The Storyteller's Aorist: -(A/I)rmIş
When telling fairytales, fables, or narrating past habits you didn't witness firsthand, Turkish uses the storyteller's aorist. Form it by combining the aorist suffix -(A/I)r (for habitual actions) with the reported past suffix -mIş. In English stories, this often translates to "would do" or "used to do."
| Verb Stem | Aorist | Storyteller's Aorist | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| bekle- (to wait) | bekler | beklermiş | would wait |
| koru- (to protect) | korur | korurmuş | would protect |
| götür- (to take) | götürür | götürürmüş | would take |
| The shepherd would take the flock to the forest every day. | Çoban her gün sürüyü ormana götürürmüş. |
| The shepherd dog would always protect the sheep. | Çoban köpeği koyunları her zaman korurmuş. |
Character Archetypes
The storyteller's aorist perfectly captures the timeless, defining behaviors of classic fable characters, like a cunning fox or a greedy farmer.
| The cunning fox would wait for the crow under the tree. | Kurnaz tilki kargayı ağacın altında beklermiş. |
| The crow would open its mouth to sing a song. | Karga şarkı söylemek için ağzını açarmış. |
| The greedy man would want more gold. | Açgözlü adam daha fazla altın istermiş. |
Contrasts and Outcomes
You can link events, describe opposing actions, or reveal a moral outcome using conjunctions like ama (but). The verbs for both sides of the contrast stay in the -(A/I)rmIş form.
| The hare and the tortoise would race in the forest. | Tavşan ve kaplumbağa ormanda yarışırmış. |
| The tortoise would walk slowly but would always win. | Kaplumbağa yavaş yürürmüş ama her zaman kazanırmış. |
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