Learn Hardcore Turkish: Mendilimi sana vereyim, gözyaşını silersin. - Let me give you my tissue; you can wipe your tears.

mendilim = my handkerchief (subject or object, but not specifically marked as definite object)
mendilimi = my handkerchief as a definite object (I will give my handkerchief – this particular one)

English doesn’t mark “definite object” on the noun, but Turkish does, which is why the extra -i is there.

Why is it sana and not seni?

Both sana and seni mean “you”, but they’re different cases:

sana = to you (dative case)
seni = you as a direct object (accusative case)

The verb vermek (to give) usually takes:

something (accusative)
to someone (dative)

So:

Mendilimi sana vereyim = Let me give my handkerchief to you
- mendilimi = what is given (direct object, accusative)
- sana = to whom it is given (indirect object, dative)

If you said Mendilimi seni vereyim, it would be ungrammatical.

What kind of verb form is vereyim? Is it future, subjunctive, or something else?

Vereyim is the 1st person singular optative form of vermek (to give).

It roughly means: “let me give”, “I should give”, or “how about I give”.

It is used for:

offers: Let me give it to you.
suggestions: Shall I give it to you?
voluntary intentions in a soft tone: I’ll (go ahead and) give it (if you want).

It is not simple future. Future would be:

vereceğim = I will give (more factual, planned future action)

So vereyim adds a nuance of proposal / willingness, not just future time.

How would the meaning change if we said veririm or vereceğim instead of vereyim?

All three are about giving, but the nuance is different:

vereyim – optative
- Let me give (it to you); Shall I give it?
- Polite, offering, suggesting, sounding considerate.
veririm – aorist (simple present / habitual, or “I would”)
- Can mean I give / I will give / I can give / I would give, depending on context.
- In this sentence, Mendilimi sana veririm sounds like a promise or statement of willingness:
  - I’ll (definitely) give you my handkerchief.
- Less like a question/offer, more like a plain declaration.
vereceğim – future
- I will give (it to you).
- A clear future plan/intention, more definite and somewhat more neutral/firm.

So:

vereyim = Shall I give it? Let me give it. (soft offer)
veririm = I’ll give it. (willingness or promise)
vereceğim = I’m going to give it. (planned future action)

In the original sentence, the offering / caring tone fits best with vereyim.

In gözyaşını, why are there two -ı sounds: one in yaşı and another at the end?

Gözyaşını is built like this:

göz – eye
yaşı – its liquid / its wetness → together gözyaşı = tear (literally “eye liquid”)
- Here -ı is a 3rd person possessive marker: yaş + ı
gözyaşı + nı – accusative case (definite object)
- -nı = buffer n
  - accusative -ı

So structure:

göz + yaş + ı → gözyaşı (tear)
gözyaşı + n + ı → gözyaşını (the tear / the tears as a definite object)

The first -ı is part of the noun formation (gözyaşı = tear), and the last -ı is the accusative ending. The n in between is just a buffer consonant to connect them.

Why is there an n in gözyaşını? What is that n doing?

The n is a buffer consonant.

When a noun already has a third-person possessive ending -(s)ı / -si / -su / -sü and you want to add another vowel-starting suffix (like -ı for accusative), Turkish usually inserts n between them to make pronunciation easier.

Pattern:

gözyaşı = göz + yaş + ı (3rd person possessive)
Add accusative -ı → you get gözyaşı
- n
  - ı → gözyaşını

This n does not add meaning by itself; it just makes the word easier to say and is required by Turkish phonology and morphology rules.

Why is silersin used here instead of the future tense sileceksin?

Silersin is the 2nd person singular aorist form of silmek (to wipe).

silersin can mean:
- you (normally) wipe (habitual), or
- you will (then) wipe (in a sequence of actions, “you’ll wipe”)

In this sentence:

Mendilimi sana vereyim, gözyaşını silersin.
The second part is like: …then you (can) wipe your tears.
It feels mild, non-imperative, almost like you can/you will wipe rather than a strict command.

If we used sileceksin:

gözyaşını sileceksin = you will wipe your tears (future tense, more definite)
It sounds a bit more certain/strong, less like a gentle suggestion and more like a statement of what will happen.

So silersin gives a softer, more conversational tone compatible with the offer in vereyim.

Is this sentence formal or informal? How would I say it politely to someone I don’t know well?

The sentence is informal, because it uses second person singular:

sana – to you (singular, informal)
silersin – you (singular, informal) wipe

To make it polite/formal (to one person you address as siz):

Mendilimi size vereyim, gözyaşınızı silersiniz.

Changes:

sana → size (dative of siz)
gözyaşını → gözyaşınızı (your tear(s) – 2nd person plural/formal possessive + accusative)
silersin → silersiniz (2nd person plural/formal verb form)

This sounds polite and respectful.

Can I change the word order to Sana mendilimi vereyim? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Sana mendilimi vereyim, gözyaşını silersin.

In Turkish, word order is relatively flexible, and both:

Mendilimi sana vereyim
Sana mendilimi vereyim

are natural and mean essentially the same thing: Let me give my handkerchief to you…

Very subtle nuance:

Mendilimi sana vereyim – starts with the object, may slightly emphasize my handkerchief.
Sana mendilimi vereyim – starts with to you, can feel a tiny bit more like focusing on the recipient (to you, I’ll give my handkerchief).

In everyday speech, the difference is minimal; both are fine.

Could we drop sana and just say Mendilimi vereyim, gözyaşını silersin?

Yes, you can say:

Mendilimi vereyim, gözyaşını silersin.

Because of context and the 2nd person verb form (silersin), it’s still clear that the speaker is giving the handkerchief to “you”.

However:

With sana, the recipient (to you) is explicit: Mendilimi sana vereyim…
Without sana, it’s slightly less explicit but usually still understood from the situation.

In casual conversation, it’s quite natural to omit sana, especially if it’s obvious who is being spoken to.

Does gözyaşını mean “your tear(s)” or just “the tear(s)”? How do I say “your tears” explicitly?

Gözyaşını by itself does not explicitly say “your”. It’s:

gözyaşı – tear
gözyaşını – the tear(s) as a definite object (accusative)

In the sentence:

Mendilimi sana vereyim, gözyaşını silersin.

We understand it as your tears from context (you are the one who will wipe them, crying situation, etc.), but grammatically it just means the tear(s).

To mark “your tears” clearly:

Informal singular “your” → gözyaşını stays the same in form because:
- gözyaşı is a fixed compound noun (with a 3rd person possessive inside it), and Turkish usually doesn’t add another possessive to it in everyday speech.
- To be very explicit, people may say gözyaşlarını (plural + accusative), which is often interpreted as “your tears” in context:
  - gözyaşların = your tears
  - gözyaşlarını = your tears (as a definite object)

More strictly explicit forms:

göz yaşlarını silersin – literally “you wipe your eye liquids (= your tears)”
Or using senin: Senin gözyaşlarını silersin.

But in natural speech, gözyaşını silersin is normally understood as you wipe your tears.

How would I say this in a more direct, imperative tone, like “Take my handkerchief and wipe your tears”?

A more direct, imperative version could be:

Mendilimi al, gözyaşını sil.
- al – take (imperative, singular)
- sil – wipe (imperative, singular)

Or slightly softer but still imperative:

Mendilimi al, gözyaşını silersin.
(First verb imperative, second one softer aorist suggestion.)

Compared to the original:

Mendilimi sana vereyim, gözyaşını silersin.

the imperative versions sound less like an offer and more like instructions / commands. The original is gentler and more caring: Let me give you my handkerchief, then you’ll wipe your tears.