Questions & Answers about Komşum kapıyı çalıyor.
Why does komşu become komşum?
-m is the 1st person singular possessive suffix, meaning my.
- komşu = neighbor
- komşum = my neighbor
So the sentence literally starts with My neighbor...
Why is it kapıyı and not kapı?
Because kapı is the direct object (the thing being knocked), and Turkish marks definite direct objects with the accusative case: -(y)I.
- kapı = door
- kapıyı = the door (as a specific/definite object)
The -y- is a buffer consonant inserted because kapı ends in a vowel, so you don’t get two vowels in a row: kapı + ı → kapıyı.
What exactly does çalıyor mean here? I thought çalmak means “to steal”.
çalmak has more than one common meaning. Two major ones are:
1) to steal
2) to play (an instrument) / to strike / to knock
In the fixed expression kapıyı çalmak, it means to knock on the door (literally “to strike the door”). So çalıyor here is (is) knocking.
What tense is çalıyor? Is it present or continuous?