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Questions & Answers about Bu şarkı senin hoşuna gidecek.
What is going on with the idiom hoşuna gitmek?
It’s an idiomatic “experiencer” construction meaning “for something to be pleasing to someone,” i.e., “someone likes something.” The thing that is liked is the grammatical subject, and the person who likes it is expressed with a genitive + possessive + dative phrase. So in Bu şarkı senin hoşuna gidecek, the subject is bu şarkı (“this song”), and senin hoşuna means “to your liking.”
Why is it senin, not sen or sana?
Because the experiencer is marked as a possessor of “liking/pleasure” (hoş used nominally here). You need the genitive for the possessor: senin. Then the possessed noun-like element takes a possessive suffix and the dative case: senin hoş-un-a (“to your liking”). Using sana would be correct with a different idiom, e.g., Sana hoş gelecek (“It will feel pleasant to you”), but not with hoşuna gitmek.
Can you break down hoşuna morphologically?
- hoş = “pleasant/pleasing”
- -un (2nd person singular possessive “your”) → hoşun (“your liking” in this idiom)
- -a (dative “to”) → hoşuna (“to your liking”) Other persons:
- hoşuma (to my liking)
- hoşuna (to your liking / to his/her liking; 2sg and 3sg surface-identical)
- hoşumuza (to our liking)
- hoşunuza (to your [pl/formal] liking)
- hoşlarına (to their liking) Disambiguation between 2sg and 3sg comes from a pronoun: senin hoşuna, onun hoşuna.
Who is the subject here, and why isn’t it şarkıyı?
The subject is bu şarkı (“this song”). In hoşuna gitmek, the liked thing is the subject, so it stays in the nominative: şarkı, not accusative şarkıyı. Accusative is used when the thing is a direct object (e.g., Bu şarkıyı seveceksin).
How does this compare with using sevmek, beğenmek, or hoşlanmak?
- Bu şarkıyı seveceksin. Stronger, more personal “You will love/like this song.”
- Bu şarkıyı beğeneceksin. “You will find this song appealing/you’ll like it” (often evaluative, first-impression).
- Bu şarkıdan hoşlanacaksın. Uses ablative (-dan); “You will like this song” (tends to be more general preference).
- Bu şarkı senin hoşuna gidecek. Natural, idiomatic, slightly impersonal “This song will appeal to you.”
Can I use hoşuna gelmek instead of hoşuna gitmek?
Yes. Hoşuna gelmek is also common and means the same in practice: Bu şarkı senin hoşuna gelecek. Some speakers feel gelmek can sound a bit more immediate or colloquial in certain contexts, but both are acceptable.
What does the future marker in gidecek tell us?
-ecek/-acak marks future tense, here 3rd person singular: “it will.” The choice -ecek (not -acak) follows vowel harmony because the last vowel of the stem variant (gid-, with front vowel i) is front.
Why is it gidecek and not something like gitecek?
The verb “to go” alternates between git- and gid-. Before vowel-initial suffixes, the stem appears as gid-: gidiyor, gidecek. Before consonant-initial or in the bare form, you see git-: gitmek, gittim. This is a regular stem allomorphy.
Could I say Bu şarkı senin hoşuna gider instead of gidecek?
Yes. Gider (aorist/present simple) can express general truths or confident predictions in Turkish. Nuance:
- gidecek: a specific, time-oriented prediction about this song you’ll hear.
- gider: a general claim or confident expectation (“This kind of thing is your taste” or “I’m sure it will suit you”).
Can I drop senin?
Often yes: Bu şarkı hoşuna gidecek. However, hoşuna is surface-identical for “your” and “his/her,” so omitting senin can create ambiguity. Context usually resolves it, but include senin if you need clarity or emphasis.
How do I make this polite/formal for “you” (singular formal or plural)?
Use sizin + hoşunuza:
- Bu şarkı sizin hoşunuza gidecek. (explicit, polite)
- Or simply: Bu şarkı hoşunuza gidecek. (polite/plural is clear from -unuza)
How do I negate or ask a yes–no question?
- Negative future: Bu şarkı senin hoşuna gitmeyecek. (“You won’t like this song.”)
- Yes–no question: Bu şarkı senin hoşuna gidecek mi? (Question particle mi is separate and follows the predicate.)
How do I say it in the past or present progressive?
- Past: Bu şarkı senin hoşuna gitti. (“You liked this song.”)
- Present progressive: Bu şarkı senin hoşuna gidiyor. (In context: “You’re liking this song / This song is pleasing you [now/in general].”)
Are there word-order variations, and what do they emphasize?
Yes. In Turkish, the element right before the verb is the focus.
- Neutral/new-information focus on the verb: Bu şarkı senin hoşuna gidecek.
- Emphasizing “you”: Bu şarkı SENİN hoşuna gidecek. (or) SENİN hoşuna gidecek bu şarkı. All keep the verb final; moving pieces around changes emphasis, not core meaning.
Is there any reason to prefer this idiom over a direct verb like sevmek?
Stylistically, hoşuna gitmek is very natural in everyday speech, slightly impersonal, and sounds less strong than sevmek. It’s also handy when making polite predictions or softening assertions: Bence bu şarkı senin hoşuna gidecek.
Any pronunciation tips?
- şarkı: the final ı is the Turkish undotted ı, a close back unrounded vowel; not like English “ee” or “uh.”
- hoşuna: stress typically on the last syllable here: ho-ŞU-na.
- gidecek: hard g as in “go”; vowels follow harmony: gi-de-cek.