-(I)yor vs -(A/I)r: Now vs Generally

Turkish has two non-past forms that both translate into the English present, and English speakers map them onto the wrong distinction with remarkable consistency. The continuous -(I)yor (geliyorum, koşuyor, yapıyoruz) and the aorist -(A/I)r (gelirim, koşar, yaparız) are not a clean copy of English "I am coming" vs "I come." The trap is assuming that every English simple present becomes the aorist. It does not — many of them are -(I)yor in Turkish. This page gives you a reliable test; the full forms are on the present continuous -(I)yor and aorist -(A/I)r pages, and the bigger aspectual picture on the aspect overview.

The core distinction

Forget "continuous vs simple." Think instead:

• -(I)yor = anchored to actual time — happening now, happening around now (including habits you actually do), or a definite plan you've already set in motion.
• -(A/I)r (aorist) = detached from actual time — general truths, characteristics, dispositions, willingness, and predictions. It describes the kind of thing that happens, not an episode unfolding.

The aorist is the "generic / characterizing" form. It says something is true as a rule or by nature, without pinning it to a moment. The continuous says something is actually going on (or really, regularly going on).

Use 1: happening now → -(I)yor

The prototypical case, and the one that matches English continuous exactly.

Use 2: habits and routines → usually -(I)yor

This is where English intuition fails. English uses the simple present for habits ("I drink coffee every morning"), so learners reach for the aorist. But because a habit is something you actually do on a recurring basis, Turkish treats it as anchored in real time and prefers -(I)yor.

In everyday spoken Turkish, -(I)yor outnumbers the aorist for habitual statements by a wide margin, so when you describe a routine you actually keep, default to -(I)yor. The aorist is not wrong here — "Her sabah kahve içerim" is perfectly grammatical — but it tilts the meaning toward a characterizing statement ("I'm a morning-coffee person," the kind of thing one does), which is the next use.

Use 3: general truths and characterizing statements → aorist

The aorist is the home of timeless generalisations — facts about how the world works, properties of things, and what someone or something is like. These are not episodes; they are rules.

That last one is subtle and worth dwelling on. "Annem yemek yapıyor" would mean "my mum is cooking (right now)." "Annem yemek yapar" means "my mum cooks (well) — that's the kind of cook she is." The aorist describes her as a cook, a characteristic, not an event in progress.

Use 4: willingness, offers, and promises → aorist (1st person)

In the first person, the aorist expresses willingness — a non-binding offer or a readiness to do something. This is one of its most important everyday functions and has no neat English equivalent beyond "I'll (gladly)…".

If you said “Sana yardım ediyorum” instead, you'd be claiming “I am (currently) helping you” — a statement about an action in progress, not an offer. The aorist is what makes it an offer.

Use 5: definite near-future plans → -(I)yor

A scheduled, decided plan — the kind English renders with "I'm flying to Ankara tomorrow" — takes -(I)yor, because the arrangement is already set in motion.

The aorist, by contrast, leans toward prediction or likelihood rather than a firm plan: "Yarın yağmur yağar" = "It'll (probably) rain tomorrow" (a forecast), whereas "Yarın yağmur yağıyor" would oddly imply a scheduled rain. Use the aorist for predictions, -(I)yor for arrangements.

A quick decision table

Common mistakes

The dominant error is mechanically mapping English simple present to the aorist. (Note: "Her sabah kahve içerim" is not one of these errors — it is fully correct, just characterizing rather than routine-reporting, as discussed above. The genuine errors below involve the aorist where it is actually impossible.)

There is also a reverse over-correction: once learners discover habits take -(I)yor, they stop using the aorist entirely. Keep it for general truths, character descriptions, willingness, and predictions — there the aorist is non-negotiable.

Key takeaways

• The split is anchored-in-real-time (-(I)yor) vs generic / characterizing (aorist), not English continuous vs simple.
• Habits and routines are normally -(I)yor — "Her gün koşuyorum," not the aorist.
• Use the aorist for general truths, characteristics, willingness/offers (yardım ederim), and predictions.
• Definite plans → -(I)yor; vaguer forecasts → aorist.
• Don't translate every English "I do" with the aorist — that is the single most common error.