Breakdown of Çabuk iyileşmek için nezle ilacı almalısın.
çabuk
quick, quickly
almak
to take, to buy
ilaç
medicine
için
for
Questions & Answers about Çabuk iyileşmek için nezle ilacı almalısın.
How is almalısın formed to mean "you should take"?
It starts with the root verb al (take). We then add the obligation suffix -malı (should or must), chosen because al has a back vowel. Finally, the personal suffix -sın is added to mean "you". So, al-malı-sın means "you must take" or "you should take".
Why is the dictionary form iyileşmek used before için?
When you want to say "in order to do something" in Turkish, you use the full infinitive verb (ending in -mak or -mek) directly followed by için. So, iyileşmek için translates to "in order to recover" or simply "to recover".
Why does the word for medicine, ilaç, change to ilacı?
It forms a noun compound. When combining two nouns to make a specific category like "cold medicine", the second noun takes a compound suffix. Here, ilaç gets the suffix -ı. Because this suffix starts with a vowel, the hard ç at the end of ilaç softens to a c, making it nezle ilacı.
Can almalısın mean "you should buy" instead of "you should take" here?
Yes! The verb almak means both "to take" and "to buy". Depending on the situation, this sentence could mean buying the medicine from a pharmacy or physically taking a dose. Note that Turkish speakers also frequently use içmek (to drink) for consuming medicine, even when it is in pill form.