-m(i)yor

Negative Present Continuous

Level 1

The negative form of the present continuous tense, meaning 'is not doing' or 'does not do'.

How It Works

The negative present continuous is one of the most frequent structures in Turkish. It is used for three main purposes:

  • Current Actions: Negating something happening right now (e.g., 'I am not listening').
  • Future Plans: Negating a definite plan (e.g., 'I am not coming tomorrow').
  • Current Habits: Negating routines or states in the current period of one's life (e.g., 'I don't eat meat these days'). While the Aorist is the standard choice for timeless truths and general habits, the present continuous is used for habits specific to the present time.

Morphology and Vowel Narrowing:
In Turkish, the standard negative suffix is -me/-ma. However, when followed by the present continuous suffix -yor, the negative suffix vowel must 'narrow' to a high vowel (ı, i, u, ü). As with most Turkish suffixes, the choice of this vowel is determined by the verb stem to maintain harmony.

The Four Variations:
1. -mı-: After stems with 'a' or 'ı' (e.g., yapmıyor)
2. -mi-: After stems with 'e' or 'i' (e.g., gelmiyor)
3. -mu-: After stems with 'o' or 'u' (e.g., okumuyor)
4. -mü-: After stems with 'ö' or 'ü' (e.g., gülmüyor)

This system follows the rules of Four-Way Vowel Harmony.

Important Invariants:
It is important to note that the 'o' in the -yor suffix is an exception; it never changes to match the verb stem. Because -yor always ends in 'o', the 1st and 2nd person personal endings (like -um or -uz) must use the 'u' variant. However, the 3rd person plural suffix -lar follows Two-Way Vowel Harmony and remains '-lar' (e.g., gelmiyorlar).

Word Stress:
Unlike the positive form where the stress is on the syllable before -yor, in the negative form, the stress falls on the syllable immediately before the negative suffix (e.g., GEL-mi-yor).

Examples (5)

  1. Şu an seni duymuyorum.

    I am not hearing you right now.

    Word by Word: Right moment you-acc hear-neg-pres.cont-I

    The verb 'duymak' (to hear) takes the -mu- negative suffix because it follows the rounded vowel 'u' in the stem.

  2. Televizyon izlemiyoruz, kitap okuyoruz.

    We are not watching television; we are reading a book.

    Word by Word: Television watch-neg-pres.cont-we, book read-pres.cont-we

    Note how 'izlemek' (to watch) changes its negative suffix to -mi- to match the 'e' in the stem.

  3. O, bu akşam partiye gelmiyor.

    He is not coming to the party this evening.

    Word by Word: He, this evening party-dat come-neg-pres.cont

    This demonstrates the use of the negative present continuous for a definite future plan.

  4. Ben artık et yemiyorum.

    I don't eat meat anymore.

    Word by Word: I anymore meat eat-neg-pres.cont-I

    The present continuous is often used for habits that apply to the current period of one's life.

  5. Onlar bugün çalışmıyorlar.

    They are not working today.

    Word by Word: They today work-neg-pres.cont-they

    Note that the 3rd person plural suffix -lar follows two-way vowel harmony, unlike the 1st and 2nd person suffixes.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting to narrow the negative vowel.

    Gelmeyor.
    Gelmiyor.

    The vowels 'a' and 'e' cannot exist before '-yor'. They must always narrow to 'ı, i, u, ü'.

  • Attaching the question particle to the verb.

    Gülmüyormusun?
    Gülmüyor musun?

    The question particle 'mu' must always be written as a separate word.

How It Connects

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

-m(i)yorLevel 1Negative Present Continuous

Learn This First

To understand the negative present continuous (-m(i)yor), you first need to be familiar with the positive present continuous (-iyor) and how person endings are attached to it. Additionally, since the negative particle undergoes a specific vowel change (narrowing) in this construction, knowledge of four-way vowel harmony is essential.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

-me-iyor