Breakdown of Yalanı sadece ona söyletiyorlar.
o
that / he / she / it
yalan
lie (untruth)
sadece
only, just
söyletmek
to make say / sing
Questions & Answers about Yalanı sadece ona söyletiyorlar.
Why do we use the dative ona (to him) here instead of the accusative onu?
This is the core rule of causative verbs! The base verb söylemek (to tell/say) is transitive, meaning it already takes a direct object (yalanı). Since the direct object slot is already filled, the person who is made to do the action (the causee) is bumped to the dative case (ona). If the base verb were intransitive (like crying or sleeping), the causee would take the accusative case instead.
How exactly is the causative suffix formed on söyletiyorlar?
The base verb stem is söyle- (to say/tell). Because this stem ends in a vowel, it takes the causative suffix -t, becoming söylet- (to make someone say/tell). After that, it simply gets the standard present continuous ending -iyor and the plural subject marker -lar.
Why does yalan (lie) have the -ı suffix?
The -ı is the accusative case marker, showing that yalanı is a specific direct object. They aren't making him tell just any lie; they are making him tell the lie.
Why is sadece ona placed right before the verb?
In Turkish, the information you want to emphasize usually goes immediately before the verb. By putting sadece ona (only him) right before söyletiyorlar, the speaker heavily emphasizes that they are making only him (and absolutely no one else) take the fall and tell the lie.
Learn Yalanı sadece ona söyletiyorlar and more in Turkish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free