Gök gürültüsü köpeği korkutuyor.

the dog

Breakdown of Gök gürültüsü köpeği korkutuyor.

• gök gürültüsü: the thunder
• korkutmak: to scare

Questions & Answers about Gök gürültüsü köpeği korkutuyor.

What does the ending in gürültüsü mean?

The -sü at the end of gürültüsü is the 3rd‑person possessive suffix used in a noun–noun compound. So gök gürültüsü is literally “the sky’s noise,” which is the standard way Turkish says “thunder.” Breakdown:

• gök = sky
• gürültü = noise
• -sü = 3rd‑person possessive (the buffer -s- appears because gürültü ends in a vowel) This is an indefinite possessive compound, a fixed expression meaning “thunder.”

Why is it gök (not gökyüzü) here?

Turkish often uses gök in set compounds: gök gürültüsü (thunder), gökkuşağı (rainbow), gök taşı (meteor). Gökyüzü also means “sky,” but for “thunder” the idiomatic compound is with gök.

Why is it köpeği and not just köpek?

Because it’s a definite direct object (“the dog”). Turkish marks definite objects with the accusative -(y)i:

• köpek
  • -i → köpeği Note the regular sound change: final k often softens to ğ before a vowel, so you get köpeği (pronounced roughly “köpe:yi”).

What is inside the verb korkutuyor?