Breakdown of Bu zeytinler acıydı, kimse onları almazdı.
bu
this
o
that / he / she / it
almak
to take, to buy
kimse
no one / anyone
Questions & Answers about Bu zeytinler acıydı, kimse onları almazdı.
How do you build the verb almazdı to mean "would not buy"?
It combines the verb root al- (to buy) with -maz (the negative aorist suffix) and -dı (the past tense suffix). The aorist past negative -mazdı is used to describe past habits or things that "used to not" or "would not" happen.
Since kimse already means "nobody," why is the verb almazdı in the negative form?
Turkish requires a double negative here. Whenever you use negative pronouns like kimse (nobody) or hiçbir şey (nothing), the verb must also be in its negative form.
Why is the word for "them" written as onları instead of just onlar?
Because "them" is the direct object receiving the action of the verb almak (to buy). Pronouns are always specific, so when they act as direct objects, they must take the accusative case suffix. The pronoun onlar takes the suffix -ı to become onları.
Why is there a letter y in acıydı?
The adjective acı (bitter) ends in a vowel. When attaching the past tense suffix -dı (was/were) to a noun or adjective that ends in a vowel, you must insert the buffer letter -y- to connect them smoothly.