Breakdown of Tabela çok yüksek, ona dokunamam.
o
that / he / she / it
çok
very
yüksek
high
tabela
sign
dokunmak
to touch
Questions & Answers about Tabela çok yüksek, ona dokunamam.
How is dokunamam built to mean 'I cannot touch'?
It comes from the verb dokunmak (to touch). To show inability ('cannot'), we add the suffix -a right after the verb root dokun. Then we add the negative suffix -ma and the personal ending -m for 'I'. Put together, dokun + -a + -ma + -m gives us dokunamam.
If this is the Aorist (simple present) tense, why is there no -r in dokunamam?
The Aorist tense normally uses an -r (like dokunurum for 'I touch'). But there is a special rule for the negative and negative-ability forms: the -r drops out completely for the 'I' and 'we' persons. That is why it is dokunamam instead of having an 'r' in the middle.
Why does the sentence use ona (to it) instead of just onu (it) for the sign?
In Turkish, the verb dokunmak (to touch) requires its object to take the dative case (the direction suffix -a or -e). You aren't just touching 'it' (onu), you are literally touching 'to it' (ona).
What exactly does tabela mean here?
Tabela means a physical signboard, like a street sign, a billboard, or a store nameplate. If you were talking about a sign like a hint, a symbol, or a gesture, you would use a different word, like işaret.
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