Breakdown of Dördüncü kişi gümüş veya bronz madalya almıyor.
dört
four
kişi
person (individual)
almak
to take, to buy
veya
or
Questions & Answers about Dördüncü kişi gümüş veya bronz madalya almıyor.
Why is it dördüncü with a 'd' instead of dörtüncü?
The word for 'four' is dört. When we add a suffix starting with a vowel, like the ordinal suffix -üncü, the hard letter t softens to a d. This consonant mutation makes pronunciation smoother. So, dört becomes dördüncü (fourth).
Why does the ordinal suffix look like -üncü here?
The ordinal suffix is -(i)nci, but it follows 4-way vowel harmony. Since the last vowel in dört is ö, the suffix must match it by becoming -üncü. Compare this to birinci (first) or altıncı (sixth).
Why doesn't the verb have the normal negative suffix -ma in almıyor?
The verb root is al- (to get/take). To make it negative, we normally add -ma, giving us alma-. However, when the present continuous suffix -yor is added right after an a or e, that vowel narrows to an ı, i, u, or ü. So, alma-yor turns into almıyor (is not getting).
Do we need a special suffix to say a medal is 'made of' silver or bronze?