Imagine you are walking down the street and suddenly lock eyes with your favorite actor! To talk about exciting life experiences, chance encounters, and things you have or haven't done, Turkish uses the word hiç (ever / never) paired with past tenses.
Asking "Have you ever...?"
In a question, hiç means "ever." To ask someone if they have ever done something, simply place hiç before the verb. While English uses the present perfect ("have you ever..."), Turkish just uses the standard simple past tense.
| Have you ever run into a famous singer? | Hiç ünlü bir şarkıcıya rastladın mı? |
| Have you ever seen an old friend by chance? | Hiç tesadüfen eski bir arkadaşını gördün mü? |
Saying "I have never..."
When used in a statement, hiç means "never." Turkish uses double negatives, so when you use hiç, the verb must also be in its negative form.
| I have never encountered a famous actor in my life. | Hayatımda hiç ünlü bir oyuncuyla karşılaşmadım. |
| I have never gotten this excited in my life. | Hayatımda hiç bu kadar heyecanlanmadım. |
Expressing Hearsay: Hiç with -miş
If you are talking about someone else's experiences that you haven't witnessed firsthand, or if you are expressing a surprising discovery, pair hiç with the inferential past tense (-miş).
| Apparently, this singer has never given a concert before. | Bu şarkıcı daha önce hiç konser vermemiş. |
Shifting to the Past: Had never...
When telling a story about a past event, you might need to say that you "had never" experienced something up until that moment. For this, combine hiç with the past perfect tense (-mişti).
| I had never entered the backstage before. | Daha önce hiç kulise girmemiştim. |