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Questions & Answers about Yakıt bitiyor.
Why is there no subject pronoun in Yakıt bitiyor?
Turkish is a pro-drop language: verbs encode person and number. In bitiyor, the present-continuous marker -yor plus the absence of any further suffix defaults to third-person singular (“it is running out”). Adding a separate pronoun like o (it) would be redundant and is normally omitted.
What is the literal word-by-word translation of Yakıt bitiyor?
- Yakıt = fuel
- bitiyor = is finishing/ending
Literally: “Fuel is finishing.” Idiomatically: “Fuel is running out.”
What does the suffix -yor in bitiyor indicate?
The -yor suffix is the present-continuous tense marker. When you attach -yor to the stem bit- (to finish/end), you describe an ongoing action: “is finishing” or “is running out.”
How would you say “The fuel ran out” in Turkish?
Use the simple past tense suffix -ti after the stem:
- Stem: bit-
- Past suffix: -ti → bitti
So: Yakıt bitti. (“The fuel ran out” or “Fuel has run out.”)
How would you express “The fuel will run out” in Turkish?
Use the future tense suffix -ecek:
- Stem: bit-
- Future suffix: -ecek → bitecek
So: Yakıt bitecek. (“The fuel will run out.”)
How do you form the negative to say “The fuel is not running out”?
Insert the negative suffix -me before -yor:
- Stem: bit-
- Negative: bit-me-
- Continuous: bitmiyor
So: Yakıt bitmiyor. (“The fuel is not running out.”)
How do you ask “Is the fuel running out?” in Turkish?
Add the question particle mu (agreeing with the last vowel harmony) after the verb:
Yakıt bitiyor mu?
Literally: “Fuel is running-out question-particle?” = “Is the fuel running out?”
Why is yakıt not marked with an accusative ending (-ı/-i/-u/-ü)?
The verb bitmek is intransitive (“to finish/end”) and does not take a direct object. Yakıt functions as the subject here and stays in the nominative case, so no accusative suffix is used.
Can I use another verb like tükenmek to convey “run out”?
Yes. Tükenmek also means “to be exhausted/run out.” You can say
Yakıt tükeniyor.
Nuance: tükenmek often emphasizes total depletion, whereas bitmek is a more general “to finish/end.”
Is Yakıt bitiyor active or passive in Turkish?
It’s an active (intransitive) construction. Although in English “is running out” may look like a passive, in Turkish bitmek is an intransitive verb describing an action the subject undergoes, so the sentence is active with yakıt as the nominative subject.