Zorlu sınavda öğrencilerin sabrı sınanıyor.

In the difficult exam, students’ patience is being tested.

Breakdown of Zorlu sınavda öğrencilerin sabrı sınanıyor.

• sınav: the exam
• öğrenci: the student
• -da: in
• sabır: the patience
• sınanmak: to be tested
• zorlu: difficult

Questions & Answers about Zorlu sınavda öğrencilerin sabrı sınanıyor.

What does the suffix -da in sınavda indicate?

The -da here is the locative case suffix, one of Turkish’s six case endings. It shows “in/at/during.” Because sınav ends in a back vowel a, the suffix harmonizes to -da, so sınavda means “in the exam” or “during the exam.”

How is zorlu formed, and why not just zor?

zorlu = zor (hard/difficult) + adjective-forming suffix -lu (having/with). The result means “full of difficulty,” i.e. “challenging” or “tough.” Vowel harmony makes it -lu (rather than -li/-lü) because zor has a back rounded vowel.

Why is öğrencilerin in the genitive case?

Turkish marks possession by:

1. Putting the possessor in the genitive with -in/-ın/-ün/-n.
2. Adding a possessive suffix on the possessed noun.
   Here, öğrenci
   • plural -ler
     • genitive -in → öğrencilerin = “of the students.”

Why does sabrı end with -ı? Is it accusative, possessive, or both?

sabrı carries two functions at once:

• Possessive: a third-person suffix (the students’ patience).
• Accusative: marks the noun as a definite object of sınanıyor.
  Because both suffixes have the same form -ı, they merge into one.

Is sınanıyor active or passive, and what tense/aspect is it?

sınanıyor is the impersonal passive, present-continuous:

• -n marks the passive voice.
• -ıyor marks present continuous (is …-ing).
  Together: is being tested (with no explicit doer).

Why is there no explicit subject (“who” is testing)?

In an impersonal passive, Turkish often omits the agent because it’s unknown, unimportant, or general. The focus is on what happens to the students’ patience, not on who performs the test.

How would you express the same idea in active voice?

You could make the exam the subject and use an active verb:
• Zorlu sınav, öğrencilerin sabrını sınar.
(“The tough exam tests the students’ patience.”)
• Or: Zorlu sınav, öğrencilerin sabrını test ediyor.
(“The tough exam is testing the students’ patience.”)

Why isn’t sabır plural (e.g. sabırları) even though it refers to many students?

Sabır (“patience”) is an abstract, uncountable noun in Turkish. Abstract qualities normally stay singular, so you don’t add a plural suffix even if multiple people share that quality.