About the verb - to be - PositiveThe Verb - "to be"Present Tense only:Past Tense SuffixesVowel HarmonyConsonant MutationProper namesInterrogative Forms Present tense positive question examplesInterrogative Past Tense - to bePast tense positive question examplesThe Future - will beOther Tenses in use of "to be"The verb - to be - is used in sentences to describe a - state of beingThe house is blueMehmet was illIt will be a quick journeyIf it is a big houseIf it had not been out of sight.The Verb - "to be"From the History of TurkishThe verb "to be" is a now defective verb "imek" whose stem was "i-" which is found in four forms of vowel harmony "i, u,u." It also mutates to "-y" in the past and other forms when being suffixed to a word. This is no longer important in learning Turkish, but it does give the reason for many of the suffixes in modern use for the verb "to be". The Verb to be takes the form of a suffix in Turkish. It is subject to Vowel Harmony Rules and also Consonant Mutation when added to words ending in a hard consonant. In the present tense only 3rd person singular has consonant mutation. It follows that for vowel harmony and consonant mutation the following forms are used.PersonAfter all soft consonantsAfter hard consonants, f, h, k,p, s, , t After Vowels

I am-im, -m, -m, -um--yim, -ym, -ym, -yum

you are-sin, -sn, -sn, -sun--

he/she/it is(-dir, -dr, -dr, -dur)(-tir, -tr, -tr, -tur)-

we are-iz ,-z,-z, -uz--yiz, -yz, -yz, -yuz

you are -siniz, -snz, -snz, -sunuz--

they are(-dirler, -drlar, -drler, -durlar)(-tirler, -trlar, -trler, -turlar)-

The third person -dir suffix changes to -tir when added to hard consonants - See Consonant MutationPresent Tense only:(This not does not apply to the past tense below)Third Person Plural ending shown in brackets above are very often omitted in conversation. They are added only for emphasis and for public advice, notices and warnings. They are also used when stating an actual fact. [Apples are fruit - Elma meyvedir]You can see the use of -dir in Public Notices on the page Public SignsPast Tense SuffixesThe past tense endings are use in all persons although sometime the -ler/-lar of the plural forms is omitted in conversation.Note the use of the Buffer Letter -y- in the formation of the Past Tense for Verb stems which end in a vowel. This is to keep the final vowel of the verb stem separated by mutating the first vowel of the Past Tense endings -idim etc to -ydim etc. As every person suffix in the past tense begins with a -d then it follows that every person can be subject to consonant mutation to -t when added to a word ending in a hard consonant.PersonSuffixConsonant MutatedAfter Vowels

I was-dim, -dm, -dm, -dum-tim, -tm, -tm, -tum-ydim, -ydm, -ydm, -ydum

you were-din, -dn, -dn, -dun-tin, -tn, -tn, -tun-ydin, -ydn, -ydn, -ydun

he/she/it was-di, -d, -d, -du-ti, -t, -t, -tu-ydi, -yd, -yd, -ydu

we were -dik ,-dk,-dk, -duk-tik ,-tk,-tk, -tuk-ydik, -ydk, -ydk, -yduk

you were-diniz, -dnz, -dnz, -dunuz-tiniz, -tnz, -tnz, -tunuz-ydiniz, -ydnz, -ydnz, -ydunuz

they were-diler, -dlar, -dler, -dular-tiler, -tlar, -tler, -tular-ydiler, -ydlar, -ydler, -ydular

Vowel HarmonyBoth the present and past obey the rules of vowel harmony, which are summed up as follows:Both the present and past obey the rules of vowel harmony, which are summed up as follows:The A-Undotted GroupFinal vowel -a or - is followed by - in suffix.yalyz [yal-yz] - we are oldyalydk [yal-ydk] - we were oldhastaym [hasta-ym] - I am illhastaydm [hasta-ydm] - I was ill

Final vowel -o or -u is followed by u in suffix.bir vazodur [vazo-dur] - it is a vase.bir vazoydu [vazo-ydu] - it was a vase.yorgunsun [yorgun-sun] - you are tired.yorgundun [yorgun-dun] - you were tired.The E- Dotted GroupFinal vowel -e or -i is followed by i in suffix.bir deredir [dere-dir] - it is a streambir dereydi [dere-ydi] - it was streamzenginsin [zengin-sin] - you are richzengindin [zengin-din] - you were rich

