Question 1

Why are we using seçmiş mi instead of the regular past tense seçti mi?

Accepted Answer

The regular past tense seçti mi means "Did she choose?" and implies you or the listener has direct knowledge of the event. Using the reported past tense seçmiş with the question particle mi means you are asking about something you didn't see yourself. It translates to "Did you hear if she chose it?" or "Has she supposedly chosen it?".

Question 2

Why does the word for dress (elbise) have -yi at the end?

Accepted Answer

The -i at the end of elbiseyi is the definite accusative case suffix, and the y is just a buffer letter since elbise ends in a vowel. We use this case because she is choosing a specific direct object ("the white dress"). If she were just choosing "a white dress" in general, it would be beyaz bir elbise seçmiş mi? without the accusative suffix.

Question 3

Is the word for bride (gelin) related to the verb gelmek (to come)?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it is! The word gelin historically comes from the verb gelmek. In traditional Turkish culture, it literally refers to "the one who comes" to the groom's family or house. It is a great way to remember the vocabulary word!

Question 4

Why is the question particle mi a separate word, and how do we know which vowel to use in it?

Accepted Answer

The question particle is always written with a space before it, but it still follows 4-way vowel harmony based on the last vowel of the word right before it. Because the last vowel in seçmiş is i, the particle takes the form mi. If the verb were okumuş (read), the particle would be mu.

Gelin beyaz elbiseyi seçmiş mi?

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