-an/-ən (feli sifət)

Active Attributive Participle

Level 4

The -an/-ən participle turns a verb into an adjective that describes the subject of the action. It is the standard way to say 'the person who is doing X' or 'the thing that does Y'.

How It Works

The -an/-ən participle is a 'verbal adjective' (feli sifət). It is used when the noun being described is the subject (the one performing the action).

1. Formation:

  • Verb Stem + (y)an/ən
  • Gəl- (to come) → gələn (coming / who comes)
  • Oxu- (to read) → oxuyan (reading / who reads)

2. Negation:
To say 'who does NOT do something,' add the negative suffix -ma/-mə before the participle suffix. Note that a buffer -y- is always required here.

  • Gəl-mə-yən (the one who doesn't come)
  • Oxu-ma-yan (the one who doesn't read)

3. Tense and Aspect:
Although often called the present participle, it is actually aspectual. It can describe an ongoing action, a habitual state, or a general characteristic. The actual time of the action is usually determined by the main verb of the sentence.

4. Word Order:
Unlike English, where we say 'the man who is running,' Azerbaijani places the entire description before the noun: qaçan adam (literally: 'running man').

Examples (4)

  1. Həyətdə oynayan uşaqlar mənim qardaşlarımdır.

    The children playing in the yard are my brothers.

    Word by Word: Yard-in playing children my brothers-are.

    Here, 'oynayan' (playing) describes the 'uşaqlar' (children) who are the ones performing the action of playing.

  2. Bakıya gedən qatar saat beşdə yola düşür.

    The train going to Baku departs at five o'clock.

    Word by Word: Baku-to going train hour five-at road-to falls.

    'Gedən' (going) modifies 'qatar' (train), identifying which train we are talking about based on its destination.

  3. Məni başa düşməyən insanlarla danışmaq çətindir.

    It is difficult to talk to people who do not understand me.

    Word by Word: Me head-to falling-not people-with to-talk difficult-is.

    This uses the negative form 'düşməyən' to describe people who lack the quality of understanding.

  4. Yaxşı oxuyan tələbə imtahandan keçdi.

    The student who studies well passed the exam.

    Word by Word: Well reading student exam-from passed.

    In this context, 'oxuyan' refers to a habitual state (a good student) rather than just the act of reading right now.

Common Mistakes

  • Choosing the passive participle where 'the letter I wrote' is meant.

    Different MeaningYazılan məktub çox uzundur.
    Yazdığım məktub çox uzundur.

    'Yazılan məktub çox uzundur' is a good sentence: 'The letter that was written is very long.' For 'the letter I wrote', use the possessive relative: 'Yazdığım məktub'.

  • Forgetting the buffer -y- after vowel stems.

    Gözləən adam
    Gözləyən adam

    When a verb stem ends in a vowel like 'gözlə-', you must insert 'y' before adding '-ən' to prevent two vowels from clashing.

How It Connects

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-an/-ən (feli sifət)Level 4Active Attributive Participle

Learn This First

To understand the -an/-ən participle, you need to be familiar with basic vowel harmony for suffix selection and how adjectives or modifiers are placed before nouns in Azerbaijani sentence structure.

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Words in This Pattern

-ən-an