Breakdown of Bütün çabalarımıza rağmen problem bitmiyor.
problem
problem
bitmek
to finish / to end
bütün
all, whole
rağmen
despite / in spite of
çaba
effort
Questions & Answers about Bütün çabalarımıza rağmen problem bitmiyor.
Why is there an -a at the end of çabalarımıza?
The postposition rağmen (despite) requires the word before it to take the dative case (the -e or -a ending). Because of this rule, we attach the dative suffix -a to çabalarımız (our efforts).
Can you break down the suffixes attached to the word çabalarımıza?
Yes! It starts with the noun root çaba (effort). Next is the plural suffix -lar making it çabalar (efforts). Then comes the first-person plural possessive -ımız making it çabalarımız (our efforts). Finally, the dative suffix -a is added to link it with rağmen.
Why is the negative part of bitmiyor spelled with an -mi instead of -me?
This happens because of a rule called vowel narrowing. The normal negative suffix for bitmek is indeed -me. However, when the present continuous suffix -yor is added right after an -a or -e, that vowel narrows. Here, the e in -me narrows to i, giving us bitmiyor.
Could we use bitirmiyor instead of bitmiyor in this sentence?
No, because they have different meanings. Bitmek means to end or to finish on its own, which fits perfectly here since the problem itself is not ending. Bitirmek means to finish something. If you used bitirmiyor, it would mean someone specific is not finishing the problem.
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