Geçen hafta telefonumu tamir yaptırdım.

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Breakdown of Geçen hafta telefonumu tamir yaptırdım.

• telefon: the phone
• tamir yaptırmak: to have something repaired
• geçen hafta: last week

Questions & Answers about Geçen hafta telefonumu tamir yaptırdım.

Why is the verb tamir yaptırdım used here instead of simply tamir ettim?

tamir ettim means “I repaired (it) myself.” By using the causative construction tamir yaptırdım, you’re saying “I had someone else repair my phone,” i.e. you sent it out for repair.

Can you break down tamir yaptırdım into its parts?

Sure. It’s built as follows:

• tamir (repair – noun)
• yap (do/make)
• -tır (causative suffix, “have/make someone do”) → yaptır
• -dı (simple past tense)
• -m (1st person singular)
  Altogether tamir-yap-tır-dı-m = “I had (it) repaired.”

Why is the word telefonumu in the accusative case (with -u)?

In Turkish, definite direct objects take the accusative suffix. Since telefonum (“my phone”) is specific, you add -u, making telefonumu = “my phone” (object).

Why don’t we see the pronoun ben (“I”) in the sentence?

Turkish verbs carry person information in their endings. The suffix -dım in yaptırdım already tells you it’s 1st person singular (“I … did”). So the pronoun ben is usually dropped.