Questions & Answers about Matematik sınavı kolay.
Why is there no word for is in Matematik sınavı kolay?
In Turkish, the verb to be is often not expressed in simple present-tense sentences like this.
So:
- Matematik sınavı kolay. = The math exam is easy.
Turkish commonly leaves out is/are in this kind of sentence. This is completely normal.
You may also see:
- Matematik sınavı kolaydır.
That also means The math exam is easy, but -dır sounds more formal, emphatic, or matter-of-fact.
Why does sınavı end in -ı? Is that the accusative ending?
Here, -ı is not the accusative ending. It is part of a noun compound.
- sınav = exam
- matematik sınavı = math exam
This pattern is very common in Turkish:
- first noun: category/type
- second noun: takes a special compound ending, often called the 3rd person possessive suffix
So matematik sınavı literally works like exam of mathematics, but in natural English we say math exam.
It may look like the accusative because the form is similar, but in this sentence it is not an object and there is no verb that would require accusative case.
Why is matematik before ?