The Habitual Past Negative ("Didn't Use To")
To talk about habits or routines that you didn't use to do, use the negative habitual past tense. This is the equivalent of "didn't use to" or "wouldn't" in English when referring to past behaviors.
To form the negative habitual past, combine the Negative Aorist suffix (-maz or -mez), the past tense suffix (-dı or -di), and a personal ending.
Verb Stem + Negative Aorist (-maz / -mez) + Past (-dı / -di) + Personal Ending
| Pronoun | Verb | Components | Result | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben | yemek | ye + mez + di + m | yemezdim | I didn't use to eat |
| O | yutmak | yut + maz + dı | yutmazdı | he/she/it didn't use to swallow |
| Biz | sevmek | sev + mez + di + k | sevmezdik | we didn't use to like |
Because the negative aorist suffix only contains the vowels a or e, the past tense suffix that follows will always be -dı or -di according to vowel harmony.
| Nobody used to eat bitter spinach. | Kimse acı ıspanak yemezdi. |
| I never used to eat sour olives. | Ben hiç ekşi zeytin yemezdim. |
| We were very picky, we didn't use to like leeks. | Biz çok seçiciydik, pırasa sevmezdik. |
Picky Eaters
When reminiscing about childhood eating habits, there are usually certain vegetables or flavors we "wouldn't" eat. Use this structure to describe past refusals or aversions.
| The child wouldn't swallow the leek. | Çocuk pırasayı yutmazdı. |
| He didn't use to eat the raw onion. | O, çiğ soğanı yemezdi. |
| Picky children didn't use to eat garlic. | Seçici çocuklar sarımsak yemezdi. |
| We didn't use to eat the spinach raw. | Biz ıspanağı çiğ yemezdik. |