Questions & Answers about Kimse bu haberi okumamış.
How is the word okumamış built to mean 'apparently didn't read'?
It starts with the verb root oku (read). Next is the negative suffix -ma (not). Finally, we add the inferential past tense suffix -mış (apparently / I heard that). Together, okumamış means 'apparently didn't read' or 'has not read, I gather'.
Why is the verb negative (okumamış) if the English translation is 'nobody read'? Doesn't that make a double negative?
Yes, Turkish uses a double negative here! The word kimse means 'anyone' or 'nobody'. Whenever you use kimse as the subject 'nobody', the verb of the sentence must always be negative. So literally, the sentence says 'Nobody didn't read this news'.
Why does haber (news) have an -i at the end?
The -i is the specific direct object suffix (also called the accusative case). Because the sentence points to a specific piece of news with the word bu (this), we have to add -i to haber to show it is the specific thing being read.
What changes if I say Kimse bu haberi okumadı instead?
Using the regular past tense -dı makes it a direct, known fact: 'Nobody read this news (and I know this for sure)'. By using -mış, the speaker is showing that they found this out indirectly, perhaps by noticing the newspaper is untouched or hearing it from someone else.
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