Learn Hardcore Turkish: Dikkat ederek yaz; küçük hatalar kalmasın. - Write carefully; let no small mistakes remain.

The suffix -erek/-arak makes a converb (zarf-fiil), meaning “by doing, while doing, in the manner of doing.” It links two actions with the same subject and expresses manner or simultaneity. Here, dikkat ederek = “by paying attention / carefully,” modifying yaz (“write”).

Example: Koşarak geldi. “He came running.”

Why is it dikkat ederek and not just dikkatli yaz?

Both are fine, with small nuance differences:

Dikkat ederek yaz: process-focused; “write, doing it with attention.”
Dikkatli yaz or dikkatle yaz: shorter and very common; “write carefully/with care.”
Dikkatlice yaz: also “write carefully.” Some find -ce adverbs a bit bookish in some cases, but it’s perfectly acceptable.
A slightly different word: Özenle yaz = “write meticulously, with care.”

All convey “carefully”; choose based on style and flow.

How is ederek formed from dikkat etmek?

Turkish often uses a light-verb construction: a noun + etmek. The converb suffix attaches to the verb root et-:

dikkat etmek → “to pay attention”
et- + -erek → ederek
Preceded by the noun: dikkat ederek = “by paying attention.”

What’s the difference between -erek, -ip, and -ken here?

-erek/-arak: manner/simultaneity; “by doing, while doing” (often implies how you do the main action). → Dikkat ederek yaz (“Write by paying attention.”)
-ip: looser link, often sequential or additive. → Dikkat edip yaz (“Pay attention and write,” sequence or light coordination).
-ken: strictly temporal “while.” → Dikkat ederken yaz sounds odd because “pay attention” is the manner rather than a separate time frame; you’d more naturally say Yazarken dikkat et (“Pay attention while writing.”)

Why does yaz have no ending?

Bare stem = 2nd person singular imperative in Turkish. Yaz! = “(You) write!” No personal ending is needed.

Polite/plural imperative: Yazın!
Very formal/instructional (signage): Yazınız!

Can I include the pronoun: Sen dikkat ederek yaz?

You can, but it’s usually unnecessary and sounds emphatic or corrective. Turkish drops subject pronouns unless there’s contrast or emphasis. Dikkat ederek yaz is the natural default.

Why is there a semicolon?

It separates two independent clauses/imperatives that are closely related. You could also use a comma or a period:

Dikkat ederek yaz, küçük hatalar kalmasın.
Dikkat ederek yaz. Küçük hatalar kalmasın.

What exactly is kalmasın?

It’s the 3rd person negative optative (also called 3rd person imperative/wish):

Root: kal- (“remain, stay”)
Negation: -ma-
3rd person optative: -sın/-sin → kal-ma-sın = “let it not remain / may there not remain.”

Why is it singular kalmasın even though hatalar is plural?

In Turkish, with plural or indefinite subjects, 3rd person verbs often appear in singular, especially in generic or non-specific statements. Küçük hatalar kalmasın is idiomatic.

You can also say Küçük hatalar kalmasınlar, but it’s heavier and usually reserved for emphasis on the plurality as specific entities. The singular is more natural here.

Could we use olmasın instead of kalmasın?

Yes, but the nuance changes:

Olmasın = “let there not be (any) small mistakes” (existence).
Kalmasın = “let no small mistakes remain (after writing/checking)” (result/remnant).

Here, kalmasın implies you should eliminate them through careful writing/proofreading.

How would I say “Don’t leave small mistakes” directly to the writer?

Use a 2nd-person negative imperative: Küçük hatalar bırakma. (sg) / Bırakmayın. (pl/polite)

This targets the writer’s action (“don’t leave”), while kalmasın targets the state/result (“let there be none remaining”).

How can I emphasize “not even a single small mistake”?

Common options:

Küçük bir hata bile kalmasın. (“Not even one small mistake should remain.”)
Hiçbir hata kalmasın. (“No mistakes at all.”) If you specifically want “small,”: Hiçbir küçük hata kalmasın is grammatical but less common than using the “bile” structure above.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say “Yaz dikkat ederek”?

Adverbial phrases like dikkat ederek normally precede the verb they modify. Dikkat ederek yaz is the default. Post-verbal placement (Yaz, dikkat ederek) is unusual and sounds tacked-on. Alternatives:

Dikkatli yaz.
Yazarken dikkat et.

What happens if I say Hatalar küçük kalmasın?

That means “Let the mistakes not remain small” (i.e., don’t let the mistakes stay small), which is the opposite of what you want. Keep the adjective directly before the noun it modifies:

Küçük hatalar kalmasın. = “Let there be no small mistakes remaining.”

Is there any vowel harmony to notice in kalmasın?

Yes. The optative ending is -sIn and harmonizes with the last vowel of the stem:

kal- has a back vowel a, so → -sın (not -sin). Thus: kal-ma-sın.

Can I make the purpose explicit with ki?

Yes: Dikkat ederek yaz ki küçük hatalar kalmasın. = “Write carefully so that no small mistakes remain.” The original uses punctuation to imply the same relationship.