Personal Verb Endings
A1
Verbs
Personal verb endings mark person and number on the verb and establish agreement between the verb and its subject. These endings attach to the tense–aspect–mood stem and follow four-way vowel harmony where applicable.
1. Function / Meaning
Personal endings encode grammatical person directly on the verb.
They form a complete finite verb even when no overt subject is present.
2. Forms
Turkish personal endings consist of six forms:
1st singular → -(I)m
2nd singular → -(s)In
3rd singular → -∅
1st plural → -(I)z
2nd plural → -(s)InIz
3rd plural → -lAr
3. Vowel Harmony (Four-Way)
The vowel I in -(I)m and -(I)z adapts according to the last vowel of the verbal base (stem + tense marker):
a / ı → ı
e / i → i
o / u → u
ö / ü → ü
This produces forms such as:
gel- → gelirim
anla- → anlarız
oku- → okurum
gör- → görürüm
4. Consonant Behavior and Buffering
• -(I)m and -(I)z attach directly without buffer consonants.
• -(s)In and -(s)InIz use s only after vowel-final stems (oku- → okursun).
• After consonant-final stems, the suffix begins directly with the vowel (bil- → bilirsin).
• Third person singular has no overt ending.
• Third person plural -lAr attaches without harmony (geliyorlar).
5. Position in the Verb Morphology
Personal endings occur at the end of the finite verb.
The structural order is:
Verb stem → Tense/Aspect/Mood → Personal Ending
Examples of placement:
gel-iyor-um
yaz-dı-n
bak-acak-sınız
gel-di-ler
Examples
• Geliyorum. — I am coming.
• Geliyorsun. — You are coming.
• Geliyor. — He/She is coming.
• Geliyoruz. — We are coming.
• Geliyorsunuz. — You (plural/honorific) are coming.
• Geliyorlar. — They are coming.
• Anladım. — I understood.
• Anladınız. — You (plural/honorific) understood.
• Bekliyoruz. — We are waiting.
• Gidiyorlar. — They are going.
Notes
• The vowel of -(I)m and -(I)z follows four-way vowel harmony.
• -(s)In and -(s)InIz use s only after vowel-final stems.
• Third person singular has zero ending.
• Third person plural -lAr may be omitted when plurality is contextually clear.
• Personal endings are the final morphological element of a finite verb.
Personal Verb Endings – FAQ (A1)
Q: What are personal verb endings in Turkish?
A: Personal verb endings show who performs the action and agree with the subject in person and number.
Q: Can a Turkish verb be complete without a subject pronoun?
A: Yes. Personal verb endings already indicate the subject, so pronouns are often omitted.
Q: Where do personal endings appear in a Turkish verb?
A: Personal endings come at the end of the verb, after the stem and tense marker.