Breakdown of Kuş ağaçtan aşağı doğru iniyor.
ağaç
the tree
kuş
the bird
-tan
from
aşağı
down
doğru
towards
inmek
to come down
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Questions & Answers about Kuş ağaçtan aşağı doğru iniyor.
What does the suffix -tan in ağaçtan signify, and which case does it represent?
The suffix -tan is the ablative case marker (variant of -ten). It indicates movement away from something. So ağaçtan literally means from the tree.
Why does the sentence use both aşağı and doğru? What do they each mean?
aşağı means down (the direction). doğru means towards when used after a direction. Together, aşağı doğru means downwards or toward the bottom, emphasizing the direction of motion.
Why is inmek used here instead of düşmek?
inmek describes intentional or controlled movement downwards. düşmek means to fall (an accidental or uncontrolled drop). A bird coming down from a branch is descending, not falling, so inmek is the correct verb.
How is the present continuous tense formed in iniyor?
The verb root in- (to descend) takes the present continuous suffix -iyor, resulting in in-iyor. In the 3rd person singular there’s no extra ending, so you get iniyor = is descending or is coming down.
Why is there no article like the or a before kuş?
Turkish does not have articles like the/a/an. A noun’s definiteness is shown by context. Here, kuş can be understood as the bird because the situation makes it specific, even though there’s no separate word for the.
What is the typical word order in this sentence, and how flexible is it in Turkish?
The default word order is Subject–Object–Verb (S–O–V). Here it’s [Kuş] (Subject) [ağaçtan aşağı doğru] (Adverbial phrase) [iniyor] (Verb). Turkish word order is fairly flexible for emphasis, but the verb usually stays at the end.
Can we omit doğru and just say ağaçtan aşağı iniyor? Would it change the meaning?
Yes. ağaçtan aşağı iniyor is perfectly natural and still means is coming down from the tree. Omitting doğru doesn’t affect the core meaning—aşağı alone already indicates downward motion. Adding doğru simply adds a nuance of towards the bottom.
Could we say ağacın tepesinden iniyor instead of ağaçtan iniyor? What’s the difference?
Yes. ağacın tepesinden iniyor means is coming down from the top of the tree, specifying that it began at the very top. ağaçtan iniyor simply means is coming down from the tree without indicating exactly where on the tree it started.