Word
Ofiste kahve makinesi çalışmıyor.
Meaning
The coffee machine at the office is not working.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Ofiste kahve makinesi çalışmıyor.
çalışmak
to work
ofis
the office
-te
in
kahve makinesi
the coffee machine
Questions & Answers about Ofiste kahve makinesi çalışmıyor.
What does the ending in Ofiste mean, and why is it -te not -de?
- -de/-da is the locative suffix “in/at/on.”
- Turkish also uses consonant harmony: after a voiceless consonant (like s), d becomes t, so you get -te/-ta.
- Since ofis ends in voiceless s and has a front vowel, it becomes ofis + te → Ofiste = “in/at the office.”
Why is there no separate word for “is” here?
Turkish doesn’t use a standalone “to be” with verb sentences. The verb form itself carries “is/are.” Çalışmıyor already means “is not working.”
How is çalışmıyor formed?
- Root: çalış- (to work)
- Negation: -mA → çalışma-
- Present continuous: -(I)yor
- When -mA meets -(I)yor, the A assimilates to the -(I) vowel: ma + ıyor → mıyor
- Result: çalış-mıyor = “is not working” (3rd person singular is unmarked)
Why is it kahve makinesi and not kahve makine?
It’s an indefinite noun compound (N1 + N2-(s)I) meaning “coffee machine.” In Turkish, the head noun takes a 3rd-person possessive: kahve makine-si. Other examples: su bardağı (water glass), bilgisayar ekranı (computer screen).