Breakdown of Salonu süslemekten başka hiçbir şey yapmayı sevmiyorum.
yapmak
to do / to make
sevmek
to love, to like
şey
thing
hiçbir
no / not any (determiner)
Questions & Answers about Salonu süslemekten başka hiçbir şey yapmayı sevmiyorum.
Why does süslemek take the -ten ending before başka?
The postposition başka (meaning "besides" or "other than") requires the word before it to be in the ablative case (the -DAn ending). Since süslemek (to decorate) ends in a voiceless consonant (k), the ending becomes -ten. So, süslemekten başka means "besides decorating."
Why is it salonu instead of just salon?
Salon takes the accusative ending -u because it is the specific direct object of the verb süslemek (to decorate). You are talking about decorating the salon, not just doing a general, unspecified activity of "salon-decorating."
What is the -yı ending on yapmayı?
The verb sevmek (to like/love) requires its specific object to be in the accusative case. Here, the object is the action of doing something, expressed by the verbal noun yapma (doing). To link it to sevmiyorum, we add the accusative -ı with the buffer letter -y-, making it yapmayı.
If hiçbir şey means "nothing," why is the verb sevmiyorum also negative?