Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Turkish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Otobüs az önce geldi.
What does each word literally mean, and how is the verb formed?
- Otobüs = bus (subject; nominative, no article in Turkish)
- az önce = a moment ago / just now (literally “a little before”)
- gel-di = came (root gel- “come” + simple past suffix -di; 3rd person singular has no personal ending)
Why is Turkish using simple past (geldi) where English might use present perfect (“has just arrived”)?
- Turkish typically uses the simple past for completed events in the recent past, even when English uses present perfect.
- Otobüs az önce geldi naturally covers “The bus has just arrived” in English.
What’s the difference between geldi and gelmiş?
- geldi (past in -di) = speaker presents it as a witnessed/known fact.
- gelmiş (past in -miş) = reported/inferential past: you heard or inferred it, or it’s news to you.
- So Otobüs az önce gelmiş ≈ “Apparently the bus just arrived.”
Can I drop the subject and just say Az önce geldi?
Yes. Turkish is pro‑drop. If context makes the subject clear, Az önce geldi means the same thing.
Is the word order fixed? Can I say Az önce otobüs geldi?
- Default neutral order is Topic–Time–Verb, so Otobüs az önce geldi is very natural.
- Az önce otobüs geldi is also fine and puts slight emphasis on the time (“Just now, the bus came”).
- Variants like Otobüs geldi az önce are possible in speech for afterthought emphasis but are less neutral.
Why is there no “the” or “a” before otobüs?
- Turkish has no articles. Bare otobüs is understood from context.
- To make it clearly indefinite, you can add bir: Bir otobüs az önce geldi = “A bus just arrived.”
How do I pronounce the special letters here?
- ö (in önce) is a front rounded vowel, like German ö or French eu in “peu.”
- ü (in otobüs) is like German ü / French u in “tu.”
- c (in önce) sounds like English j in “jam.”
- g is always a hard g (as in “go”).
- Vowels are short and clear; in a neutral sentence, sentence stress tends to fall on the verb: … geldi.
Why is it gel-di, not gel-dı/gel-du/gel-dü?
Vowel harmony: the past suffix changes its vowel to match the last vowel of the stem.
- After front vowels (e, i, ö, ü): use -di/-ti with i → gel-di.
- After back vowels (a, ı, o, u): use -dı/-tı, -du/-tu, -dü/-tü accordingly.
Why is it -di, not -ti?
Consonant voicing harmony: the suffix uses -t- after a voiceless consonant, and -d- after a voiced one.
- gel ends with l (voiced) → gel-di.
- Compare: git-ti (from git-), bak-tı (from bak-).
Is az önce a set phrase? Any synonyms?
Yes, it’s a common time expression meaning “a moment ago.”
- Synonyms: biraz önce, de-min/demin (colloquial), az evvel (more formal/old-fashioned).
- Don’t confuse with daha önce = “earlier (before now),” not “just now.”
- The opposite is az sonra = “in a moment.”
Can I use yeni to mean “just (now)”?
Yes.
- Otobüs yeni geldi ≈ “The bus has just arrived.”
- Otobüs daha yeni geldi is even stronger: “only just now.”
- Note that yeni also means “new,” so context matters.
Should I use henüz here?
Usually only in the negative.
- Henüz pairs naturally with negatives: Otobüs henüz gelmedi = “The bus hasn’t arrived yet.”
- Affirmative henüz geldi is rare/old-fashioned; prefer az önce or yeni for “just (arrived).”
How do I make it a question or a negative?
- Yes/no question: Otobüs az önce geldi mi? = “Did the bus just arrive?”
- Negative: Otobüs az önce gelmedi. = “The bus didn’t arrive just now” (implies it arrived at some other time or hasn’t arrived).
How does number agreement work? What about “The buses just arrived”?
- Otobüsler az önce geldi. = “The buses just arrived.” The verb can stay singular when the subject is explicitly plural.
- You may add an optional plural verb marker: Otobüsler az önce geldiler. Both are correct; the version without -ler on the verb is more common in writing.
Why doesn’t otobüs have any case ending?
It’s the subject, so it’s in the bare nominative (no suffix).
- Objects take accusative when definite: Otobüsü az önce gördüm = “I saw the bus a moment ago.”
What’s the difference between az önce and şimdi here?
- az önce = moments ago (just before now).
- şimdi = now. Otobüs şimdi geldi often means “The bus has just now arrived” in speech, but az önce is clearer for “a moment ago.”
Is az required? What would Önce otobüs geldi mean?
- az önce is the idiom for “a moment ago.” Dropping az changes the meaning.
- Önce otobüs geldi means “First, the bus arrived” (as in a sequence), not “just now.”