Breakdown of Kitap, arkadaşım tarafından okunuyor.
benim
my
arkadaş
the friend
kitap
the book
okumak
to read
-tarafından
by
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Questions & Answers about Kitap, arkadaşım tarafından okunuyor.
What is the translation of the sentence "Kitap, arkadaşım tarafından okunuyor."?
The sentence translates to "The book is being read by my friend." Here, kitap means book, arkadaşım means my friend (with the possessive suffix attached), tarafından indicates by in passive constructions, and okunuyor is the passive, present continuous form of the verb okumak (to read).
How is the passive voice formed in Turkish, as seen in "okunuyor"?
Turkish forms the passive voice by altering the verb with specific suffixes. In okunuyor, the root oku- (from okumak) is used with suffixes that indicate both the passive construction and the present continuous tense. This allows the sentence to express that the action is happening to the subject (kitap) rather than being directly performed by the agent.
What role does tarafından play in this sentence?
Tarafından translates to "by" in English and is used to introduce the agent of a passive sentence. In this example, it connects arkadaşım (my friend) to the action, indicating who is performing the action of reading even though the focus is on the book being read.
Why is arkadaşım written as one word, and what does the ending signify?
In Turkish, possessive relationships are expressed by directly attaching a suffix to the noun. Arkadaşım is formed from arkadaş (friend) with the addition of the first-person singular possessive suffix -ım, which means "my". There is no separate word for "my," unlike in English.
Why does the verb okunuyor appear in the third person even though the agent is "my friend"?
In passive sentences, the verb in Turkish agrees with the grammatical subject, which is kitap (book) in this case—not the agent. Despite arkadaşım performing the action, the sentence construction focuses on what is being done to the subject. Thus, okunuyor is in the third person singular to match kitap.
What is the significance of the comma after kitap in the sentence?
The comma after kitap serves to set off the subject from the rest of the sentence. It helps clarify the sentence structure by indicating a pause before adding additional information about the action or the agent. Although commas in Turkish can sometimes be optional, they often aid in readability and emphasize the passive construction.