Çocuk bacağını incitti.

The child hurt his leg.

Breakdown of Çocuk bacağını incitti.

• çocuk: the child
• incitmek: to hurt
• bacak: the leg

Questions & Answers about Çocuk bacağını incitti.

Why is bacağını used instead of the dictionary form bacak?

Because bacağını is built from the noun bacak (leg) plus endings:

• bacak = leg
• bacağı = his/her leg
• bacağını = his/her leg(object)

So this word contains:

• a 3rd person possessive ending: -ı / -i / -u / -ü → his/her
• an accusative ending: -ı / -i / -u / -ü / -nı / -ni / -nu / -nü → marks the definite direct object

In this sentence, the child is not just hurting a leg in general, but his/her leg, so Turkish uses the possessed form.

Why does Turkish say his/her leg here instead of just the leg or a leg?

With body parts, Turkish very often uses a possessive structure where English may simply say his leg, her arm, my hand, etc.

So:

• Çocuk bacağını incitti. = The child hurt his/her leg.

This is the normal Turkish way to talk about body parts belonging to someone. Even when English might not stress possession very much, Turkish usually does.

Examples:

• Elimi kestim. = I cut my hand.
• Başını vurdu. = He/she hit his/her head.