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Questions & Answers about Sır saklamak zor.
What is the grammatical structure of “Sır saklamak zor”?
The sentence consists of three parts: sır (“secret”) is a noun, saklamak (“to keep”) is the infinitive form of the verb used as a nominal clause, and zor (“difficult”) is an adjective functioning as the predicate. Together, “Sır saklamak” forms a noun phrase that serves as the subject, while zor describes that subject.
Why is the verb “saklamak” in its infinitive form rather than being conjugated?
In Turkish, when expressing a general truth or representing an activity as a concept, the infinitive form is used. Here, saklamak acts as a noun indicating the act of keeping a secret, so it is not conjugated for tense or person.
Why doesn’t the noun “sır” take an accusative marker even though it seems to be the object of “saklamak”?
In constructions where an infinitive verb creates a general activity or concept, the associated noun is often left in its bare form rather than receiving the accusative suffix. In “Sır saklamak zor,” sır remains unmarked because the entire phrase is treated as a nominal expression referring to the idea of secret-keeping.
Why is there no copula (like olmak) after the adjective zor?
Turkish frequently omits the copula in present-tense general statements. Although you might expect a form equivalent to “is” (as in “zordur”), it is common and grammatically correct in casual and general usage to simply say zor.
How would you modify the sentence to indicate that keeping a secret was difficult in the past?
To express the past, you would change the predicate adjective to its past form. The sentence becomes Sır saklamak zordu. Here, zordu is the past tense of zor, indicating that keeping a secret was difficult in the past.
Can “Sır saklamak zor” be rephrased while preserving the same meaning?
Yes, another common variant is Sır tutmak zor. The verb tutmak (meaning “to hold” or “to keep”) is often used in collocation with sır. Both versions convey the idea that keeping a secret is difficult, even though they use slightly different verbs.