Breakdown of Çocukluktan beri hayvanlardan korkuyor.
korkmak
to fear
hayvan
animal
beri
since
çocukluk
childhood
Questions & Answers about Çocukluktan beri hayvanlardan korkuyor.
Why does çocukluk end with -tan before beri?
The postposition beri (since) always requires the word before it to take the ablative case (the "from" ending). You are essentially saying "from childhood since". The suffix is -tan instead of -dan because çocukluk ends in the hard consonant 'k'.
How do we get the word çocukluk (childhood)?
You add the suffix -luk to çocuk (child). The suffix -lık (which changes to -lik, -luk, or -lük following vowel harmony) creates abstract concepts from nouns or adjectives, similar to "-hood" or "-ness" in English.
Why is the "from" suffix attached to animals (hayvanlardan)?
In Turkish, the verb korkmak (to fear or be afraid) always requires its object to be in the ablative case (-dan/-den). Instead of being afraid "of" something, in Turkish you are afraid "from" it!
If he "has been afraid since childhood", why is the verb in the present continuous tense (korkuyor)?
In Turkish, if a state or action started in the past and is still continuing right now, you use the present continuous tense (-iyor). The combination of -dan beri (since) and the present tense is the standard way to express "has been doing" or "has been" in Turkish.