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Turkish Aorist Tense

Use the Turkish aorist tense for habits, general truths, repeated actions, and things that are usually true.

Practise aorist forms with gelmek

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Pattern

verb stem + aorist ending + person ending

Example

Ben her gün gelirim.

I come every day.

What this tense means

The aorist is one of the most important Turkish tenses, but it does not match one single English tense perfectly.

It often describes what someone usually does, what generally happens, or what is normally true.

In English, this often looks like a simple present form, but the key meaning is habit, routine, or general truth. Context can also give the aorist other meanings, such as a request.

When to use it

Choose the situation first, then build the ending.

1. Habits and routines

Turkish: Ben her sabah kahve içerim.
English: I drink coffee every morning.

Turkish: Sen genelde erken gelirsin.
English: You usually come early.

Turkish	English
Ben her sabah kahve içerim.	I drink coffee every morning.
Sen genelde erken gelirsin.	You usually come early.

2. General truths

Turkish: Su kaynar.
English: Water boils.

Turkish: Çocuklar hızlı öğrenir.
English: Children learn quickly.

Turkish	English
Su kaynar.	Water boils.
Çocuklar hızlı öğrenir.	Children learn quickly.

3. Repeated actions

Turkish: Biz hafta sonları yürürüz.
English: We walk on weekends.

Turkish: Onlar sık sık film izlerler.
English: They often watch movies.

Turkish	English
Biz hafta sonları yürürüz.	We walk on weekends.
Onlar sık sık film izlerler.	They often watch movies.

4. Tendencies or normal behavior

Turkish: O çok kitap okur.
English: He/she reads a lot.

Turkish: Bu otobüs merkeze gider.
English: This bus goes to the city center.

Turkish	English
O çok kitap okur.	He/she reads a lot.
Bu otobüs merkeze gider.	This bus goes to the city center.

How to form positive statements

verb stem + aorist ending + person ending

Choose the affirmative aorist ending from the verb stem: vowel-final stems take -r, most one-syllable consonant-final stems take -ar/-er, and most longer consonant-final stems take -ır/-ir/-ur/-ür.

With gitmek, the stem-final t voices before the vowel in -er: git + er → gider, then gider + im → giderim.

A stem ending in a vowel takes -r: oku + r + um → okurum.
Most one-syllable stems ending in a consonant take -ar or -er, chosen by vowel harmony: yap + ar + ım → yaparım.
Most longer stems ending in a consonant take -ır, -ir, -ur, or -ür, also chosen by vowel harmony: çalış + ır + ım → çalışırım.
Some common one-syllable verbs use the -ır/-ir/-ur/-ür pattern instead; learn these with the verb: gel + ir + im → gelirim.

Infinitive: gelmek
Verb stem: gel
Aorist: gelirim

Infinitive: gitmek
Verb stem: git
Aorist: giderim

Infinitive: okumak
Verb stem: oku
Aorist: okurum

Infinitive: çalışmak
Verb stem: çalış
Aorist: çalışırım

Infinitive	Verb stem	Aorist
gelmek	gel	gelirim
gitmek	git	giderim
okumak	oku	okurum
çalışmak	çalış	çalışırım

Forms by person

See how this tense looks with the same verb across all persons.

Person: Ben
Turkish: gelirim
English: I come / I usually come

Person: Sen
Turkish: gelirsin
English: You come / you usually come

Person: O
Turkish: gelir
English: He/she/it comes

Person: Biz
Turkish: geliriz
English: We come / we usually come

Person: Siz
Turkish: gelirsiniz
English: You come / you usually come

Person: Onlar
Turkish: gelirler
English: They come / they usually come

Person	Turkish	English
Ben	gelirim	I come / I usually come
Sen	gelirsin	You come / you usually come
O	gelir	He/she/it comes
Biz	geliriz	We come / we usually come
Siz	gelirsiniz	You come / you usually come
Onlar	gelirler	They come / they usually come

Positive, negative, and question reference

These forms show the pattern; the explanation of a special negative form belongs to the relevant tense.

Compare positive statements, negatives, and questions with the same reference verb.

Positive statements

Person: Ben
Turkish: gelirim
English: I come / I usually come

Person: Sen
Turkish: gelirsin
English: You come / you usually come

Person: O
Turkish: gelir
English: He/she/it comes / usually comes

Person: Biz
Turkish: geliriz
English: We come / we usually come

Person: Siz
Turkish: gelirsiniz
English: You come / you usually come

Person: Onlar
Turkish: gelirler
English: They come / they usually come

Person	Turkish	English
Ben	gelirim	I come / I usually come
Sen	gelirsin	You come / you usually come
O	gelir	He/she/it comes / usually comes
Biz	geliriz	We come / we usually come
Siz	gelirsiniz	You come / you usually come
Onlar	gelirler	They come / they usually come

Negative statements

Person: Ben
Turkish: gelmem
English: I do not usually come

Person: Sen
Turkish: gelmezsin
English: You do not usually come

Person: O
Turkish: gelmez
English: He/she/it does not usually come

Person: Biz
Turkish: gelmeyiz
English: We do not usually come

Person: Siz
Turkish: gelmezsiniz
English: You do not usually come

Person: Onlar
Turkish: gelmezler
English: They do not usually come

Person	Turkish	English
Ben	gelmem	I do not usually come
Sen	gelmezsin	You do not usually come
O	gelmez	He/she/it does not usually come
Biz	gelmeyiz	We do not usually come
Siz	gelmezsiniz	You do not usually come
Onlar	gelmezler	They do not usually come

Questions

Person: Ben
Turkish: gelir miyim?
English: Do I usually come?

