Question 1

What is the meaning of the noun gösterge?

Accepted Answer

gösterge means “indicator,” “gauge,” or “display panel” in English. It comes from the verb root göstermek (“to show”) plus the instrumental noun‐forming suffix -ge, which turns a verb into a tool or device.

Question 2

What does the verb çalışıyor mean, and how is it formed?

Accepted Answer

çalışıyor means “is working” or “is running.” It is built from the verb root çalış- (“to work”) plus:  
1. a buffer consonant -y- (to avoid two vowels in a row)  
2. the present-continuous suffix -or, realized as -ıyor by vowel harmony  
3. the zero ending for 3rd person singular  
So morphologically: çalış + y + ıyor = çalışıyor.

Question 3

Why is there no English article (a/an/the) before gösterge?

Accepted Answer

Turkish does not have articles like “a/an” or “the.” Definiteness and indefiniteness are usually inferred from context. If you want to say “an indicator,” you can add bir:  
• Bir gösterge çalışıyor. = “An indicator is working.”  
To emphasize “the indicator,” you’d rely on context or use a demonstrative:  
• O gösterge çalışıyor. = “That indicator is working.”

Question 4

Why doesn’t the verb change when we pluralize gösterge?

Accepted Answer

In Turkish, only nouns take plural suffixes. Verbs remain the same whether the subject is singular or plural. For example:  
• Gösterge çalışıyor. = “The indicator is working.”  
• Göstergeler çalışıyor. = “The indicators are working.”  
Notice that the verb çalışıyor does not get a plural ending.

Question 5

Can we drop gösterge and still understand the sentence?

Accepted Answer

Yes. If the context makes it clear you’re talking about the indicator, you can say just Çalışıyor. That still means “It’s working.” Turkish often omits subjects and objects when they are obvious from context.

Question 6

How do we turn this statement into a question?

Accepted Answer

Add the question particle -mu (with vowel harmony as -m u) right after the verb and use rising intonation:  
• Gösterge çalışıyor mu? = “Is the indicator working?”  
You can also place mu elsewhere in the sentence, but after the verb is most common.

Question 7

Could we use işlemek instead of çalışmak for a device?

Accepted Answer

Both verbs can describe machines:  
- çalışmak is the general term for “to work,” “to function,” or “to operate.”  
- işlemek often implies “to process” or “to run an internal operation.”  
So Gösterge çalışıyor is the usual way to say “The indicator is working.” You’d use işlemek when you want to stress that something is processing data or performing a function internally (e.g. a computer).

Question 8

How do you pronounce the vowels ö and ı in gösterge çalışıyor?

Accepted Answer

• ö: similar to the German ö or the vowel in English “fur” without the “r” sound. Lips are rounded, tongue forward.  
• ı (dotless i): a high back unrounded vowel, like a muffled “uh” farther back in the mouth (no equivalent in English).  
Approximate English‐style rendering:  
• gösterge ≈ “GUR-steh-geh”  
• çalışıyor ≈ “cha-LUH-shuh-yor”

Gösterge çalışıyor.

Breakdown of Gösterge çalışıyor.

Questions & Answers about Gösterge çalışıyor.

More from this lesson

Master Turkish — from Gösterge çalışıyor to fluency