Questions & Answers about Ağlıyorum çünkü başım ağrıyor.
The dictionary form of to cry is ağlamak. Why is it spelled ağlıyorum here with an ı?
When a verb ends in a or e, adding the present continuous suffix -yor causes that final vowel to narrow. The a in the root ağla- changes to ı to fit vowel harmony, becoming ağlıyorum.
Why is there no word for I (like ben) at the beginning of the sentence?
In Turkish, you usually do not need to use subject pronouns like ben (I) because the verb ending already tells you who is acting. The -um at the end of ağlıyorum means I am doing it.
How do we get the word başım for my head?
The base word for head is baş. To show possession for I (my), we add the suffix -ım. Because baş contains the vowel a, vowel harmony dictates we use the ı version of the suffix, making it başım.
Is ağrıyor from the same root as the noun ağrı (pain)?
Yes! In Turkish, ağrı can be a noun (pain) or a verb root (to ache). For the verb, because ağrı- already ends in the vowel ı, we just attach the -yor suffix to get ağrıyor (it is aching).
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