Question 1

How does the question particle mi work with the past tense in bitirdi mi?

Accepted Answer

In the past tense, the question particle (mı/mi/mu/mü) comes after the fully conjugated verb and is written as a separate word. It follows 4-way vowel harmony with the last vowel of the verb. Since bitirdi ends in an 'i', the particle is mi. Notice that in the past tense, personal endings attach directly to the verb, not to the question particle!

Question 2

Why does görev (task) have the long ending -ini in görevini?

Accepted Answer

This is actually two suffixes! First, we add -i for the 3rd person possessive to make it "his task". Then, because "his task" is the specific direct object of the verb "finish", we need the accusative case ending. When adding the accusative -i to a word that already has a 3rd person possessive suffix, we must use the buffer letter -n-. So it breaks down as: görev + i + n + i = görevini.

Question 3

Wait, isn't the verb for "finish" just bitmek? Why is it bitirdi here?

Accepted Answer

The root bit- means "to finish" or "to end" on its own, like when a movie ends. But when a person is finishing a specific task, you need the version of the verb that takes a direct object, which is bitir- (to bring something to an end). We add the past tense suffix -di to get bitirdi (he/she finished).

Question 4

Do we have to include the pronoun O at the beginning of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

No, you can drop O and just ask Yeni görevini bitirdi mi?. Turkish frequently drops subject pronouns because the verb itself already shows who is doing the action (the lack of an extra personal ending on bitirdi automatically means it is "he/she/it"). Including O here just adds a little extra emphasis to the subject.

O yeni görevini bitirdi mi?

Breakdown of O yeni görevini bitirdi mi?

Questions & Answers about O yeni görevini bitirdi mi?

Learn O yeni görevini bitirdi mi and more in Turkish