Questions & Answers about Zarfı yapıştırmak için su kullandı.
How does yapıştırmak için translate to "to seal"?
This is the main focus of this lesson! When you put the dictionary form of a verb ending in -mak or -mek (like yapıştırmak) right before için (for), it creates a purpose clause. It literally means "for sticking," but we translate it to English as "in order to seal" or simply "to seal."
Why is there an -ı at the end of zarfı?
That is the specific direct object ending (the accusative case). Because he is sealing a specific envelope ("the envelope"), zarf (envelope) gets the -ı ending to show it is the specific target of the action.
If zarfı takes an ending, why is it just su and not suyu?
That is because su is being used generally here. He used "water" in general, not "the water" from a specific glass. In Turkish, we only use the accusative ending on specific direct objects. If it is just a general category, it stays in its plain dictionary form.
I have seen yapıştırmak translated as "to stick" or "to paste". Why does it mean "to seal" here?
Yapıştırmak literally means to stick or glue something together. When you do that to an envelope, you are sealing it. Turkish often uses this literal "sticking" verb rather than having a completely separate word just for sealing letters.