To talk about an ongoing situation that started when another event happened (meaning "since doing..."), Turkish attaches a chain of suffixes to a verb, followed by the word beri.
The formula is:
- Verb stem + -dık / -dik / -duk / -dük (or -tık / -tik / etc.)
- Possessive suffix (to show who or what did the action)
- Ablative suffix (-dan / -den)
- beri
When talking about general events or shifts, the subject is usually third-person (like "the climate"). The third-person possessive suffix starts with a vowel, which softens the k in the first suffix to ğ. After adding the buffer n and the ablative suffix, this results in forms like -dığından or -diğinden.
| Since rains decreased, this region is becoming a desert, isn't it? | Yağmurlar azaldığından beri bu bölge çöl oluyor, değil mi? |
Vowel Harmony
Depending on the last vowel of the verb stem, the suffix adapts to follow 4-way vowel harmony. For instance, verbs with rounded vowels take -duğundan or -düğünden.
| Since industrial companies grew, carbon emission is not stopping. | Sanayi şirketleri büyüdüğünden beri karbon salınımı durmuyor. |
| Since the soil dried, there is famine in this village. | Toprak kuruduğundan beri bu köyde kıtlık var. |
Consonant Mutation
If the verb stem ends in a voiceless consonant (such as ş or t), the initial d of the suffix hardens to t. This produces forms like -tığından or -tüğünden.
| Since industry developed, global pollution is increasing. | Sanayi geliştiğinden beri küresel kirlilik artıyor. |
| Since carbon emission increased, we are seeing its effect. | Karbon salınımı arttığından beri bunun etkisini görüyoruz. |
| Since the global climate changed, the flood's impact is apparently worse. | Küresel iklim değiştiğinden beri selin etkisi daha kötüymüş. |
| Since the drought started, the risk of famine increased. | Kuraklık başladığından beri kıtlık riski arttı. |