Questions & Answers about Sen dün çok meşguldün.
Why is the ending -dün instead of -dun? According to vowel harmony, shouldn't it be -dun after the 'u' in meşgul?
Great catch! The word meşgul (busy) is an exception to the vowel harmony rules because it is a borrowed word. The 'l' at the end softens the sound, so it takes suffixes with front vowels (like 'ü' or 'e'). That is why we use the past tense ending -dü instead of -du, making it meşguldün.
How does the past tense 'were' work in the word meşguldün?
To say 'was' or 'were' with an adjective, you attach the past tense ending directly to it. Here, we have meşgul (busy) + -dü (the past tense ending for 'was') + -n (the personal ending for 'you'). Together, it builds the meaning 'you were busy'.
Is the word sen (you) absolutely necessary here?
No, you can easily drop it and just say Dün çok meşguldün. In Turkish, the -n at the very end of meşguldün already tells us exactly who was busy. Adding sen at the beginning just gives a bit of emphasis to the subject.
Could I put the word dün (yesterday) at the end of the sentence?
It is much better to leave it where it is. Turkish usually puts the main verb or the word doing the job of the verb (like meşguldün) at the very end of the sentence. Time words like dün normally go at the beginning or right after the subject.
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