-ecekmiş

Reported Future

Level 4

The Reported Future (-ecekmiş) is used when you are talking about a future plan or event that you heard from someone else, or that you have inferred from evidence, rather than knowing it firsthand.

How It Works

The -ecekmiş pattern is a compound tense used in all registers of Turkish. It is essential for maintaining the 'evidentiality' required by the language.

1. Formation:
The pattern is built as follows:
Verb Stem + Future Suffix + Reported Past Suffix + Personal Ending.

  • If the verb stem ends in a vowel, use the buffer -y- (e.g., oku-y-acakmış).
  • Unlike the simple future, the 'k' at the end of -ecek does not undergo consonant softening because it is followed by the 'm' of -miş. It remains -ecekmiş, never -eceği-miş.

2. Negative and Question Forms:

  • Negative: Add the negative future suffix before the reported past suffix. (e.g., Gel-meyecek-miş. - Apparently, he is not going to come.)
  • Question: The question word is placed after the future suffix, and the reported past suffix attaches to the question word with a buffer -y-. (e.g., Gidecek miymiş? - Did they say he is going to go?)

3. Primary Functions:

  • Hearsay: Reporting what someone else said about the future. (e.g., Hava güzel olacakmış. - They say the weather will be nice.)
  • Inference: Deducing a future event from a schedule or signs. (e.g., Tren geç gelecekmiş. - Apparently, the train will be late.)
  • Unrealized Intention: Describing a past reported intention that was supposed to happen but did not. (e.g., Dün bize gelecekmiş ama işi çıkmış. - He was supposedly going to come to us yesterday, but something came up.)
  • Skepticism: When used with words like güya (supposedly), it suggests the speaker doubts the claim. (e.g., Güya yardım edecekmiş. - He says he'll help, but we'll see.)

4. Person Endings:
The personal endings are attached to the -miş part: -ecekmişim, -ecekmişsin, -ecekmiş, -ecekmişiz, -ecekmişsiniz. For the 3rd person plural, -eceklermiş is the standard form, but -ecekmişler is also commonly used in speech.

5. -ecekmiş vs. -ecekti:
It is important to distinguish between these two compound tenses. Use -ecekti when you have personal, direct knowledge that a past intention was not realized (e.g., 'I was going to go'). Use -ecekmiş when you are reporting someone else's failed intention or a plan you only heard about (e.g., 'They say he was going to go').

Examples (4)

  1. Haftaya taşınacaklarmış.

    I heard they are moving next week.

    Word by Word: Next-week they-will-apparently-move.

    The speaker is reporting a plan they heard from someone else, not something they witnessed or arranged themselves.

  2. Sınav çok zor olacakmış.

    Apparently, the exam is going to be very difficult.

    Word by Word: Exam very difficult will-apparently-be.

    This is an inference based on what others are saying or the teacher's reputation.

  3. Güya yarın borcunu ödeyecekmiş.

    Supposedly he is going to pay his debt tomorrow.

    Word by Word: Supposedly tomorrow his-debt he-will-apparently-pay.

    The use of 'güya' combined with '-ecekmiş' signals that the speaker is skeptical about this actually happening.

  4. Yarın hava yağmurlu olacakmış.

    They say the weather will be rainy tomorrow.

    Word by Word: Tomorrow weather rainy will-apparently-be.

    The ending -ecekmiş shows the speaker is passing on a forecast heard from others. A forecaster would say 'olacak'.

Common Mistakes

  • Incorrectly softening the 'k' in the future suffix.

    Geleceğmiş.
    Gelecekmiş.

    Consonant softening (k to ğ) only happens when a vowel follows. Since '-miş' starts with a consonant, the 'k' stays hard.

  • Using -ecekti for a plan you only heard about.

    Duyduğuma göre Ali yarın gelecekti.
    Duyduğuma göre Ali yarın gelecekmiş.

    Use -ecekti for 'was going to' (past intention). Use -ecekmiş for 'is said to be going to' (reported future).

How It Connects

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

-ecekmişLevel 4Reported Future

Learn This First

The Reported Future (-ecekmiş) is a compound tense that combines the Future Tense marker (-ecek) with the Evidential/Reported Past marker (-miş). To understand this pattern, you must first be familiar with how to form the future tense and how the evidential marker functions to indicate hearsay or indirect knowledge.

Words in This Pattern

-ecek-miş