Narrative/Reported Past (-miş)

The Narrative or Reported Past (Öğrenilen Geçmiş Zaman, also called the -mIş past) is used for past events the speaker did not witness directly. Think of it as adding "apparently", "I heard that" or "it turns out" to the sentence.

When to Use -mIş

• Hearsay (someone told you): Ali dün İzmir'e gitmiş. (Apparently Ali went to Izmir yesterday.)
• Inference (you see the result): Yerler ıslak, gece yağmur yağmış. (The ground is wet — it must have rained last night.)
• Surprise / sudden realisation: Aa, saat on olmuş! (Oh, it's already ten o'clock!), Uyuyakalmışım! (I overslept!)
• Stories and fairy tales: Bir varmış, bir yokmuş... (Once upon a time...)

Formation

Verb stem + -mIş (-miş / -mış / -muş / -müş, four-way harmony) + personal ending (-Im, -sIn, —, -Iz, -sInIz, -lAr). No buffer letter is needed: gelmiş, yapmış, okumuş, görmüş, beklemiş.

Negative: -mA + -mIş → always -memiş / -mamış: O gelmemiş. (Apparently he/she didn't come.), yapmamış.

Question: Ali gelmiş mi? (Has Ali come? / Did Ali come, do you know?)

-mIş vs. -DI

• Ali geldi. (Ali came. — I saw it or know it first-hand.)
• Ali gelmiş. (Ali has come, apparently. — someone told me, or I see his shoes by the door.)

With ben, -mIş is used for things you did without being aware of them or have just found out: Sınavı geçmişim! (I passed the exam! — I just found out.)

Perfect-like use: -mIş often describes a past change whose result you notice now, close to the English present perfect: Büyümüşsün! (You've grown!), Çok yorulmuşsun. (You look really tired.) In "have you ever...?" questions, Daha önce hiç Japonya'ya gittin mi? is the most common choice; Hiç Japonya'ya gitmiş misin? is also heard in some contexts.

-(y)mIş After Nouns and Adjectives

The same suffix works as "apparently is/was" after nouns, adjectives and case-marked words, with buffer y after a vowel: Ayşe hastaymış. (I hear Ayşe is ill.), Annen evdeymiş. (Apparently your mother is at home.), O öğretmenmiş. (Apparently he/she is a teacher.) It can also follow other tenses: geliyormuş (apparently he/she is coming).

Common Mistakes

• Using -mIş for something you clearly remember doing. Dün sinemaya gitmişim sounds as if you didn't know; say Dün sinemaya gittim.
• Wrong harmony. Wrong: gelmış, yapmiş, yapmamiş. Correct: gelmiş, yapmış, yapmamış.
• Missing the buffer y. Wrong: hastamış. Correct: hastaymış.
• Attaching the question particle. Wrong: gelmişmi? Correct: gelmiş mi?