Breakdown of Göçmen kuşlar gölde dinleniyor.
dinlenmek
to rest
kuş
the bird
-de
at
göl
the lake
göçmen
migratory
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Questions & Answers about Göçmen kuşlar gölde dinleniyor.
What does the suffix -lar in kuşlar indicate?
The suffix -lar is the plural marker. Turkish uses -lar or -ler (depending on vowel harmony) to show “more than one.” Since kuş (“bird”) has the back vowel u, it takes -lar, giving kuşlar = “birds.”
Why is gölde translated as “in the lake”? What does the suffix -de do?
The suffix -de is the locative case, meaning “in/at/on.” Because göl ends in the front rounded vowel ö, vowel harmony dictates the suffix form -de (not -da). So gölde = “at the lake” / “in the lake.”
What’s the difference between gölde and gölden?
• -de (locative) = “in/at/on” → gölde = “in the lake.”
• -den (ablative) = “from” → gölden = “from the lake.”
Why is there no buffer letter (like y) between göl and -de?
Buffer letters appear only when a suffix begins with a vowel and the stem ends in a vowel. Here, -de begins with a consonant d, so göl + -de simply becomes gölde with no extra letter.
What does the verb dinleniyor consist of?
Breakdown of dinleniyor:
- dinlen- (root meaning “to rest”)
- -iyor (present‐continuous suffix; vowel harmony chooses i over ı/ü/o)
Combined, dinleniyor = “is resting.”
Why isn’t it dinleniyorlar to match the plural subject kuşlar?
In Turkish, once the subject is explicit, you don’t have to mark number on the verb. The present‐continuous form dinleniyor already implies third person, singular or plural. Adding -lar (i.e. dinleniyorlar) is grammatically possible but often redundant.
Why don’t we see an explicit pronoun like onlar (“they”)?
Turkish is pro‐drop: when the subject is clear—here kuşlar—you omit the pronoun. You could say Göçmen kuşlar onlar gölde dinleniyor, but it sounds redundant.
Why is göçmen not pluralized as göçmenler when it modifies kuşlar?
When a noun acts as an adjective (attributive position), it stays singular. The head noun (kuşlar) carries the plural suffix. So göçmen kuşlar = “migratory birds.”
Why does dinleniyor come at the end of the sentence?
Turkish follows Subject–Object–Verb (SOV) order. Adverbials (time, place) appear before the verb, and the verb typically comes last. Hence: Göçmen kuşlar (subject) gölde (place) dinleniyor (verb).
Can we change the word order for emphasis?
Yes. For example:
- Gölde göçmen kuşlar dinleniyor. (emphasizes location)
- Dinleniyor göçmen kuşlar gölde. (poetic or marked for strong emphasis)
Every variant is understandable, but the unmarked SOV order is most common in everyday speech.