Erkek kedi uyuyor.

The male cat is sleeping.

Breakdown of Erkek kedi uyuyor.

• kedi: the cat
• uyumak: to sleep
• erkek: male

Questions & Answers about Erkek kedi uyuyor.

Why isn’t there a word for “the” or “a” in Erkek kedi uyuyor?

Turkish has no articles. You express definiteness or indefiniteness through context, word order, and sometimes with demonstratives (o, bu) or quantifiers (bir, her). So Erkek kedi uyuyor can mean “A male cat is sleeping” or “The male cat is sleeping,” depending on context.

What is the usual word order in Turkish? Why is it Erkek kedi uyuyor instead of Kedi erkek uyuyor?

Turkish is primarily Subject-Object-Verb (SOV). Here we have:
• Subject: Erkek kedi
• (No object)
• Verb: uyuyor
Adjectives (erkek) always precede the noun (kedi). Placing them in another order (e.g. Kedi erkek uyuyor) would sound unnatural or give an unusual emphasis.

Why can we drop the subject pronoun (“he/she/it”) in Erkek kedi uyuyor? How do we know it’s “he/she/it”?

Turkish verbs carry person endings. uyuyor has a zero ending, which is the marker for third-person singular (“he/she/it”). Adding O (O erkek kedi uyuyor) is possible but optional; the verb form alone tells you the person.

What is the -yor in uyuyor? I thought the verb is “to sleep.”

The root of “to sleep” is uyu-. The suffix -(i)yor marks the present continuous tense (English “is/am/are … ​-ing”). So:
• Root: uyu- (“sleep”)
• Tense suffix: -(i)yor
• Personal ending: zero for 3rd person
-> uyuyor = “(he/it) is sleeping.”

I learned the present continuous suffix is -(i)yor. Why is there no i in uyuyor?

When the verb root ends in a vowel (like uyu-), the vowel of the suffix drops. So you get uyu + -yor = uyuyor instead of uyu + i + yor.

Why doesn’t erkek change form to agree with kedi? Shouldn’t adjectives agree in number or case?

Turkish adjectives precede the noun and remain unchanged: no agreement in gender, number, or case. If you pluralize, you only attach the plural suffix to the noun:
• erkek kedi = “male cat”
• erkek kediler = “male cats”

How do I make Erkek kedi uyuyor plural (“Male cats are sleeping”)?

Add the plural suffix -ler/-lar to the noun:
Erkek kediler uyuyor.
Adjectives stay in their base form (no -ler on erkek).

How can I emphasize that that particular male cat is sleeping (like “The male cat over there is sleeping”)?

Use a demonstrative pronoun or pointer word:
• O erkek kedi uyuyor. = “That male cat is sleeping.”
• Şu erkek kedi uyuyor. = “That (over there) male cat is sleeping.”