-yap / -a

Right Now vs. Usually

Level 2

Ask: is it happening right now? If yes, use -yap: ishlayapman (I am working). If it is a habit, a fact or a plan, use -a/-y: ishlayman (I work, I will work).

How It Works

English splits the present into I work and I am working. Uzbek splits it too, but its -a/-y form also reaches into the future.

  • -yap: in progress. ishla- + -yap + -man → ishlayapman (I am working), kel- + -yap + -ti → kelyapti (he is coming). It also covers a temporary stretch: Hozir Toshkentda yashayapman (These days I am living in Tashkent).
  • -a/-y: habits and facts. Har kuni ishlayman (I work every day), Quyosh sharqdan chiqadi (The sun rises in the east).
  • -a/-y: the future. Ertaga ishlayman (I will work tomorrow).

The question test. Nima qilyapsiz? asks What are you doing (now)? Nima qilasiz? asks What do you do? or What will you do?, depending on the situation.

Hozir kelaman or kelyapman? Both can answer someone who is waiting for you. Hozir kelaman is a promise: I will be right there. Kelyapman is a report: I am on my way. So hozir (now) with -yap describes what is going on, and with -a/-y it means right away.

Time words help. har kuni (every day), doim (always) and ertaga (tomorrow) usually go with -a/-y. The negative keeps the same split: ishlamayapman (I am not working now), ishlamayman (I do not work, I will not work).

In everyday Tashkent speech, -yap often sounds like -vot. In news writing the same meaning is often -moqda.

Examples (6)

  1. Hozir ishlayapman.

    I am working now.

    Word by Word: Now I-am-working.

  2. Har kuni ishlayman.

    I work every day.

    Word by Word: Every day I-work.

    A regular habit takes -a/-y.

  3. Ertaga ishlayman.

    I will work tomorrow.

    Word by Word: Tomorrow I-work.

    The same -a/-y form also covers the future.

  4. Nima qilyapsiz?

    What are you doing?

    Word by Word: What you-are-doing?

    qil- + -yap + -siz asks about this moment.

  5. Hozir kelaman!

    I'll be right there!

    Word by Word: Now I-come!

    hozir with -a/-y promises something that will happen right away.

  6. Bolalar hovlida oʻynayapti.

    The children are playing in the yard.

    Word by Word: Children yard-in are-playing.

    oʻyna- + -yap + -ti. With a plural subject the verb often stays singular.

Common Mistakes

  • Using -a/-y for something happening at this moment.

    Qarang, yomgʻir yogʻadi!
    Qarang, yomgʻir yogʻyapti!

    Yomgʻir yogʻadi means it rains (in general) or it will rain. For rain you can see falling now, use -yap.

  • Using -a/-y to ask what someone is reading right now.

    Nima oʻqiysiz?
    Nima oʻqiyapsiz?

    Nima oʻqiysiz? asks what you usually read or what you will read. To ask about the book in someone's hands now, use -yap.

How It Connects

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

-yap / -aLevel 2Right Now vs. Usually

Learn This First

Builds on Present Continuous -yap.