Breakdown of Adam büyük bir kutu taşıyor mu?
bir
a / an
adam
man
büyük
big
kutu
box
taşımak
to carry
mi
question particle (mı/mi/mu/mü)
Questions & Answers about Adam büyük bir kutu taşıyor mu?
Why is the question word mu separate, and how do we choose its vowel?
In the present continuous tense, the question particle is written as a separate word. It takes the form mu here because of 4-way vowel harmony with the preceding word, taşıyor. The last vowel in taşıyor is o, which dictates a u in the suffix. In fact, because the present continuous suffix is always -yor, the question particle for 'he/she/it' in this tense will always be mu!
How is the verb taşıyor formed? Doesn't the present continuous suffix usually start with a vowel?
Yes, the suffix is normally -ıyor, -iyor, -uyor, or -üyor. However, the verb root here is taşı- (to carry), which already ends in the vowel ı. When a verb root already ends in ı, i, u, or ü, we drop the suffix's starting vowel and just attach -yor directly. So, taşı- + -yor simply becomes taşıyor.
Why is it büyük bir kutu instead of bir büyük kutu?
In Turkish, when you use an adjective (like büyük, big) alongside the indefinite article bir (a/an), the adjective comes first. The standard word order is Adjective + bir + Noun. So literally, you are saying 'big a box'.
Why is the object just kutu and not in the accusative case (kutuyu)?
Because the box is indefinite. The sentence says he is carrying 'a big box' (büyük bir kutu), not 'the big box'. In Turkish, direct objects only take the accusative case ending when they are specific or definite. Since this is just a general, unspecified box, kutu stays in its plain dictionary form.
Learn Adam büyük bir kutu taşıyor mu and more in Turkish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free