Questions & Answers about Arkadaşım tutumlu.
Why is there no word for "is" in Arkadaşım tutumlu?
Turkish uses nominal sentences without a verb for third person in the simple present. The predicate comes last: Arkadaşım tutumlu literally “My friend thrifty.” You can add the formal/assertive copular suffix -dır/dir/dur/dür to the predicate if you want: Arkadaşım tutumludur.
What does the suffix -ım in arkadaşım mean?
It’s the 1st‑person singular possessive suffix, so arkadaşım = arkadaş (friend) + -ım (my) → “my friend.” It follows vowel harmony: -ım/-im/-um/-üm. In this sentence it’s possessive, not a “to be” ending. To say “I am your friend,” you’d say: Ben senin arkadaşınım.
Does arkadaşım mean “my friend” or “a friend of mine”?
Without bir, it means a specific “my friend.” With bir, it means “one of my friends”: Bir arkadaşım tutumlu = “One of my friends is thrifty.”
Can I say Tutumlu arkadaşım instead? Does it mean the same thing?
No. Tutumlu arkadaşım is a noun phrase (“my thrifty friend”), not a sentence. Arkadaşım tutumlu is a full sentence (“My friend is thrifty”).
How do I negate it?