Bu cümleyi tam olarak anlamıyorum.

I don’t fully understand this sentence.

Breakdown of Bu cümleyi tam olarak anlamıyorum.

• bu: this
• cümle: the sentence
• anlamak: to understand
• -yi: accusative
• tam olarak: fully

Questions & Answers about Bu cümleyi tam olarak anlamıyorum.

What does tam olarak mean in this sentence, and how is it different from tam or tamamen?

tam olarak is an adverbial phrase meaning “exactly” or “precisely.”

• tam alone can mean “complete” or “full,” but as an adverb it’s less precise (colloquial “fully/quite”).
• tamamen means “completely/entirely” (more like “not at all” when used with a negation).
  So tam olarak anlamıyorum means “I don’t understand it exactly,” whereas tam anlamıyorum is more like “I don’t quite understand,” and tamamen anlamıyorum would be “I don’t understand it at all.”

Why is there a -yi at the end of cümle (making cümleyi)?

Turkish marks a definite direct object with the accusative suffix -yI (which becomes -ı, -i, -u, or -ü by vowel harmony).

• cümle ends in e (a front unrounded vowel), so you attach -y
  • i → cümleyi.
    This signals “the/this sentence” as a specific object you don’t understand.

There’s no word for “I” in the sentence. How do we know who the subject is?

Turkish is a pro-drop language: personal pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending carries that information.

• In anlamıyorum, the suffix -um marks 1st person singular.
• Adding ben (“I”) is possible (Ben bu cümleyi tam olarak anlamıyorum), but usually unnecessary unless you want extra emphasis.

How is the verb anlamıyorum built up?

Breakdown of anlamıyorum:

1. anla – root “understand”
2. -ma – negative suffix (“not”)
3. -yor – present continuous aspect (“-ing” / habitual in Turkish)
4. -um – 1st person singular ending (“I”)
   Putting it together: anla-ma-yor-um = “I am not understanding” (used as “I don’t understand”).

Why does Turkish use the -yor (continuous) form here instead of a simple present?

Turkish doesn’t have a separate simple present negative for stative verbs like “understand.”

• The -yor tense covers both habitual and ongoing actions and is the default way to say “I don’t understand.”
• There is an aorist negative (anlamam), but that often sounds like “I generally don’t understand” or even “I will not understand it.” So learners use anlamıyorum for “I don’t understand.”

Is the word order Bu cümleyi tam olarak anlamıyorum fixed, or can you move tam olarak around?

Turkish is fairly flexible with adverbs for emphasis. You can also say:

• Tam olarak bu cümleyi anlamıyorum (emphasizes exactly not understanding)
• Bu cümleyi tam anlamıyorum (more colloquial)
• Bu cümleyi tam olarak anlamıyorum (neutral)
  The core S-O-V order stays intact, but adverbs like tam olarak can precede or follow the object for nuance.