-mamış/-məmiş

Negative Reported Past

Level 3

The negative form of the reported past tense, meaning 'apparently did not' or 'it seems [subject] didn't'.

How It Works

The -mamış/-məmiş pattern is the negative counterpart to the reported past tense. It is used in two main scenarios:

  • Hearsay: When you are repeating information you heard from someone else (e.g., 'I heard he didn't go').
  • Inference: When you see the result of a non-action and deduce what happened (e.g., seeing a dry plant and concluding 'It hasn't been watered').

Morphology:
The structure is: Verb Stem + -ma/-mə (Negative) + -mış/-miş (Reported) + Personal Ending.

Unlike the positive form which has four variations based on vowel harmony, the negative form only has two: -mamış (after back vowels) and -məmiş (after front vowels). This is because the negative suffix -ma/-mə is always unrounded, fixing the harmony for the following suffix.

Register:
This form is very common in formal writing, news reports, and literature. In casual daily speech, speakers often use -mayıb/-məyib instead, but -mamış remains a vital part of the standard language.

Examples (5)

  1. O, məktubu hələ almamış.

    He apparently hasn't received the letter yet.

    Word by Word: He, letter-the yet receive-not-reported.

    The speaker infers this, perhaps because the person hasn't replied to the letter.

  2. Deyilənə görə, qatar vaxtında çatmamış.

    According to what was said, the train apparently didn't arrive on time.

    Word by Word: Said-to according-to, train time-in reach-not-reported.

    This is a report based on hearsay (what was said), not personal observation.

  3. Uşaqlar dərslərini hələ hazırlamamışlar.

    The children apparently haven't prepared their lessons yet.

    Word by Word: Children lesson-plural-their yet prepare-not-reported-plural.

    The speaker might be looking at empty notebooks or closed books to make this inference.

  4. Sən dünən gəlməmişsən.

    Apparently, you didn't come yesterday.

    Word by Word: You yesterday come-not-reported-you.

    The speaker wasn't there to see the person's absence but heard about it later.

  5. Görünür, o, heç nə eşitməmiş.

    It seems he didn't hear anything.

    Word by Word: It-seems, he, nothing hear-not-reported.

    The speaker uses the reported past because they are deducing his lack of hearing based on his reaction.

Common Mistakes

  • Using rounded vowels in the suffix (e.g., -mamuş).

    O, kitabı oxumamuş.
    O, kitabı oxumamış.

    Because the negative suffix -ma/-mə is always unrounded, the following reported suffix must always be -mış or -miş. Rounded versions like -muş/-müş are never used in the negative.

  • Confusing with the witnessed past (-madı).

    Mən gördüm ki, o gəlməmiş.
    Mən gördüm ki, o gəlmədi.

    If you personally saw the event (or non-event), you must use the witnessed past (-madı). Use -mamış only for things you didn't see yourself.

  • Misplacing the negative suffix.

    O gəlmişməmiş.
    O gəlməmiş.

    The negative suffix -ma/-mə must always come immediately after the verb stem, before any tense markers.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-mamış/-məmişLevel 3Negative Reported Past

Learn This First

To understand the negative reported past (-mamış/-məmiş), learners must first be familiar with Azerbaijani's two-way vowel harmony and the standard verbal negation suffix (-ma/-mə). Additionally, understanding how these forms function as predicates in the third person (often with a zero-ending) is necessary for basic sentence construction.

Words in This Pattern

-mə-miş