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Questions & Answers about Sınav yarına ertelendi.
Why is it ertelendi and not erteledi?
Because the sentence is in the passive voice: ertelendi means was postponed. The subject (sınav, the exam) receives the action.
- Active: Okul yönetimi sınavı yarına erteledi. (The administration postponed the exam to tomorrow.)
- Passive: Sınav yarına ertelendi. (The exam was postponed to tomorrow.)
How is ertelendi formed morphologically?
- ertele- (verb stem: to postpone)
- -n- (passive marker) → ertelen-
- -di (simple past tense)
No personal ending is needed for 3rd person singular, so you get ertelendi.
What does the -a in yarına do?
It’s the dative case, meaning to.
- yarın = tomorrow
- yarına = to tomorrow (i.e., postponed to the time called tomorrow)
When do I use yarın vs yarına?
- Use yarın as a time adverb to state when something is: Sınav yarın. (The exam is tomorrow.)
- Use yarına with verbs of movement/change like ertelemek to show the new target time: Sınav yarına ertelendi.
Can I say yarın için ertelendi instead of yarına ertelendi?
Yes: Sınav yarın için ertelendi is fine and common.
- yarına (dative) is slightly more compact/idiomatic after verbs like ertelemek.
- yarın için emphasizes “for tomorrow” a bit more explicitly. Meaning is the same here.
Is the word order fixed? Could I say Yarına sınav ertelendi or Sınav ertelendi yarına?
Turkish word order is flexible. The default is to keep the finite verb last: Sınav yarına ertelendi.
- Yarına sınav ertelendi puts focus on “to tomorrow.”
- Sınav ertelendi yarına is possible in speech for afterthought emphasis, but less neutral. The given order is the most natural.
How do I include who postponed it?
- Active voice: Okul yönetimi sınavı yarına erteledi.
- Passive with agent: Sınav okul yönetimi tarafından yarına ertelendi. (or the shorter literary agentive) Sınav okul yönetimince yarına ertelendi.
What’s the nuance difference between ertelendi, ertelenmiş, and erteleniyor?
- ertelendi: simple past passive (it was postponed – speaker presents it as a known/completed fact).
- ertelenmiş: reported/inferential past (apparently/it seems it was postponed; the speaker didn’t witness it directly).
- erteleniyor: present progressive passive (it is being postponed / is in the process of being postponed).
How do I ask “Was the exam postponed to tomorrow?” using this structure?
Sınav yarına ertelendi mi?
The question particle mi follows the predicate (here, the verb), and gets vowel harmony and buffers as needed.
How do I say “The exams were postponed to tomorrow” (plural)?
Sınavlar yarına ertelendi.
With inanimate plural subjects, Turkish usually keeps the verb in 3rd person singular. Sınavlar yarına ertelendiler is generally avoided.
How do I negate it: “The exam wasn’t postponed to tomorrow”?
Sınav yarına ertelenmedi.
Negation is -me/-ma before the past -di: ertelen- + me + di → ertelenmedi.
Is there any article like “the” in Sınav?
Turkish has no articles. Sınav can mean “the exam” or “an exam” depending on context. As the subject, it appears in bare (nominative) form.
Can I just say Ertelendi if context is clear?
Yes. If everyone knows what you’re talking about, Ertelendi (“It was postponed”) is natural. You can also say Yarına ertelendi if the subject is understood.
What are some natural alternatives to yarına ertelendi?
- Sınav yarına kaldı. (colloquial: “got pushed to tomorrow.”)
- Sınav yarına alındı. (was moved to tomorrow; direction-neutral)
- If it was moved earlier: Sınav yarına öne alındı.
Is there a difference between yarına and yarına kadar here?
- yarına: postponed to tomorrow (the event will happen tomorrow).
- yarına kadar: emphasizes “until tomorrow.” With ertelendi, it still means it won’t happen before tomorrow; it happens tomorrow.
How do I include a specific time or day?
Use the dative on the time/day:
- Sınav yarına saat 10’a ertelendi.
- Sınav pazartesiye ertelendi.
Note the buffer -y- when the word ends in a vowel: hafta → haftaya.
Why is it -a in yarına, not -e?
Vowel harmony: the dative is -a/-e. The last vowel of yarın is back (ı), so choose back -a → yarına.
Why is the past ending -di (not -dı/-du/-dü) in ertelendi?
Past -DI also follows vowel harmony with the last vowel of the stem it attaches to. In ertelen-, the last vowel is front (e), so it takes the front variant -di → ertelendi. Also, the consonant is d (not t) because it follows a voiced sound.
How would I say “The exam will be postponed to tomorrow”?
Sınav yarına ertelenecek.
That’s future passive: ertelen- + ecek.
How do I pronounce the tricky letters here?
- ı (as in sınav, yarına) is a close, unrounded vowel; think a relaxed “uh” made high in the mouth.
- A rough guide: sınav ≈ suh-NAHV, yarına ≈ yah-ruh-NAH, ertelendi ≈ ehr-teh-LEN-dee.