Final vowel - or - is followed by in suffix.bir gzdr [gz-dr] - it is an eye.bir gzd [gz-d] - it was an eye.Trk'trler [Trk'-trler] - they are Turkish.Trk'tler [Trk'-tler] - they were Turkish.Consonant MutationThe present and past tense suffixes which begin in -d- undergo consonant mutation -dir becomes -tir and all the past tense suffixes beginning in -di become -ti after a final hard consonant the letters f h k p s tConsonant Mutation - Present Tense and Past Tense Examples byktr - it is large bykt - it was large gentirler - they are young gentik - we were young yavatn - you were slow abuktunuz - you were quick sabahtr - it is morning sabaht - it was morning bir mektuptur - it is a letter bir mektuptu - it was a letter Mehmet' tir - It is Mehmet Mehmet' ti - It was Mehmet bir sepettir - it is a basket bir sepetti - it was a basket bir virstr - it is a virus bir virst - it was a virus felakettir - it is a disaster felaketti - it was a disaster bir polistir - it is a policeman bir polisti - it was a policemanProper namesSuffixes are not fixed directly to Proper Names (words which begin with a capital letter), an aphostrophe comma is used instead: Mehmet' tir - It is Mehmet stanbul' da - In Istanbul Hkmet' ten - From the GovernmentSome Examples zengin - rich zenginim - I am rich zengindim - I was rich yorgun - tired yorgunum - I am tired yorgundun - you were tired pahal - dear, expensive pahaldr - it is dear pahalyd - it was dear kk - small kktr - it is small kkt - it was small hasta - ill hastayz - we are ill hastaydk - we were ill yal - aged/old yalsn - you are old yalyd - he was old yoksul - poor yoksuldurlar - they are poor yoksuldular - they were poor gen - young gentirler - they are young genti - he was youngInterrogative Forms Asking questions, the interrogative particle -mi? is used to form questions. It is placed after the word it affects, and has the positive or negative present tense personal endings added - here are the forms showing vowel harmony:"to be" Questions - Present Positive Singular

am I?mym? miyim? muyum? mym?

are you?msn? misin? musun? msn?

is he/she/it? (fam.)m? mi? mu? m?

is he/she/it? formal, publicmdr? midir? mudur? mdr?

"to be" Questions - Present Positive Plural

are we?myz? miyiz? muyuz? myz?

are you?msnz? misiniz? musunuz? msnz?

are they? (fam.)-lar m? -ler mi? -lar mu? -ler m?

are they? formal, publicmdrlar? midirler? mudurlar? mdrler?

Except for the 3rd person form -lar mi? the Positive form of the Interrogative is written separately from the word it affects, but obeys the rules of Vowel Harmony. The longer forms which end in -dir are more formal and are used in instructions and public notices. They are not usually used in general conversation.Present tense positive question examples zengin miyim? - am I rich? yorgun musun? - are you tired? pahal m? - is it dear? byk m? - is it big? hasta myz? - are we ill? yal msnz? - are you old? genler mi? - are they young? yoksullar m? - are they poor?Note that the question part is written separately from the verb - but still obeys vowel harmony rules.Interrogative Past Tense - to beThe Past tense personal endings are added to the question particle -mi and obeys Vowel harmony but is written separately. deil is used for the negative"to be" Questions - Past Positive Singular

was I?mydm? miydim? muydum? mydm?

were you?mydn? miydin? muydun? mydn?

is he/she/it?myd? miydi? muydu? myd?

"to be" Questions - Past Positive Plural

were we?mydk? miydik, muyduk? mydk?

wer you?mydnz? miydiniz? muydunuz? mydnz?

are they?mydlar? miydiler? muydular? mydler?

Note the use of the Buffer Letter -y- in the formation of the Past Tense Questions. This is to keep the final vowel of the question tag -mi by mutating the first vowel of the Past Tense endings -idim etc to -ydim etc.Past tense positive question examples ac myd? - was it bitter? scak myd? - was it hot? hava souk muydu? - was the weather cold? mutlu muyduk? - were we happy? yorgun muydular? - were they tired? hasta mydnz? - were you ill? or have you been ill? gzel miydi? - was she beautiful? ev byk myd? - was it a large house?Note that the question part is written separately from the verb - but still obeys vowel harmony rules.The Future - will beThe Future of the verb - "to be" - is lacking in Turkish. It place is taken by the Future Tense of the Verb olmak - to be, to become. See discussion on - Future of olmakYarn hazr olacam - I will be ready tomorrowEr ge zengin olacaksn - You will become rich sooner or later [er ge (erge) = sooner or later]Bu gece parti ok gzel olacak - It will be a great party tonightAll these are "state of being" sentences but Turkish uses the verb - olmak - to become - to convey the future of the verb - to beOther Tenses in use of "to be"This being a defective verb historical stem is i- and which meaning - be.The missing forms of i- are supplied by ol- the infinitive of olmak, since there is no remaining infinitive of imek.The following table shows the suffixed and independent forms where the stem i- is applied.Suffixed FormsIndependent Forms

Present SuffixFormPast Suffix FormPast TensePast ConditionalPast InferentialPast InferentialConditional

evdeyim(I am in the house)evdeydim(I was in the house)evde idim(I was in the house)evdeysem(If I was in the house)evdeymiim(apparently I am in the house)evdeymisem(If I had been in the house)

evdesinevdeydinevde idinevde idiysenevde imiinevde imisen

evde(dir)evdeydievde idievde idiyseevde imievde imise

evdeyizevdeydikevde idikevde idiysekevde imiizevde imisek

evdesinizevdeydinizevde idinizevde idiysekevde imisinizevde imiseniz

evde(dir)lerevdeydilerevde idilerevde idiyselerevde imilerevde imiseler

The present tense is not used in an independent form