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Breakdown of Bugün bardak tezgâhta devrilip duruyor, ben de dikkatle yerleştiriyorum.
bugün
today
ben
I
de
also
yerleştirmek
to place
bardak
the glass
dikkatle
carefully
-ta
on
tezgâh
the counter
devrilip durmak
to keep toppling
Questions & Answers about Bugün bardak tezgâhta devrilip duruyor, ben de dikkatle yerleştiriyorum.
What does the construction devrilip duruyor mean? Is it just a normal present continuous?
No. Verb + -ip + durmak means the action keeps happening repeatedly or annoyingly. Devrilip duruyor suggests the glass “keeps toppling over” or “topples over again and again,” not just “is toppling over right now.” Without this construction, deviriliyor would be a plain progressive (“is being toppled/is toppling over”).
Why is the passive stem devril- used instead of devirmek?
Devirmek means “to knock something over” (transitive). Devrilmek is the passive/unaccusative “to be knocked over / to topple (over).” Using devril- removes or downplays the agent; it’s about what happens to the glass, not who does it. So bardak devrilip duruyor = “the glass keeps toppling over (getting knocked over).”
Could I say düşüp duruyor instead? What’s the difference between devrilmek and düşmek?
You could, but nuance shifts:
- Devrilmek = to topple/overturn (like a vertical object tipping over).
- Düşmek = to fall (more general). For a glass falling onto its side from standing, devrilmek is the precise verb.
What exactly does the -ip do in devrilip duruyor?
-ip is a converb (a linking form) meaning roughly “and (then)” that connects two verbs sharing the same subject. Here it forms a periphrastic aspect with durmak to encode repeated/continuous action: devrilip duruyor = “(it) keeps toppling over.” You’ll see the same with verbs like düşüp durmak, bozulup durmak.
Does duruyor here mean “it’s standing/staying,” or is it an auxiliary?
It’s functioning as an auxiliary indicating persistence/repetition. Compare:
- Bardak tezgâhta duruyor = “The glass is (just) sitting/staying on the counter.”
- Bardak tezgâhta devrilip duruyor = “The glass keeps toppling over on the counter.”
Why is it tezgâhta? Does the locative mean “on,” “in,” or “at”?
The locative -DA covers “in/at/on,” and the exact English preposition depends on the noun. With surface-like nouns (table, counter), -DA typically maps to “on.” So tezgâhta naturally reads as “on the counter.”
Why is it tezgâhta with -ta and not -da?
The locative suffix varies by vowel harmony and voicing:
- Front/back vowels choose -de/-da.
- If the noun ends in a voiceless consonant (like h), d devoicing yields -te/-ta. Since the last vowel in tezgâh is a back vowel (a) and it ends with voiceless h, you get -ta: tezgâhta.
What’s the deal with the circumflex in tezgâh? Do I have to write it?
The â marks vowel length/palatal nuance from the word’s Persian origin (gâh). Many people omit it in everyday writing (tezgah) and you’ll still be understood. Pronunciation-wise, â signals a longer “a.” It’s good to recognize, not strictly required to use.
How does ben de work here? Is de the same as the locative -de?
No. This de/da is the enclitic meaning “also/too/as well,” written as a separate word and never changes to te/ta. The locative -de/-da/-te/-ta is a suffix glued to the noun/pronoun. Contrast:
- Ben de geliyorum = “I’m coming too.”
- Bende para yok = “I don’t have money (on me).”
Why include the pronoun ben at all, since -yorum already shows “I”?
Because de needs something to attach to, and ben carries the additive focus: Ben de… = “And I (for my part)…” You could drop it if you drop de: Dikkatle yerleştiriyorum. But to express “I too / I then,” you keep ben de.
Where is the object “it” in the second clause? Should I say onu?
It’s understood from context (the glass). Turkish often omits objects when clear. You can add it for clarity/emphasis: Onu dikkatle yerleştiriyorum. Since it’s a specific glass, the object takes the accusative -u: onu.
Is dikkatle the best way to say “carefully”? What about dikkatlice or dikkatli bir şekilde?
All are acceptable, with slight nuance/register:
- dikkatle (lit. “with care”; concise, somewhat neutral-formal)
- dikkatlice (derived adverb; common, a bit more colloquial)
- dikkatli bir şekilde (periphrastic; clearer but wordier)
- Also very natural: özenle (“with care/meticulously”).
Why this word order: Bugün bardak tezgâhta… Could I say Bardak bugün tezgâhta…?
Yes. Turkish word order is flexible for emphasis:
- Bugün first highlights “today” as the time frame.
- Bardak bugün tezgâhta… puts the glass first. Both are grammatical; choose the order that matches what you want to foreground.
Do I need the comma before ben de? Could I use ve or o yüzden instead?
The comma separates two independent clauses, which is common in Turkish. Ben de with the enclitic de already signals a loose “and so/and then, I…,” so a conjunction isn’t required. You could also write … ve ben de… or … o yüzden ben de… for a more explicit link.
What is inside yerleştiriyorum morphologically, and why not just koyuyorum?
Breakdown: yer (place) + -leş (become settled) → yerleş-; causative -tir → yerleştir- (“to make settle/arrange/place”) + -iyor (progressive) + -um (1sg) → yerleştiriyorum.
Use yerleştirmek for deliberate arranging/positioning; koymak is a more general “put/place.”
What would devirip duruyor (without the passive) mean?
Without the passive, it’s active and needs an agent subject: Ali bardağı devirip duruyor = “Ali keeps knocking the glass over.” With the glass as subject, you must use devrilip duruyor.
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