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Questions & Answers about Gün yavaş yavaş bitiyor.
Why isn’t Gün marked with a case ending here?
In Turkish the nominative case (used for subjects) is usually unmarked. Since Gün (“day”) is the subject of the sentence, it appears without any suffix.
What does yavaş yavaş mean, and why is it doubled?
Yavaş yavaş is a reduplicated adverb meaning “slowly” or “gradually.” The repetition adds emphasis to the slowness of the process, highlighting that it’s happening little by little.
Could I use just one yavaş instead of yavaş yavaş?
Yes. Gün yavaş bitiyor is grammatically correct and means The day is ending slowly. However, yavaş yavaş is more idiomatic when you want to stress the gradual nature of the action.
What is the function of the -yor in bitiyor?
The suffix -yor marks the present continuous tense in Turkish. It tells us that the action “ending” is ongoing right now.
There’s no explicit person suffix on bitiyor. How do we know who or what is doing the action?