Question 1

How do the words bomboş and dümdüz get their intensified meanings?

Accepted Answer

These are intensified adjectives formed by reduplication. You take the first syllable of the adjective (for boş, it's bo-; for düz, it's dü-), add one of four consonant letters (m, p, r, s), and attach the whole thing to the front of the original word. Boş (empty) becomes bomboş (completely empty), and düz (flat or straight) becomes dümdüz (perfectly flat).

Question 2

Both bomboş and dümdüz use the letter "m" as the extra consonant. Is there a rule for choosing between m, p, r, and s?

Accepted Answer

Unfortunately, there is no strict rule to predict whether a word will take m, p, r, or s. You simply have to memorize which consonant goes with which adjective. However, p and s are the most common, making these two words good exceptions to commit to memory! Other common "m" examples are sımsıcak (boiling hot) and yemyeşil (bright green).

Question 3

Doesn't durmak usually mean "to stop"? Why does it mean "was standing" here?

Accepted Answer

While durmak does mean "to stop," it is also the standard verb for "to stand" (as in, to be in a stationary, standing position or to be located somewhere). For a horse just being present and motionless in a field, duruyordu is exactly the right word to use.

Question 4

Why does the verb duruyordu have both an -uyor- suffix and a -du suffix?

Accepted Answer

This is a quick refresher on the past continuous tense. It combines the present continuous suffix (-ıyor/iyor/uyor/üyor) with the past tense suffix (-dı/di/du/dü). The verb root is dur-, so dur-uyor-du means "was standing." It is used for ongoing, continuous actions in the past.

Bomboş ve dümdüz tarlada bir at duruyordu.

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