Verb chart - a template using Getmək

Getting to know which verb tense to use can be tricky, especially if you want to learn it without resorting to a lot of grammatical rules. I have devised a chart that situates the verbs along a continuum of past - present - future. It makes sense to me - I hope it will help you too. I print these out on an A3 page for study and reference.

Let's start in the middle with the present tense.

PRESENT

continuous

Mən gedirəm

Sən gedirsən

O gedir

Biz gedirik

Siz gedirsiniz

Onlar gedirlər

I am going

You are going

He is going

We are going

You are going

They are going

This is the verb tense that I find myself using most. If I am going to visit the high school, I can tell my lovely assistant Lalə - Mən orta məktəbə gedirəm. When going to lunch, I can say, Lança gedirəm. If teachers have a meeting after school, I can say, Biz iclasa gedirik.

On the past tense side of this, we have the past continuous. I don't find I use this tense much, since it is mostly for things that you used to do in the past but maybe don't do now for some reason. Explaining the reason can be complicated. (See the entry for -ənə qədər etc. for some sample sentences.) However, here is the entry for your verb chart:

PAST

continuous

Mən gedirdim

Sən gedirdin

O gedirdi

Biz gedirik

Siz gedirdiz

Onlar gedirdilər

I was going / used to go

You were going / used to go

He was going / used to go

We were going / used to go

You were going / used to go

They were going / used to go

On my chart, I place the -di past tense under the continuous past. I use this tense a lot in conversation, when reporting something that I have done recently.

PAST

 

-di past

Mən getdim

Sən getdin

O getdi

Biz getdik

Siz getdiniz

Onlar getdilər

I went

You went

He went

We went

You went

They went

I use this tense at work to explain that someone has already left - O getdi. When shopping, if I am looking for something - say garlic (sarımsaq) - and let's say the shopkeeper is trying to help me but I have already found it, I can say Tapdım! (I found it!) A very useful tense when you are first launching into conversation in full sentences.

In practical terms, the third most useful - and easy to learn - tense is the imperative.

PRESENT

imperative

Mən gedim

Sən get

O getsin

Biz gedək

Siz gedin

Onlar getsinlər

Let me go

Go

Let him (her, it) go

Let’s go

Go

Let them go

For a native English speaker, the Get! and Gedin! make sense, since we use these forms in English all the time. One of the first xalq mahnısı that I learned in Azərbaycanca was the wonderful Getmə, Getmə. Even my husband understood the chorus - Getmə, getmə, gəl, gözəl yar! Getmə, getmə, gəl! Don't go, don't go, come, my beautiful love! Don't go, don't go, come! (Yeah, it sounds so much better in Azerbaijani!) One day we were shopping in our local Sevimli Dad. It was very crowded, so we both moved outside to make room, but the fellow at the kassa (who knew us well) said - Getmə, getmə! Well, Dom and I - we've been married a long time - both immediately thought of the song and started to sing the chorus. The guy laughed so hard he actually fell off his chair. The rest of the people in the store caught the reference, naturally, and everyone had a good laugh. So learn your imperatives! There may be entertainment value there.

You will find this verb tense very useful in everyday situations, not just fooling around. I use it all the time when riding the bus or subway. To say Excuse me, you use the imperative - Bağışlayın. To ask people to step aside when you are trying to get off (düşmək) you say İcazə verin - Give me permission (i.e., Allow me to pass.) Unfortunately, foreigners can be bothered by beggars, who can sometimes get a bit in-your-face, especially some of the children. I usually say Get burdan  - which means essentially Go away. Not rude, but clear and effective. If someone is really bothering you, you might want to say Rədd ol! which I think would be the equivalent to Get outta here! or Get lost! in English. There is a great scene in the film Baxtiyar where a couple of star-struck young women yell this at Sasha after she whistles to Baxtiyar in the theater. 

The other forms of the Azerbaijani imperative take a bit of getting used to. Listen for people using them and you'll gradually get the hang of how they work.

Over to the left of the -di past is the -miş past. This is maybe the next most useful tense, as you can talk about your past. Here is how it looks:

PAST

-miş past

Mən getmişəm

Sən getmisən

O gedib

Biz getmişik

Siz getmişiniz

Onlar gediblər

I have gone

You have gone

He has gone

We have gone

You have go

They have gone

This is the been-there-done-that tense (in the recent or not-so-recent past.) For example, Bu ay mən dörd konsertə getmişəm. (This month I've gone to four concerts.) Or, things you haven't done yet - Biz opera teatriyə getməmişik. (We haven't gone to the opera theater.)

Then, farther to the left still, is the -mişdi past. This is like the past tense of the past tense -miş. It's like talking about the past taking place in the past, if that makes sense. Here's how it looks with the English translation.

PAST

-mişdi past

Mən getmişdim

Sən getmişdin

O getmişdi

Biz getmişdik

Siz getmişdiz

Onlar getmişdilər

I had gone

You had gone

He had gone

We had gone

You had gone

They had gone

I use this tense a fair bit, usually telling stories where I did something and then later something else related to it happened. For instance, I bought tickets to the concert, but then I got sick and couldn't go, so I gave the tickets to a friend. Mən bilet almışdım amma koncert günü mən xestə idim. Ona görə də, mən getə bilmədim və bilet dostumə verdim.

