Formal Announcements
In news bulletins, written reports, and public announcements, you will often encounter a highly formal present continuous tense. Instead of the everyday -(ı)yor, Turkish uses -makta or -mekte.
Add -makta (back vowels) or -mekte (front vowels) to the verb root. In official contexts, the formal suffix -dır / -dir is usually attached to the end, resulting in -maktadır or -mektedir.
| Dear passengers, the plane is approaching the airport. | Sayın yolcular, uçak havaalanına yaklaşmaktadır. |
| The passengers are waiting at the pier. | Yolcular iskelede beklemektedir. |
Maritime and Emergency Contexts
This tense is extremely common in maritime settings or during public safety situations involving an evacuation (tahliye).
With compound verbs, the suffix attaches directly to the final verb component, just like any other tense.
| The ferry is docking at the first pier. | Vapur birinci iskeleye yanaşmaktadır. |
| The evacuation in the area is continuing. | Alandaki tahliye devam etmektedir. |
| Serious accidents are occurring in the region. | Bölgede ciddi kazalar meydana gelmektedir. |
The Negative Form
To express that an action is not currently happening, insert the standard negative suffix -ma or -me right before the formal continuous suffix.
Because -makta and -mekte begin with a consonant, no buffer letters are needed. For example, gelmemektedir means "is not occurring."
| No incident is occurring in the region. | Bölgede hiçbir vaka meydana gelmemektedir. |