Ben salataya zeytin ezmesi ekliyorum.

I am adding olive paste to the salad.

Breakdown of Ben salataya zeytin ezmesi ekliyorum.

• ben: I
• eklemek: to add
• -ya: to
• salata: the salad
• zeytin ezmesi: the olive paste

Questions & Answers about Ben salataya zeytin ezmesi ekliyorum.

In Ben salataya zeytin ezmesi ekliyorum, what does the -ya suffix in salataya signify?

The -ya is the dative case ending, indicating direction or “to” something. Here it means “to the salad.” Verbs like eklemek (to add) require the thing you’re adding to to be in the dative.

Why doesn’t zeytin ezmesi have an accusative -i ending?

Turkish uses the accusative -i on specific direct objects. Zeytin ezmesi here is an indefinite/mass noun (“some olive spread”), so it remains unmarked. If you meant “the olive spread,” you’d say zeytin ezmesini.

What’s the role of Ben at the beginning?

Turkish verbs carry subject information via personal suffixes (e.g. -um = “I”). So Ben (I) is optional and usually dropped. It’s included here for emphasis or to avoid ambiguity.

How is the verb ekliyorum constructed?

It’s the present continuous of eklemek: • Root: ekle-
• Progressive suffix: -iyor- (becomes -iyor after e)
• 1st person singular: -um
Put together: ekle + yor + um = ekliyorum (“I am adding”).

Why is zeytin ezmesi singular even though it comes from many olives?

In Turkish, mass or uncountable substances stay in the singular. Zeytin ezmesi = “olive paste/spread,” so it’s treated like “flour” or “water,” not individual olives.

What does the -si at the end of ezmesi do?

That’s the 3rd person singular possessive suffix, marking “paste of olive.” In noun compounds, the second noun often takes the possessive. Because ezme ends in a vowel, a buffer s is inserted:
ezme + -(s) i → ezmesi.

Could I use a different verb instead of eklemek?

Yes. Common alternatives:
• katmak (to mix in) – emphasizes blending.
• koymak (to put/place) – more general.
But eklemek is the standard for “adding” ingredients in recipes.