Continuous noun clauses (-iyor olması)

When we want to comment on an ongoing action as a fact—like saying "the fact that the tiger is looking at the zebras"—Turkish uses a continuous noun clause. In this lesson, we will use this structure to share observations during a trip to the zoo.

The Continuous Noun Clause

To turn an ongoing action into a noun phrase, Turkish pairs a present continuous verb with the auxiliary verb olmak (to be).

Subject (Genitive) + Verb (-iyor) + olması

• The Subject: Takes the genitive case suffix (-ın, -in, -un, -ün or -nın, -nin, -nun, -nün), acting as the "owner" of the action.
• The Verb: Takes the present continuous suffix (-iyor) but drops all personal suffixes.
• The Auxiliary: Olmak takes the verbal noun suffix -ma and the 3rd person possessive -sı, becoming olması.

Literally, a phrase like "the tiger's looking being" translates to "the fact that the tiger is looking."

Plural and Multiple Subjects

This structure works perfectly with plural subjects or multiple subjects joined by ve (and). Simply apply the genitive suffix to the plural noun, or to each noun in the compound subject. The -iyor olması part of the clause remains exactly the same.

For example, penguenler (penguins) becomes penguenlerin, and gergedan ve maymun (rhinoceros and monkey) becomes gergedanın ve maymunun.