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Questions & Answers about Ünite önemli.
Why is there no verb for “to be” in Ünite önemli?
In Turkish, the present-tense copula “to be” is usually omitted. The adjective önemli directly follows the noun ünite, and the sentence implicitly means Ünite önemlidir (“The unit is important”). In everyday speech and writing, dropping the -dir ending is entirely normal.
What role does the adjective önemli play in this sentence?
Here önemli (“important”) is a predicate adjective. It describes the subject ünite. Because the copula is omitted, the structure is [Subject] + [Predicate Adjective].
Why doesn’t ünite have any suffix like a subject marker?
In Turkish, nouns in the nominative case (i.e., basic form) don’t take a “subject” suffix. Since the copula is dropped in present-tense predications, ünite appears in its simplest form without extra endings.
Can I add the suffix -dir to make Ünite önemlidir? What changes?
Yes. Adding -dir (in its vowel-harmonized form -dir) to the adjective yields Ünite önemlidir. This is more formal and explicitly marks the statement as factual. In spoken Turkish, you might still drop it, but in written or formal contexts it’s common to include -dir.
How would I make this sentence plural, as in “Units are important”?
Add the plural suffix -ler to ünite:
- Üniteler önemli (colloquial)
- Üniteler önemlidir (formal)
How do I negate Ünite önemli (“The unit is important”)?
Use the negative adjective değil after önemli:
- Ünite önemli değil (“The unit is not important”).
How can I turn it into a question: “Is the unit important?”
Add the question particle mi (with vowel harmony) after önemli:
- Ünite önemli mi?
You can also use rising intonation to signal a question.
Why is the adjective placed after the noun here, while usually adjectives come before nouns in Turkish?
When adjectives modify a noun directly (attributive usage), they precede it: önemli ünite (“an important unit”). But in predicative usage—i.e., when saying “X is Y”—the adjective follows, since the verb “to be” is omitted: Ünite önemli.