Questions & Answers about Doktor onun gözüne bakıyor.
Where does the -n- in gözüne come from?
It is a buffer letter. In Turkish, whenever you add a case suffix (like the dative -e for "to") right after a 3rd person possessive suffix (like the -ü for "his/her"), you must use the buffer letter -n- to separate them.
Can you break down all the suffixes attached to gözüne?
Sure! We start with the root göz (eye). First, we add the 3rd person possessive suffix -ü to make gözü (his eye). Next, we need the dative suffix -e (to/into). To smoothly connect the possessive -ü and the case suffix -e, we insert the buffer letter -n-, giving us gözüne.
Why does the translation say "into his eye" when the suffix -e means "to"?
The Turkish verb bakmak (to look) always requires the dative case (-e or -a). So, Turks literally say they are looking to something. Even though English uses "at" or "into", Turkish strictly pairs this verb with the dative direction ending.
Is the word onun strictly necessary here?
No. Because gözüne already contains the 3rd person possessive suffix (-ü), the sentence Doktor gözüne bakıyor would still perfectly translate to "The doctor is looking into his eye." Including onun (his) just adds clarity or emphasis.
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