Present continuous for consonant roots (-iyor)

To talk about actions happening right now (like "is flying" or "are running"), Turkish uses the present continuous suffix.

First, get the verb root by dropping -mak or -mek from the dictionary form. For example, kaçmak (to run away) becomes the root kaç-.

For verbs that end in a consonant, the present continuous suffix is -Iyor. Because it starts with a vowel, it follows 4-way vowel harmony to match the last vowel of the root. The -yor part never changes.

For third-person subjects (he, she, it, or singular nouns), you do not need to add any personal suffixes after -Iyor.

4-Way Vowel Harmony with -Iyor

Depending on the root's last vowel, choose -ıyor, -iyor, -uyor, or -üyor:

State and Thought Verbs

Unlike English, which uses the simple present tense for ongoing states or thoughts (like "knows" or "thinks"), Turkish typically uses the present continuous.

"Onlar" and Plural Subjects

With the plural pronoun onlar (they), it is very common—and perfectly correct—to leave the verb in its singular form.