Turkish grammar: bağ-fiiller

What this grammar point covers

Bağ-fiiller (also called gerunds or converbs) are verb forms in Turkish that connect two actions in a sentence. They show how or when something happens, without using a separate verb for each action.

When to use it

Use bağ-fiiller in Turkish to connect two actions, to show that things happen at the same time, one after another, or to give extra information about how or why something happens.

Key forms

• -ken (while)
• -ince / -ınca / -ünce / -unca (when, after)
• -ip (and, after)
• -erek / -arak (by doing)
• -meden / -madan (without doing)

Examples

Tips

• The suffix changes (-ken, -ince, -ip, -erek, -meden) depending on the meaning and the verb.
• Pay attention to vowel harmony when adding bağ-fiil endings.
• Bağ-fiiller never take tense or personal endings.

Exceptions and edge cases

• Some verbs have irregular forms with these suffixes, like 'gelirken' (not 'geliyorken').