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Questions & Answers about Hava kötüleşiyor.
What does the suffix -iyor indicate in the verb kötüleşiyor?
The suffix -iyor forms the present continuous tense in Turkish. This indicates that the action—here, the weather getting worse—is ongoing at the moment of speaking.
What is the root form of kötüleşiyor, and how is it derived?
The root is kötüleşmek. It combines the adjective kötü (bad) with the transformation element -leşmek, which means “to become” or “to change into.” When the present continuous suffix -iyor is added, it becomes kötüleşiyor, meaning “is getting worse.”
Why doesn’t the sentence include a separate verb equivalent to “is” as in English?
Turkish verbs often carry both the meaning of the action and the state of being. In this sentence, the present continuous form kötüleşiyor embeds the idea of “is becoming” without requiring an extra linking verb like “is.”
How does the word order in hava kötüleşiyor compare with that of English?
Turkish typically follows a subject–object–verb order. In this sentence, hava (weather) is the subject and kötüleşiyor (is getting worse) is the verb. In contrast, English uses a subject–verb–object (or subject–verb–complement) structure, as seen in “The weather is getting worse.”
Why is there no personal suffix attached to hava in this sentence?
Since the subject hava (weather) is already clearly stated, there’s no need for an additional personal suffix. The verb conjugation in kötüleşiyor inherently indicates third-person singular, which matches hava.
How does vowel harmony affect the form of the present continuous suffix in kötüleşiyor?
Turkish vowel harmony requires that vowels in a suffix match those in the stem of the word. For the present continuous tense, the suffix can appear as -iyor, -ıyor, -uyor, or -üyor. In kötüleşiyor, the vowels of the stem lead to the -iyor form.
Can kötüleşiyor ever be used to describe habitual situations, or is it strictly progressive?
The -iyor suffix is used to express actions that are currently in progress. If you wanted to indicate a habitual action or a general truth, Turkish would typically use the simple present tense without the continuous marker. In this context, kötüleşiyor clearly conveys an ongoing process—the weather is in the midst of getting worse.