Word
Fren çalışmıyor.
Meaning
The brake is not working.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
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Questions & Answers about Fren çalışmıyor.
What does fren mean, and why isn’t there an article like “the” or “a” in front of it?
Fren means brake. Turkish does not have articles (no equivalent of “the” or “a”). A bare noun can mean either “a X” or “the X,” depending on context. Here, we understand fren as “the brake.”
How do you form the negative in çalışmıyor?
Negative in Turkish verbs is built by inserting -ma/-me after the verb root, before any tense/aspect endings. For çalış- (“to work”):
1) Root: çalış-
2) Negation: çalış-ma-
3) Progressive present: -yor (with vowel harmony → -ıyor)
4) Person (3rd singular is unmarked)
→ çalışmıyor = “is not working.”
Why is çalışmıyor the progressive tense rather than the simple present?
Turkish often uses the progressive (-yor) to express ongoing states or general ongoing facts, especially for machines or functions. While çalışmaz (“it doesn’t work” as a rule) is possible, çalışmıyor emphasizes “right now it’s not working.”
Where is the subject “it” in Fren çalışmıyor?
Turkish drops personal pronouns when the verb ending already shows the person. Here, the 3rd person singular on çalışmıyor implies “it.” So you don’t say o fren çalışmıyor unless you want to emphasize “that brake.”
Why doesn’t fren have a case ending (like an accusative)?
Because fren is the subject of the verb, not the object. Subjects in Turkish take the nominative case, which is unmarked for 3rd person. Only definite objects get the -ı/-i/-u/-ü accusative ending.
Could I say fren bozuk or fren bozulmuş instead? What’s the difference?
- fren bozuk literally “brake broken/defective” (bozuk is an adjective).
- fren bozulmuş “the brake has broken” (bozulmak = “to break down,” past result).
- fren çalışmıyor focuses on “the brake is not functioning” right now. All are correct, but çalışmıyor is most natural when you mean “it isn’t working.”
How would I say “My brake isn’t working”?
Add the 1st person possessive on fren: frenim çalışmıyor. (“My brake is not working.”) You could also specify “my car’s brake”: Arabamın freni çalışmıyor.
How do I turn Fren çalışmıyor into a question?
Add the question particle mu (with vowel harmony → mü/ mı/ mu/ mı). After çalışmıyor it becomes:
Fren çalışmıyor mu?
= “Is the brake not working?”
What if I want “The brakes aren’t working” (plural)?
Pluralize fren → frenler, then keep the verb the same:
Frenler çalışmıyor.
= “The brakes aren’t working.”