Learn Turkish: Kasiyer, polise olayı tanık olarak anlattı. - The cashier explained the event to the police as a witness.

The word olarak is made from the verb olmak (to be) and the suffix -arak (which usually means doing an action). But when placed directly after a noun, olarak works like a postposition meaning "as" or "in the role of." So, tanık olarak simply means "as a witness."

Why is the specific object marker used on olayı?

The suffix -ı is the accusative case marker, used because the cashier is explaining a specific, known event ("the event"). If they were talking about a generic event, it would just be olay.

Why does polise have an -e at the end?

The verb anlatmak (to explain or to tell) directs the action to someone. In Turkish, you use the dative case (adding -a or -e) for the receiver. So polis becomes polise ("to the police").

Why is there a comma after Kasiyer?

In Turkish sentences, it is very common to put a comma immediately after the subject, especially if there are several other words before the verb. It helps clearly separate the person doing the action (Kasiyer) from the rest of the sentence.