Past Tense Personal Endings
In the previous lesson, you learned how to form the direct past tense for the third-person singular ("he," "she," or "it") using -dı / -di / -du / -dü (and their hardened forms -tı / -ti / -tu / -tü).
To talk about yourself or anyone else, you must attach a personal suffix directly to that past tense suffix. The past tense uses a specific set of personal endings that are slightly different from those used in the present tense.
Here is the full paradigm of past tense personal suffixes:
| Pronoun | Personal Suffix | Example (yapmak - to do) |
|---|
| Ben (I) | -m | yaptım |
| Sen (You) | -n | yaptın |
| O (He/She/It) | (none) | yaptı |
| Biz (We) | -k | yaptık |
| Siz (You, plural/formal) | -nız / -niz / -nuz / -nüz | yaptınız |
| Onlar (They) | -lar / -ler | yaptılar |
Notice that the suffixes for "I", "you" (singular), and "we" are just single consonants. They simply attach to the final vowel of the past tense suffix.
The Third-Person Plural (-lar / -ler)
For "they", attach the plural suffix -lar or -ler to the past tense suffix, following 2-way vowel harmony. If the subject is already stated as a plural noun in the sentence, this suffix is optional, but it is often included for emphasis or clarity.
Putting It Together
When telling a story or describing a sequence of events, you can mix and match these endings as the subjects change, or string together multiple verbs with the same personal ending.
