The -mış tail: it turns out, they say, allegedly
Turkish has two pasts, and they differ not in time but in how the speaker knows. English leaves that to a side remark: apparently, they say, allegedly. For example: “Güya hasta olmuş” — He was, allegedly, sick. A rule from the Turkish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Turkish has two pasts, and they differ not in time but in how the speaker knows. English leaves that to a side remark: apparently, they say, allegedly.
-dı means I saw it: dün geldi, he came yesterday, and I was there. This is the tense of ordinary talk about your own experience.
-mış means I have it from others, or I worked it out afterwards: dün gelmiş, he came yesterday, it turns out. Rumour takes the same tail: satmışlar, they have sold it, so they say. Fairy tales run on it too: bir varmış bir yokmuş.
The word güya adds disbelief: Güya hasta olmuş, he is allegedly ill. The trap is a quality of a thing: yıpranmış, worn out, is no tense and carries no person.
Table
| the form | where I know it from | example | translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| -dı | saw it myself | dün geldi | yesterday he came |
| -mış | from others | dün gelmiş | yesterday he came, they say |
| -mış + güya | I do not believe it | güya gelmiş | he allegedly came |
| -mışlar | rumor without a source | satmışlar | they have sold it, it is said |
| -mış (a tale) | the genre | bir varmış bir yokmuş | once upon a time |
| -mış as a quality | a property of the thing | yıpranmış | worn out |
By example
- Güya hasta olmuşHe was, allegedly, sick
- Buradan antik bir yol geçiyormuşAn ancient road, they say, ran through here
- Kuşlar balkona yuva yapmışBirds have built a nest on the balcony
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
-dı vs -mış in Turkish?
Turkish has two pasts, and they differ not in time but in how the speaker knows. English leaves that to a side remark: apparently, they say, allegedly.
Geldi or gelmiş: what changes?
-dı means I saw it: dün geldi, he came yesterday, and I was there. This is the tense of ordinary talk about your own experience.
What -mış means in Turkish?
-mış means I have it from others, or I worked it out afterwards: dün gelmiş, he came yesterday, it turns out. Rumour takes the same tail: satmışlar, they have sold it, so they say. Fairy tales run on it too: bir varmış bir yokmuş.
Why Turkish tales are told with -mış?
The word güya adds disbelief: Güya hasta olmuş, he is allegedly ill. The trap is a quality of a thing: yıpranmış, worn out, is no tense and carries no person.
What does it look like in an example sentence Turkish?
“Güya hasta olmuş” — He was, allegedly, sick. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.