Breakdown of İstatistikleri analiz ederken geçmiş aylara dair verileri incelemiştik.
ay
the month
incelemek
to examine
veri
the data
-ken
while
analiz etmek
to analyze
dair
regarding
istatistik
the statistic
geçmiş
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Questions & Answers about İstatistikleri analiz ederken geçmiş aylara dair verileri incelemiştik.
What does the suffix -ken in ederken indicate?
The suffix -ken marks a simultaneous action, equivalent to “while” in English. Here, analiz ederken means “while (we) were analyzing” or “as (we) analyze.”
Why is istatistikleri in the accusative case with the ending -leri?
İstatistikleri is the definite direct object of analiz etmek, a transitive verb. The plural noun istatistikler takes the accusative suffix -i (with vowel harmony), resulting in istatistikleri (“the statistics”).
What tense and aspect does incelemiştik express, and how would you translate it?
İncelemiştik is the past perfect (pluperfect) in 1st person plural. It denotes an action completed before another past action. It translates as “we had examined.”
What does geçmiş aylara dair mean, and why is aylara in the dative case?
Dair means “regarding” or “concerning” and requires its noun to be in the dative case. Aylara is the dative plural of ay (“month”), so geçmiş aylara dair means “concerning past months.”
Why is verileri in the accusative case?
Verileri is the definite direct object of incelemek (“to examine”), which takes an accusative-marked object. The plural noun veriler plus accusative -i becomes verileri (“the data”).
Isn’t it redundant to use both analiz etmek and incelemek here?
Although both can translate as “to analyze/examine,” analiz etmek implies a systematic or quantitative analysis, while incelemek suggests close inspection or review. Using both adds nuance and is common in formal or academic Turkish.
Could I say geçmiş aylardaki verileri instead of geçmiş aylara dair verileri?
Yes. Geçmiş aylardaki verileri (“the data in past months”) uses the locative adjective -deki, while dair is more formal and emphasizes relevance. Both are correct with slightly different styles.
Why isn’t there an explicit “we” in this Turkish sentence?
Turkish verb endings encode person and number. The -tik in incelemiştik indicates 1st person plural (“we”), so the subject pronoun is dropped because it’s already clear from the verb form.