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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**:

| Last Vowel | Suffix | Root + Suffix | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| **a, ı** | **-ıyor** | kaç + ıyor | is running away |
| **e, i** | **-iyor** | çiz + iyor | is drawing |
| **o, u** | **-uyor** | uç + uyor | is flying |
| **ö, ü** | **-üyor** | düş + üyor | is falling |

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### 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.

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### "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.

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Present continuous for consonant roots (-iyor)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

postposition

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstrative pronouns (bu, şu, o)

Basic question words (kim, ne)

Plural nouns (-lar, -ler)

I am and you are (-(y)ım, -sın)

We, you, and they are (-(y)ız, -sınız)

Negative statements (değil)

Yes and no questions (mı, mi, mu, mü)

Questions with 'to be' (mısın, mıyım)

Numbers 1 to 10 (bir, iki, üç)

Numbers 11 to 20 (on bir, on iki)

Numbers by tens to 100 (otuz, kırk...)

Counting objects (tane)

The locative case (-da, -de)

Consonant assimilation (-ta, -te)

Asking where (nerede)

There is / there are (var)

There is not / there are not (yok)

Asking how many (kaç)

Infinitive verbs (-mak, -mek)

Informal commands (git, gel)

Negative commands (-ma, -me)

Polite and plural commands (-In, -InIz)

Basic word order

Present continuous for vowel roots (-iyor)

Present continuous personal suffixes (-iyorum)

Negative present continuous (-miyor)

Present continuous questions (-iyor mu)

Future plans with present continuous

The dative case (-(y)a, -(y)e)

Consonant mutation (k, t, p, ç to ğ, d, b, c)

From or out of (-dan / -den)

Directional question words (nereye, nereden)

First and second person possessives (-(i)m, -(i)n)

Third person possessive (-(s)i)

Plural possessives (-imiz, -iniz, -leri)

The genitive case (-(n)in)

Definite noun compounds (-nin ... -si)

Indefinite noun compounds (bare noun + -(s)i)

Possessive buffer letter (n)

Spatial postpositions (içinde, üstünde)

The definite direct object (-(y)ı, -(y)i)

Object question words (kimi, neyi)

Adjectives modifying nouns

Manner and choice questions (nasıl, hangi)

Basic degree modifiers (çok, biraz)

Comparisons (daha, en)

Days of the week

Months of the year

The time question word (ne zaman)

Telling time (saat, buçuk)

Asking the time (saat kaç, saat kaçta)

Basic conjunctions (ve, ama, veya)

Causality conjunction (çünkü)

Means and accompaniment (ile, -(y)lA)

Purpose and beneficiaries (için)

Expressing desire (-mak istemek)

The past copula (-(y)DI)

The direct past tense (-DI)

Past tense personal suffixes (-DIm, -DIn)

Past tense negative (-mAdI)

Past tense questions (-DI mI)

Ordinal numbers (-(I)ncI)

Greetings and politeness

Saying 'too' (de, da)

Conversation fillers (şey, yani, hadi)

Conversational essentials

Reflexive pronouns (kendim, kendin)

Reciprocal pronouns (birbiri)

Indefinite pronouns for people (herkes, kimse)

Indefinite pronouns for things and places (her şey, hiçbir şey)

Conjunctions of consequence (bu yüzden, bu nedenle)

Correlative conjunctions (hem... hem, ne... ne)

Verbs taking the dative case (-e / -a)

Verbs taking the ablative case (-den / -dan)

Time origin (beri)

Time duration (-DIr)

Comparisons of similarity (gibi)

Comparisons of equality (kadar)

Perspectives (göre)

Verbal nouns (-mA / -mE)

Verbal nouns as objects (-mAyI / -mEyI)

Verbal nouns with the dative (-mAyA / -mEyA)

General necessity (lazım / gerek)

Personal necessity (-mAm lazım)

Third-person commands (-sIn / -sInlAr)

First person singular optative (-(y)AyIm)

First person plural optative (-(y)AlIm)

Question	Answer
to fly	uçmak
The bird is flying.	Kuş uçuyor.
A bird is flying in the park.	Parkta bir kuş uçuyor.
to run away	kaçmak
The cat is running away.	Kedi kaçıyor.
Where is the dog? It is running away!	Köpek nerede? O kaçıyor!
to draw	çizmek
The girl is drawing a picture.	Kız resim çiziyor.
The student is drawing a map.	Öğrenci bir harita çiziyor.
to sell	satmak
The man is selling water in the street.	Adam sokakta su satıyor.
They are selling new cars.	Onlar yeni araba satıyor.
to think	düşünmek
The doctor is thinking.	Doktor düşünüyor.
He is thinking now.	O şimdi düşünüyor.
to depart	kalkmak
The bus is departing.	Otobüs kalkıyor.
The woman is getting up.	Kadın kalkıyor.
to fall	düşmek
The old man is falling.	Yaşlı adam düşüyor.
The baby is falling!	Bebek düşüyor!
to know	bilmek
The manager knows.	Müdür biliyor.
Who knows?	Kim biliyor?
The police officer is drinking coffee.	Polis kahve içiyor.
The child is laughing.	Çocuk gülüyor.
to open	açmak
He is opening a box.	O bir kutu açıyor.
The student is opening a book.	Öğrenci bir kitap açıyor.
to find	bulmak
The child is finding money.	Çocuk para buluyor.
He is finding a key.	O bir anahtar buluyor.