Question 1

Why does gibi come after tilki instead of before it?

Accepted Answer

In Turkish, gibi is a postposition, which means it comes after the word it relates to. While English uses the preposition 'like' before the noun ('like a fox'), Turkish places it after: tilki gibi (literally 'fox like').

Question 2

Does the word tilki need any special case endings before gibi?

Accepted Answer

Not when it is a regular noun! Regular nouns stay in their bare (dictionary) form before gibi. However, remember that if you use a pronoun, it usually needs the genitive (possessive) ending, like benim gibi (like me) or onun gibi (like him).

Question 3

Why is kurnaz placed at the very end of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

In Turkish, the descriptive adjective in a comparison usually comes right after the 'like' phrase. The structure is Subject (O adam) + Comparison (tilki gibi) + Adjective (kurnaz). Think of it as saying 'That man is fox-like cunning.'

Question 4

How do we know O means 'That' here and not 'He'?

Accepted Answer

Because it sits directly next to a noun (adam) without a comma. If you wanted to say 'He is a man as cunning as a fox,' you would use a comma to separate the subject: O, tilki gibi kurnaz bir adam. Without the comma, O acts as a pointing word meaning 'That man'.

O adam tilki gibi kurnaz.

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