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Questions & Answers about Yeşilay Meydanı’ndaki levhalar, ziyaretçileri tarihi yerleri keşfetmeye yönlendiriyor.
Why is there an apostrophe in Meydanı’ndaki?
In Turkish, when you attach a suffix to a proper noun, you separate it with an apostrophe. Yeşilay Meydanı is a place name, so adding -ndaki (a locative‐relative suffix) becomes Meydanı’ndaki, with an apostrophe before the suffix.
What does the suffix -ndaki do in Yeşilay Meydanı’ndaki?
-da/-de is the locative (“in/at”), and -ki turns it into “the one(s) at/in.” Since Meydanı ends in a vowel + possessive -ı, Turkish inserts a buffer -n-, so -da + -ki → -ndaki. Altogether, Yeşilay Meydanı’ndaki means “at (or in) Green Crescent Square.”
What does levhalar mean and how is it formed?
Levha means “sign” or “plaque.” To make it plural, you add -lar (following vowel harmony). So levhalar = “signs” or “signboards.”
Why is ziyaretçileri in the accusative case?
The verb yönlendirmek (“to direct/guide”) takes a definite direct object, which in Turkish gets the accusative suffix -ı/-i/-u/-ü.
• ziyaretçi = visitor
• + plural -ler → ziyaretçiler
• + accusative -i → ziyaretçileri
So ziyaretçileri = “the visitors” (as the thing being directed).
How does tarihi yerleri keşfetmeye express “to explore historical places”?
This is a purpose clause built with a verbal noun + dative:
- tarihî (historical) is an adjective.
- yer = place + plural -ler
- accusative -i → yerleri (“the places” as object inside the infinitive).
- keşfet (to discover) + noun‐forming -me → keşfetme (“discovering”).
- dative -ye (showing purpose “for/to…”) → keşfetmeye = “to explore.”
So tarihi yerleri keşfetmeye literally “for discovering the historical places,” i.e. “to explore historical places.”
- dative -ye (showing purpose “for/to…”) → keşfetmeye = “to explore.”
What is the verb yönlendiriyor, and how is it conjugated?
The infinitive is yönlendirmek (“to direct/guide”). Conjugation for third‐person singular present continuous:
• Drop -mek → stem yönlendir-
• Add -iyor (vowel‐harmonized present continuous)
• Third‐person singular adds no extra ending
Result: yönlendiriyor = “(it) is directing.”
Why is there a comma after levhalar?
Turkish sometimes uses a comma between a long subject phrase and the verb for readability or pause. It’s optional here, marking off Yeşilay Meydanı’ndaki levhalar as the subject before the predicate.