Turkish/Present Tense

The all-purpose present tense suffix in Turkish is -(i)yor. This suffix used to be a full verb yormak, but has turned into a suffix in modern Turkish. Because of this, the o in the suffix is invariable, and does not harmonize with the stem. Instead, an ı, i, u or ü is added before the suffix, making the full form of the suffix -ıyor/-iyor/-uyor/-üyor.

In verbs ending with consonants
When the verb stem ends in a consonant, the ending -iyor is added to the stem, with respect to 4-way vowel harmony. The personal ending harmonizes with the o in the suffix.

An important special case arises with the verbs and, where the t in the stem softens to d when the suffix is added.

In verbs ending with vowels
When the stem ends with a or e, the last vowel is dropped, and is replaced with ı, i, u or ü depending on the previous vowel. If the stem already ends with ı, i, u or ü; the suffix -yor is simply added without changing the stem, followed by the personal ending.

An important special case to note is the verbs and, which do not have a second-to-last vowel to harmonize with.

Negative form
Since the usual negative suffix -ma/-me ends in a vowel, it turns into -mı/-mi/-mu/-mü when used with the present tense.

Interrogative/Question form
The question partice mu comes after the suffix, but before the personal ending. It is spelled separately from the stem. A y is appended before the personal ending in the first singular and plural person. Negative questions are also possible.

Stress
In the affirmative form, the ı/i/u/ü part of the suffix is usually stressed. In the interrogative form, the stress shifts to the yor part of the suffix. In the negative and negative interrogative form, the stress is on the last syllable of the verb stem.


 * Geliyorum
 * Gelmiyorum
 * Geliyor musun?

Dropping of the r in informal speech
The r in the suffix is often dropped in spoken language, so it is declined like this: In very informal contexts, such as texting/online chatting, the suffix is often spelled without the y, like bakıom (bakıyorum).

Usage
-yor is one of the most common suffixes in Turkish, because it can be used on a wide array of situations.

Progressive
For events happening in the present, we use the present progressive. This largely corresponds to the English present continuous tense.


 * Ne yapıyorsunuz? What are you doing?
 * Sofrayı hazırlıyorum. I'm preparing the table.
 * Niçin böyle düşünüyorsun? Why are you thinking like this?

-makta/-mekte
In very formal speech, the suffix -makta/mekte may be used as the present continuous as well. This may also be used to stress the continuity of the action in informal speech as well.


 * Meclis, yeni bir kanun tasarısını tartışmakta. The Parliament is currently debating a new bill.

Habitual
The present tense covers many cases of the English simple present as well. -yor may be used habitually, as well as narratively.

However, -yor contrasts with the Aorist -ar in this usage, so these distinctions will be further examined in that article.
 * Sabahları okula metroyla gidiyorum. Every morning, I go to school with the subway.
 * Genelde bu işlere zamanım yetmiyor. I don't usually have time for stuff like this.
 * Türkçe öğrenmek çok emek istiyor. Learning Turkish requires a lot of effort.