The Present Continuous in Turkish (Şimdiki Zaman)

In Turkish, şimdiki zaman (the present continuous tense) is used to describe actions that are happening right now or are ongoing at the moment of speaking. It’s similar to the present continuous tense in English (e.g., “I am listening,” “She is walking”).

In this article, you will learn how to use and conjugate the present continuous tense in Turkish, how to form the negative form and how to ask questions.

In Turkish, people mostly use the present continuous tense. The simple present form is very rarely used, especially when you speak in Turkish. Here is when you use the present continuous:

1. Actions Happening at the Moment of Speaking
   • Ben şimdi işe gidiyorum (I am going to work now)
2. Near Future Plans
   • Bu akşam tiyatroya gidiyorum (I am going to a theatre tonight)
3. Repetitive Actions (With Adverbs Indicating Repetition)
   • Her gün kitap okuyorum (I read a book every day)
   • Kardeşim duşta şarkı söylüyor. (My sibling sings in the shower)

How to form the present continuous tense in Turkish?

1. If the verb is ending with a consonant: 

2. If the verb is ending with ı, i, u, ü:

3. If the verb is ending with a or e:

When a verb root ends in -a or -e, forming the şimdiki zaman (present continuous tense) involves a slight modification before adding the tense suffix.

• a → ı, u
• e → i, ö 

Examples:

• Ali kitap okuyor. (Ali is reading a book.)
• Onlar parka gidiyor. (They are going to the park.)
• Biz yemek yapıyoruz. (We are cooking.)
• Ayşe telefonla konuşuyor. (Ayşe is talking on the phone.)
• Kuşlar uçuyor. (The birds are flying.)

Exceptions for the present continuous

When forming the present continuous tense in Turkish, there are some exceptions for verbs whose roots end with -t. Normally, we would expect to add the suffix -iyor directly, but for some verbs, this involves a consonant softening to ease the pronunciation. Here are a few common exceptions:

How to form negative sentences in the present continuous tense?

To from negative sentences, you need to add the negative suffix (mı, mi, mu, mü) between the verb stem and the conjugation.

• Verb stem + mı + yor:
  • Bakmıyor (He/She/It is not looking)
• Verb stem + mi + yor:
  • Gelmiyor (He/She/It is not coming)
• Verb Stem + mu + yor:
  • Koşmuyor (He/She/It is not running)
• Verb Stem + mü + yor:
  • Gülmüyor (He/She/It is not laughing)

Examples: 

• Sibel, otobüs bekliyor (Sibel is waiting for the bus) => Sibel, otobüs beklemiyor (Sibel is not waiting for the bus)
• Ben erken uyuyorum (I am sleeping early) => Ben erken uyumuyorum (I am not sleeping early)
• Onlar tenis oynuyor ama onlar golf oynamıyor. (They are playing tennis but hey are not playing golf.)
• Elif, Fatih’i seviyor ama Fatih, Elif’i sevmiyor. (Elif loves Fatih but Fatih does not love Elif.)

How to form questions in the present continuous tense?

To form questions in the present continuous tense in Turkish, you need to add the appropriate question particle (mı, mi, mu, mü) after the verb, based on the last vowel of the verb stem (vowel harmony):

Examples: 

• Sen düzenli olarak spor yapıyor musun? (Do you exercise regularly?)
• Bizimle pikniğe gelmiyor musun? (Aren’t you coming to the picnic with us?)
• O her gün çay içiyor mu? (Does he/she drink tea every day?)
• Onlar İspanyolca bilmiyorlar mı? (Don’t they know Spanish?)