Breakdown of Kaldırım taşları düzensiz olduğunda insanlar dikkatle adım atmalı.
olmak
to be
insan
the person
kaldırım
the sidewalk
-dığında
when
dikkatle
carefully
taş
the stone
düzensiz
uneven
adım atmak
to step
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Questions & Answers about Kaldırım taşları düzensiz olduğunda insanlar dikkatle adım atmalı.
What does the suffix -dığında in düzensiz olduğunda express, and why can’t we just say düzensiz?
The segment olduğunda comes from the verb olmak (“to be/become”) + the suffix -dığında, which creates a time clause meaning “when/whenever it is…”. Since düzensiz is an adjective (“uneven/irregular”), you need ol- to turn it into a verb form you can attach -dığında to. So düzensiz olduğunda literally means “when it is irregular”.
What’s the difference between düzensiz olduğunda and düzensiz olursa?
-dığında marks a temporal clause (“when/whenever”), whereas -se/-sa marks a conditional clause (“if”).
- düzensiz olduğunda = “whenever the stones are uneven”
- düzensiz olursa = “if the stones are uneven”
How is dikkatle formed, and what part of speech is it?
dikkatle is an adverb meaning “carefully.” You form it by taking the noun dikkat (“attention”) and adding the instrumental suffix -le (“with”), so literally “with attention.” Adverbs formed this way modify the verb that follows.
What does adım atmalı mean, and why is the suffix -malı used?
The verb phrase adım atmak means “to take a step” or simply “to step.” The suffix -malı/-meli expresses necessity or obligation (“must/should”). In the 3rd person singular it becomes atmalı, so adım atmalı means “(one/people) should step.”
Why is insanlar included, and can the sentence work without it?
insanlar (“people”) is the explicit subject here. Turkish often drops the subject if the verb ending already indicates it. Since -malı is 3rd person singular, you could omit insanlar and say:
“Kaldırım taşları düzensiz olduğunda dikkatle adım atmalı.”
It then reads like a general recommendation: “one should step carefully.”
Why is dikkatle placed before adım atmalı? Could we put it elsewhere?
In Turkish, adverbs (like dikkatle) typically precede the verb or verb phrase they modify. The neutral word order is: subject – adverb – verb. You could technically say insanlar adım atarken dikkatli olmalı, but if you stick with adım atmalı, the adverb goes right before it: dikkatle adım atmalı.
How is the phrase kaldırım taşları built grammatically?
It’s a noun–noun compound:
- kaldırım = “sidewalk/pavement”
- taş = “stone”
The second noun actually appears as taşları, which is taş- plural -lar
- 3rd-person singular possessive -ı. In compounds this possessive marks “stones of the pavement”, so kaldırım taşları means “pavement stones.”
- plural -lar