-mış/-miş/-muş/-müş olmaq

Perfect Infinitive State

Level 6

The pattern -mış/-miş/-muş/-müş olmaq functions as a 'perfective infinitive.' It shifts the focus from the process of an action to the result or the fact that the action has already occurred. It is primarily used in formal, academic, or legal contexts.

How It Works

This construction is formed by attaching the resultative participle to a verb stem, followed by the auxiliary verb olmaq (to be/become).

1. Morphology:
The suffix follows 4-way vowel harmony:

  • -mış: after a, ı (e.g., almış olmaq)
  • -miş: after e, ə, i (e.g., getmiş olmaq)
  • -muş: after o, u (e.g., oxumuş olmaq)
  • -müş: after ö, ü (e.g., görmüş olmaq)

2. Usage and Register:
This pattern is common in formal Azerbaijani. In daily speech, speakers often use simpler forms, but in writing, it is essential for expressing the 'state of having done something.' It allows the speaker to treat a completed event as a single concept.

3. Syntactic Roles:
Because it ends in olmaq (an infinitive), it can take further suffixes like the possessive or case endings to function as different parts of a sentence (e.g., olmağı, olmaqdan).

Examples (4)

  1. Diplom almış olmaq iş tapmaq şansını artırır.

    Having [already] received a diploma increases the chance of finding a job.

    Word by Word: Diploma having-received to-be work to-find chance-its-acc increases.

    Here, 'almış olmaq' acts as the subject of the sentence, focusing on the completed state of receiving the diploma.

  2. Səhv etmiş olmağını etiraf etmək cəsarət tələb edir.

    Admitting to having made a mistake requires courage.

    Word by Word: Mistake having-done to-be-your-acc confess to-do courage demand does.

    The pattern is used here with a possessive and accusative case to show the object of the confession.

  3. Müzakirədən əvvəl sənədlərlə tanış olmuş olmaq vacibdir.

    It is important to have familiarized oneself with the documents before the discussion.

    Word by Word: Discussion-from before documents-with familiar having-become to-be important-is.

    This emphasizes that the familiarization must be a completed state before the next action starts.

  4. Bu qərarı qəbul etmiş olmaqla biz böyük məsuliyyət daşıyırıq.

    By having accepted this decision, we carry a great responsibility.

    Word by Word: This decision-acc accept having-done to-be-with we big responsibility carry.

    The instrumental case '-la' is attached to 'olmaq' to show the means or reason.

Common Mistakes

  • Both are correct, but the simple infinitive speaks of making mistakes in general.

    Different MeaningSəhv etmək məni kədərləndirir.
    Səhv etmiş olmaq məni kədərləndirir.

    'Səhv etmək' means 'to make a mistake' (general). 'Səhv etmiş olmaq' means 'the fact that I have [already] made a mistake,' which is more precise when reflecting on a past event.

  • Confusing the nominalized phrase with a main verb tense.

    O, gəlmiş olmaq.
    O, gəlmişdir.

    '-mış olmaq' is a noun-like phrase (to have come). To say 'He has come' as a statement, use the reported past '-mışdır'.

  • Both are possible, but they differ in what is negated.

    Different MeaningEtmiş olmamaq vacibdir.
    Etməmiş olmaq vacibdir.

    Etməmiş olmaq means 'to be in a state of not having done it', which is what learners usually want when they avoid a finished action. Etmiş olmamaq puts the negation on the state, 'not to be one who has done it', and is less common.

How It Connects

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-mış/-miş/-muş/-müş olmaqLevel 6Perfect Infinitive State

Learn This First

To understand the perfect infinitive state (-mış olmaq), learners first need to be familiar with the resultative/reported past suffix (-mış) which indicates completion, and the basic infinitive form (-maq) used with the auxiliary verb 'olmaq' to create a nominalized state of having completed an action.

Words in This Pattern

olmaq-miş