Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Turkish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Yazıcı çalışıyor.
What does yazıcı mean in this sentence?
Yazıcı means printer. In Turkish, nouns appear without articles, so it directly indicates the object without a preceding word like “the.”
How is the verb çalışıyor formed?
The verb çalışıyor comes from the base verb çalışmak (to work). The suffix -iyor is added to form the present continuous tense, and the ending implies a third-person singular subject, meaning “is working.”
Why is there no subject pronoun in the sentence?
In Turkish, subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb’s conjugation already indicates who is performing the action. The ending in çalışıyor clearly shows it is third-person singular, so an explicit pronoun like o (“he/she/it”) isn’t necessary.
What is the difference between çalışıyor and çalışır?
Çalışıyor expresses an ongoing action (i.e. “is working”), while çalışır is the form used for the simple present tense (i.e. “works” or “does work”) which can describe habitual actions or general truths. In the sentence Yazıcı çalışıyor., çalışıyor emphasizes that the printer is currently functioning.
Does Turkish require articles like “a” or “the” before nouns?
No, Turkish does not use articles such as “a” or “the.” Nouns like yazıcı stand alone without an accompanying article, so their meaning is clear from context without additional words.
How does vowel harmony affect the suffix in çalışıyor?
Vowel harmony in Turkish means that suffix vowels adjust to match the vowels in the stem of the word. In çalışıyor, the form -iyor is chosen because its vowels harmonize with the vowels in çalış-, ensuring the word sounds coherent according to Turkish phonetic rules.