Breakdown of Portre ve peyzaj tablolarının kombinasyonu sergide dikkat çekiyordu.
ve
and
-ın
of
-lar
plural
portre
portrait
peyzaj
landscape
tablo
painting
kombinasyon
combination
sergide
at the exhibit
dikkat çekmek
to draw attention
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Questions & Answers about Portre ve peyzaj tablolarının kombinasyonu sergide dikkat çekiyordu.
In portre ve peyzaj tablolarının kombinasyonu, why does tabloları have both -lar and -ın?
Turkish shows possession by combining a genitive suffix on the possessor with a possessive suffix on the possessed noun. Here tablo (“painting”) takes the plural -lar → tablolar, then the genitive -ın → tabloların (“of the paintings”). The word kombinasyon (“combination”) then takes the 3rd person singular possessive -u → kombinasyonu (“its combination”). So together it literally means “the paintings’ combination.”
Why is kombinasyonu singular when it refers to many paintings?
Although the paintings are plural (they’re the items being combined), the word kombinasyon refers to one single result or arrangement. You have multiple paintings, but one combination of them. Hence kombinasyonu is in the singular.
What does the suffix -de in sergide indicate?
-de is the locative case suffix in Turkish, meaning “in,” “on,” or “at.” By vowel harmony, sergi (“exhibition”) + -de = sergide, meaning “at the exhibition.”
Why aren’t there English-style articles like “the” or “a” in this sentence?
Turkish does not use separate words for definite or indefinite articles. Context and case endings convey definiteness. For example, sergide can mean “at an exhibition” or “at the exhibition” depending on what you’ve already discussed.
What is the structure and meaning of dikkat çekiyordu?
The verb dikkat çekmek literally means “to pull attention,” i.e. “to attract attention.” The form çekiyordu is past continuous: present-continuous marker -iyor + past marker -du → çekiyordu (“was attracting”). Together dikkat çekiyordu means “was attracting attention.”
How does dikkat çekiyordu differ from dikkat çekti?
Dikkat çekti is simple past (“it attracted attention” – a completed event). Dikkat çekiyordu is past continuous (“it was attracting attention”), suggesting an ongoing or repeated action during the exhibition.
Are portre and peyzaj native Turkish words?
They’re borrowed from French (portrait, paysage). Turkish adapts them as portre (“portrait”) and peyzaj (“landscape”), preserving much of the original pronunciation.