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### The "As Soon As" Converb

To express that one action happens immediately after another—like saying "as soon as" or "the moment that" in English—Turkish uses a special structure combining the affirmative and negative forms of the aorist tense. 

The formula pairs the same verb stem back-to-back:
- First word: Verb stem + aorist affirmative suffix (`-ır`, `-ir`, `-ur`, `-ür`, `-ar`, `-er`, or `-r`)
- Second word: Verb stem + aorist negative suffix (`-maz` or `-mez`)

| Verb Stem | Affirmative | Negative | Structure | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| duy- (to hear) | duyar | duymaz | duyar duymaz | as soon as (someone) hears |
| çök- (to collapse) | çöker | çökmez | çöker çökmez | as soon as (something) collapses |
| gel- (to arrive) | gelir | gelmez | gelir gelmez | as soon as (someone) arrives |

Notice that this structure does not take any personal suffixes. It acts purely as a time phrase, locking the two actions together in immediate succession.

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### Tense and Context

Because the `-Ir -mAz` structure functions as an adverb of time, it does not carry a tense of its own. The time frame of the sentence (past, present, or future) is determined entirely by the main verb at the end of the sentence.

{{item:830615}}

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### Different Subjects

Often, the person or thing performing the first action is different from the subject of the main clause. When this happens, simply state the subject of the first action right before the `-Ir -mAz` verb pair. 

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You can also use this structure to ask questions about the exact moment something occurred, simply by keeping the `-Ir -mAz` phrase intact and using a question word or suffix in the main clause.

{{item:830627}}

As soon as (-Ir -mAz)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

postposition

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstrative pronouns (bu, şu, o)

Basic question words (kim, ne)

Plural nouns (-lar, -ler)

I am and you are (-(y)ım, -sın)

We, you, and they are (-(y)ız, -sınız)

Negative statements (değil)

Yes and no questions (mı, mi, mu, mü)

Questions with 'to be' (mısın, mıyım)

Numbers 1 to 10 (bir, iki, üç)

Numbers 11 to 20 (on bir, on iki)

Numbers by tens to 100 (otuz, kırk...)

Counting objects (tane)

The locative case (-da, -de)

Consonant assimilation (-ta, -te)

Asking where (nerede)

There is / there are (var)

There is not / there are not (yok)

Asking how many (kaç)

Infinitive verbs (-mak, -mek)

Informal commands (git, gel)

Negative commands (-ma, -me)

Polite and plural commands (-In, -InIz)

Basic word order

Present continuous for consonant roots (-iyor)

Present continuous for vowel roots (-iyor)

Present continuous personal suffixes (-iyorum)

Negative present continuous (-miyor)

Present continuous questions (-iyor mu)

Future plans with present continuous

The dative case (-(y)a, -(y)e)

Consonant mutation (k, t, p, ç to ğ, d, b, c)

From or out of (-dan / -den)

Directional question words (nereye, nereden)

First and second person possessives (-(i)m, -(i)n)

Third person possessive (-(s)i)

Plural possessives (-imiz, -iniz, -leri)

The genitive case (-(n)in)

Definite noun compounds (-nin ... -si)

Indefinite noun compounds (bare noun + -(s)i)

Possessive buffer letter (n)

Spatial postpositions (içinde, üstünde)

The definite direct object (-(y)ı, -(y)i)

Object question words (kimi, neyi)

Adjectives modifying nouns

Manner and choice questions (nasıl, hangi)

Basic degree modifiers (çok, biraz)

Comparisons (daha, en)

Days of the week

Months of the year

The time question word (ne zaman)

Telling time (saat, buçuk)

Asking the time (saat kaç, saat kaçta)

Basic conjunctions (ve, ama, veya)

Causality conjunction (çünkü)

Means and accompaniment (ile, -(y)lA)

Purpose and beneficiaries (için)

Expressing desire (-mak istemek)

The past copula (-(y)DI)

The direct past tense (-DI)

Past tense personal suffixes (-DIm, -DIn)

Past tense negative (-mAdI)

Past tense questions (-DI mI)

Ordinal numbers (-(I)ncI)

Greetings and politeness

Saying 'too' (de, da)

Conversation fillers (şey, yani, hadi)

Conversational essentials

Reflexive pronouns (kendim, kendin)

Reciprocal pronouns (birbiri)

Indefinite pronouns for people (herkes, kimse)

Indefinite pronouns for things and places (her şey, hiçbir şey)

Conjunctions of consequence (bu yüzden, bu nedenle)

Correlative conjunctions (hem... hem, ne... ne)

Verbs taking the dative case (-e / -a)

Verbs taking the ablative case (-den / -dan)

Time origin (beri)

Time duration (-DIr)

Comparisons of similarity (gibi)

Comparisons of equality (kadar)

Perspectives (göre)

Verbal nouns (-mA / -mE)

Verbal nouns as objects (-mAyI / -mEyI)

Verbal nouns with the dative (-mAyA / -mEyA)

General necessity (lazım / gerek)

Personal necessity (-mAm lazım)

Third-person commands (-sIn / -sInlAr)

First person singular optative (-(y)AyIm)

Question	Answer
siren	siren
ambulance	ambulans
Would you clear the way for the ambulance as soon as you hear the siren sound?	Siren sesini duyar duymaz ambulans için yolu açar mısınız?
to collapse	çökmek
debris / rubble	enkaz
Help arrived for those who remained under the debris as soon as the building collapsed.	Bina çöker çökmez enkaz altında kalanlar için yardım geldi.
injured / injured person	yaralı
to faint	bayılmak
The injured man fainted as soon as he saw the blood.	Yaralı adam kanı görür görmez bayıldı.
to intervene	müdahale etmek
As soon as the injured woman fainted, the doctors ran to intervene.	Yaralı kadın bayılır bayılmaz doktorlar müdahale etmek için koştu.
stretcher	sedye
We moved the injured person onto the stretcher as soon as the ambulance arrived.	Ambulans gelir gelmez yaralıyı sedyeye aldık.
to collide	çarpışmak
radio / walkie-talkie (two-way)	telsiz
As soon as the cars collided, the police officer took the radio and requested an ambulance.	Arabalar çarpışır çarpışmaz polis telsizi aldı ve ambulans istedi.
If only they had run away from there as soon as the building collapsed!	Keşke bina çöker çökmez oradan kaçsalardı!
As soon as the firefighter heard the news on the radio, he set off to intervene.	İtfaiyeci telsizden haberi duyar duymaz müdahale etmek için yola çıktı.
After the man fainted, it was necessary to move him onto a stretcher immediately.	Adam bayıldıktan sonra onu hemen sedyeye almak lazımdı.
We heard the siren sounds as soon as the truck and the bus collided.	Kamyon ile otobüs çarpışır çarpışmaz siren seslerini duyduk.
Who called the emergency team as soon as they saw the accident?	Kim kazayı görür görmez acil durum ekibini aradı?
As soon as the team reached the rubble, they rescued the injured.	Ekip enkaza ulaşır ulaşmaz yaralıyı kurtardı.