-mış/-miş (feli sifət)

Resultative Participle

Level 4

The -mış/-miş/-muş/-müş participle turns a verb into an adjective that describes a finished action or the state resulting from it (e.g., 'a broken window', 'a tired person').

How It Works

The resultative participle is a fundamental tool in Azerbaijani for creating descriptive phrases from verbs. It functions similarly to the English past participle (the '-ed' form in 'cooked meat').

1. Formation:
It follows the rules of 4-way vowel harmony:

  • -mış: after a, ı (e.g., yazmaq → yazmış)
  • -miş: after e, ə, i (e.g., gəlmək → gəlmiş)
  • -muş: after o, u (e.g., oxumaq → oxumuş)
  • -müş: after ö, ü (e.g., görmək → görmüş)

2. Subjective vs. Passive Use:
When used with intransitive verbs (verbs that don't take an object), it describes the subject: yorulmuş adam (a tired man). However, for transitive verbs, you must usually add a passive suffix first to describe the object: yazılmış məktub (a written letter).

3. Negation:
To say something has not happened, use the negative suffix -ma/-mə before the participle: oxunmamış kitab (an unread book).

4. Distinction from Tense:
While this suffix looks identical to the reported past tense, the participle functions as an adjective modifying a noun, whereas the tense functions as the main verb of a sentence.

Examples (5)

  1. Bişmiş ət çox dadlıdır.

    The cooked meat is very delicious.

    Word by Word: Cooked meat very delicious-is.

    Here, 'bişmiş' (cooked) describes the state of the meat after the process of cooking is finished.

  2. Yıxılmış ağac yolu bağladı.

    The fallen tree blocked the road.

    Word by Word: Fallen tree road-acc closed.

    'Yıxılmış' (fallen) describes the tree based on the completed action of falling.

  3. Gecikmiş sərnişinlər vağzalda gözləyirlər.

    The delayed passengers are waiting at the station.

    Word by Word: Delayed passengers station-loc wait-are.

    'Gecikmiş' (delayed) characterizes the passengers by their current state of being late.

  4. Açılmış pəncərədən təmiz hava gəlir.

    Fresh air is coming from the opened window.

    Word by Word: Opened window-from clean air comes.

    'Açılmış' uses the passive form of 'açmaq' (to open) to describe the window's state.

  5. Hələ oxunmamış məktublar masanın üstündədir.

    The letters that haven't been read yet are on the table.

    Word by Word: Yet read-not-been letters table-gen top-loc-is.

    This shows the negative form '-mamış' describing a state that has not yet occurred.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the active form for a passive meaning.

    Yazmış məktub masadadır.
    Yazılmış məktub masadadır.

    'Yazmış' implies the letter itself performed the writing. Since a letter is written by someone else, you must use the passive form 'yazılmış'.

  • Building a different sentence when you want the participle in front of the noun.

    Different MeaningQonaq gəlmiş adamdır.
    Gəlmiş adam qonaqdır.

    Both sentences are grammatical but say different things: the first means 'he is a person who came as a guest'. To describe the man by what he did ('the man who came'), put the participle right before the noun, as in the second.

How It Connects

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-mış/-miş (feli sifət)Level 4Resultative Participle

Learn This First

To understand the -mış/-miş participle, learners must be familiar with the reported past tense marker, as the participle is its attributive form. Additionally, a solid grasp of four-way vowel harmony is required to apply the correct suffix variant to the verb stem.

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Words in This Pattern

-miş