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Future Tense (-ecek / -acak)
A2
Verbs
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The future tense suffix -ecek / -acak attaches to the verb stem and marks events expected or planned to occur after the speech moment. The suffix follows two-way vowel harmony and combines with personal endings.
1. Function
The future tense expresses future actions, intentions, scheduled events, or predictions.
The tense marker is -ecek / -acak; person is encoded through personal endings.
2. Forms
a. Vowel Harmony (A → a / e)
Back vowels (a, ı, o, u) → -acak
Front vowels (e, i, ö, ü) → -ecek
b. Personal Endings
1st singular: -Im → -acağım / -eceğim
2nd singular: -sIn → -acaksın / -eceksin
3rd singular: -∅ → -acak / -ecek
1st plural: -Iz → -acağız / -eceğiz
2nd plural: -sInIz → -acaksınız / -eceksiniz
3rd plural: -lAr → -acaklar / -ecekler
3. Consonant Behavior
a. Stem-final alternation
A small set of verb stems ending in t soften to d before the vowel-initial future suffix. This softening is lexically restricted and does not apply to all t-final stems (see section 11 for the full scope).
Examples:
git → gidecek
et → edecek
tat → tadacak
Other voiceless consonants do not soften:
bak → bakacak
çık → çıkacak
kok → kokacak
iç → içecek
b. Suffix-final alternation
The final consonant k of the future suffix softens to ğ when followed by vowel-initial personal endings:
-ecek + im → eceğim
-ecek + iz → eceğiz
-acak + ım → acağım
-acak + ız → acağız
This alternation is internal to the future suffix.
4. Structure
The morphological sequence is:
verb stem → future suffix → personal ending
Examples:
gel + ecek → gelecek
oku + yacak → okuyacak (see section 9 for the buffer consonant y in vowel-final stems)
5. Usage
The future tense is used for:
planned actions
expectations
predictions
arrangements and schedules
Its temporal reference is strictly future.
6. Negative Form
The negative is formed by inserting the negative suffix -mA before the future suffix.
Because -mA ends in a vowel and -EcEk begins with a vowel, the buffer consonant y appears between them.
Structure:
verb stem → -mA → y → -EcEk → personal ending
Examples:
gel + me + y + ecek → gelmeyecek
yap + ma + y + acak → yapmayacak
bak + ma + y + acak + ım → bakmayacağım
The k → ğ softening still applies in the negative before vowel-initial personal endings, exactly as in the affirmative.
7. Question Form
The question particle mI attaches after the future suffix and before the personal ending, except in the third person plural, where it follows -lAr. The particle undergoes vowel harmony (mı / mi / mu / mü) and is written as a separate word.
Structure:
verb stem → -EcEk → mI → personal ending?
Examples:
gel + ecek + mi + sin? → Gelecek misin?
yap + acak + mı + yım? → Yapacak mıyım?
onlar gelecek + ler + mi? → Gelecekler mi?
8. Negative Question Form
The negative and the question particle combine by applying both rules in sequence: negative suffix, buffer y, future suffix, question particle, personal ending.
Examples:
gel + me + y + ecek + mi + sin? → Gelmeyecek misin?
bak + ma + y + acak + mı + sınız? → Bakmayacak mısınız?
9. Buffer Consonant y
The future suffix begins with a vowel. When it attaches to a verb stem that also ends in a vowel, the buffer consonant y is inserted to keep the two vowels apart. This applies to all vowel-final stems, not only to isolated cases.
Examples:
oku + y + acak → okuyacak
bekle + y + ecek → bekleyecek
anla + y + acak → anlayacak
izle + y + ecek → izleyecek
This y is a regular part of the vowel-final paradigm and appears in the same position in the negative form (see section 6).
10. Irregular Narrowing: de- and ye-
Two very common verbs, de- (to say) and ye- (to eat), undergo a vowel change before the future suffix. The stem vowel e narrows to i.
Examples:
de + ecek → diyecek
ye + ecek → yiyecek
This narrowing is lexically restricted to these two verbs and does not apply to other e-final stems such as izle- or bekle-.
