Isıtma çalışmıyor.

to work

Breakdown of Isıtma çalışmıyor.

• ısıtma: the heating

Questions & Answers about Isıtma çalışmıyor.

What does the suffix -ma in ısıtma do? Doesn’t -ma usually make a verb negative?

In ısıtma, -ma is a noun-forming suffix, not the negative. The verb root is ısıt- (to heat), and adding -ma turns it into the noun ısıtma (heating). The negative suffix -ma/-me is the same form but used differently: it attaches to verbs before tense markers to negate them.

How is çalışmıyor formed? It looks like one word but I see çalış-, -mı-, and -yor.

Exactly. çalışmıyor =

1. çalış- (to work/function)
2. negative suffix -ma- (here in its vowel-harmonized form -mı-)
3. present-continuous tense marker -yor
4. zero ending for 3rd person singular
   Altogether çalış
   • -mı
     • -yor = “is not working.”

Why is there no subject pronoun like o (he/it) before çalışmıyor?

Turkish is a pro-drop language: you can omit personal pronouns when the verb ending already shows person and number. Here, the lack of an extra suffix after -yor signals 3rd person singular. You understand “it” (the heating) from that.

Why is çalışmak (literally “to work”) used for machines?

In Turkish çalışmak can mean both “to work” (as in having a job) and “to operate/function” (for devices or systems). So ısıtma çalışıyor literally means “the heating is working/functioning,” and çalışmıyor means “is not working.”

Why use çalışmıyor (present continuous negative) instead of the aorist negative çalışmaz?

The aorist negative çalışmaz describes a general or habitual state (“it never works”). çalışmıyor describes a current, temporary situation (“it’s not working right now”), which fits when your heating breaks down.

How do I ask “Is the heating working?” in Turkish?

Use the question particle mi (with vowel harmony mu after yor) written separately.
Isıtma çalışıyor mu?
This literally means “Is the heating working?” (yes/no question).

What’s the difference between ısıtma yok and ısıtma çalışmıyor?

ısıtma yok means “there is no heating” or “we don’t have heating” – it simply doesn’t exist.
ısıtma çalışmıyor means “the heating (which exists) isn’t working/functioning.”

How do you pronounce the dotless ı in ısıtma and çalışmıyor?

The letter ı is a back, unrounded vowel [ɯ]. It’s pronounced somewhat like the unstressed ‘a’ in English about, but with your tongue pulled back in the mouth. It is distinct from i (with dot), which is [i], like the ‘ee’ in see.