Questions & Answers about Biz cinayet şakası yapmayız.
Why doesn't yapmayız have the -z we usually see in the negative aorist (like yapmaz)?
This is the special irregular form you are learning in this lesson! In the negative aorist (the tense for general truths and habits), the "we" form drops the -z. Instead of saying "yapmazız", we add -yız directly to the negative root yapma-, giving us yapmayız (we do not make).
Why is there an -sı at the end of şakası?
This forms a noun compound, linking cinayet (murder) and şaka (joke) to mean "murder joke." When two nouns are combined like this, the second noun takes a possessive suffix. Since şaka ends in a vowel, we need the buffer letter -s- followed by the vowel -ı, making it şakası.
The English translation says "jokes" (plural), but şakası looks singular. Why is that?
When talking about a general category or type of thing, Turkish usually keeps the noun singular. Because cinayet şakası refers to the general concept of "murder jokes" rather than specific jokes they've told, it stays in the singular form.
Can I use the verb söylemek (to tell) instead of yapmak since we "tell" jokes in English?