edi

Was and Were: Edi

Level 2

To say was or were, put edi after the describing word: Havo sovuq edi (It was cold), Men uyda edim (I was at home).

How It Works

In the present tense Uzbek needs no word for am, is or are. You add a personal ending, such as -man: Men talabaman (I am a student). To move the same sentence into the past, you use edi, which means was or were.

How it works. Put edi after the noun, adjective or place word. Then add the personal ending to edi, not to the word before it:

  • men … edim: Men talaba edim (I was a student).
  • sen … eding: Sen uyda eding (You were at home).
  • u … edi: U kasal edi (He was ill).
  • biz … edik: Biz Samarqandda edik (We were in Samarkand).
  • siz … edingiz: Siz qayerda edingiz? (Where were you?)
  • ular … edi or edilar: Ular uyda edi or Ular uyda edilar (They were at home).

These are the same endings as the simple past -di: keldim, kelding, keldi, keldik, keldingiz.

Was not. Put emas before edi: Men uyda emas edim (I wasn't at home). For there was and there wasn't, use bor edi and yoʻq edi: Uyda non yoʻq edi (There was no bread at home).

Questions. The question ending -mi goes after the personal ending: Uyda edingizmi? (Were you at home?). With a question word no -mi is needed: Kecha qayerda edingiz? (Where were you yesterday?)

Writing. In careful writing edi is a separate word. In quick speech it often blends with the word before it, but learners should write it apart.

Coming later. Edi also follows verb forms to make more past tenses, such as -gan edi (had done) and -ar edi (used to).

Examples (6)

  1. Kecha havo sovuq edi.

    Yesterday it was cold.

    Word by Word: Yesterday weather cold was.

    Third person: plain edi with no ending.

  2. Men uyda edim.

    I was at home.

    Word by Word: I house-at was-I.

    The ending -m goes on edi, not on uyda.

  3. Biz Samarqandda edik.

    We were in Samarkand.

    Word by Word: We Samarkand-in were-we.

    For we, edi takes -k.

  4. Kecha qayerda edingiz?

    Where were you yesterday?

    Word by Word: Yesterday where were-you?

    A question word replaces -mi.

  5. U kecha ishda emas edi.

    She wasn't at work yesterday.

    Word by Word: She yesterday work-at not was.

    Emas comes right before edi.

  6. Uyda non yoʻq edi.

    There was no bread at home.

    Word by Word: House-at bread none was.

    Yoʻq edi is the past of yoʻq.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving the personal ending off edi.

    Kecha men uyda edi.
    Kecha men uyda edim.

    Edi on its own is for he, she, it or they. With men, add -m: edim. With biz, add -k: edik.

  • Keeping the present ending and adding edi.

    Men talabaman edim.
    Men talaba edim.

    -man is the present ending. In the past, the person ending moves onto edi, so talaba stays bare.

  • Putting emas after edi.

    Men uyda edim emas.
    Men uyda emas edim.

    Emas comes first and edi comes last, with the person ending on edi.

How It Connects

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

ediLevel 2Was and Were: Edi

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Builds on Saying Something Is Not and Simple Past -di.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

emoqemoq