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Questions & Answers about Resim duvara asıldı.
Why is it duvara and not duvarda?
Turkish distinguishes target/motion vs location:
- -A (dative) marks direction/goal: duvar-a = onto the wall. With placement/attachment verbs you use dative. Hence: Resim duvara asıldı = The picture was hung (onto) the wall.
- -DA (locative) marks static location: duvar-da = on the wall. For a state: Resim duvarda asılı = The picture is hanging on the wall.
Other examples:
- Kitap masaya kondu (The book was put onto the table) vs Kitap masada (The book is on the table).
- Afiş duvara yapıştırıldı (The poster was stuck onto the wall) vs Afiş duvarda (The poster is on the wall).
What exactly is asıldı? Is this passive?
Yes. Morphology:
- Verb: asmak = to hang (something)
- Passive suffix: -(I)l → asıl- = to be hung
- Past tense: -dı → asıldı = was hung (3rd singular)
So Resim duvara asıldı literally means “The picture was hung (onto) the wall.”
How would I say it in the active voice (who did it)?
Use the active verb asmak with an object:
- Ali resmi duvara astı. (Ali hung the picture on the wall.)
If you still want passive but mention the agent:
- Resim duvara Ali tarafından asıldı. (The picture was hung on the wall by Ali.) Note: -tarafından is correct but can sound formal; everyday Turkish often switches to the active.
Why isn’t it resmi here?
In the passive, the patient becomes the subject, so it appears in the nominative (bare form): resim. The accusative resmi would be used if the picture were a direct object in an active sentence:
- Passive: Resim duvara asıldı.
- Active: Ali resmi duvara astı.
How do I say “The picture is hanging on the wall,” not “was hung”?
Use a stative expression:
- Resim duvarda asılı. (The picture is hanging on the wall.) You can also add a verb of state:
- Resim duvarda asılı duruyor. (The picture is hanging/staying on the wall.) Past state: Resim duvarda asılıydı. (It was hanging on the wall.)
How do I ask or negate this sentence?
- Yes/no question: Resim duvara asıldı mı? (Was the picture hung on the wall?)
- Negation: Resim duvara asılmadı. (The picture was not hung on the wall.)
- Negative question: Resim duvara asılmadı mı? (Wasn’t the picture hung on the wall?)
What’s the difference between asıldı and asılmış?
- asıldı (past direct): speaker presents it as a known/observed fact.
- asılmış (evidential/inferential): speaker learned it indirectly or is inferring it.
Examples: - Resim duvara asıldı. (It was hung — I know/was there.)
- Resim duvara asılmış. (It seems/they say it was hung.)
Why does the dative end with -a here, not -e? And why sometimes -ya/-ye?
Vowel harmony:
- After back vowels (a, ı, o, u) → -a: duvar → duvar-a
- After front vowels (e, i, ö, ü) → -e: şehir → şehr-e Buffer y appears when the noun ends in a vowel: kapı → kapı-ya, oda → oda-ya.
Can I say it with “onto” explicitly, like “onto the wall”?
Yes, you can use -ın üstüne for emphasis on “onto (the surface of)”:
- Resim duvarın üstüne asıldı. But the plain dative (duvara) already conveys “onto,” and is the most natural with asmak.
Is there any ambiguity with “to hang (execute)”?
The verb asmak also means “to hang (execute).” Context disambiguates:
- Adam asıldı. (The man was hanged.)
- With inanimate objects like resim, it’s understood as “was hung (up).”
What about word order? Could I say Duvara resim asıldı?
Turkish word order is flexible, and elements before the verb are used for topic/focus. All of these are grammatical:
- Resim duvara asıldı. (neutral/default)
- Duvara resim asıldı. (focus on “onto the wall,” often reads as “A picture got hung on the wall.”)
- Duvara asıldı resim. (marked, end-focus on “resim.”) Verb-final is standard; moving parts changes emphasis rather than core meaning.
How do I mark “a picture” vs “the picture”?
Turkish has no articles like “a/the.” Context decides. You can add:
- bir resim = a picture: Bir resim duvara asıldı.
- o resim = that/the picture (specific): O resim duvara asıldı. Bare resim can be understood as “the picture” if already known in context.
What if the subject is plural?
You can optionally mark plural on the verb; with non-human subjects it’s often omitted:
- Resimler duvara asıldı. (most natural)
- Resimler duvara asıldılar. (also correct; more common with human subjects)
Is asılmak only passive “to be hung,” or does it have other meanings?
Besides “to be hung,” asılmak has colloquial meanings:
- to pull/lean hard on something: Kapıya asılma! (Don’t yank the door!)
- to hit on someone / make advances: Kıza asıldı. Context determines which meaning is intended.
Should I use resim or tablo here?
- resim = picture/image/drawing in general (can include photos)
- tablo = painting (on canvas), “table/board” in other contexts For a framed painting, tablo is more specific: Tablo duvara asıldı. For a photo or any generic picture, resim works.