sen gelmedin you didn't come siz gelmediniz you didn't come o gelmedi he/she/it didn't come onlar gelmediler they didn't come

verb inflection • past tense almak almamak ben almadım I didn't take biz almadık we didn't take sen almadın you didn't take siz almadınız you didn't take o almadı he/she/it didn't take onlar almadılar they didn't take

Interrogative - Soru

Unlike most other tenses, the question particle mi comes after the personal ending, rather than before.

Verb stem (+ appropriate form of me–) + appropriate form of di + personal ending     question particle –mi

Affirmative

verb inflection • past tense gelmek ben geldim mi did I come biz geldik mi did we come sen geldin mi did you come siz geldiniz mi did you come o geldi mi did he/she/it come onlar geldiler mi did they come verb inflection • past tense almak ben aldım mı did I take biz aldık mı did we take sen aldın mı did you take siz aldınız mı did you take o aldı mı did he/she/it take onlar aldılar mı did they take

verb inflection • past tense görmek ben gördüm mü did I see biz gördük mü did we see sen gördün mü did you see siz gördünüz mü did you see o gördü mü did he/she/it see onlar gördüler mü did they see verb inflection • past tense koşmak ben koştum mu did I run biz koştuk mu did we run sen koştun mu did you run siz koştunuz mu did you run o koştu mu did he/she/it run onlar koştular mu did they run

Negative

verb inflection • past tense gelmek gelmemek ben gelmedim mi didn't I come biz gelmedik mi didn't we come sen gelmedin mi didn't you come siz gelmediniz mi didn't you come o gelmedi mi didn't he/she/it come onlar gelmediler mi didn't they come

verb inflection • past tense almak almamak ben almadım mı didn't I take biz almadık mı didn't we take sen almadın mı didn't you take siz almadınız mı didn't you take o almadı mı didn't he/she/it take onlar almadılar mı didn't they take

Irregular Verbs?

The same rule is used for all of the Turkish verbs. There are no irregular verbs as in English.

Usage

Further information: Turkish/Reported Past Tense

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