A2 · Élémentaire Chapitre 17

Looking at the Past

4 Règles totales
1 min
Règles dans ce chapitre Pratique rapide

Chapter in 30 Seconds

Unlock your ability to tell stories by mastering the Turkish definite past tense.

  • Conjugate verbs using the -di suffix.
  • Express negative actions that occurred in the past.
  • Formulate questions to ask others about their past experiences.
Master your memory, speak about your past.

Ce que tu vas apprendre

The definite past tense (-di). Narrating events that happened clearly in the past.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  1. 1
    By the end you will be able to: narrate a sequence of past events clearly using the definite past tense.

Conseils et astuces (4)

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The 'We' Trap

Always remember that 'We' in the past ends in -k (yaptık), not -uz (yapıyoruz). This is the #1 mistake for beginners.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Definite Past Tense (-di)
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Vowel Harmony

Always look at the last vowel of the stem to choose -di, -dı, -du, or -dü.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Conjugating the Past Tense
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Vowel Harmony

Always look at the last vowel of the stem.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Negation in the Past
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Vowel Harmony

Always check the last vowel of the verb to choose between mi, mı, mu, mü.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Questions in the Past

Vocabulaire clé (5)

gelmek to come yapmak to do/make dün yesterday görmek to see okumak to read

Real-World Preview

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Catching up with a friend

Review Summary

  • Verb stem + di/dı/du/dü + personal suffix
  • Verb stem + me/ma + di/dı... + suffix
  • Verb + past suffix + mi/mı/mu/mü

Erreurs courantes

You forgot the personal suffix for 'ben'. Always add -m.

Wrong: Ben gitdi.
Correct: Ben gittim.

Questions in Turkish always require a question mark.

Wrong: O gelmedi mi.
Correct: O gelmedi mi?

After voiceless consonants like 'p', the 'd' becomes 't'.

Wrong: Ben yapdım.
Correct: Ben yaptım.

Next Steps

You have mastered the definite past! Keep practicing by narrating your day to yourself.

Write a diary entry for yesterday

Continue to: Reported Past Experiences

Pratique rapide (10)

Which one is the correct negative form?

I did not do my homework.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ödevimi yapmadım
'Ben' (I) requires the -m suffix. Negative is formed with -ma/-me before the tense suffix.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Definite Past Tense (-di)

Complete the sentence with the correct past tense form of 'gitmek'.

Dün sinemaya ___ (Biz).

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: gittik
For 'Biz' (We), the suffix is -dik/-dik/-duk/-dük. Since 'git' ends in 't', it becomes 'gittik'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Definite Past Tense (-di)

Choose the correct form.

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Geldin mi?
Correct spacing and harmony.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Questions in the Past

Conjugate 'gelmek' for 'I'.

Ben dün eve ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: geldim
Ben requires -m suffix.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Conjugating the Past Tense

Choose the correct form.

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Yapmadım
Vowel harmony.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Negation in the Past

Select the correct form.

Biz dün sinemaya ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: gittik
Biz requires -k suffix.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Conjugating the Past Tense

Fill in the blank.

Dün okula ___ (gitmedim/gitmadim).

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: gitmedim
Vowel harmony.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Negation in the Past

Fix the sentence.

Find and fix the mistake:

O dün gelmekdi.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: O dün geldi.
Remove infinitive suffix.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Conjugating the Past Tense

Fix the mistake.

Find and fix the mistake:

Yedin mı?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Yedin mi?
Vowel harmony.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Questions in the Past

Find the mistake in the sentence.

Find and fix the mistake:

O dün çok kitap okudi.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: okudu
Vowel harmony: 'u' follows 'u'. 'Okudi' is incorrect; it must be 'okudu'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Definite Past Tense (-di)

Score: /10

Questions fréquentes (6)

Yes! Historical facts or things you are 100% certain about (like your own birth date) use -di.
The -di suffix is the past tense marker. Without it, you aren't in the past! The 't' comes from consonant assimilation.
Use vowel harmony: a/ı -> -dı, e/i -> -di, o/u -> -du, ö/ü -> -dü.
Just add the suffix directly.
It depends on the vowel harmony of the verb stem.
No, use -miyor for present.
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