Breakdown of Güneş batarken göl kıpkırmızı görünüyordu.
güneş
sun
göl
lake
batmak
to sink
görünmek
to appear, to seem
kıpkırmızı
bright red
Questions & Answers about Güneş batarken göl kıpkırmızı görünüyordu.
How is the intensified adjective kıpkırmızı formed here?
To intensify an adjective in Turkish, we take the first vowel-sound block of the word (for kırmızı, that's kı), add m, p, r, or s (here it takes p to make kıp), and attach it to the front of the word. You have to memorize which letter each adjective takes; kırmızı always uses p to become kıpkırmızı (bright red).
Why does batarken have an -ar before the -ken suffix?
The suffix -ken means "while", but when used with verbs, it usually attaches to a tense marker rather than the bare root. Here, it attaches to the aorist tense (bat-ar, meaning "it sets"). So batarken translates to "while setting".
Why is the verb görünüyordu used instead of görüyordu?
Görüyordu comes from görmek and means "was seeing". By adding the -ün suffix, we get görünmek, which changes the meaning to "to appear" or "to be seen". Since the lake wasn't looking at anything, but rather appearing bright red, we need görünüyordu.
What two time suffixes combine to make görünüyordu?
It combines the present continuous suffix -üyor (is appearing) with the past tense suffix -du (was). Together they form the past continuous tense, meaning "was appearing" or "was looking".
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