Breakdown of İşi bilmeyen usta ya parkeyi ya da fayansı kırdı.
iş
work
bilmek
to know
kırmak
to break
usta
craftsman
ya... ya da
either... or
fayans
tile
parke
parquet / hardwood floor
Questions & Answers about İşi bilmeyen usta ya parkeyi ya da fayansı kırdı.
How does the ya... ya da... structure work in this sentence?
It translates to 'either... or...'. You place ya before the first option (parkeyi) and ya da before the second option (fayansı). The da is optional, but it is very common to include it on the second part for a natural flow and emphasis.
Why do both parke and fayans get the accusative endings -yi and -sı?
Because both are specific direct objects of the verb kırdı (broke). When you use ya... ya da... to link two specific objects, they both must take the accusative case ending to show exactly what is being broken.
What is the -yen ending doing in bilmeyen?
The -en / -an suffix (here as -yen because of the buffer -y-) turns a verb into an adjective describing a noun. Attached to the negative verb bilme (not know), it makes bilmeyen. Together with the noun, bilmeyen usta means 'the master who does not know'.
Why does the sentence start with işi instead of just iş?
The word iş (job) gets the accusative ending -i because it is the specific direct object of the action 'knowing' (bilmeyen). The master doesn't just lack knowledge in general; he doesn't know 'the job'.
Learn İşi bilmeyen usta ya parkeyi ya da fayansı kırdı and more in Turkish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free