These two week we are working on –mis, -mus grammar tense and in my opinion this concept should not be
included in this beginner book but advanced. This is so complex and complicated that I think that I will
never be able to comprehend it completely. Most confusing for me is to understand the purpose of this
tense. Apparently we use this tense when we are reporting or basically when we are gossiping such as,
talking about something that you heard from someone else. For example, I will use this tense if I am
telling you how my friend when he was a child did not like to watch TV. Basically, it was not me who
saw that action (not liking to watch the TV) but I heard it. In case that I saw that action then I would
not be using this tense but would use simple past tense/ past continuous. This tense is also used if you
want to tell a story, for example telling Cinderella story would require usage of this tense. I have never
encountered such a tense and that is why I find it so complicated. I took a look at this tense at home but
could not understand so Ms. Hanife explained it to me in details. Even though I kind of understand the
usage of this tense, I still tend to use rather past tense rather than this complicated tense. I do not do it
on purpose but I do it because I am not used to using such tense. Since this is a very important tense in
Turkish, it is of crucial importance for me to understand it completely and use it in my communication
with my language partner and Turkish friend. In fact, I work with my Turkish friend immediately after my
Turkish class, and after learning this tense I was completely lost and I complained to my Turkish friend
how Turkish is cok zor (very hard) and very complicated, and that I will never be able to understand such
tense. He said that it is complicated to explain as well as learn it, but that with practice I will be able to
comprehend it.
I learn something new about Turkish culture every now and then. When I was in Turkey I went out
with my friend and I tried hookah/nargila for the first time. Hookah is so popular in Turkey and all
restaurants/ bars have hookah, it is almost as popular as Turkish tea. People there usually smoke
hookah at night and drink Turkish tea to relax and spend some time with their friends. They usually
play Havla which is a popular Turkish board game while smoking hookah and drinking tea. My friend
tried to explain to me how to play that game but I did not really understand the rules. Hookah is not
very popular here in Richmond nor in Bosnia. I was however very surprised that all bars and shops
either have hookah or just sell them, even though it is apparently even more dangerous than smoking
cigarettes. What I also noticed is that during my time in Turkey I did not see that many people smoking
cigarettes, it is usually hookah that they smoke. My Turkish friends also say that it is extremely popular
in all parts of Turkey. This is something I found very interesting about Turkish culture.
I am worried about my progress with this –mis, -mus tense. I have to practice a lot and do many
assignments to understand this concept. I believe that with practice I will be able to use it in my daily
language (even when I do not gossip).
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