Makas masada duruyor.

the table

Breakdown of Makas masada duruyor.

• -da: on
• durmak: to stand
• makas: the scissors

Questions & Answers about Makas masada duruyor.

Why are there no articles like the or a in this sentence?

Turkish does not use separate words for “the” or “a.” Nouns appear without articles, and definiteness or indefiniteness is inferred from context. In “Makas masada duruyor,” you simply get “Scissors on-the-table are-standing,” which in English translates as “The scissors are on the table.”

What is the -da in masada, and what does it indicate?

The -da is the locative case suffix, meaning “at,” “on,” or “in.” Attaching -da to masa (“table”) gives masada, i.e. “on the table” or “at the table.”

Why is the suffix -da and not -de or -ta?

Vowel and consonant harmony govern case endings in Turkish:

1. Vowel harmony: masa ends in a (a back vowel), so the locative vowel is a, giving -da rather than -de.
2. Consonant harmony: If a word ends in a voiceless consonant (e.g. kitap), -da becomes -ta, yielding kitapta (“in the book”).

Can you break down the verb duruyor for me?