Breakdown of Kısa bir mola verelim mi, yoksa devam mı edelim?
bir
a
devam etmek
to continue
kısa
short
yoksa
or
Questions & Answers about Kısa bir mola verelim mi, yoksa devam mı edelim?
Why does it say mola verelim when English says “take a break”?
Turkish often uses light-verb expressions: mola vermek literally means “to give a break,” but idiomatically it’s “to take a break.” Another very common option is ara vermek (“to take a break”). You may hear mola almak, but mola/ara vermek is more idiomatic.
What is the ending -elim in verelim?
It’s the first-person plural optative, meaning “let’s …” or “shall we …” It’s used for polite suggestions. The suffix appears as -elim or -alım by vowel harmony. Since the verb stem is ver- (with e), you get ver- + -elim → verelim.
What does mi/mı/mu/mü do here, and how do I choose the right one?
It’s the yes–no question particle. It’s a separate (clitic) word that follows the word it questions and obeys vowel harmony:
- After a/e/ı/i/o/u/ö/ü, pick by the last vowel of the preceding word:
- a, ı → mı
- e, i → mi
- o, u → mu
- ö, ü → mü So: verelim mi (last vowel i → mi), devam mı (last vowel a → mı). It’s written separately but phonologically leans on the previous word.
Why is it verelim mi in the first half but devam mı edelim in the second?