what is it?
The aorist is a Turkish tense-aspect form built with the suffix -(I/A)r (positive) or -mAz (negative). It expresses general truths, habitual or characteristic behaviour, and polite offers or requests. It does not describe an action happening right now — that role belongs to the present continuous -(I)yor.
when to use it
Habitual actions. Something the subject does regularly or as a routine: Her sabah kahve içerim. (I drink coffee every morning.)
General truths and characteristic behaviour. Facts that are always or typically true: Kaplumbağa yavaş yürür. (A tortoise walks slowly.)
Offers and polite questions. Asking whether someone would like something: Çay ister misiniz? (Would you like some tea?)
Negative characteristic. Describing something the subject never or characteristically does not do: Ali sigara içmez. (Ali doesn't smoke — he's a non-smoker.)
formation
The suffix that attaches to the verb stem depends on the stem's final sound. For multi-syllable stems ending in a vowel, drop the infinitive -mek/-mak and add -r. For multi-syllable stems ending in a consonant, add -(I)r (the vowel follows four-way vowel harmony: ı, i, u, ü). For monosyllabic stems, the suffix is -(A/I)r — most take -Ar or -Ir and must be learned individually. Personal endings are then added as shown in the table below.
| person | positive (içmek — to drink) | negative (içmek) |
|---|---|---|
| ben (I) | içerim | içmem |
| sen (you sg.) | içersin | içmezsin |
| o (he/she/it) | içer | içmez |
| biz (we) | içeriz | içmeyiz |
| siz (you pl.) | içersiniz | içmezsiniz |
| onlar (they) | içerler | içmezler |
Irregular negative: 1st person. The 1st person singular and plural negative forms are irregular. ben uses -mAm (not *-mAzIm), and biz uses -mAyIz (not *-mAzIz).
To form a yes/no question, insert the question particle mi/mı/mu/mü between the aorist stem and the personal ending: içer misiniz? → Do you drink / Would you like to drink?
examples in context
common pitfalls
Using -(I)yor for habitual statements. *Her sabah kahve içiyorum is not wrong in isolation, but it implies you are drinking coffee right now, not that you do so every morning as a habit. Use the aorist içerim for the habitual reading.
Wrong suffix on monosyllabic stems. Monosyllabic stems do not follow a single predictable rule — they split between -Ar and -Ir groups and must be memorised. For example, gelmek → gelir, while vermek → verir. Learn each high-frequency monosyllabic verb individually.
Forming the negative with *-mAr. The negative suffix is -mAz, not *-mAr. *İçmer is not a Turkish word; the correct form is içmez.
Regular endings in the 1sg/1pl negative. Do not apply the standard -mAz stem to the first person. *İçmezim and *içmeziz are incorrect. The correct forms are içmem (I don't drink) and içmeyiz (we don't drink).
Three sentences, graded here. Nothing is saved and no account is needed.
Biz her akşam yemekten sonra birlikte ___ . (yürümek)
Fill in the blank with the correct aorist (geniş zaman) form of the verb in parentheses.