Questions & Answers about Eski sultan yaşlı ve hastaymış.
Why are there two different words for 'old' (eski and yaşlı) in this sentence?
In Turkish, eski means 'old' for objects or 'former' for titles and roles (like the former sultan). Yaşlı means 'old' in age, and is used for living things like people and animals. You wouldn't use eski for a person's age.
What is the -y- doing in hastaymış?
The word hasta ends in a vowel. The reported past suffix here is -mış. When attaching this suffix to a noun or adjective ending in a vowel, you must use the buffer letter -y- to connect them smoothly. So it becomes hasta + y + mış.
Why doesn't yaşlı have the -mış suffix too?
When you connect adjectives with ve (and), you only need to add the 'to be' suffix to the very last word in the list. The -ymış on hastaymış automatically applies back to yaşlı as well, so it means 'apparently old and apparently sick.'
How does -mış give us 'apparently was'?
The suffix -mış (the reported past) is used when you are talking about something you didn't experience directly. You heard it from someone else, read it, or figured it out later. Here, it adds the feeling of 'I am told' or 'rumor has it' that the sultan was old and sick.