Breakdown of Onlar hem güneşlenmeyi hem de balık tutmayı seviyorlar.
onlar
they
balık
fish
sevmek
to love, to like
de
too, also (de/da) / even if (concessive particle after conditional) / and (linking clauses)
hem
both / and (used in pairs as both... and...)
güneşlenmek
to sunbathe
tutmak
to catch / to hold
Questions & Answers about Onlar hem güneşlenmeyi hem de balık tutmayı seviyorlar.
Why do güneşlenmek and tutmak end in -meyi and -mayı here?
This is how you say "sunbathing" and "catching" when they are the object of the verb "to like" (sevmek). First, you turn the verbs into nouns by replacing the -mek/-mak infinitive ending with -me/-ma. Then, because they are the specific things being liked, they need the accusative case ending (-i or -ı). The -y- in the middle is just a buffer letter to separate the two vowels.
How does the hem ... hem de structure work?
It translates to "both ... and ..." in English. You put hem before the first item and hem de before the second. You will sometimes hear just hem ... hem ... without the de, but adding de sounds very natural and gives a little extra emphasis to the second item.
Why isn't balık in the accusative case too, like balığı?
Because they aren't catching specific, known fish; they are just "catching fish" in general. In Turkish, "to fish" is the set phrase balık tutmak. Since balık is non-specific, it stays bare. The accusative ending is only needed at the very end of the whole phrase (balık tutmayı) to show that "fishing" is the object of what they like.
Since the sentence starts with Onlar, do we still need the -lar on seviyorlar?
It is actually optional! If you use the plural pronoun Onlar for people, you can just use the singular verb form and say Onlar ... seviyor. Adding the -lar to the verb is perfectly correct and very common, but you could drop it without changing the meaning.
Learn Onlar hem güneşlenmeyi hem de balık tutmayı seviyorlar and more in Turkish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free