Feeling about to do (-acak gibi olmak)

Have you ever been so nervous during an audition or monologue that you felt like you were going to faint? You can express this intense, sudden physical or emotional sensation using the structure -(y)AcAk gibi olmak.

The Sensation Structure: -(y)AcAk gibi olmak

To describe feeling as though you are on the verge of doing something, follow this formula:

Verb Stem + -(y)AcAk + gibi + olmak

1. Add the future tense suffix -(y)acak or -(y)ecek to the verb stem (following 2-way vowel harmony). Add the buffer -y- if the verb ends in a vowel.
2. Add the separate word gibi (like / as if).
3. Conjugate the verb olmak (to be / to become). Since this usually describes a sudden sensation you just experienced, it is most often used in the past tense (e.g., oldum for "I felt").

• düşmek (to fall) -> düşecek gibi oldum (I felt like I was going to fall)
• ağlamak (to cry) -> ağlayacak gibi oldum (I felt like I was going to cry)

Stage Fright in Action

Let's see this structure used to describe stressful auditions and stage fright.

Notice in the next example how gibi can also mean "as soon as" when paired with the -DIğI suffix (unuttuğum gibi).