11. t → d Softening: Scope of the Rule
The softening of stem-final t to d before the future suffix applies only to a small set of verbs, not to all verbs ending in t.
Softens: git → gidecek, et → edecek, tat → tadacak
Does not soften: at → atacak, yat → yatacak, unut → unutacak, bit → bitecek
Learners should treat this as a lexical list to memorize rather than a general phonological rule.
12. Future Tense with Nouns and Adjectives (olmak)
To express a future state rather than a future action, the verb olmak (to be, to become) carries the future suffix. It cannot be attached directly to a noun or adjective.
Examples:
Öğretmen olacağım. — I will be a teacher.
Yorgun olacaksın. — You will be tired.
13. Optionality of -lAr in Third Person Plural
In the third person plural, the plural marker -lAr on the verb is optional when the subject (onlar) is stated or understood. Both forms are correct and commonly used.
Examples:
Onlar dönecekler. and Onlar dönecek. are both correct.
Examples
Yarın gideceğim. — I will go tomorrow.
Sen bakacaksın. — You will look.
O başlayacak. — He/She/It will start.
Biz yazacağız. — We will write.
Siz konuşacaksınız. — You will speak.
Onlar dönecekler. — They will return.
Hava açacak. — The weather will clear up.
Yarın gelmeyeceğim. — I will not come tomorrow.
Sen bakmayacaksın. — You will not look.
Gelecek misin? — Will you come?
Yapacak mıyız? — Will we do it?
Bakmayacak mısınız? — Won't you look?
Ne diyeceksin? — What will you say?
Yemek yiyecek miyiz? — Will we eat?
Öğretmen olacağım. — I will be a teacher.
Onlar dönecek. — They will return.
Notes
• The suffix undergoes vowel harmony and internal softening.
Verb stems ending in t soften before the future suffix only in a small, memorized set (see section 11).
Personal endings attach after the tense marker.
The buffer consonant y appears in every vowel-final stem before the future suffix, in both affirmative and negative forms.
de- and ye- narrow their stem vowel to i before the future suffix: diyecek, yiyecek.
The question particle mI is written separately and carries the personal ending, except after -lAr in the third person plural.
The future suffix cannot attach directly to nouns or adjectives. The verb olmak carries the tense in these cases.
In spoken Turkish, vowel narrowing is common in casual pronunciation (başlayacak heard as "başlıycak"), though the written form always keeps the full vowel.
In everyday speech, the present continuous (-Iyor) is often used for near-future planned actions instead of the future tense: Yarın geliyorum can mean the same as Yarın geleceğim in context.
Everyday expressions like bakarız and hallederiz show how Turkish often approaches the future with flexibility rather than certainty
Future Tense (-ecek / -acak) – FAQ (A2)
Q: What does the future tense (-ecek / -acak) express in Turkish?
A: The future tense expresses actions, intentions, plans, predictions, or scheduled events that will happen after the moment of speaking.
Q: How do you choose between -ecek and -acak?
A: The choice depends on two-way vowel harmony: verbs with front vowels take -ecek, and verbs with back vowels take -acak.
Q: Does the future tense suffix change its form when personal endings are added?
A: Yes. The final -k of the suffix softens to ğ before vowel-initial personal endings (for example, -ecek + im → -eceğim).
Q: How do you form the negative future tense in Turkish?
A: The negative suffix -mA is inserted before the future suffix, and the buffer consonant y connects the two vowels (for example, gel + me + y + ecek → gelmeyecek).
Q: How do you form questions with the future tense?
A: The question particle mI attaches after the future suffix and before the personal ending, and is written as a separate word (for example, Gelecek misin?). In the third person plural, mI follows -lAr instead (Gelecekler mi?).
Q: Do all verbs ending in t soften to d before the future suffix?
A: No. Softening only affects a small set of verbs such as git, et, and tat. Most t-final stems, including at, yat, and unut, do not soften.
Q: What happens to de- and ye- before the future suffix?
A: Their stem vowel e narrows to i, giving diyecek and yiyecek instead of the expected deyecek and yeyecek.