Learn Hardcore Turkish: Öğrenciler, şüphesiz sınavdan yüksek not alacaklarına inanıyor. - Students undoubtedly believe that they will get high marks on the exam.

In Turkish, the main clause often reflects the speaker’s current state or belief, so the verb “inanıyor” (believes) is in the present tense. The subordinate clause “sınavdan yüksek not alacaklarına” describes an event that is expected to happen in the future (indicated by the future suffix “-acak”). This separation is typical: you express a present belief about a future event without needing to align the tenses.

What is the function of the accusative marker in “alacaklarına” in this sentence?

In Turkish, verbs like inanmak (to believe) take an indirect statement as their complement. This indirect or reported speech construction requires the subordinate clause to appear in the accusative form. In “alacaklarına,” the ending “-na” (adjusted by vowel harmony) signals that the clause “sınavdan yüksek not alacakları” is being treated as a single entity—the content of the belief—even though it doesn’t have an explicit conjunction like “that” as in English.

What does the word şüphesiz mean, and what role does it play in the sentence?

Şüphesiz translates to “undoubtedly” or “without a doubt.” It serves as an adverb here, modifying the overall proposition by emphasizing the certainty with which the students hold their belief. Its placement right after the subject underscores that the students’ conviction is strong and unambiguous.

Why is the noun “sınav” marked with the suffix -dan to form “sınavdan”?

The suffix -dan is the ablative case marker in Turkish. In this context, it indicates the source or the context related to the action—in other words, specifying that the high mark is obtained “from” or “on” the exam. Using the ablative here is standard practice when expressing from what or where an action (like receiving a high grade) originates.

How does the word order in this sentence compare to typical English sentence structure?

Turkish generally follows a Subject–Object–Verb (SOV) order. In the sentence, the subject Öğrenciler (students) comes first, followed by additional elements including the adverb şüphesiz and the indirect statement “sınavdan yüksek not alacaklarına,” with the main verb inanıyor placed at the very end. This contrasts with the typical English Subject–Verb–Object (SVO) structure, which is why the sentence might seem reordered to someone used to English syntax.