Learn Turkish: Memur olan bir kefil bulmak zor mu? - Is it difficult to find a guarantor who is a civil servant?

olan is made from the verb olmak (to be) plus the subject relative suffix -an. Together, they act like an adjective meaning "who is" or "that is". Here, memur olan describes the kefil (guarantor), literally meaning "who is a civil servant".

Why does bir come after olan instead of at the beginning of the phrase?

In Turkish, descriptive phrases usually come before the indefinite article bir. Since memur olan acts as a long adjective describing the guarantor, it must come before bir kefil (a guarantor).

Why is the verb bulmak (to find) left in its dictionary form here?

In this sentence, the entire phrase memur olan bir kefil bulmak (finding a guarantor who is a civil servant) acts as the subject. When an action is the subject of the sentence, the verb stays in its infinitive -mak or -mek form, just like using "finding" or "to find" in English.

Why isn't there a verb for "is" next to zor mu?

In Turkish, you don't always need a "to be" verb like "is" for simple sentences. The adjective zor (difficult) paired with the question particle mu directly translates to "is it difficult?". The "it" is already covered by the action of finding the guarantor.