Breakdown of O zor ödevi yapmadım.
o
that / he / she / it
zor
difficult
yapmak
to do / to make
ödev
homework
Questions & Answers about O zor ödevi yapmadım.
How do we get yapmadım from the verb yapmak (to do)?
We drop the -mak to get the stem yap-. Then we add the negative suffix -ma- (because the vowel a is a back vowel). Next, we add the past tense suffix -dı- (following 4-way vowel harmony for a). Finally, the -m at the end tells us that 'I' am the one who didn't do it.
Why does ödev (homework) have an -i at the end making it ödevi?
Because it is the specific direct object of the verb. You aren't just talking about doing homework in general, but specifically 'that difficult homework'. When an action is done to a specific thing, we add the accusative case ending. Here, ödev takes -i because of its last vowel e.
How do we know O means 'that' instead of 'he', 'she', or 'it' in this sentence?
The word o can mean 'he', 'she', or 'it', but it is also the word for 'that'. Because it sits right before the noun phrase zor ödevi, it acts as a pointer attached to the noun, meaning 'that difficult homework'.
Could I put Ben at the beginning of the sentence?
Yes, Ben o zor ödevi yapmadım is perfectly correct! However, because the -m at the end of yapmadım already shows that 'I' performed the action, Turkish speakers usually drop Ben unless they want to emphasize it (like saying 'I didn't do it, maybe someone else did').
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