Maden tünellerinin karanlık derinliklerinde dolaşmak cesaret ister.

Exploring the dark depths of mine tunnels requires courage.

Breakdown of Maden tünellerinin karanlık derinliklerinde dolaşmak cesaret ister.

• istemek: to require
• derinlik: the depth
• maden: the mine
• tünel: the tunnel
• karanlık: dark
• dolaşmak: to wander
• cesaret: courage

Questions & Answers about Maden tünellerinin karanlık derinliklerinde dolaşmak cesaret ister.

How is the Turkish infinitive formed in dolaşmak, and how does it function in this sentence?

The infinitive is formed by adding -mak or -mek to the verb stem—in this case dolaş + -mak = dolaşmak (“to wander”). In the sentence, dolaşmak acts like a noun (a verbal noun) and serves as the subject of ister (“requires”). English uses “to wander” as the subject, whereas Turkish simply puts the infinitive (verbal noun) in subject position.

Why is there no article like “the” or “a” before maden tünelleri?

Turkish has no articles. Definiteness or indefiniteness is shown through context and suffixes (like genitive). maden tünelleri can mean “mine tunnels” or “the mine tunnels” depending on what’s already known to the listener.

What does tünellerinin mean, and how is it broken down morphologically?

tünellerinin =
• tünel (tunnel)
• -ler (plural)
• -i (3rd-person possessive)
• -nin (genitive case marker)
Altogether it means “of (the) tunnels” or “the tunnels’ ”.

Why is it maden tünellerinin instead of madenin tünelleri, which also seems to mean “the tunnels of the mine”?

maden tünelleri uses maden as an attributive noun (like an adjective)—“mine tunnels.” No genitive is needed for a descriptive compound.
madenin tünelleri literally means “the tunnels belonging to the mine,” stressing possession. Turkish generally prefers the adjective-noun order without a genitive for set phrases like “mine tunnels.”

How do I parse karanlık derinliklerinde, and why are there two suffixes -leri and -nde?

Breakdown:
• karanlık = “dark” (adjective)
• derinlik = “depth” (noun)
• -leri = 3rd-person plural possessive (“their”)
• -nde = locative case (“in/at”)
Put together, karanlık derinliklerinde = “in their dark depths,” where “their” refers back to the tunnels.

Why is cesaret not marked with the accusative -i, even though it looks like the object of ister (“requires”)?

Verbs expressing “need” or “require”—such as zaman ister, para ister, cesaret ister—typically take a bare noun as object (no accusative suffix). This is an idiomatic pattern, so you don’t add -i to cesaret here.

What is the word order in “Maden tünellerinin karanlık derinliklerinde dolaşmak cesaret ister”?

Turkish prefers Subject-Object-Verb. Here:
• Subject: dolaşmak (“to wander”)
• Object: cesaret (“courage”)
• Verb: ister (“requires”)
The locative/adverbial phrase (Maden tünellerinin karanlık derinliklerinde) is fronted for context, but you could also place it elsewhere before the verb.

How does Turkish express “To wander … requires courage” without a separate word for “to” or “-ing”?

Turkish uses the infinitive ending (-mak/-mek) directly on the verb stem to create a noun. That verbal noun acts as subject or object just like any other noun. So “wandering” is simply dolaşmak, and it slots in as the subject.

Can I use gerektirmek (“to require”) instead of ister, and if so, what changes?

Yes. gerektirmek is more formal. You’d say:
“Maden tünellerinin karanlık derinliklerinde dolaşmak cesaret gerektirir.”
The structure stays the same (infinitive + noun + verb), but gerektirir carries a slightly more formal/technical tone than ister.