-mış/-mişmi

Reported Past Questions

Level 3

The -mış/-mişmi pattern is the interrogative form of the reported past. It is used to ask about events you did not witness yourself, but have heard about or inferred from results.

How It Works

This pattern is used to ask questions about the past when the speaker lacks direct knowledge. It is characterized by these components:

1. Negation: To make the question negative, add the general verbal negation suffix -ma/-mə before the tense suffix (e.g., get-mə-miş-mi?).
2. The Tense Suffix: The -mış/-miş/-muş/-müş suffix follows 4-way vowel harmony.
3. Personal Endings: Unlike in Turkish, the question particle in Azerbaijani is the absolute final element. It always follows the personal ending (e.g., -mış-am-mı, -mış-san-mı). In the third person, the suffix -dır/-dir/-dur/-dür acts as the personal marker in formal registers.
4. The Question Particle: The particle -mı/-mi/-mu/-mü is attached at the very end. It is always unstressed; the stress falls on the syllable immediately preceding it.

Register and Usage:
Yes/no questions in everyday Azerbaijani use the -mı particle, and intonation alone can also mark them.

Examples (4)

  1. O, sənə zəng etməmişmi?

    Had he not (reportedly) called you?

    Word by Word: He, to you, call do-not-reported-question?

    This demonstrates the negative form using the general verbal negation suffix -mə. The speaker is asking for confirmation of a reported non-action.

  2. Qatar artıq çatmışdırmı?

    Has the train (apparently) arrived already?

    Word by Word: Train already arrived-reported-is-question?

    In formal contexts, the third-person personal ending -dır is used, followed by the question particle -mı.

  3. Sən bu kitabı oxumuşsanmı?

    Have you (reportedly) read this book?

    Word by Word: You this book-acc read-reported-you-question?

    Note that the question particle -mı follows the second-person personal ending -san, which is the standard order for all persons in Azerbaijani.

  4. Uşaqlar dərslərini bitirmişlərmi?

    Have the children (reportedly) finished their lessons?

    Word by Word: Children lessons-their finish-reported-they-question?

    The stress falls on the syllable 'lər', immediately before the final, unstressed question particle 'mi'.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing the question particle as a separate word.

    Gəlmiş mi?
    Gəlmişmi?

    Unlike Turkish, in Azerbaijani orthography, the question particle -mi is always attached to the verb as a suffix.

  • This sentence is grammatical, but it sounds stiff in casual talk about yesterday.

    Different MeaningDünən gəlmişsənmi?
    Dünən gəldin?

    The -mışmı form asks about a result or something inferred or reported, and it sounds formal. For a friend asking about yesterday, the plain past with rising intonation, as in the right sentence, is the usual way.

How It Connects

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-mış/-mişmiLevel 3Reported Past Questions

Learn This First

To form reported past questions, learners must first understand the reported past tense (-mış) and how to use the general yes-no question particle (-mı). Because both suffixes follow vowel harmony rules, a solid grasp of Azerbaijani phonology is also required.

Words in This Pattern

-miş