English links actions with words like and, while, when and by. Turkish usually does it with a suffix on the first verb instead. These forms are called converbs or “gerunds” in English-language textbooks, and zarf-fiil (adverb-verb) in Turkish. They let you build long, natural sentences with only one fully conjugated verb at the end.
Eve gelince duş alıp yattım. — When I got home, I had a shower and went to bed.
Here gelince (when … came) and alıp (took and) carry no tense or person; yattım at the end tells you it is past and first person. This page covers the converbs you will meet most often at B1.
The main converbs at a glance
| Converb | Meaning | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| -(y)ip | and (then) | gelip | coming and … |
| -(y)erek / -(y)arak | by / while -ing | gelerek | by coming |
| -(y)ince / -(y)ınca / -(y)unca / -(y)ünce | when, once | gelince | when (he) comes/came |
| -ken | while, when | gelirken | while coming |
| -dikçe | the more …; whenever | geldikçe | whenever (he) comes |
| -meden / -madan | without | gelmeden | without coming |
| -ir … -mez | as soon as | gelir gelmez | as soon as (he) comes |
| -e … -e | repeatedly, by doing a lot | gele gele | by coming again and again |
The vowels follow vowel harmony, the y is the buffer after vowel stems, and stems like git- and et- soften to gid- and ed- before a vowel.
-ip: “and (then)”
4-way harmony: -ip, -ıp, -up, -üp; after vowels -yip etc.
| Verb | Converb |
|---|---|
| gelmek | gelip |
| almak | alıp |
| okumak | okuyup |
| görmek | görüp |
| gitmek | gidip |
| beklemek | bekleyip |
-ip joins two actions that share the same subject and the same tense. The final verb sets the tense and person for both.
- Markete gidip ekmek aldım. — I went to the shop and bought bread.
- Oturup konuşalım. — Let’s sit down and talk.
- Akşam arayıp haber veririm. — I’ll call this evening and let you know.
It is more natural than ve between verbs: Eve geldim ve yemek yedim is correct but sounds heavy; Eve gelip yemek yedim is the everyday choice (see conjunctions).
Negation scope: a negative final verb usually covers only the last action. Eve gidip yatmadım means “I went home but didn’t go to bed”. To negate the first verb, negate it directly: Eve gitmeyip arkadaşımda kaldım. — I didn’t go home; I stayed at my friend’s place.
-erek / -arak: “by”, “while”, manner
2-way harmony: -erek, -arak; after vowels -yerek, -yarak: okuyarak, bekleyerek, gülerek, giderek.
It tells you how or by what means the main action happens, usually with the same subject.
- Koşarak geldi. — He came running.
- Müzik dinleyerek ders çalışıyorum. — I study while listening to music.
- Türkçeyi dizi izleyerek öğrendim. — I learned Turkish by watching series.
- Gülerek “Tamam” dedi. — She said “OK”, laughing.
Some -erek forms are fixed adverbs: giderek (gradually, increasingly), olarak (as): Öğretmen olarak çalışıyor. — She works as a teacher.
-ince: “when”, “once”, “as soon as”
4-way harmony: -ince, -ınca, -unca, -ünce; after vowels -yince: gelince, alınca, okuyunca, görünce, bekleyince, gidince.
-ince marks the moment one action leads into the next. Unlike -ip, the two clauses can have different subjects.
- Eve gelince seni ararım. — I’ll call you when I get home.
- Sen gelince yemeğe başlarız. — We’ll start eating once you come.
- Haberi duyunca çok sevindi. — She was delighted when she heard the news.
- Param olunca araba alacağım. — When I have money, I’ll buy a car.
-ken: “while”, “when”
-ken is unusual in three ways: it does not harmonise, it attaches to a tense stem (normally the aorist), and it also attaches to nouns and adjectives. After a vowel it becomes -yken.
| Base | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| aorist yapar | yaparken | while doing |
| aorist neg. yapmaz | yapmazken | while not doing |
| -iyor | yapıyorken | while (in the middle of) doing |
| -ecek | yapacakken | just as I was about to do |
| -miş | yapmışken | having already done; since … anyway |
| noun çocuk | çocukken | when (I was) a child |
| locative evde | evdeyken | while (I was) at home |
| adjective hasta | hastayken | while ill |
- Yolda yürürken telefonum çaldı. — My phone rang while I was walking down the street.
