In Turkish, there are two forms of the simple past, namely the definite simple past and the indefinite simple past. You use definite past tenses for things you have seen or experienced yourself, whereas you use the indefinite past for things that you have read somewhere or heard from others.
In this lesson you will learn about the definite simple past, which is formed by placing the suffix -Dİ after the stem of a verb, and then adding a personal ending. You can find the suffix for each person in the table below.
The Turkish definite simple past can be translated both with the simple past or the present perfect in English.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| First person | -Dİm | -Dİk |
| Second person | -Dİn | -Dİnİz |
| Third person | -Dİ | -Dİ(lEr) |
To ask questions in the definite simple past, we simply place the question particle mİ after the verb.
| I did that. | Ben onu yaptım. |
| You haven't come. | Gelmedin. |
| Didn't he repair that? | Onu tamir etmedi mi? |
| We've returned home yesterday. | Dün eve döndük. |
| Did you understand me? | Beni anladınız mı? |
| The children ran to school. | Çocuklar okula koştu(lar). |
