Person Suffixes

Personal suffixes (şahıs ekleri) come at the end of a conjugated verb and show who does the action. Because the ending already tells you the person, subject pronouns are usually dropped: Geliyorum. (I'm coming.)

Turkish does not have one single set of endings. Which set you use depends on the tense or mood suffix in front of it. In the notation below, I = i/ı/u/ü (four-way harmony), A = e/a (two-way harmony), and (y) is a buffer used only after a vowel.

Type 1: The "Personal" Set

Used after the present continuous -Iyor, the future -(y)AcAk, the reported past -mIş, the aorist -r/-Ar/-Ir and the necessitative -mAlI (and also after nouns: öğretmenim (I am a teacher)).

Note the softening k → ğ before a vowel: gelecek + -im → geleceğim.

Type 2: The "Possessive-Like" Set

Used after the definite past -DI and the conditional -sA: -m, -n, (none), -k, -nIz, -lAr.

Type 3: The Imperative Set

Commands: sen = bare stem Gel! (Come!); o = -sIn gelsin (let him/her come); siz = -(y)In or more formal -(y)InIz gelin, geliniz (come (pl./polite)); onlar = -sInlAr gelsinler (let them come).

Type 4: The Optative Set

The optative -(y)A ("let me…, let's…") is used today mainly in the 1st person: -(y)AyIm and -(y)AlIm. Yardım edeyim. (Let me help.) Gidelim! (Let's go!) Biraz okuyayım. (Let me read a bit.) The other persons (gelesin, gele…) are rare in everyday speech.

Good to Know

• When the subject is already plural, -lAr on the verb is often left out, and usually is for non-human subjects: Çocuklar bahçede oynuyor. (The children are playing in the garden.) Kuşlar uçuyor. (The birds are flying.)
• The question particle mI carries Type 1 endings itself (geliyor musun?, but geliyorlar mı?), whereas it comes after Type 2 endings (geldin mi?).

Common Mistakes

• Mixing the sets: ✗ geldiyim → ✓ geldim; ✗ geliyorun → ✓ geliyorsun.
• Forgetting softening: ✗ gelecekim → ✓ geleceğim.
• Forgetting the buffer y: ✗ gelmeliim → ✓ gelmeliyim.