Future tense in Turkish (gelecek zaman)

The future tense shows what will happen in the future. The future tense is called as 'gelecek zaman' in Turkish. The future tense suffixes are '-(y)ecek' (most common) or  '-(y)acak' depending on the vowel harmony rules.

How to form the future tense

The 3 forms of the future tense are:

• Positive form
• Negative form
• Question form

Have a question?

Take online language lessons with a professional teacher

1. Native & verified teachers
2. Free trial lesson
3. Learning materials included

Esra G.

Ezgi H.

Nazlıcan Y.

Sertaç H.

Refah A.

Memduha Y.

Emine A.

ALİ K.

Sinan Ç.

Hakan Y.

Sign up for free

Positive form

According to the last vowel in the verb root, one of the following suffixes '-(y)ecek' / '(y)-acak' is added to the verb root and then the personal suffix is added.

Verb root + -(y)ecek/-(y)acak + personal suffix

Examples

• Yaz (write) -> Babam iki kağıt yazacak. (My father will write two papers.)
• Al (buy) -> Sana elbise alacaklar. (They will buy you a dress.)
• Gül (laugh) -> Sen güleceksin. (You will laugh.)
• Seç (choose) -> Seyehat için Belçika'yı seçecek. (She will choose Belgium for visiting.)

 When the last letter of the verb root is a vowel, the letter 'y' that is shown in the brackets is added before the suffix '-ecek' or '-acak'

Examples

• Başla (start) -> Onlar yarın başlayacaklar. (They will start tomorrow.)
• İzle (watch) -> Kardeşim çizgi film izleyecek. (My sister will watch a cartoon.)

Negative form

The negative suffix '-meyecek' or '-mayacak' is added to the verb root according to the vowel harmony rules and then the personal suffix is added.

Verb root + -meyecek/-mayacak + personal suffix

Examples

• Yaz (write) -> Babam iki kağıt yazmayacak. (My father will not write two papers.)
• Al (buy) -> Sana elbise almayacaklar. (They will not buy you a dress.)
• Gül (laugh) -> Sen gülmeyeceksin. (You will not laugh.)
• Seç (choose) -> Seyehat için Belçika'yı seçmeyecek. (She will not choose Belgium for visiting.)

Question form

According to the verb's last vowel, one of the "-mı, -mi," is added after the future suffix and before the personal suffix.

Verb root + -(y)ecek/-(y)acak + -mı/-mi + personal suffix

Examples

• Yaz (write) -> Babam iki kağıt yazacak mı? (Will my father write two papers?)
• Al (buy) -> Sana elbise alacak mı? (Will they buy you a dress?)
• Gül (laugh) -> Sen gülecek misin? (Will you laugh?)
• Seç (choose) -> Seyehat için Belçika'yı seçecek misin? (Will you choose Belgium for visiting?)