- Ben yemek yaparken sen masayı kur. — While I’m cooking, you set the table.
- Çocukken çok yaramazdım. — I was very naughty as a child.
- Çıkacakken misafir geldi. — Just as we were about to leave, guests arrived.
- Gelmişken bir çay iç. — Since you’re here anyway, have a tea.
-ken is the natural partner of the past continuous: Uyurken telefon çaldı says the same as Uyuyordum, telefon çaldı (I was sleeping when the phone rang).
-dikçe: “the more…”, “whenever”
8 shapes: 4-way harmony plus d → t after voiceless consonants: -dikçe, -dıkça, -dukça, -dükçe, -tikçe, -tıkça, -tukça, -tükçe.
- Okudukça öğreniyorsun. — The more you read, the more you learn.
- Para kazandıkça harcıyor. — The more money he earns, the more he spends.
- Fırsat buldukça yürüyüş yapıyorum. — I go for a walk whenever I get the chance.
- Zaman geçtikçe alışırsın. — You’ll get used to it as time goes by.
-meden: “without”
-meden/-madan means “without doing”. The -me here is not a true negative in meaning; it simply combines with the ablative.
- Kahvaltı yapmadan çıktı. — He left without having breakfast.
- Düşünmeden konuşma! — Don’t speak without thinking!
- Bilet almadan binmeyin. — Don’t board without buying a ticket.
With önce it means “before”: Yatmadan önce dişlerini fırçala. That use, along with -dikten sonra (after), is covered in time clauses.
-ir -mez and -e -e
-ir … -mez (aorist positive + aorist negative) means “as soon as”:
- Eve gelir gelmez uyudu. — He fell asleep as soon as he got home.
- Haberi alır almaz seni aradım. — I called you as soon as I got the news.
-e … -e (repeated stem + -e/-a) describes something done continuously or over and over, often with feeling:
- Koşa koşa geldi. — She came running all the way.
- Güle güle kullan! — Enjoy using it! (said for something new)
- Ağlaya ağlaya anlattı. — He told the story in tears.
- Yürüye yürüye yorulduk. — We got worn out from all the walking.
- Bile bile yaptı. — He did it knowing full well.
Which converb should I use?
A quick decision guide:
- Two actions in a row, same subject, “and then”: -ip (gelip oturdu).
- How or by what means: -erek (yürüyerek gitti).
- At the moment that, once: -ince (duyunca güldü).
- During, while, as (also with nouns): -ken (yürürken, öğrenciyken).
- In proportion, every time: -dikçe (gördükçe).
- Without: -meden (sormadan).
- Immediately after: -ir -mez (görür görmez).
When two answers seem possible, think about the subject: -ip and -erek almost always share the subject of the main verb, while -ince, -ken and -dikçe can introduce a new one.
Common mistakes
- Adding person endings to the converb. Gelipim or gelinceim is wrong; tense and person go on the final verb only.
- Harmonising -ken. Yaparkan is wrong; always yaparken.
- Attaching -ken to the bare stem. Yapken is wrong; use the aorist stem: yaparken.
- Different subjects with -ip. Ben gelip sen gittin is unnatural; use -ince or -ken: Ben gelince sen gittin.
- Reading -meden as a negative. Gelmeden önce means “before coming”, not “before not coming”.
Mini-exercise
Combine the two sentences with the converb in brackets.
- Kitabı aldım. Okudum. (-ip) → ?
- Gülüyordu. Konuşuyordu. (-erek) → ?
- Ders bitecek. Kafeye gideceğiz. (-ince) → ?
- Ben uyuyordum. Telefon çaldı. (-ken) → ?
- Çalışıyorsun. Başarılı oluyorsun. (-dikçe) → ?
- Kapıyı kilitlemedi. Çıktı. (-meden) → ?
Answers
- Kitabı alıp okudum. — I took the book and read it.
- Gülerek konuşuyordu. — She was talking with a smile.
- Ders bitince kafeye gideceğiz. — When the class ends, we’ll go to the café.
- Ben uyurken telefon çaldı. — The phone rang while I was sleeping.
- Çalıştıkça başarılı oluyorsun. — The more you work, the more successful you become.
- Kapıyı kilitlemeden çıktı. — He left without locking the door.
Practice this
Break down forms like okuyunca, gelirken and çalıştıkça in the suffix deconstructor to see where the harmony and buffer letters come from, then continue with time clauses for “before”, “after” and “until”.
