Have you ever sat in a tattoo parlor, looked at the needle, and suddenly changed your mind? To talk about an action you were just about to do before you hesitated, changed your plans, or were unexpectedly interrupted, Turkish uses a combination of the future tense and the adverbial suffix -ken.
Forming Interrupted Intentions
To create this structure, take the verb stem and add the future tense suffix -acak or -ecek, following standard two-way vowel harmony. If the verb stem ends in a vowel, insert the buffer letter y first (making it -yacak or -yecek). Finally, attach the unchanging suffix -ken.
- yaptırmak (to have done) + acak
- ken = yaptıracakken (just as [subject] was about to have done)
- seçmek (to choose) + ecek
- ken = seçecekken (just as [subject] was about to choose)
Notice that this structure does not take any personal endings. You will know who was about to perform the action by looking at the subject or the conjugated main verb at the end of the sentence.
| Just as I was about to get a tattoo, I gave up. | Dövme yaptıracakken vazgeçtim. |
| Just as I was about to choose a small motif for my neck, I remembered that tattoos hurt a lot. | Boynuma küçük bir motif seçecekken dövmenin çok acıdığını hatırladım. |
Changes of Heart and Sudden Obstacles
This form is perfect for expressing a last-minute change of heart. The main clause describes what you actually ended up doing instead of your original plan.
| Just as I was about to have my old tattoo removed, I added a new name with blue ink. | Eski dövmemi sildirecekken mavi mürekkeple yeni bir ad ekledim. |
It is equally useful when an external event or a sudden realization interrupts your intentions, preventing you from completing what you were just about to do.
| Just as I was about to choose another model from the catalog, the black ink ran out. | Katalogdan başka bir model seçecekken siyah mürekkep bitti. |
| Just as the master was about to touch my back and my neck, I suddenly got very scared. | Usta sırtıma ve boynuma dokunacakken aniden çok korktum. |