Bardy, barğan, baratyn edi: four pasts and what separates them
A story about life is a story in the past, and there are four pasts in Kazakh; they are chosen not by how long ago it was but by where the speaker got the knowledge and how he relates it to today. English makes no such distinction at all — it spreads the same ground over the simple past, the present perfect and "used to" — so the choice has to be made anew every time. For example: “Балалық шағым ауылда өтті, жазда…
How it works
A story about life is a story in the past, and there are four pasts in Kazakh; they are chosen not by how long ago it was but by where the speaker got the knowledge and how he relates it to today. English makes no such distinction at all — it spreads the same ground over the simple past, the present perfect and "used to" — so the choice has to be made anew every time.
"-dy/-di, -ty/-ti" — the witnessed past. I saw it, I answer for it: mektepti bitirdim — I finished school, keshe zhañbyr zhaudy — it rained yesterday. This is the working form of a story about yourself, and it is where you should start.
"-ğan/-gen, -qan/-ken" — the resultative. The event happened, and its trace in the present matters: men Almatyda tuğanmyn — I was born in Almaty (and I am from there), bul baiaghıda bolğan — it happened long ago. English reaches for the present perfect here ("I have finished") — and for the same reason. The negation is built not with a tail but with a word: sheshken zoqpyn — I did not solve it, word for word "of me-solved there is not".
"-atyn/-etin edi" — the habitual past, and without it no story about childhood can be told. Auylda zhıi baratyn edik — we would often go to the village, atam erteği aitatyn edi — grandfather used to tell fairy tales. English "used to" and "would" fit here exactly, while the simple past does not: bardyq would mean "we went once".
"-ypty/-ipti" — the unwitnessed: learned from the side, did not see it myself, surprised. Ol üilenipti — he, it turns out, got married. Next to it works the particle "eken" with the same meaning of sudden knowledge: solai eken ğoi — so that is how it is.
The future is simpler: "-ady/-edi" serves for both the present and the future (erteñ kelemın — I will come tomorrow), "-maq" promises intention (aıtpaqşy — by the way, literally "being about to say"), "-ar/-er" gives the assumption (bolar — it probably will be; bola qoimas — hardly). Hence politeness too: the less certainty in the tail, the softer the phrase sounds.
Table
| The form | When it is taken | Example | In English |
|---|---|---|---|
| -dy / -ti | I saw it myself, I answer for it | bitirdim | I finished |
| -ğan / -ken | the trace in the present matters | tuğanmyn | I was born (and I am from there) |
| -atyn edi | a habit in the past | baratyn edik | we would go |
| -ypty, eken | learned from the side, surprised | üilenipti | he, it turns out, got married |
| -ar / -er | an assumption about the future | bolar | it probably will be |
By example
- Балалық шағым ауылда өтті, жазда өзенге баратын едікMy childhood passed in the village; in summer we would go to the river
- Ол мектепті былтыр бітіргенHe finished school last year
- Көрші көшіп кетіпті, мен білмеппінThe neighbor, it turns out, has moved away, and I had no idea
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Bardy, barğan, baratyn edi: how does it work in Kazakh?
A story about life is a story in the past, and there are four pasts in Kazakh; they are chosen not by how long ago it was but by where the speaker got the knowledge and how he relates it to today. English makes no such distinction at all — it spreads the same ground over the simple past, the…
What does it look like in an example sentence Kazakh?
“Балалық шағым ауылда өтті, жазда өзенге баратын едік” — My childhood passed in the village; in summer we would go to the river. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.