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Questions & Answers about Ben sana soru soracağım.
Why is ben included in the sentence? Can I drop it?
Turkish is a pro-drop language: the verb ending -acağım already tells you the subject is “I.” You can omit ben and simply say Sana soru soracağım. Including ben adds emphasis or contrast. Placing it at the end—Sana soru soracağım, ben—gives a slightly more emphatic or informal tone.
What does sana mean, and why isn’t it seni?
sana is the dative form of sen (“you”), meaning “to you.” In Turkish, the person you’re asking something to is marked by the dative case. seni would be the accusative (“you” as a direct object), but here “you” is an indirect object of “ask,” so you need sana.
Why are both soru and sor- present? Isn’t that redundant?
soru is the noun “question,” and sor- is the verb root “to ask” (from the verb sormak). Turkish has many denominal verbs—verbs formed from nouns—so soru sor- literally means “to question.” Both parts are necessary.
What does the ending -acağım on soracağım mean?
The suffix -acak marks the future tense (“will ask”). Because the stem vowel o is a back vowel, it triggers the back-vowel version -acak (vowel harmony). The following -ım (voicing-adjusted to -ığım) marks first person singular. Together, soracağım = “I will ask.”
What is the normal word order in Turkish?
Turkish typically follows Subject–Object–Verb (SOV). In Ben sana soru soracağım:
• Ben (subject)
• sana (indirect object)
• soru (direct object)
• soracağım (verb)
You can shift elements for emphasis, but the verb almost always comes last.
Is it okay to add bir before soru?
Yes. bir means “a” or “one” and marks indefiniteness. Ben sana bir soru soracağım is perfectly natural and literally “I will ask you a question.”
How do I address more than one person or use polite “you”?
Use size (dative plural/polite) instead of sana. For example: Ben size soru soracağım = “I will ask you (all/you formal) a question.”
Why isn’t there an equivalent of English “will” in Turkish?
Turkish attaches tense and person directly onto the verb with suffixes. The future tense plus person (-acak + -ım) replaces the separate auxiliary “will.” So soracağım alone conveys “I will ask.”