Negation (-me/-ma)

The primary way to negate verbs in Turkish is by using the suffix -me or -ma, which follows A-Type vowel harmony. This suffix is inserted directly after the verb stem and before tense/mood and personal suffixes.

Formation:

Verb Stem + -me/-ma + Tense/Mood Suffixes + Personal Suffixes

• If the last vowel of the verb stem is a front vowel (e, i, ö, ü), use -me.
• If the last vowel of the verb stem is a back vowel (a, ı, o, u), use -ma.

Examples Across Tenses:

• Present Continuous (-iyor):
  gelmek → gel + mi + yor → gelmiyor (is not coming)
  (Note: -me/-ma changes to -mi/-mı/-mu/-mü before -iyor)
• Present Simple/Aorist (-r):
  yapmak → yap + ma + z → yapmaz (does not do - 3rd person sing.)
  yapmak → yap + ma + m → yapmam (I do not do - 1st person sing.)
• Past Simple (-di):
  okumak → oku + ma + dı → okumadı (did not read)
• Future Tense (-ecek/-acak):
  gitmek → git + me + yecek → gitmeyecek (will not go) (buffer 'y')
• Narrative Past (-miş):
  görmek → gör + me + miş → görmemiş (apparently did not see)
• Necessitative Mood (-meli/-malı):
  almak → al + ma + malı → almamalı (should not take)
• Imperative (Sen - You):
  konuşmak → konuş + ma → konuşma! (don't speak!)

The negative suffix usually comes right after the verb stem, before other grammatical suffixes.