O, beni tanımıyormuş gibi davrandı.

She acted as if she didn’t know me.

Breakdown of O, beni tanımıyormuş gibi davrandı.

• o: she
• beni: me
• davranmak: to act
• gibi: as if
• tanımak: to know

Questions & Answers about O, beni tanımıyormuş gibi davrandı.

What does the suffix in tanımıyormuş do here? Is it the “reported past” (-miş) tense?

In this pattern, -miş in V-(y)ormuş gibi helps build an “as if” clause and marks the situation as hypothetical/appearance, not as a witnessed fact. So beni tanımıyormuş gibi = “as if s/he didn’t know me.” Without gibi, tanımıyormuş would normally be evidential (“apparently he doesn’t know me”), but with gibi it’s about seeming/pretending.

Why is the progressive -yor used with tanımak? We don’t say “was not knowing me” in English.

Turkish often uses -yor with stative verbs to express a present state. Beni tanımıyor simply means “s/he doesn’t know/recognize me.” In the sentence, tanımıyormuş gibi means “as if s/he didn’t know me (at that time).”

Could I say O, beni tanımıyor gibi davrandı instead?

Yes. Both tanımıyor gibi and tanımıyormuş gibi are used. Many speakers feel -mış gibi more clearly signals a pretense/irrealis flavor, while plain -yor gibi can lean slightly toward “it looked like…” Depending on context, both mean “acted as if he didn’t know me.”

What’s the difference between tanımıyormuş gibi and tanımamış gibi?

• Beni tanımıyormuş gibi davrandı: “He behaved as if he didn’t know me” (ongoing state at that moment).
• Beni tanımamış gibi davrandı: “He behaved as if he hadn’t recognized me” (a completed non-recognition at/just before that encounter).
  Both are natural; choose based on whether you imagine an ongoing state or a specific recognition moment.

Why is it beni (accusative) and not bana (dative)?

Because tanımak (“to know/recognize [a person]”) takes a direct object. So it’s beni tanımak (“to know me”). Bana would be used with verbs that require the dative (e.g., “to say to me” = bana söylemek).

Is the subject pronoun O necessary? Does it show gender?

No, it’s optional. Beni tanımıyormuş gibi davrandı is complete and natural. O does not show gender; it can mean “he,” “she,” or “it,” depending on context.

What’s the role of gibi here?

Gibi means “like/as if.” With verbs it forms “as if” clauses: V-(y)ormuş gibi, V-miş gibi, etc. With nouns/adjectives it’s simple comparison: Çocuk gibi (“like a child”).

Why use davrandı? Could I say … gibi yaptı?

Both are used:

• … gibi davrandı = “acted/behaved as if …” (neutral, slightly more formal).
• … gibi yaptı = “pretended to …” (very common in speech, a bit more colloquial).
  Meaning overlap is huge; style choice.

What if I want to say he really didn’t recognize me (not pretending)?

Use a plain past: Beni tanımadı (“He didn’t recognize me”). The original sentence with … gibi davrandı implies pretense or at least deliberate behavior.

Can I add sanki?

Yes:

• Sanki beni tanımıyormuş gibi davrandı (strong emphasis: “as if …”).
  You can also use sanki without gibi: Sanki beni tanımıyordu = “It was as if he didn’t know me.”

How would I say “He acted as if he knew me”?

Make it positive: Beni tanıyormuş gibi davrandı.

How do I change the tense of the main verb?

• Past continuous: Beni tanımıyormuş gibi davranıyordu (“He was behaving as if he didn’t know me”).
• Present: Beni tanımıyormuş gibi davranıyor (“He acts/behaves as if he doesn’t know me”).
• Reported past: … davrandı vs … davranmış (the latter is hearsay: “apparently he acted …”).

Is the comma after O required? Can I change word order?

The comma is optional and just sets off the topic. Word order is flexible:

• O, beni tanımıyormuş gibi davrandı.
• Beni tanımıyormuş gibi davrandı. (most common)
• Beni tanımıyormuş gibi o davrandı. (emphatic/focus on “o”)

How would I make it plural?

Onlar beni tanımıyormuş gibi davrandılar.
Only the verb shows plural with -lar/-ler; onlar is optional.

Any idiomatic alternatives for “pretended not to know me”?

• Beni tanımazlıktan geldi. (very idiomatic: “he acted as if he didn’t know me”)
• Related but different: Beni görmezden geldi (“he ignored me”).

Can you parse the morphology?

• O = he/she/it
• beni = “me” (accusative of ben)
• tanımıyormuş = tanı- (know/recognize) + -ma- (negation) + -yor- (progressive) + -muş (irrealis/evidential here used with gibi)
• gibi = like/as if
• davran-dı = behave + simple past 3sg (“acted/behaved”)