Breakdown of Dedenin torunuyla ilgilenmesi lazımdı.
ile
with / by / and (linking nouns)
lazım
necessary
dede
grandfather
torun
grandchild
Questions & Answers about Dedenin torunuyla ilgilenmesi lazımdı.
Why is "dedenin" in the genitive case instead of just being the subject "dede"?
This is because of how personal necessity is formed in Turkish. We literally say "The grandfather's taking care was necessary." The word dede gets the genitive suffix -nin, linking it to the verbal noun ilgilenmesi (his taking care of).
How do we break down "ilgilenmesi lazımdı" to mean "had to take care"?
First, we drop the -k from the infinitive ilgilenmek to make the short verbal noun ilgilenme (taking care). Then, we add the 3rd-person possessive suffix -si to match dedenin, making ilgilenmesi. Finally, adding lazımdı (was necessary) gives us the full meaning: "his taking care was necessary."
Why is "torun" (grandchild) written as "torunuyla"?
In Turkish, the verb ilgilenmek (to take care of / to be interested in) requires the word it acts upon to take the ile (with) ending. Here, we have torun (grandchild) + -u (his, pointing back to the grandfather) + -yla (with). So in Turkish grammar, he is literally dealing "with his grandchild."
Could we use "gerekiyordu" instead of "lazımdı" in this sentence?
Yes! Dedenin torunuyla ilgilenmesi gerekiyordu means exactly the same thing. Both lazımdı and gerekiyordu are commonly used with the short verbal noun + possessive to express that someone had to do something in the past.