Questions & Answers about Aşçının pişirdiği balık mükemmeldi.
How does pişirdiği mean 'that ... cooked'?
This uses the new object relative participle -dIk. It attaches to the verb root pişir- (cook) to turn it into a describing word. Then we add the possessive suffix -i (his/her) to show who did the cooking. Literally, it translates to 'his/her cooked'.
Why does aşçı have the -nın ending? Isn't the cook the one doing the cooking?
In Turkish relative clauses with -dIk, the person doing the action takes the genitive (possessive) ending. Because the verb becomes like a possessed noun, the subject becomes the 'owner' of that action. So aşçının pişirdiği balık literally translates to 'the cook's cooked fish'.
Why is there a ğ in pişirdiği?
The base participle suffix is -dIk (making 'pişirdik'). However, when we add the third-person possessive suffix -i (because 'the cook' is 'he/she'), the suffix starts with a vowel. This causes the k at the end of -dIk to soften into a ğ through consonant mutation, making it pişirdiği.
Why doesn't balık have the specific object ending (accusative case) if it is the fish that was cooked?