Kitapları raftan alıyorum.

I am taking the books from the shelf.

Breakdown of Kitapları raftan alıyorum.

• kitap: the book
• almak: to take
• -tan: from
• raf: the shelf

Questions & Answers about Kitapları raftan alıyorum.

What role does the suffix -ları play in kitapları?

• kitap = “book”
• -lar = plural marker → kitaplar “books”
• -ı = definite object (accusative) suffix for back vowels
→ kitaplar + ı = kitapları “the books” (as a direct object)

Why is raf followed by -tan in raftan, and what does it mean?

• -dan/-den is the ablative case suffix, meaning “from.”
• Vowel harmony picks -tan (because a is a back vowel).
• Consonant assimilation: after the voiceless f, d becomes t.
→ raf + -tan = raftan “from the shelf”

How is the tense and person indicated in alıyorum?

alıyorum = al- (take) + -ıyor (present continuous suffix) + -um (1st person singular)
• al- = root “take”
• -ıyor = “I am …”-ing (vowel harmony: a → ı)
• -um = “I”
→ al-ıyor-um = alıyorum “I am taking”

Why isn’t the subject pronoun “I” (Ben) explicitly stated?

Turkish is a pro-drop language: the verb ending -um already shows 1st person singular. You omit Ben unless you want extra emphasis:
• Default: Kitapları raftan alıyorum.
• Emphatic: Ben kitapları raftan alıyorum.

What is the usual word order here, and can it change?

• Default Turkish order is Subject–Object–Verb (SOV).
• With the subject dropped, you get Object–Adverbial–Verb: Kitapları raftan alıyorum.
• Word order is flexible for focus. E.g.:
– Raftan kitapları alıyorum. (“It’s the books I’m taking from the shelf.”)
– Kitapları alıyorum raftan. (less common emphasis shift)

Can the accusative suffix -ı be omitted on the object?

Yes, but then the object is indefinite:
• To say “I’m taking a book from the shelf,” you’d normally use bir + unmarked noun:
– Bir kitap raftan alıyorum.
• Saying Kitap raftan alıyorum without bir or -ı sounds incomplete if you intend “a book.”

How does vowel harmony determine the forms of -ları and -iyor in this sentence?

Turkish vowel harmony rules:
1) -(y)I suffix has four variants: -ı, -i, -u, -ü.
– kitaplar contains back vowels → pick -ı → -ları.
2) Progressive -yor has four variants: -ıyor, -iyor, -uyor, -üyor.
– Root vowel a is back → pick -ıyor → al-ıyor.