-(i)b
Linking Actions with -(i)b
-ib links a verb to the next one, like and then: Uyga kelib, ovqatlandim (I came home and ate).
How It Works
Form. Take the verb stem, which is the dictionary form without -moq, and add -ib after a consonant or -b after a vowel:
- kel- + -ib → kelib
- ol- + -ib → olib
- oʻqi- + -b → oʻqib
- ishla- + -b → ishlab
One ending for the whole chain. In a chain, an -ib verb never shows who or when. The last verb of the sentence carries both, and they apply to every action before it. Uyga kelib, ovqatlandim means I came home and I ate, both in the past. Change only the last verb and the whole sentence changes: Uyga kelib, ovqatlanaman (I will come home and eat).
Three common jobs:
- One action, then the next: Ertalab turib, yuzimni yuvaman. (In the morning I get up and wash my face.)
- How something is done: U kulib gapirdi. (She spoke with a smile.)
- Verb pairs with their own meaning: olib kelmoq (to bring, literally take and come), olib ketmoq (to take away), borib kelmoq (to go and come back). Many helper verbs work this way; see helper verbs after -(i)b.
Comma. When the -ib part has its own words, such as a place or an object, a comma usually follows it: Doʻkonga borib, non oldim. A tight pair such as olib keldi takes no comma, and the two words are always written separately.
Negative. To say without doing, use -masdan or -may instead: nonushta qilmasdan (without having breakfast).
Compared with va. Joining two full verbs with va is correct, but when the same person does both actions, -ib is the more natural everyday choice.
Examples (6)
- Uyga kelib, ovqatlandim.
I came home and ate.
Word by Word: Home-to coming, I-ate.
Both actions are mine and in the past, because ovqatlandim says so.
- Doʻkonga borib, non olib keling.
Please go to the shop and bring some bread.
Word by Word: Shop-to going, bread taking come.
Two -ib forms. The last verb, keling, makes the whole sentence a polite request.
- Ertalab turib, yuzimni yuvaman.
In the morning I get up and wash my face.
Word by Word: Morning getting-up, my-face I-wash.
The -ib verb takes its present-future meaning from yuvaman.
- U kulib gapirdi.
She spoke with a smile.
Word by Word: She smiling spoke.
Here kulib says how she spoke.
- Kitobni oʻqib, doʻstimga berdim.
I read the book and gave it to my friend.
Word by Word: Book-the reading, my-friend-to I-gave.
oʻqi- ends in a vowel, so the ending is only -b.
- Akam Toshkentga borib keldi.
My older brother went to Tashkent and came back.
Word by Word: My-brother Tashkent-to going came.
borib kelmoq means to make a trip and return.
Common Mistakes
Adding -ib to a verb stem that ends in a vowel.
Kitobni oʻqiib, doʻstimga berdim.Kitobni oʻqib, doʻstimga berdim.After a vowel the ending is only -b: oʻqi- → oʻqib, ishla- → ishlab.
Ending the sentence on an -ib verb.
Men uyga kelib, ovqatlanib.Men uyga kelib, ovqatlandim.An -ib verb has no tense or person, so the sentence needs a final verb that carries them.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Builds on Present-Future Tense and And.
Related Patterns
- Helper Verb Constructions: -(i)b / -aHelper Verbs After -(i)b and -a
Many helper verbs follow an -ib verb and add a shade of meaning, as in olib kelmoq and oʻqib chiqmoq.
Level 3 - -masdan / -mayWithout Doing
These are the negative partners of -ib: kelib (having come), kelmasdan (without coming).
Level 3 - -gachAfter Doing: -gach
-gach also links two actions, but it stresses that the second starts once the first is done.
Level 3 - -(i)bdiPast Discovered: -(i)bdi
With a person ending, the same -(i)b shape becomes a past tense for things you discover: kelibdi.
Level 3 - debQuoting with Deb
Deb, used for quoting, is the -b form of demoq (to say).
Level 3
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice -(i)b in Bubblegum
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