Learn Turkish: Üniversite rektörünün sekreteri bugün çok yorgun. - The university rector's secretary is very tired today.

It combines two smaller compounds. First, Üniversite rektörü (university rector) is an indefinite compound where only the second word gets a suffix. To make this whole phrase own the secretary, we add the genitive ending -nün to rektörü and the possessive ending -i to sekreter.

Let's break down the suffixes in rektörünün. Where do both of the -ü sounds come from?

The root is rektör. The first -ü belongs to the inner compound üniversite rektörü. The -ün part is the genitive (owner) suffix connecting the rector to the secretary. The -n- in the middle is a buffer consonant, which is always used when adding a case ending to an existing possessive suffix.

Could I say Üniversitenin rektörünün sekreteri instead?

Yes, but it changes the meaning slightly. Adding the genitive -nin to üniversite makes it a definite compound, meaning you are talking about 'the specific university's rector's secretary'. Leaving it as üniversite treats 'university rector' as a general job title.

Why is there no 'to be' suffix on yorgun to mean 'is'?