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Questions & Answers about Hasarlı telefon çalışmıyor.
What does the suffix -lı in hasarlı indicate and how is this adjective formed?
The suffix -lı (with its vowel harmonized to -lı/-li/-lu/-lü) attaches to a noun to create an adjective meaning “with [noun]” or “having [noun].” Here, hasar (“damage”) + -lı → hasarlı, literally “having damage,” i.e. “damaged.”
Why is hasarlı placed before telefon in the sentence?
Turkish follows a modifier–head order: adjectives always precede the nouns they modify. Hence hasarlı telefon = “damaged phone.”
Why is there no article like “the” or “a” in front of telefon?
Turkish has no definite or indefinite articles. Context, word order, or quantifiers (e.g. bir “a/an,” o “that”) convey definiteness or indefiniteness instead.
Why is the verb çalışmıyor at the end of the sentence, and why isn’t there a subject pronoun?
- Turkish is an SOV (subject–object–verb) language, so verbs typically come last.
- Verbs carry person/number markers, making explicit subject pronouns optional. çalışmıyor alone already means “(it) is not working.”
How is the negative form çalışmıyor constructed?
- Start with the stem çalış- (“to work”).
- Add the negative suffix -mA (vowel-harmonized to -mı-) → çalışmı-.
- Add the present-continuous suffix -yor → çalışmıyor.
- The third-person singular ending is zero (unmarked).
What’s the difference between çalışmıyor and çalışmaz, both glossed “does not work”?
- çalışmıyor is present-continuous negative: “is not working (right now).”
- çalışmaz is aorist (general truth) negative: “it doesn’t work (as a rule/habitually).”
Can I use bozuk or arızalı instead of hasarlı? What’s the nuance?
- bozuk is the everyday adjective for “broken” or “not functioning.”
- arızalı stresses a technical or mechanical malfunction.
- hasarlı highlights physical damage (cracks, dents) and is common in formal/legal/insurance contexts.
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