Breakdown of Bilgisayarım kapanmak üzere.
bilgisayar
computer
üzere
about to / on the verge of
kapanmak
to shut down / to close (intransitive)
Questions & Answers about Bilgisayarım kapanmak üzere.
How does üzere give the meaning of "about to" here?
The construction -mAk üzere expresses an imminent action, meaning something is right on the verge of happening. By combining the full infinitive verb kapanmak (to shut down) with the word üzere, we get "about to shut down".
Why use kapanmak instead of kapatmak?
Kapatmak means "to close" or "to shut down" something actively, like when you choose to turn off the machine yourself. Kapanmak is the passive or reflexive version, meaning "to close itself" or "to be closed". Since the computer is shutting down on its own (perhaps the battery is dying), we use kapanmak.
Where is the word for "is" in this sentence?
In Turkish, the present tense "to be" ending for the third-person singular (he/she/it) is often invisible. While you could add the -dir suffix and say kapanmak üzeredir to sound more formal, in everyday speech, kapanmak üzere is perfectly fine as a complete sentence.
Could I just use the future tense and say kapanacak instead?
You could, but it changes the feeling of the sentence. Kapanacak simply means "it will shut down" at some point in the future. Using kapanmak üzere specifically highlights the urgency, telling the listener that the shutdown is happening right this second.
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