Past Tense & Evidential System

Definite past tense: -di/-dı/-du/-dü

witnessed/certain past action

-dee/-duh/-doo/-dew

Used when speaker directly witnessed the event

Ben geldim.

I came.

behn gel-deem

Gel + di + m; standard witnessed past

Sen gittin.

You went.

sehn geet-teen

Git + ti + n; t consonant assimilation in -di suffix

O yedi.

He/She ate.

oh yeh-dee

Ye + di; zero ending for third person singular in past

Evidential past: -miş/-mış/-muş/-müş

reported/inferred past; speaker did not witness

-meesh/-mush

Used for hearsay, inference, or waking up to find something done

O gelmiş.

He/She has apparently come.

oh gel-meesh

Gelmiş = reportedly came or I see he has come (inference)

Future tense: -ecek/-acak

future action

-eh-jek/-ah-jahk

Gidecek = will go; içecek = will drink

Ben gideceğim.

I will go.

behn gee-deh-jeh-eem

Gidecek + im; ğ softens intervocalically

Dün sinemaya gittim.

I went to the cinema yesterday.

dewn see-neh-mah-yah geet-teem

Dün = yesterday; sinema + ya (dative) = to the cinema

Yarın gelecek.

He/She will come tomorrow.

yah-ruhn geh-leh-jek

Yarın = tomorrow; gelecek = will come (future)