Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Turkish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Beyaz köpek koşuyor.
Why is beyaz placed before köpek?
In Turkish, adjectives come right before the noun they describe, just like in English. So, beyaz (white) goes before köpek (dog) to make beyaz köpek (white dog).
What would it mean if I switched the order to Köpek beyaz?
If you put the adjective after the noun, it turns into a descriptive sentence. Köpek beyaz means "The dog is white," but in this sentence, beyaz köpek is just a phrase meaning "the white dog".
There is no word for "the" in the Turkish sentence. How do we know it's "the white dog" and not "a white dog"?
Turkish does not have a separate word for "the". A phrase like beyaz köpek can mean "a white dog" or "the white dog" depending on the context. Because the dog is the main subject performing a specific action here, "the" is the most natural English translation.
What does the -uyor suffix in koşuyor mean?
The -uyor ending is the present continuous tense, which acts a lot like "-ing" in English. It tells us that the dog is running right now.