Breakdown of Yardım istiyor musun?
yardım
help, aid
Questions & Answers about Yardım istiyor musun?
The verb for to want is istemek. Why is it spelled istiyor instead of isteyiyor?
When a verb root ends in a wide vowel like the e in iste- and you add the present continuous suffix -iyor, that final vowel narrows to fit vowel harmony. Here, the e turns into an i, making it istiyor.
Is yardım a verb in this sentence?
No, yardım is a noun meaning help or assistance. The sentence literally translates to Are you wanting help? If you wanted to use the verb to help (yardım etmek), the sentence structure would be different. Using the noun is the most natural way to ask this in Turkish.
Why is the question word musun instead of misin?
The question particle changes based on the 4-way vowel harmony of the word right before it. Since the last vowel in istiyor is o, the question particle takes the u form (mu). Then we add the personal ending for you (-sun), creating musun.
Where is the word for you in this sentence?
In Turkish, the subject pronoun is usually dropped because the ending already tells us who is doing the action. The -sun on musun specifically means you for a single person in an informal context. You could say Sen yardım istiyor musun?, but leaving sen out is much more common and natural.
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