Seçim yaklaşıyor; oy kullanmayı sakın unutma.

to approach

Breakdown of Seçim yaklaşıyor; oy kullanmayı sakın unutma.

• unutmak: to forget
• seçim: the election
• oy kullanmak: to vote

Questions & Answers about Seçim yaklaşıyor; oy kullanmayı sakın unutma.

Why is there a semicolon in the sentence?

Turkish uses the semicolon much like English: to join two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction. Here, Seçim yaklaşıyor and oy kullanmayı sakın unutma are complete clauses, and the semicolon ties the “situation” to the “advice.” A period would also be fine and slightly more detached: Seçim yaklaşıyor. Oy kullanmayı sakın unutma. A comma is not ideal in formal writing because it would splice two independent clauses.

What tense/aspect is yaklaşıyor, and what does it imply?

It’s present continuous (-iyor), from yaklaş- “to approach,” so yaklaşıyor means “is approaching.” In Turkish, the present continuous is also used for ongoing processes and near-future developments, so it naturally expresses that the election is drawing near. Morphology: yaklaş- (stem) + -ıyor (present continuous) → yaklaş-ıyor → yaklaşıyor (with vowel harmony).

Could we say Seçimler yaklaşıyor instead of Seçim yaklaşıyor?

Yes. Both are common. Singular seçim can refer to “the election” as an event in general. Plural seçimler mirrors English “elections” and is very common in public discourse. Neither is wrong; it’s a stylistic choice.

What about Seçim geliyor? Is that acceptable?

Yes. Geliyor (“is coming”) is a bit more colloquial and vivid; yaklaşıyor (“is approaching”) sounds slightly more neutral/formal. Both are idiomatic for an event that is getting close.