Breakdown of Arabanın motoru çalışıyor mu?
araba
car
çalışmak
to work / to study
motor
engine
mi
question particle (mı/mi/mu/mü)
Questions & Answers about Arabanın motoru çalışıyor mu?
How do the suffixes in Arabanın motoru create 'the car's engine'?
This is a definite noun compound. The owner (araba) gets the genitive suffix -nın (meaning 'of the car' or 'car's'). The thing being owned (motor) gets the 3rd person possessive suffix -u (meaning 'its'). In Turkish, you are literally saying 'the car's, its engine'.
Why is there an extra 'n' in Arabanın but no extra consonant in motoru?
It is all about avoiding two vowels in a row. Araba ends in a vowel, so it needs the buffer letter n before adding the genitive suffix -ın. Motor ends in a consonant, so we can attach the possessive vowel suffix -u directly without needing a buffer letter.
Doesn't çalışıyor usually mean 'working' or 'studying'?
Yes! In Turkish, the verb çalışmak is also the standard word used for machines, vehicles, and electronics. While in English an engine is 'running' or a TV is 'on', in Turkish a machine is 'working'.
Why does the question particle mu come at the very end?
In Turkish yes/no questions, the particle (mi/mı/mu/mü) goes immediately after the thing you are asking about. Here, you want to know if the engine is doing the action (running), so mu comes right after the verb çalışıyor. It is written as a separate word but follows vowel harmony with the verb.