Verbs: Past Progressive — Turkish Grammar

The past progressive tense is used to describe an action or state that was in progress at a specific time in the past. It is equivalent to the English "was/were + verb-ing".

Formation

This tense is formed by combining the present progressive suffix with the past tense marker and a personal suffix. The structure is:

Verb Stem + -iyor + -du + Personal Suffix

Because the progressive suffix always ends with the vowel 'o', the past tense marker that follows it will always be due to vowel harmony.

Here is the full conjugation using the verb (to come):

- I was coming.
- You were coming.
- He/she/it was coming.
- We were coming.
- You (plural/formal) were coming.
- They were coming.

If the verb stem ends in a vowel (like in , to wait), that vowel is dropped before adding . The initial 'i' of will change according to vowel harmony.

O beni bekliyordu.
He was waiting for me.
Bütün gün yağmur yağıyordu.
It was raining all day.

Usage

The past progressive is used in several specific contexts.

1. An action interrupted by another action

It describes a longer, background action that was in progress when a shorter, completed action happened.

Ben duş alıyordum, telefon çaldı.
I was taking a shower, the phone rang.
Biz kahve içiyorduk, misafirler geldi.
We were drinking coffee, the guests arrived.

2. Two or more actions happening simultaneously

It can describe multiple actions that were all in progress at the same time in the past.

Annem yemek yapıyordu, babam gazete okuyordu.
My mother was cooking, my father was reading the newspaper.
Çocuklar bahçede oynuyorlardı, biz onları izliyorduk.
The children were playing in the garden, we were watching them.

3. Setting the scene in a story

It is often used to provide background details and describe the atmosphere at the beginning of a narrative.

Güneş batıyordu ve rüzgar esiyordu.
The sun was setting and the wind was blowing.

Negative Form

To make the past progressive negative, insert the negative suffix -m after the verb stem, followed by a buffer vowel () that follows vowel harmony, before .

Verb Stem + -m + ı/i/u/ü + + + Personal Suffix<

Ders çalışmıyordum, film izliyordum.
I wasn't studying, I was watching a movie.
O zamanlar İstanbul'da yaşamıyorduk.
We weren't living in Istanbul at that time.
Beni dinlemiyordun.
You weren't listening to me.

Question Form

The question is formed by placing the question particle after the verb. The past tense and personal suffixes are then attached to the question particle, separated by a buffer y.

Verb- + + y + + Personal Suffix?<

Dün akşam çalışıyor muydun?
Were you working yesterday evening?
Onlar da partiye geliyorlar mıydı?
Were they also coming to the party?
Biz çok gürültü yapıyor muyduk?
Were we making too much noise?

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