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Learn Hardcore Turkish: Arkadaşım sözünü tuttu. - My friend kept their word.

Hardcore Turkish
/Trying an escape room with friends
/Arkadaşım sözünü tuttu.

Arkadaşım sözünü tuttu.

Arkadaşım sözünü tuttu.

My friend kept their word.

Breakdown of Arkadaşım sözünü tuttu.

sözünü tutmak

to keep one's word

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Questions & Answers about Arkadaşım sözünü tuttu.

What does each word in Arkadaşım sözünü tuttu do?

It breaks down like this:

Arkadaşım = my friend
sözünü = his/her promise or his/her word as the direct object
tuttu = kept

So the sentence follows the common Turkish pattern subject + object + verb.

Why does arkadaşım mean my friend?

The base word is arkadaş, meaning friend.

The ending -ım is the first-person singular possessive suffix, so it adds the meaning my.

arkadaş = friend
arkadaşım = my friend

This is very common in Turkish. Instead of using a separate word for my, Turkish often adds a suffix to the noun.

Why is it sözünü and not just söz?

Because the sentence is talking about a specific promise/word, not just promise in a general sense.

In Turkish, a definite direct object often takes the accusative ending. Also, söz here is possessed, because it is someone’s word/promise.

So sözünü includes more information than plain söz:

söz = word, promise
sözünü = his/her promise, as the object of the verb

In this expression, Turkish normally uses the possessed form because the promise belongs to someone.

What are the endings inside sözünü?

In this sentence, the most natural analysis is:

söz = word, promise
-ü = his/her
-n- = linking consonant
-ü = accusative ending

So:

sözü = his/her word, promise
sözünü = his/her word, promise + definite object marking

This is why the word looks longer than the English equivalent.

Why is there an n in sözünü?

That n is a very common linking consonant in Turkish.

When a noun already has a third-person possessive ending and then another ending is added, Turkish often inserts -n- to connect them smoothly.

So:

sözü = his/her promise
sözünü = his/her promise + accusative

That -n- helps link the two endings.

Could sözünü also mean your promise?

Yes, the form sözünü can be ambiguous by itself.

It can represent either:

your promise as the object
his/her promise as the object

Turkish often leaves this to context.

In Arkadaşım sözünü tuttu, the natural meaning is usually My friend kept his/her promise, because that is the normal meaning of the idiom in context.

Why does tuttu mean kept? I thought tutmak meant to hold.

That is a very common learner question.

Yes, tutmak often means to hold, to catch, or to keep depending on context. In the fixed expression sözünü tutmak, it means to keep one’s word or to keep a promise.

So this is best learned as a whole chunk:

söz vermek = to make a promise
sözünü tutmak = to keep a promise

If you translate word by word too literally, it may feel strange, but as an idiom it is completely normal.

What tense is tuttu?

Tuttu is the simple past tense.

It comes from tutmak:

dictionary form: tutmak
stem: tut-
past tense: tuttu

So tuttu means kept.

In the third person singular, Turkish does not need an extra ending here, so tuttu by itself can mean he kept, she kept, or it kept, depending on context.

Why is the verb at the end of the sentence?

Because the most neutral Turkish word order is usually subject + object + verb.

So:

Arkadaşım = subject
sözünü = object
tuttu = verb

This makes Arkadaşım sözünü tuttu the most natural basic order.

Turkish word order can change for emphasis, but for learners, putting the verb at the end is the safest default.

Does this sentence show whether the friend is male or female?

No. Turkish does not mark grammatical gender in this sentence.

arkadaşım can mean my male friend or my female friend
tuttu does not show he or she

So English has to choose he or she, or use they, based on context. Turkish itself leaves that unspecified.

Is sözünü tutmak a common expression?

Yes, very common.

It is one of the standard ways to say to keep one’s word or to keep a promise.

A few related expressions are:

söz vermek = to promise
sözünü tutmak = to keep one’s promise
sözünü tutmamak = not to keep one’s promise

So this is a very useful expression to memorize as a set phrase.

How would I make this sentence negative or turn it into a question?

Here are the common forms:

Arkadaşım sözünü tutmadı. = My friend did not keep his/her promise.
Arkadaşım sözünü tuttu mu? = Did my friend keep his/her promise?

So:

tuttu = kept
tutmadı = did not keep
tuttu mu = did ... keep?

These are very useful patterns to practice with other verbs too.

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