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Questions & Answers about Elektrik tesisatındaki her bir eleman düzgün çalışmalı.
Break down the word tesisatındaki into its parts. What does each part mean and how do they combine?
tesisatındaki =
1) tesisat (installation, system)
2) -ın (genitive suffix “of”)
3) -da (locative suffix “in/at”)
4) -ki (relative suffix, “that…”)
So literally tesisat-ın-da-ki = “that which is in the installation.” It turns tesisat into an adjective phrase modifying eleman (“element/component”).
What is the function of the suffix -daki (as in tesisatındaki)? How is it different from just using the locative -da?
The sequence -daki = -da + -ki.
- -da marks “in/at” (locative case).
-ki turns the whole phrase into a relative adjective (“that is in…”).
Without -ki, you’d simply say tesisatta (“in the installation”) but you couldn’t directly use it to describe eleman. With -daki, you get “the element that is in the installation.”
Why do we say her bir eleman instead of just her eleman?
Both her eleman and her bir eleman are correct. Adding bir makes it more emphatic: “each and every element.” Without bir, her eleman still means “each element,” but her bir stresses individual attention to each one.
Why is eleman singular? Could we say her bir elemanlar?
Never use a plural noun after her bir. Her (“each”) by itself or with bir (“one”) already conveys singularity. Saying elemanlar would be redundant and ungrammatical.
Correct: her bir eleman “each element”
Incorrect: her bir elemanlar
What is the suffix -malı in çalışmalı? Is it a tense marker?
-malı/-meli is the necessitative or obligation suffix, not a tense. çalışmalı means “must work” or “should work.” You can gloss it as “it needs to work.”
If you added -dır (the copular), you’d get çalışmalıdır, which is more formal/definite. But çalışmalı is common in instructions.
Does çalışmalı imply present time or future time?
It doesn’t specify tense the way English does. It simply expresses necessity. Context tells you you mean “from now on, every element ought to work properly,” i.e. general/ongoing requirement.
What part of speech is düzgün in düzgün çalışmalı? Why isn’t there an adverb ending like -ce?
düzgün is an adjective meaning “proper, orderly.” In Turkish, many adjectives can function as adverbs without change. So düzgün çalışmak = “to work properly.” You could say düzgünce çalışmalı, but that’s rarer and more literary.
Could we replace düzgün with iyi here? What’s the nuance?
Yes, iyi çalışmalı (“should work well”) is possible, but düzgün çalışmalı stresses correctness and conformity to standards (“properly function”), while iyi is more general (“work well”).
Why isn’t there a subject pronoun before çalışmalı (like o çalışmalı)?
In Turkish you normally drop the subject pronoun when it’s clear. Here her bir eleman is the subject, so you don’t need to say o. The verb form çalışmalı already agrees with 3rd-person singular.
Can we move düzgün çalışmalı to front, or change the word order?
The most natural order is Subject–Predicate: Elektrik tesisatındaki her bir eleman düzgün çalışmalı. You could say Düzgün çalışmalı, elektrik tesisatındaki her bir eleman, in poetic or emphatic contexts, but in technical instructions the standard order is preferred.
