Breakdown of Bu ağaçlar büyük, şu kuşlar küçük.
bu
this
şu
that (pointed out)
ağaç
tree
büyük
big
küçük
small
kuş
bird
Questions & Answers about Bu ağaçlar büyük, şu kuşlar küçük.
Why is it ağaçlar and kuşlar instead of ağaçler and kuşler?
This is because of 2-way vowel harmony. The plural suffix is either -lar or -ler. To choose, you look at the last vowel of the word. Ağaç has the vowel 'a', and kuş has the vowel 'u'. Because 'a' and 'u' are both back vowels, they take the -lar suffix.
Since the translation says 'these trees', shouldn't the Turkish use the plural word bunlar?
No, in Turkish, when you use a pointing word like bu (this) or şu (that) right before a noun to describe it, the pointing word must stay singular. You only make the noun itself plural. So, bu ağaçlar translates perfectly to 'these trees'.
Why is there no word for 'are' in this sentence?
Shouldn't the adjectives büyük and küçük also get a plural suffix because the trees and birds are plural?
No, adjectives in Turkish do not change to match plural nouns. They always stay in their base form when describing a subject. You just write büyük (big), not büyükler, even though the trees are plural.
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