Questions & Answers about Bu kötü alışkanlıktan vazgeçtim.
In English we say 'I gave up this habit'. Why does Turkish use the suffix -tan (from) here?
In Turkish, the verb vazgeçmek (to give up / to abandon) always requires the ablative case suffix (-dan/-den) on the thing you are giving up. You can think of it as literally walking away from something. Since alışkanlık is what is being given up, it takes the suffix.
Why is the suffix -tan and not -dan on alışkanlıktan?
This is due to consonant mutation (often remembered by the acronym Fıstıkçı Şahap). Because alışkanlık ends with the voiceless consonant k, the d in the default -dan suffix hardens to a t to match it, becoming -tan.
How is the word vazgeçtim broken down?
It comes from the verb vazgeçmek (to give up). We take the stem vazgeç, add the past tense suffix -ti (which matches the 'e' in 'geç'), and finally add the personal suffix -m for 'I'.
Do the words bu (this) or kötü (bad) need any suffixes to match alışkanlıktan?
No, in Turkish, adjectives never take case suffixes when they describe a noun. The case suffix only goes on the main noun at the end of the phrase, which is why only alışkanlık gets the -tan ending.
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