Okudum

Okudum is the first-person singular simple past tense form of the Turkish verb okumak, meaning “to read.” It translates roughly to “I read” or “I have read” in English, depending on context. In Turkish, past tense is formed by adding the suffix -di/-dı/-du/-dü to the verb stem with vowel harmony, followed by the personal ending -m for the first person singular, yielding oku- + -dü + -m = okudum.

Morphology and usage: The verb stem oku- combines with the past tense marker and the person suffix to produce okudum. The form appears in sentences with an object, for example, kitap (book) or gazete (newspaper). Because Turkish often omits explicit subjects, okudum can stand alone as a complete predicate when context provides the subject (Ben, I). It denotes a completed action in the past and is commonly used in narrative and ordinary conversation.

Examples:

- Bugün kitabı okudum. I read the book today.

- Dün gazeteı okudum. I read the newspaper yesterday.

Notes: Okudum is capitalized only at the start of a sentence or in proper-noun contexts; as a verb form it is not a noun. It is one of several conjugated forms of okumak; other persons and tenses are formed with different endings.