-di mi

Past Tense Questions

Level 2

Verb Stem + -DI + Person + mi?
Example: Geldin mi? (Did you come?)

How It Works

To form a question in the past tense, Turkish follows a specific sequence that differs from the present tense. The personal ending is attached directly to the verb, and the question particle follows as a separate word.

1. The Formula:

  • [Verb Stem] + [-DI Suffix] + [Personal Ending] + [Question Particle]

2. Vowel Harmony:
The tense suffix follows four-way vowel harmony based on the verb stem. Crucially, the question particle harmonizes with the vowel of the word immediately preceding it (the verb+suffix complex):

  • a/ı: -dı mı (e.g., Aldın mı? - Did you buy?)
  • e/i: -di mi (e.g., Gittin mi? - Did you go?)
  • o/u: -du mu (e.g., Okudu mu? - Did he/she read?)
  • ö/ü: -dü mü (e.g., Gördün mü? - Did you see?)

3. Consonant Harmony:
If the verb stem ends in a voiceless consonant (f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p), the 'd' in the suffix changes to 't' according to consonant assimilation (e.g., Yap-tı mı?).

4. Personal Endings:
Unlike the present continuous, the past tense person endings stay on the verb. You do not attach them to the question particle.

Examples (5)

  1. Dün akşam ödevini bitirdin mi?

    Did you finish your homework last night?

    Word by Word: Yesterday evening your-homework finish-past-you ?

    The personal ending '-n' (you) is attached to the verb, followed by the separate question particle 'mi'.

  2. Misafirler kahvelerini içtiler mi?

    Did the guests drink their coffees?

    Word by Word: Guests their-coffees drink-past-plural ?

    For the third person plural, the '-ler' ending stays on the verb before the question particle.

  3. Filmi beğendin mi?

    Did you like the movie?

    Word by Word: The-movie like-past-you ?

    A common daily question using the definite past to ask about a personal experience.

  4. Ahmet kapıyı kapattı mı?

    Did Ahmet close the door?

    Word by Word: Ahmet the-door close-past ?

    Note how '-dı' becomes '-tı' because the verb 'kapat-' ends in a voiceless 't'.

  5. Bizimle geldiniz mi?

    Did you (plural/polite) come with us?

    Word by Word: With-us come-past-you(plural) ?

    The polite/plural ending '-niz' is attached to the verb stem 'gel-di-'.

Common Mistakes

  • Placing the personal ending on the question particle.

    Gitti misin?
    Gittin mi?

    In the past tense, personal endings attach to the verb ('Gittin mi?'). Attaching them to the particle (like 'misin') is used with other tenses, such as 'Gelir misin?' or 'Gelecek misin?'.

  • Writing the question particle attached to the verb.

    Geldinmi?
    Geldin mi?

    The question particle 'mi' is always written as a separate word in Turkish.

  • Forgetting consonant assimilation.

    Yapdı mı?
    Yaptı mı?

    Because 'yap-' ends in 'p', the suffix '-dı' must change to '-tı'.

How It Connects

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

-di miLevel 2Past Tense Questions

Learn This First

To form questions in the past tense, you must first understand how to conjugate verbs in the simple past (-di) and how to use the question particle (mı/mi/mu/mü). Unlike the present continuous, in the past tense, the person endings attach to the verb stem before the question particle.

Words in This Pattern

-di