Breakdown of Teyzem gelmeden kahvaltıya başlamıyoruz.
benim
my
gelmek
to come
kahvaltı
the breakfast
başlamak
to start
Questions & Answers about Teyzem gelmeden kahvaltıya başlamıyoruz.
What does teyzem mean, and how is my expressed in Turkish?
Teyzem means my aunt.
It is made of:
- teyze = aunt
- -m = my
So Turkish often does not use a separate word for my the way English does. Instead, possession is added directly to the noun with a suffix.
Other examples:
- annem = my mother
- evim = my house
- arkadaşım = my friend
So teyzem is literally aunt-my.
Why is there no word for we in the sentence?
Because Turkish often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb already shows the person.
In başlamıyoruz, the ending -yoruz plus the person marking tells you the subject is we.
So:
- başlamıyorum = I am not starting / I do not start
- başlamıyorsun = you are not starting
- başlamıyoruz = we are not starting
Since the verb already makes the subject clear, Turkish usually does not need biz.
What does gelmeden mean?