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Questions & Answers about Makine çalışıyor.
Why is there no article like a or the in Makine çalışıyor?
Turkish does not have a separate indefinite article and generally omits the definite article. You can specify a machine by saying Bir makine çalışıyor or the machine by O makine çalışıyor, but without bir or o, Makine çalışıyor simply relies on context.
Why is Makine not suffixed with any case ending even though it's the subject?
In Turkish, the subject of a simple declarative sentence appears in the nominative case, which is unmarked (no suffix). Only objects and other roles receive specific case endings.
What tense and aspect does çalışıyor express?
Çalışıyor is the present continuous (progressive) tense, indicating an ongoing action. It corresponds to is working in English.
How is the present continuous tense formed in Turkish?
You take the verb stem (çalış-), add the progressive suffix -ıyor/-iyor/-uyor/-üyor (according to vowel harmony), and then attach the personal ending. For 3rd person singular there is no extra ending, so çalış + -ıyor = çalışıyor.
Why is the suffix -ıyor used instead of -iyor, -uyor, or -üyor?
By Turkish vowel harmony, after the stem vowel ı you must use -ıyor. If the stem vowel were e/ i it would be -iyor, o/u → -uyor, ö/ ü → -üyor.
Why is there no pronoun like “it” in the sentence?
Turkish is a pro-drop language: the verb ending itself shows person and number. Since çalışıyor is clearly 3rd person singular, there’s no need for an explicit pronoun unless you want emphasis (e.g. O çalışıyor).
How would you make this sentence negative?
Insert the negative marker -ma/-me before the progressive suffix: çalışma -yor. So Makine çalışmıyor means The machine is not working.
How do you turn Makine çalışıyor into a yes/no question?
Add the question particle -mu/-mü/-ma/-me (with vowel harmony) after the verb and use a question mark. Since çalışıyor ends in o, you use mu: Makine çalışıyor mu? (“Is the machine working?”)
What is the usual word order in Turkish, and how does Makine çalışıyor fit that pattern?
The default order is Subject-Object-Verb (SOV). Here there’s no object, so you get Subject-Verb: Makine (S) çalışıyor (V), with the verb still at the end.
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