“Geçmiş olsun,” dedi veteriner; keçinin ayağı incinmiş ama yakında düzelecekmiş.

Literally, geçmiş olsun is something like may it be in the past. In natural English, that idea does not translate directly, so it is better learned as a fixed expression.

Turkish speakers use Geçmiş olsun when someone is sick, injured, has had an accident, or has gone through some unpleasant event. It is a polite, sympathetic thing to say, similar to:

• Get well soon
• I’m sorry to hear that
• Hope it passes soon

In this sentence, the veterinarian is saying it because the goat has been hurt.

Yes, it can definitely be used in situations involving animals.

If someone’s pet or farm animal is sick or injured, Turkish speakers may still say Geçmiş olsun to the owner, or even in the situation generally. The phrase is really about expressing sympathy for the bad situation, not only about human illness.

Both are possible.

Turkish word order is flexible, and the most neutral order is often Subject–Object–Verb, but in narration, especially after quoted speech, dedi veteriner is very natural and stylistically common. It works a bit like English said the veterinarian.

So:

• Veteriner dedi = the veterinarian said
• Dedi veteriner = said the veterinarian

The second one can sound a little more literary or narrative in English terms, but it is completely normal in Turkish.

The semicolon is a punctuation choice that links two closely related parts:

• Geçmiş olsun, dedi veteriner
• keçinin ayağı incinmiş ama yakında düzelecekmiş

It helps show that the veterinarian first says Geçmiş olsun, and then we continue with the explanation about the goat’s condition.

A comma or a full stop could also appear in other writing styles, but the semicolon here neatly connects the quoted speech with the follow-up information.

This is a very common Turkish structure: the genitive + possessed noun pattern.

• keçi = goat
• keçinin = of the goat / the goat’s
• ayak = foot, leg
• ayağı = its foot/leg

Together:

• keçinin ayağı = the goat’s leg

This structure is formed with:

1. the owner in the genitive: keçinin
2. the thing owned with a possessive suffix: ayağı

So Turkish does not normally say a separate word for its here. The possession is shown by the suffix.

This happens because of a common sound change in Turkish.

The base word is ayak. When a vowel-initial suffix is added, the final k often softens to ğ in many words:

• ayak → ayağı

So here:

• ayak + -(s)I (3rd person possessive suffix) → ayağı

This is not random; it is part of a regular pattern in Turkish spelling and pronunciation.

Because Turkish usually expresses that idea with a possessive suffix, not with a separate word like English its.

In English:

• the goat’s leg
• its leg

In Turkish, the possession is built into the noun:

• keçinin ayağı

The -ı / -i / -u / -ü type possessive ending on the possessed noun often does the work that English pronouns like his/her/its would do.

İncinmiş is from the verb incinmek, which means to get hurt, to be injured, or sometimes to be sore. It can also be used metaphorically for feelings, but here it is physical.

The ending -miş is very important. It often adds the sense of:

• reported information
• inferred information
• something the speaker did not directly witness firsthand

So ayağı incinmiş is not just its leg got hurt, but more like:

• its leg seems to have been injured
• apparently its leg is hurt
• its leg has been injured, it seems

In context, this sounds like the narrator is reporting the veterinarian’s assessment rather than stating it as direct firsthand fact.

Because -miş and the plain past tense -di do not mean exactly the same thing.

• incindi = it got hurt / was hurt
  This sounds more direct and definite, as if the speaker knows it firsthand.

• incinmiş = apparently it got hurt / it seems it was hurt / it has been hurt
  This suggests reported, inferred, or newly discovered information.

In this sentence, the use of -miş fits well because the statement is tied to what the veterinarian said. It gives a slightly indirect, report-like tone.

Düzelecekmiş contains two pieces:

• düzel- = get better, recover, become normal again
• -ecek = future
• -miş = reported/inferred

So düzelecekmiş means something like:

• apparently it will get better
• the vet says it will recover
• it is said that it will improve soon

This is a very useful Turkish combination: future + -miş. It lets the speaker report someone else’s prediction or present it as indirect information.

Because the whole medical assessment is being presented indirectly, as information coming from the veterinarian.

• ayağı incinmiş = its leg is apparently injured
• yakında düzelecekmiş = apparently it will recover soon

Using -miş on both verbs keeps the same reported/inferred viewpoint throughout the sentence. It sounds like the narrator is relaying the veterinarian’s words or opinion rather than speaking from direct personal knowledge.

Yakında means soon or in the near future.

Here:

• yakında düzelecekmiş = it will apparently recover soon

Its position is fairly flexible. You might also see:

• yakında düzelecekmiş
• düzelecekmiş yakında

But the version in the sentence is the most natural and neutral.

Not exactly.

Both can relate to injury, but the nuance is different:

• incinmek often suggests to get hurt, to be injured, to be sore, sometimes mildly
• yaralanmak usually sounds more clearly like to be wounded/injured

So ayağı incinmiş can sound a bit softer or less dramatic than ayağı yaralanmış. In this sentence, it fits a situation where the leg has been hurt, but the goat is expected to recover soon.

Turkish often states the affected body part very naturally.

So instead of saying:

• The goat was hurt

Turkish may say:

• The goat’s leg was hurt

That is a very normal way to describe physical problems. It can sound more precise, because it identifies exactly what is wrong.

Yes, because ayak can refer to foot or leg, depending on context.

For animals, body-part vocabulary does not always map perfectly one-to-one with English. In many contexts, keçinin ayağı could be understood as:

• the goat’s leg
• the goat’s foot

The best English choice depends on the situation and the translation style. If the intended meaning shown to the learner is leg, that is perfectly reasonable.

It breaks down like this:

• Geçmiş olsun = fixed expression of sympathy
• dedi veteriner = said the veterinarian
• keçinin ayağı incinmiş = the goat’s leg has apparently been injured
• ama = but
• yakında düzelecekmiş = apparently it will recover soon

So the sentence moves from:

1. sympathy,
2. to the speaker identification,
3. to the diagnosis,
4. to a reassuring prediction.