Merdivenden inerken dizimi vurdum, ama ciddi değil.

to be

Breakdown of Merdivenden inerken dizimi vurdum, ama ciddi değil.

• benim: my
• ama: but
• değil: not

Questions & Answers about Merdivenden inerken dizimi vurdum, ama ciddi değil.

Why is it merdivenden? What does -den mean here?

-den / -dan is the ablative ending, which often means from, off, or out of.

So:

• merdiven = stairs / staircase
• merdivenden = from the stairs / down the stairs

In this sentence, Merdivenden inerken means something like while going down the stairs.

A useful point: Turkish often uses merdiven in a collective sense, so even though English usually says stairs (plural), Turkish may use merdiven as a single word for the whole staircase.

Why is it inerken? How does that form work?

İnerken comes from the verb inmek = to go down / descend.

Breakdown:

• in- = verb stem
• -erken = while doing, when doing

So:

• inerken = while going down, when going down

This form is used when one action is happening at the same time as another:

• Merdivenden inerken dizimi vurdum = I hit my knee while going down the stairs

It gives background action for the main event.

Why does inmek become inerken, not inerken with a different stem like inerken?