Metal kapı parkta paslanıyor.

The metal door is rusting in the park.

Breakdown of Metal kapı parkta paslanıyor.

• park: the park
• kapı: the door
• -ta: in
• metal: metal
• paslanmak: to rust

Questions & Answers about Metal kapı parkta paslanıyor.

Why isn’t there an article like “the” or “a” before metal kapı?

Turkish doesn’t have separate words for “a/an” or “the.” Nouns stand on their own, and definiteness is worked out by context or by case endings (for direct objects you’d add -ı/-i, etc.). So metal kapı can mean “a metal door” or “the metal door” depending on the situation.

What role does metal play in metal kapı? Why isn’t it inflected?

Here metal (a borrowed noun) functions like an adjective modifying kapı. In Turkish, when one noun describes another, the modifier stays in its bare (nominative, singular) form. You don’t add plural or case endings to metal because it’s not acting as a separate, inflected noun.

Why is it parkta and not parka or parkı?

parkta is the locative form, meaning “in/at/on the park.” You form the locative by adding -ta/-te (voiceless consonant) or -da/-de (voiced) according to consonant and vowel harmony. “Park” ends in a voiceless consonant and has a back vowel, so we use -ta.

Is kapı marked for case here? How do we know it’s the subject?

Yes—kapı is in the nominative case, which in Turkish has no visible ending. By default, the first noun in a simple sentence with a verb is the subject. If it were a definite direct object, it would take the accusative ending -ı/-i (e.g. metal kapıyı).

How is paslanıyor built up? What are its parts?

Break it down like this:

1. pas (rust) – root
2. -lan (inchoative suffix: “to become”) → paslan (to rust)
3. -ıyor (present continuous tense) → paslanıyor (“is rusting”)

What tense and person is paslanıyor?

It’s the present continuous (progressive) tense, describing an ongoing action: “is rusting.” In Turkish, third person singular doesn’t need a personal suffix, so paslanıyor alone means “it/he/she is rusting.”

How would you make this sentence negative or interrogative?

To negate the verb, insert -ma- before the tense ending:

• Metal kapı parkta paslanmıyor. (“The metal door is not rusting in the park.”)

To ask a yes/no question, just raise intonation or add mi after the verb (with vowel harmony and no buffer consonant here):

• Metal kapı parkta paslanıyor mu? (“Is the metal door rusting in the park?”)