Breakdown of Kedi kapıyı tırmalayıp duruyor; kapıyı açayım.
kedi
the cat
kapı
the door
açmak
to open
-yı
accusative
Questions & Answers about Kedi kapıyı tırmalayıp duruyor; kapıyı açayım.
What nuance does ırmalayıp duruyor add compared to plain ırmalıyor?
ırmalıyor = is scratching (right now). ırmalayıp duruyor = keeps on scratching, won’t quit scratching (repetitive, ongoing, often a bit annoying).
How is ırmalayıp duruyor built morphologically?
- ırmala- = scratch, claw
- -(y)Ip = converb meaning and (then) / doing X and…
- dur- = stay/stand, but as an auxiliary here it marks persistence/continuation
- -uyor = present continuous Together: ırmala + yıp + dur + uyor → ırmalayıp duruyor = keeps scratching.
Does duruyor mean is standing here?
No. With the -(y)Ip converb, durmak functions as an aspectual auxiliary: ıp durmak means to keep doing something. If you literally mean stand, you would not use the ıp construction.
Why is kapıyı in the accusative?
Because the door is a specific, definite object. Turkish marks definite direct objects with the accusative (-ı/-i/-u/-ü). Here, the cat is scratching the (contextually known) door, so kapıyı is required.
How is kapıyı formed, and why is there a y?
kapı + -(y)I → kapıyı.
- Buffer y appears because the noun ends in a vowel.
- Vowel harmony picks -ı after the back vowel a/ı in kapı.
Could it be kapıya or kapıda instead of kapıyı?