Questions & Answers about Şu dokuz defter yeni.
Why is it defter and not defterler if there are nine of them?
In Turkish, when you use a number before a noun (like dokuz, meaning nine), the noun always stays in its singular form. So, you say dokuz defter (literally "nine notebook"), never dokuz defterler.
Why is it Şu instead of Şunlar for the word "Those"?
Because the word Şu is acting as an adjective describing the notebooks, it doesn't take a plural ending. In English, we change "that" to "those", but Turkish keeps it simple: demonstrative words like bu, şu, and o never become plural when they come directly before a noun. Plus, the number dokuz already tells us there is more than one!
What makes Şu different from O, since they can both mean "that" or "those"?
Bu is for things very close to you, and o is for things far away. Şu is used for things that are right in the middle, just out of reach, or when you want to draw someone's attention to something you are physically pointing at.
Where is the word for "are" in this sentence?
In Turkish, simple present-tense sentences don't need a separate word for "is" or "are" for "he/she/it/they". Just placing the subject (Şu dokuz defter) and the describing word (yeni) next to each other creates the complete thought: "Those nine notebooks are new."
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