Cihazın garantisi iki yıl sürüyor.

The device’s warranty lasts two years.

Breakdown of Cihazın garantisi iki yıl sürüyor.

• yıl: the year
• cihaz: the device
• iki: two
• -ın: of
• sürmek: to last
• garanti: the warranty

Questions & Answers about Cihazın garantisi iki yıl sürüyor.

What does the suffix -ın in Cihazın indicate?

It’s the genitive (possessive) case marker for 3rd person singular. Cihazın means “of the device” or “the device’s.”

Why does garanti take the suffix -si in garantisi?

In Turkish, when you have a possessor-noun construction, the possessed noun must also carry a possessive suffix. Since the possessor (cihaz) is 3rd person singular, garanti takes the 3rd person singular possessive -si, making garantisi: “its warranty.”

How do I choose the correct vowel for the possessive suffix (–ın, –in, –un, –ün, –si, –su, etc.)?

You follow Turkish vowel harmony in two steps:
1) Two-way harmony (front vs. back):
 – a, ı, o, u → use back-vowel suffix (–ı/–u)
 – e, i, ö, ü → use front-vowel suffix (–i/–ü)
2) Four-way (rounded vs. unrounded):
 – If the noun’s last vowel is rounded (o, u, ö, ü), the suffix vowel rounds too; if unrounded (a, ı, e, i), the suffix vowel remains unrounded.
Examples:
 • cihaz (last vowel a: back & unrounded) → cihazın
 • garanti (last vowel i: front & unrounded) → garantisi

What does the verb sürmek mean in this sentence?

Here sürmek means “to last” or “to continue for a certain period.” So iki yıl sürüyor = “it lasts for two years.”

Why is iki yıl not marked with any case ending (e.g. accusative)?

Duration expressions used adverbially (like “for two years”) typically appear in the bare (nominative) form in Turkish. No additional suffix is required for iki yıl here.

Why is the verb sürmek in the –yor form (sürüyor) instead of the aorist (sürer) or past (sürdü)?

• sürüyor (present continuous) stresses that the warranty period is currently ongoing.
• sürer (aorist) would express a general rule (Cihazın garantisi iki yıl sürer = “A device’s warranty lasts two years” as a general fact).
• sürdü (past) would mean it lasted two years in the past.

What is the subject of Cihazın garantisi iki yıl sürüyor?

The full noun phrase Cihazın garantisi (“the device’s warranty”) is the subject. The verb sürüyor (“is lasting”) applies to that NP.

How else could I express “the device has a two-year warranty” in Turkish?

A common alternative is:
Cihazın iki yıllık garantisi var.
• iki yıllık = “two-year” (adjectival)
• garantisi = “its warranty”
• var = “there is” / “it has”