Breakdown of Otobüs gecikti, trene aktarma yapamadım.
otobüs
bus
yapmak
to do / to make
tren
train
gecikmek
to be late / to be delayed
aktarma
transfer (transportation)
Questions & Answers about Otobüs gecikti, trene aktarma yapamadım.
How do we build yapamadım to mean "I could not do"?
It breaks down like this: yap (the verb root for do/make) + ama (the inability suffix for verbs with back vowels) + dı (past tense) + m (I). The -ama part is the focus of this lesson. Notice how it changes a simple negative like "I didn't do" (yapmadım) into "I couldn't do" (yapamadım).
Why is there an "-e" on the end of tren?
That is the dative case suffix, meaning "to" or "towards". Just like in English, you transfer to a vehicle. So tren (train) becomes trene (to the train).
Why is it aktarma yapamadım instead of just a single verb for "transfer"?
Turkish often pairs a noun with a helper verb like yapmak (to do/make) to create an action. Aktarma is the noun "transfer", so transferring is literally "making a transfer" (aktarma yapmak). You will see this pattern often!
What is the root of the verb gecikti?
The root is gecikmek (to be late or delayed). Here, it takes the standard past tense suffix -ti. It comes from the adjective geç (late), but you can just memorize gecikmek as its own verb for whenever something is delayed.
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