Person: Sen
Turkish: gelir misin?
English: Do you usually come?

Person: O
Turkish: gelir mi?
English: Does he/she/it usually come?

Person: Biz
Turkish: gelir miyiz?
English: Do we usually come?

Person: Siz
Turkish: gelir misiniz?
English: Do you usually come?

Person: Onlar
Turkish: gelirler mi?
English: Do they usually come?

Person	Turkish	English
Ben	gelir miyim?	Do I usually come?
Sen	gelir misin?	Do you usually come?
O	gelir mi?	Does he/she/it usually come?
Biz	gelir miyiz?	Do we usually come?
Siz	gelir misiniz?	Do you usually come?
Onlar	gelirler mi?	Do they usually come?

Examples in real sentences

Read these examples for context. You do not need to memorize every word.

Turkish: Genelde kahveyi sütsüz içerim.
English: I usually drink coffee without milk.
Note: Habit

Turkish: Her sabah aynı durakta inerim.
English: I get off at the same stop every morning.
Note: Routine

Turkish: Kardeşim hafta sonları geç kalkar.
English: My sibling wakes up late on weekends.
Note: Habit

Turkish: Biz yazın sık sık sahile gideriz.
English: We often go to the coast in summer.
Note: Repeated action

Turkish: Bu otobüs merkeze gider.
English: This bus goes to the city center.
Note: General route/fact

Turkish: Annem mesajlara hızlı cevap verir.
English: My mother replies to messages quickly.
Note: Usual behavior

Turkish: Ofiste her gün Türkçe konuşuruz.
English: We speak Turkish at the office every day.
Note: Repeated routine

Turkish: Kediler sıcak yerleri sever.
English: Cats like warm places.
Note: General truth

Turkish: Biz genelde akşam yürürüz.
English: We usually walk in the evening.
Note: Habit

Turkish: Teşekkür ederim.
English: Thank you.
Note: Common expression using aorist

Turkish	English	Note
Genelde kahveyi sütsüz içerim.	I usually drink coffee without milk.	Habit
Her sabah aynı durakta inerim.	I get off at the same stop every morning.	Routine
Kardeşim hafta sonları geç kalkar.	My sibling wakes up late on weekends.	Habit
Biz yazın sık sık sahile gideriz.	We often go to the coast in summer.	Repeated action
Bu otobüs merkeze gider.	This bus goes to the city center.	General route/fact
Annem mesajlara hızlı cevap verir.	My mother replies to messages quickly.	Usual behavior
Ofiste her gün Türkçe konuşuruz.	We speak Turkish at the office every day.	Repeated routine
Kediler sıcak yerleri sever.	Cats like warm places.	General truth
Biz genelde akşam yürürüz.	We usually walk in the evening.	Habit
Teşekkür ederim.	Thank you.	Common expression using aorist

Aorist form choices

Check these distinctions as you choose a form.

Aorist and actions happening now

The present continuous can also describe a habit when context makes that clear; the aorist is a common way to frame routines and general truths.

Meaning: Right now
Turkish: Ben geliyorum.
English: I am coming now.

Meaning: Usually
Turkish: Ben gelirim.
English: I usually come.

Meaning: Habitual pattern
Turkish: Her gün işe otobüsle gidiyorum.
English: I go to work by bus every day.

Meaning	Turkish	English
Right now	Ben geliyorum.	I am coming now.
Usually	Ben gelirim.	I usually come.
Habitual pattern	Her gün işe otobüsle gidiyorum.	I go to work by bus every day.

Aorist endings vary by verb

Aorist forms vary by verb.

Do not force one suffix pattern onto every verb.

Infinitive: gelmek
Aorist: gelirim

Infinitive: gitmek
Aorist: giderim

Infinitive: okumak
Aorist: okurum

Infinitive	Aorist
gelmek	gelirim
gitmek	giderim
okumak	okurum

Aorist is broader than simple present

The aorist can look like English simple present, but the useful learner meaning is broader: habits, general truths, repeated actions, and normal behavior.

Negative aorist statements: first-person forms

In negative statements, most persons use -maz/-mez: gelmezsin, gelmez, gelmezler. The first-person singular and plural use gelmem and gelmeyiz, without -z. These examples are statements; negative questions follow a separate pattern.

Learn this as one small pattern, not as two unrelated exceptions.

Incorrect: Ben gelmezim.

Correct: Ben gelmem.

Incorrect: Biz gelmeziz.

Correct: Biz gelmeyiz.

Questions about this form

Can an aorist question be a request?

Yes. In context, “Kapıyı açar mısın?” can mean “Could you open the door?” The speaker is asking for an action, not asking what someone usually does. Context helps distinguish the request from a routine question.