Language/Kirghiz/Grammar/Present-Tense

Kirghiz → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Verbs and Tenses → Present Tense

Welcome to our Complete 0 to A1 Kirghiz Course! In this lesson, we will focus on conjugating Kirghiz verbs in the present tense, and practice forming affirmative, negative, and interrogative sentences. Conjugating verbs is an essential part of speaking any language, and Kirghiz is no exception. With a strong foundation in the present tense, you'll be able to communicate more effectively in everyday situations. So let's get started!

Consider broadening your understanding by checking out these related lessons: Pronouns & How to Use Have.

Introduction to Kirghiz Verbs and Present Tense

In Kirghiz, just like in other languages, verbs are crucial for communication. They express actions, occurrences, or states. The present tense, in particular, is used to describe actions or states happening currently, regular or habitual actions, and general truths or facts. Kirghiz is an agglutinative language, meaning that verbs change their form by adding various affixes (prefixes and suffixes) to the root. Here's a brief overview of how Kirghiz verbs work in the present tense.

Verb Conjugation

Kirghiz verbs are conjugated according to the personal pronouns. The subject pronouns are:

• Мен (Men) - I
• Сен (Sen) - You (singular, informal)
• Сиз (Siz) - You (singular, formal or plural)
• Ал (Al) - He, She, It
• Биз (Biz) - We
• Силер (Siler) - You (plural, informal)
• Алар (Alar) - They

To conjugate a verb in the present tense, we usually start with the verb stem, which is obtained by removing the "-уу" or "-мак" infinitive suffix (depending on the verb). Then, we add the appropriate personal ending to the stem. Here's an example using the verb "жазуу" (zhazuu), which means "to write":

Kirghiz	Pronunciation	English
Мен жазам	Men zhazam	I write
Сен жазасың	Sen zhazasyng	You write (informal)
Сиз жазасыз	Siz zhazasyz	You write (formal/plural)
Ал жазат	Al zhazat	He/She/It writes
Биз жазабыз	Biz zhazabyz	We write
Силер жазасыңар	Siler zhazasyngar	You write (plural, informal)
Алар жазаттар	Alar zhazattar	They write

As you can see, the endings -м, -сың, -сыз, -т, -быз, -сыңар, and -ттар match the pronouns мен, сен, сиз, ал, биз, силер, and алар.

Present Tense in Affirmative, Negative, and Interrogative Sentences

Now that you have an understanding of how to conjugate Kirghiz verbs in the present tense let's take a look at how to form affirmative, negative, and interrogative sentences.

Affirmative Sentences

Affirmative sentences in Kirghiz are simple and straightforward. You just need to conjugate the verb according to the subject pronoun and create your sentence. Here's an example using the verb "окуу" (okuu), which means "to read":

Kirghiz	Pronunciation	English
Мен китеп окуюм	Men kitep okuym	I read a book
Сен газета окуясың	Sen gazeta okuyasyng	You read a newspaper (informal)
Сиз мектепте окуясыз	Siz mektepte okuyasyz	You read at school (formal/plural)
Ал журнал окуют	Al zhurnal okuyut	He/She/It reads a magazine
Биз китептар окуюбыз	Biz kiteptar okuybyz	We read books
Силер макала окуясыңар	Siler makala okuyasyngar	You read articles (plural, informal)
Алар роман окуюттар	Alar roman okuyuttar	They read a novel

Negative Sentences

To form negative sentences in Kirghiz, you simply add the negative particle "эмес" (emes) after the verb. Note that the verb is still conjugated according to the subject pronoun. Here's an example using the verb "тамактау" (tamaktau), which means "to cook":

Kirghiz	Pronunciation	English
Мен тамактап эмесмин	Men tamaktap emesmin	I do not cook
Сен тамактасың эмессиң	Sen tamaktasyng emessing	You do not cook (informal)
Сиз тамактасыз эмессиз	Siz tamaktasyz emessiz	You do not cook (formal/plural)
Ал тамактат эместе	Al tamaktat emeste	He/She/It does not cook
Биз тамактап эмесбиз	Biz tamaktap emesbiz	We do not cook Table of Contents - Kirghiz Course - 0 to A1 Course Presentation Greetings and Introductions Basic Greetings Introducing Yourself Basic Sentence Structure Subject-Object-Verb Order Negation Numbers and Time Cardinal Numbers Ordinal Numbers Telling Time Nouns and Pronouns Noun Cases Personal Pronouns Possessive Pronouns Family and Relationships Family Members Relationship Status Verbs and Tenses Present Tense Past Tense Future Tense Food and Dining Meals and Ingredients Ordering at a Restaurant Kirghiz Customs and Traditions Holidays and Celebrations Traditional Clothing Travel and Transportation Modes of Transportation Asking for Directions Adjectives and Adverbs Adjective Agreement Comparative and Superlative Weather and Seasons Seasons Weather Conditions Kirghiz Literature and Music Famous Writers and Poets Traditional Music and Instruments Other Lessons Conditional Mood Negation Personal pronouns Gender Possessive Pronouns Comparative and Superlative Personal Pronouns Pronouns How to Use Have Adjectives