-di / -gan

Seen Past vs. Result Past

Level 3

Keldi tells the event: he came. Kelgan states a fact: he has come, or he came at some point. Choose -di to tell a story and -gan for experience and results.

How It Works

Both forms are past, and they often come out as the same English words. The difference is what the speaker wants to say about the event.

1. -di: the event itself
-di reports a finished event, usually at a clear time, and often one the speaker saw or took part in. It is the form for telling what happened, in order: Kecha Anvar keldi. Biz choy ichdik. (Anvar came yesterday. We drank tea.)

2. -gan: the fact, the experience, the result
-gan presents the past as a fact about someone. Use it for:

  • Experience, "have ever": Siz palov yeganmisiz? (Have you ever eaten plov?)
  • Background facts: U ilgari Toshkentda yashagan (He used to live in Tashkent).
  • A result that is true now: Men charchaganman (I am tired, literally I have got tired).

3. The person endings differ

  • -di takes the short endings: bordim, bording, bordik, bordingiz.
  • -gan takes the long endings: borganman, borgansan, borganmiz, borgansiz, and the third person is plain borgan.

4. Same event, two sentences

  • Men bu filmni kecha koʻrdim. I saw this film yesterday: an event at a time.
  • Men bu filmni koʻrganman. I have seen this film: so there is no need to tell me the ending.

5. Words that choose for you
Time words such as kecha (yesterday) and soat beshda (at five) usually go with -di. When they cover a whole life, hech (ever) and hech qachon (never) usually go with -gan: Hech qachon Buxoroga bormaganman (I have never been to Bukhara). Hech can still go with -di in set questions such as Hech oʻylab koʻrdingizmi? (Have you ever thought about it?).

6. Two more pasts
For "not yet", use -gani yoʻq. For an event you only found out about afterwards, use -(i)bdi.

Examples (5)

  1. Kecha doʻstim keldi.

    My friend came yesterday.

    Word by Word: Yesterday friend-my came.

    -di: an event at a known time.

  2. U ilgari Toshkentda yashagan.

    He used to live in Tashkent.

    Word by Word: He before Tashkent-in lived.

    -gan: a background fact about his past.

  3. Men Samarqandga borganman.

    I have been to Samarkand.

    Word by Word: I Samarkand-to gone-I.

    -gan + -man: an experience. When the trip happened is not the point.

  4. Siz palov yeganmisiz?

    Have you ever eaten plov?

    Word by Word: You plov eaten-?-you?

    On -gan, the question particle comes before the person ending: yegan + -mi + -siz.

  5. Men bu filmni koʻrganman, lekin kecha yana koʻrdim.

    I have seen this film, but I watched it again yesterday.

    Word by Word: I this film-the seen-I, but yesterday again saw-I.

    Both pasts in one sentence: the experience with -gan, the dated event with -di.

Common Mistakes

  • Using -di when you mean "Have you ever been to Samarkand?"

    Siz Samarqandga bordingizmi?
    Siz Samarqandga borganmisiz?

    Bordingizmi asks about one particular trip that you both know about, such as last week's. To ask about your whole life, use -gan: borganmisiz? Hech (ever) often goes with it: Siz hech Samarqandga borganmisiz?

  • Using the possessive -ganim when you mean a full sentence.

    Men bu kitobni oʻqiganim.
    Men bu kitobni oʻqiganman.

    Oʻqiganim is a noun form, "my having read", used in patterns such as oʻqiganim yoʻq. To say I have read it, -gan takes -man.

How It Connects

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

-di / -ganLevel 3Seen Past vs. Result Past

Learn This First

Builds on Past With -gan and Past Discovered: -(i)bdi.