Along with our article about time in Turkish, here is a blog post to say “for” and “since”. The two structures to express duration and continuity in Turkish are -DAn beri and -DIr. They correspond broadly to “since” and “for” in English, but they are not interchangeable. Lear below when to use each form, how they differ in meaning, and how to use them correctly in real-life sentences.
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Saying “Since” in Turkish: -DAn beri
-DAn beri expresses the starting point of an action or state that began in the past and is still ongoing. It answers the question: Since when? In English, it corresponds to “since”.
Here is how to use it: noun / time expression + -DAn beri
Here, we use the ablative case in Turkish with the suffixes -dan/-den/-tan/-ten following the vowel harmony. The ablative case expresses the idea of “from” or “starting from” something. It is used to indicate the origin, source, or starting point of an action, whether in time or in space. When combined with beri (“since”), -DAn marks where or when an ongoing action began, which is why -DAn beri naturally corresponds to “since” in English.
Time reference (most common use)
You use -DAn beri when you want to specify when something started.
Examples:
- Dünden beri evdeyim. (I have been home since yesterday.)
- Babaannem geçen haftadan beri hasta. (My grandmother has been sick since last week.)
- 2021’den beri dijital nomad olarak yaşıyorum. (I have been living as a digital nomad since 2021.)
- Noel’den beri arkadaşlarımla görüşmedik. (We haven’t met my friends since Christmas.)
- Pandemiden beri evde ekmek yapıyoruz. (We’ve been baking bread at home since the pandemic.)
Place reference (less common)
-DAn beri can also indicate the starting point of a movement or journey, not just time. If we talk about a place here, there is still the idea of the time needed for the movement/journey. The idea is the same: the action started at a specific place and is still continuing.
Examples:
- Havaalanından beri bavulumu taşıyorum. (I’ve been carrying my suitcase since the airport.)
- Taksim’den beri yürüyorum. (I’ve been walking since Taksim.)
- Kırklareli’nden beri durmadan gidiyoruz. (We’ve been going non-stop since Kırklareli.)
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Saying “For” in Turkish: -DIr / -dIr
-DIr expresses the duration of an action or state. It focuses on how long something has lasted, not on when it started. It answers the question: For how long? In English, it translates to “for”.
Here is how to use it: duration + -DIr. The suffix -DIr is directly attached to the noun expressing the duration.
Note that the vowel harmony applies to the suffix: -dır, -dir, -dur, -dür. Besides, in this structure, the starting point is not mentioned.
Common duration expressions
| Turkish | Meaning |
|---|---|
| bir haftadır | for a week |
| iki saattir | for two hours |
| altı aydır | for six months |
| uzun zamandır | for a long time |
| yıllardır | for years |
| bir süredir | for a while |
| dakikalardır | for minutes |
Real-life examples
- Babaannem bir haftadır hasta. (My grandmother has been sick for a week.)
- Altı aydır arkadaşlarımla görüşmedik. (We haven’t met my friends for six months.)
- Uzun zamandır gerçekten lezzetli bir kebap yemedim. (I haven’t eaten a truly delicious kebab for a long time.)
- İki saattir bu şarkı aklımda ama ismini hatırlamıyorum. (This song has been stuck in my head for two hours, but I can’t remember its name.)
Summary -DAn beri vs -DIr
| English | Turkish | Focus |
| since yesterday | dünden beri | starting point |
| since 2021 | 2021’den beri | starting point |
| for a week | bir haftadır | duration |
| for two hours | iki saattir | duration |
Key rule to remember:
- If you mention when it started → use -DAn beri
- If you mention how long it has lasted → use -DIr
To continue reading, learn how to use the comparatives & superlatives in Turkish with “daha” and “en”.
