-a/-y

Present-Future Tense

Level 1

kel- + -a + -man → kelaman: I come, or I will come. One form covers habits and plans.

How It Works

Building the form
Take the stem from the -moq form, add the tense sign, then the person ending:
• after a consonant: kel- + -a + -man → kelaman
• after a vowel: oʻqi- + -y + -man → oʻqiyman, ishla- + -y + -man → ishlayman

The person endings
• men: -man — kelaman, oʻqiyman
• sen: -san — kelasan, oʻqiysan
• u: -di — keladi, oʻqiydi
• biz: -miz — kelamiz, oʻqiymiz
• siz: -siz — kelasiz, oʻqiysiz
• ular: -di or -dilar — keladi, keladilar
Most of these are the endings you already know from Men talabaman. Only the third person is new: it adds -di.

What it means
• Habits and facts: Men choy ichaman (I drink tea).
• The future: Ertaga kelaman (I will come tomorrow).
• Offers and polite questions: Choy ichasizmi? (Would you like some tea?)

Never skip the y
A vowel stem needs -y, so two vowels never meet here. Write oʻqiyman, not oʻqiaman.

Saying no
Put -ma- after the stem. Because -ma ends in a vowel, the tense sign becomes -y: kelmayman (I don't come, I won't come).

Examples (6)

  1. Men ertalab choy ichaman.

    I drink tea in the morning.

    Word by Word: I morning tea drink-I

    ich- + -a + -man. A regular habit.

  2. Ertaga kelaman.

    I will come tomorrow.

    Word by Word: tomorrow come-I

    The same form points to the future. The ending -man already means I, so men can be left out.

  3. U kitob oʻqiydi.

    She reads books.

    Word by Word: she book reads

    oʻqi- ends in a vowel, so the tense sign is -y: oʻqi- + -y + -di.

  4. Biz bankda ishlaymiz.

    We work at a bank.

    Word by Word: we bank-at work-we

    ishla- + -y + -miz → ishlaymiz.

  5. Choy ichasizmi?

    Would you like some tea?

    Word by Word: tea drink-you-?

    The present-future with -mi is a common, polite way to offer something.

  6. Ular Toshkentda yashaydi.

    They live in Tashkent.

    Word by Word: they Tashkent-in live

    yasha- + -y + -di. With ular, -di alone is normal.

Common Mistakes

  • Letting two vowels meet after a vowel stem.

    Men kitob oʻqiaman.
    Men kitob oʻqiyman.

    After a stem that ends in a vowel, the tense sign is -y, not -a.

  • Using the third-person ending with men.

    Men ertaga keladi.
    Men ertaga kelaman.

    The last ending must match the subject. men takes -man; -di is for u and ular.

How It Connects

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

-a/-yLevel 1Present-Future Tense

Learn This First

Builds on The Dictionary Form -moq and I Am: -man.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.