Yoruz

Yoruz is not a standalone word in Turkish; it is the 1st person plural present tense ending that appears in present continuous constructions. In Turkish grammar, the present continuous (şimdiki zaman) is formed by adding a tense marker derived from the verb stem, together with personal endings that indicate the subject. The ending -uyoruz (often written as -yoruz or -üyoruz or -ıyoruz, due to vowel harmony) signals that the subject is “we” and the action is ongoing or currently occurring.

Formation and variation

The complete present continuous ending for “we” is commonly realized as -uyoruz, with its vowel locally harmonized to the stem to yield variants such as -iyoruz or -üyoruz in certain contexts. The final portion -yoruz is the portion that conveys the first-person plural subject, while the preceding -yo-, -yo-, or -üyo- sequence reflects Turkish vowel harmony and the present-continuous aspect. Therefore, many example verbs in the present continuous with “we” end in forms like geliyoruz (we are coming), gidiyoruz (we are going), okuyoruz (we are reading), yapıyoruz (we are doing).

Usage

- Yoruz marks actions that are occurring at the time of speaking or actions viewed as ongoing in the present.

- It is used with almost all regular verbs and many irregular verbs, producing familiar sentences such as Biz geliyoruz (We are coming) or Biz çalışıyoruz (We are working).

- The ending agrees with the subject pronoun biz (we), and Turkish often omits the subject noun when it is clear from context.

Notes

- Yoruz is not a stand-alone lexical item; it is a grammatical ending. Other persons use related endings (e.g., -uyorum, -uyorsun, -uyor, -uyoruz, -uyorsunuz, -uyorlar) that share the same present-continuous meaning across subjects.

- Turkish vowel harmony influences the exact orthography of the stem plus -uyoruz form.

See also: Turkish grammar, present continuous tense, Turkish verb conjugation.