Sünger temiz.

to be

Breakdown of Sünger temiz.

• temiz: clean
• sünger: the sponge

Questions & Answers about Sünger temiz.

Where is the verb “to be”? Why isn’t there anything like “is”?

Turkish often drops a separate “to be” in present-tense third person. This is a nominal sentence: subject + predicate adjective. So Sünger temiz. literally “Sponge clean.” means “The sponge is clean.”

• 1st/2nd person show “to be” with suffixes:
  • Ben temizim. (I am clean.)
  • Sen temizsin. (You are clean.)
• 3rd person has zero ending:
  • O temiz. / Sünger temiz. (He/She/It/The sponge is clean.)
• Plural persons:
  • Biz temiziz. Siz temizsiniz. Onlar temiz.

What’s the difference between Sünger temiz and temiz sünger?

• Sünger temiz. = predicate use of the adjective: “The sponge is clean.”
• temiz sünger = attributive adjective + noun: “a clean sponge.” It’s a noun phrase, not a sentence.

Do I need words for “the” or “a”? Is there gender?

• Turkish has no gender.
• There are no articles like “the”/“a.” Definiteness comes from context.
• bir can mean “a/an” (or “one”) when introducing something: Bu bir sünger. (This is a sponge.)
• In sentences like this, you typically don’t use bir before the subject unless you specifically mean “one (single) sponge.”