Language Trip

Conjugation › Turkish › Tutmak

Turkish · Verb Tables · Intermediate

Tutmak Conjugation

tutmak means "to hold" in Turkish. Present: ben tutarım, sen tutarsın, o tutar, biz tutarız, siz tutarsınız, onlar tutarlar. Below: all 16 tenses we teach, with examples.

Present Geniş zaman

Formed with -r/-Ir/-Ar on the stem (chosen by vowel harmony; a dozen common one-syllable verbs are irregular, see "patterns"). Used for habitual actions, general truths, and — very commonly — near-future plans and polite offers.

Present continuous Şimdiki zaman

-Iyor added to the stem (stems ending in a or e raise that vowel to ı/i first). Covers actions happening right now and, like English, scheduled near-future events.

Simple past Görülen geçmiş zaman

-DI (four-way harmony, devoiced to -TI after a voiceless stem). The definite past, for events the speaker witnessed, is certain of, or states as plain fact.

Imperfect (past continuous) Şimdiki zamanın hikâyesi

The present continuous plus idi (-Iyordu): an action in progress at a past moment, "was doing".

Present perfect (reported past) Duyulan geçmiş zaman

-mIş (four-way harmony). Used for hearsay, inference from evidence, or realizing something after the fact; this is also how Turkish expresses the English present perfect ("I have done").

Pluperfect Duyulan geçmişin hikâyesi

The reported past plus idi (-mIştI): an event completed before another past moment, "had done".

Habitual past Geniş zamanın hikâyesi

The aorist plus idi (-Ir/-Ardi): repeated or habitual past actions, "used to do / would do".

Future Gelecek zaman

-EcEk on the stem (softening to -eğ-/-ağ- before a vowel-starting ending). Turkish has one future tense, for plans, predictions and promises.

Future-in-the-past Gelecek zamanın hikâyesi

The future plus idi (-EcEktI): something that was going to happen, often left undone, "was going to do".

Conditional Şart

-sE added directly to the stem, for real or hypothetical "if" clauses and, with keşke, for present wishes.

Conditional perfect Şartın hikâyesi

The conditional plus idi (-sEydI): unreal past conditions and regrets, "if I had (done)...".

Optative İstek

Stem + -(y)E/-(y)A + a type-1 personal ending. Heard constantly as -(y)elim "let's..." and -(y)eyim "let me..."; the 2nd/3rd-person forms exist but sound formal or literary.

Necessitative Gereklilik

Stem + -mElI + personal ending: obligation ("must/should") or, about a state, a confident guess ("must be").

Past necessitative Gerekliliğin hikâyesi

The necessitative plus idi (-mEliydI): an obligation that existed in the past, usually unmet, "should have / had to".

Imperative (affirmative) Emir (olumlu)

The bare stem for sen; -sIn for o; -In/-InIz (formal) for siz; -sInlEr for onlar. There is no ben or biz form.

Imperative (negative) Emir (olumsuz)

Adds the negative -mE before the same endings.

Examples

Learn Turkish Free

Practice Tutmak and every other verb with flashcards and verb drills in the Language Trip app and website. Free, no account needed, no ads.

All Turkish verb tables · Basic Turkish phrases