Breakdown of Herkes yaşlılıktan korkuyor mu?
korkmak
to fear
herkes
everyone
mi
question particle (mı/mi/mu/mü)
yaşlılık
old age
Questions & Answers about Herkes yaşlılıktan korkuyor mu?
How is the word yaşlılık formed using the -lık suffix?
The root is yaş, which means age. Adding -lı makes the adjective yaşlı (aged or old). Then, adding the current lesson's suffix -lık turns that adjective into the abstract noun yaşlılık (old age).
Why does yaşlılık have the -tan ending here?
The verb korkmak (to fear or be afraid) requires the object you are afraid of to take the ablative case suffix (-dan, -den, -tan, or -ten). In Turkish, you are literally afraid 'from' old age, which gives us yaşlılıktan.
Why is the ablative suffix -tan instead of -dan?
The word yaşlılık ends with the letter k, which is a voiceless consonant. Because of consonant harmony, the d in the suffix -dan hardens and changes to a t, making it -tan.
Herkes means 'everyone', so why is the verb korkuyor singular instead of plural (korkuyorlar)?
Just like in English where we say 'everyone is' rather than 'everyone are', the Turkish word herkes is grammatically singular. Therefore, it always takes a third-person singular verb.