Breakdown of Piyano çalmayı öğrenmiyorum.
öğrenmek
to learn
çalmak
to play (an instrument) / to play (a recording, music)
piyano
piano
Questions & Answers about Piyano çalmayı öğrenmiyorum.
Why is it çalmayı instead of the full dictionary form çalmak?
We use the verbal noun suffix -ma to turn the verb into a noun concept. We have to use this shorter -ma form instead of the full infinitive -mak whenever we need to attach a further grammatical case ending to the action.
Why does çalma have the -yı ending added to it?
The -yı consists of the buffer letter -y- and the accusative case suffix -ı. The verb öğrenmek (to learn) requires its direct object to be in the accusative case. Since the action of playing is what you are learning, çalma gets the ending.
Why doesn't piyano have an accusative ending too (like piyanoyu)?
Because you aren't talking about playing a specific, physical piano (like 'the piano in the living room'). Piyano çalmak is treated as a general activity: 'piano-playing'. When an object noun is just a general category for a verb, it stays in its bare form.
I know the negative suffix is usually -me or -ma. Why is it just -m- in öğrenmiyorum?
The negative suffix for this verb is indeed -me. However, in the present continuous tense, the -iyor suffix always drops the wide vowel immediately before it. Because of this vowel-drop rule, öğren-me-iyor-um shrinks to öğrenmiyorum.
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