Questions & Answers about Çiçekler yeni.
Why do we use -ler instead of -lar to make çiçek plural?
In Turkish, suffixes change to match the vowels in the root word. This is called 2-way vowel harmony. For the plural suffix, we choose between -ler and -lar. Because the last vowel in çiçek is 'e' (a front vowel, along with i, ö, ü), we use -ler. If the last vowel had been a back vowel (a, ı, o, u), we would use -lar.
Where is the word for "are" in this sentence?
There isn't one! Turkish does not use a separate word for "is" or "are" in simple present sentences. Placing the subject (çiçekler) and the adjective (yeni) together automatically creates the meaning "The flowers are new."
Why isn't the adjective pluralized as yeniler?
Unlike in some other languages, Turkish adjectives do not change to match the noun they describe. Even though çiçekler (flowers) is plural, the adjective yeni (new) stays in its normal, singular form.
How do we know to translate this as "The flowers" instead of just "Flowers"?
Turkish does not have a separate word for "the". The word çiçekler can mean "flowers" in general or "the flowers" depending on the context. Since we are describing specific flowers as being new in this sentence, adding "The" makes the most natural English translation.
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