Just as useful as describing what you've done in the past is telling people what you plan to do in the future. For plans that are definite, this is the definite future.

FUTURE

definite

Mən gedəcəyəm

Sən gedəcəksən

O gedəcək

Biz gedəcəyik

Siz gedəcəksiz

Onlar gedəcəklər

I will go

You will go

He will go

We will go

You will go

They will go

Two simple examples: I will go to Park Bulvar tomorrow to buy a hat. Sabah mən Park Bulvara gedəcəyəm çünki papaq almaq isteyirəm. I will call you tomorrow. Sabah sənə zəng edəcəyəm.

The next verb tense to learn is the conditional present. It looks a bit difficult at first, but is quite easy.

PRESENT

Əgər… conditional

Əgər mən getsəm

Əgər sən getsən

Əgər o getsə

Əgər biz getsək

Əgər siz getsəz

Əgər onlar getsələr

If I go

If you go

If he goes

If we go

If you go

If they go

There are a lot of situations in life that depend on circumstances, so you need to use this tense. For instance: If I see Dom, I will tell him you are waiting for him. Əgər mən Domu görsəm, mən ona deyərəm ki, sən onu gözləyirsən. And: If you go to that store, bring lots of money! Əgər sən bu dukhana getsən, çox pulu gətir!

As you can see from the first sample sentence, the present conditional can be followed by the indefinite future (something that has just been decided). This is mostly how I use this tense in Azerbaijani.

FUTURE

Indefinite (just decided)

Mən gedərəm

Sən gedərsən

O gedər

Biz gedərik

Siz gedərsiz

Onlar gedərlər

I will go

You will go

He will go

We shall go

You will go

They will go

There are two other Əgər tenses. I don't use them much, but here they are:

PRESENT

Əgər… right now

Əgər mən getirəmsə

Əgər sən getirsənsə

Əgər o getirsə

Əgər biz getiriksə

Əgər siz getirsizsə

Əgər onlar getirlərsa

If I go right now

If you go right now

If he goes right now

If we go right now

If you go right now

If they go right now

PAST

Əgər… conditional

Əgər mən getsəydim

Əgər sən getsəydin

Əgər o getsəydi

Əgər biz getsəydik

Əgər siz getsəydiz

Əgər onlar getsəydilər

If I went

If you went

If he went

If we went

If you went

If they went

The other past tense conditionals are as follows:

PAST

-ərdi past conditional

Mən gedərdim

Sən gedərdin

O gedərdi

Biz gedərdik

Siz gedərdiz

Onlar gedərdilər

I would go

You would go

He would go

We would go

You would go

They would go

PAST

-əcəkdi past conditional

Mən gedəcəkdim

Sən gedəcəkdin

O gedəcəkdi

Biz gedəcəkdik

Siz gedəcəkdiz

Onlar gedəcəkdilər

I would have gone

You would have gone

He would have gone

We would have gone

You would have gone

They would have gone

To express "should"  use the following:

PRESENT

 Gərək… desirable (should)

Gərək mən gedim

Gərək sən gedəsən

Gərək o getsin

Gərək biz gedək

Gərək siz gedəsiz

Gərək onlar getsinlər

I should go

You should go

He should go

We should go

You should go

They should go

PAST

Gərək… “should have”

Gərək mən gedəydim

Gərək sən gedəydin

Gərək o gedəydi

Gərək biz gedəydik

Gərək siz gedəydiz

Gərək onlar getəydilər

İ should have gone

You should have gone

He should have gone

We should have gone

You should have gone

They should have gone

For some reason, I find myself using the -məli (must) tenses much more often that the "should" tenses above. 

PRESENT

Məli — necessitative (must)

Mən getməliyəm

Sən getməlisən

O getməlidir

Biz getməliyik

Siz getməlisiz

Onlar getməlidirlər

I must go

You must go

He must go

We must go

You must go

They must go

PAST

Məli past

Mən getməliydim

Sən getməliydin

O getməlidi

Biz getməliydik

Siz getməliydiz

Onlar getməliydilər

İ should have gone

You should have gone

He should have gone

We should have gone

You should have gone

They should have gone

You can also use Məli with If, as follows: 

PRESENT

Məli + -sə (If he must)

Mən getməliyəmsə

Sən getməlisənsə

O getməlidirsə

Biz getməliyiksə

Siz getməlisizsə

Onlar getməlidirlərsə

If I must go

If you must go

If he must go

If we must go

If you must go

If they must go

There are two other "should" verb forms, though I've never used them. To complete the verb chart, I will list them here:

PRESENT

Should

Mən gedəsiyəm

Sən gedəsisən

O gedəsidir

Biz gedəsiyik

Siz gedəsisiz

Onlar gedəsidirlər 

I should go

You should go

He should go

We should go

You should go

They should go

PAST

Should have

Mən gedəsidim

Sən gedəsidin

O gedəsidi

Biz gedəsidik

Siz gedəsidiz

Onlar gedəsidilər

İ should have gone

You should have gone

He should have gone

We should have gone

You should have gone

They should have gone