Breakdown of Bu renk hem adama hem kadına yakışıyor.
bu
this
adam
man
kadın
woman
renk
color
hem
both / and (used in pairs as both... and...)
yakışmak
to suit / to look good on
Questions & Answers about Bu renk hem adama hem kadına yakışıyor.
Why do we use the dative case (-a) on adama and kadına?
The verb yakışmak (to suit / to look good on) always requires the dative case for the person or thing the item suits. In Turkish, you don't say a color looks good 'on' someone, you say it looks good 'to' them.
How do suffixes work with hem... hem...?
Conjunctions like hem... hem... (both... and...) never take suffixes themselves. Instead, you attach any necessary grammar suffixes directly to the words they connect. Here, the dative suffix -a goes on adam and kadın.
Can I attach the dative suffix just to the last noun, like hem adam hem kadına?
No, when you use hem... hem..., each connected word needs its own suffix to match its role in the sentence. Since both the man and the woman are the objects of yakışıyor, they both must have the dative -a.
What exactly does yakışıyor mean here?
It comes from the verb yakışmak, which means 'to suit', 'to fit', or 'to look good on'. You can use it for clothing and colors, or even metaphorically for behaviors that 'suit' someone's character.
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