what is it?
Turkish has two question types. Yes/no questions are formed with the clitic mı / mi / mu / mü, which is written as a separate word and must harmonise with the last vowel of the word before it. The clitic follows the focused word — usually the predicate — and carries the person ending in nominal and present-tense predicates. In the past tense with -dı/-di/-du/-dü, the person ending stays on the verb and mı is left bare. Content (WH) questions use question words such as ne, nerede, kim, nasıl in place of the unknown element; these words stay in the same position the answer word would occupy — they are never fronted to the start of the sentence the way English WH-words are.
when to use it
Yes/no questions — nominal predicate. Use mI after a noun or adjective predicate when asking whether someone or something belongs to a category. The person ending moves from the predicate onto mI.
Yes/no questions — present tense. Use mI after the present-tense verb stem + tense suffix. The person ending attaches to mI, not to the verb.
Yes/no questions — past tense (-dı). The person ending stays on the verb. mI follows the fully inflected verb and carries no extra ending.
Yes/no questions — existence (var/yok). Place mI directly after var or yok to ask whether something exists or is available.
Content (WH) questions. Replace the unknown element with the appropriate question word. No mI clitic is used. The question word occupies the same slot as the answer would.
formation
The form of mI is determined by four-way vowel harmony based on the last vowel of the preceding word.
| last vowel in preceding word | clitic form |
|---|---|
| a, ı | mı |
| e, i | mi |
| o, u | mu |
| ö, ü | mü |
For yes/no questions, the person endings that normally attach to the predicate are instead attached to mI. The table below shows the pattern for a nominal predicate and for the present-continuous tense.
| person | nominal predicate (öğrenci — student) | present continuous (geliyor — is coming) |
|---|---|---|
| ben (I) | öğrenci miyim? | geliyor muyum? |
| sen (you, sg.) | öğrenci misin? | geliyor musun? |
| o (he/she/it) | öğrenci mi? | geliyor mu? |
| biz (we) | öğrenci miyiz? | geliyor muyuz? |
| siz (you, pl.) | öğrenci misiniz? | geliyor musunuz? |
| onlar (they) | öğrenciler mi? | geliyorlar mı? |
In the -dı past, the person ending remains on the verb. mI follows as a bare clitic with no ending.
| person | -dı past question (git — to go) |
|---|---|
| ben | gittim mi? |
| sen | gittin mi? |
| o | gitti mi? |
| biz | gittik mi? |
| siz | gittiniz mi? |
| onlar | gittiler mi? |
Common WH-words at A1:
| question word | meaning |
|---|---|
| ne | what |
| kim | who |
| nerede | where |
| ne zaman | when |
| nasıl | how |
| kaç | how many / how much |
examples in context
common pitfalls
Keeping the person ending on the predicate. In nominal and present-tense yes/no questions the person ending must move to mI. öğrencisin mi is wrong; the correct form is öğrenci misin.
Wrong vowel harmony on mI. The clitic must match the last vowel of the preceding word. After geliyor (last vowel o) the clitic is mu, not mi. Check the last vowel every time.
Fronting WH-words English-style. In Turkish, question words stay in the position the answer would occupy. Do not move them to the very front of the sentence simply because English does so. Nerede oturuyorsun? is natural; forcing an unneeded rearrangement is not.
Applying the present-tense pattern to the -dı past. In the past tense the person ending stays on the verb. geldi misin is wrong; the correct form is geldin mi. The mI clitic in past-tense questions carries no person ending.
A quick rule of thumb: in the -dı past, the verb is already fully inflected before mI arrives. In all other tenses and in nominal predicates, mI takes the person ending.
Three sentences, graded here. Nothing is saved and no account is needed.
Hava çok soğuk. Sen ___ giyiyorsun?
Fill in the blank with the correct question word.