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Breakdown of Mezar taşı eski yazıları saklıyor.
eski
old
saklamak
to hide
mezar taşı
the tombstone
yazı
the inscription
Questions & Answers about Mezar taşı eski yazıları saklıyor.
Why does “Mezar taşı” not take a case ending even though it’s the subject?
In Turkish the subject of a simple sentence normally appears without any case suffix—it stays in its dictionary (nominative) form. Here Mezar taşı is a compound noun (“grave” + “stone”), and as the subject it doesn’t need an extra ending.
Why is the object “eski yazıları” marked with “-ı”?
Because it’s a definite direct object. Turkish uses the accusative suffix (one of -ı, ‑i, ‑u, ‑ü) on objects that are specific or known. Here “the old writings” are specific, so yazılar (writings + plural -lar) takes the accusative -ı, giving yazıları.
What is the word order in “Mezar taşı eski yazıları saklıyor”?
Turkish follows Subject–Object–Verb (SOV) order.
• Mezar taşı = Subject
• eski yazıları = Object
• saklıyor = Verb
Why is the adjective “eski” placed before “yazıları” rather than after?
In Turkish, adjectives always precede the nouns they modify. So eski (old) comes before yazıları (writings).
What does the verb “saklıyor” mean exactly?
The root verb saklamak means “to hide,” “to store,” or “to preserve.” The form saklıyor is third-person singular present continuous, literally “is hiding,” but in Turkish it often expresses a general or habitual action, so you’d translate it as “hides” or “preserves.”
How does the Turkish present-continuous suffix “-yor” work in “saklıyor”?
The general present-continuous suffix in Turkish is -(i)yor.
- Remove the infinitive ending -mak/-mek from the verb stem:
saklamak → sakla - Add -yor. Because the stem ends in a vowel, the initial “i” of -iyor drops, leaving -yor.
sakla + yor → saklıyor
Could you omit the accusative suffix and say “Mezar taşı eski yazılar saklıyor”?
Yes, you could. Omitting the suffix makes yazılar indefinite: “a tombstone hides old writings” in a general sense. Adding -ı (making yazıları) signals “the old writings” are definite or known.
Why is “Mezar taşı” translated as “tombstone” rather than “grave’s stone”?
Although literally “mezar” = “grave” + “taş” = “stone,” Turkish often forms noun compounds without a genitive suffix. In English we say “tombstone”; in Turkish you string the nouns together, so “grave-stone” naturally means “tombstone.”
How does vowel harmony apply when forming “yazıları”?
- Start with yazı (“writing”).
- Add plural -lar → yazılar. The vowel a in -lar harmonizes with the a in yazı.
- Add the accusative suffix -ı (a back, unrounded vowel) because yazılar ends in a.
Result: yazı- -lar
- -ı → yazıları.
- -lar
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