Breakdown of Hakem maçı erken bitirmeseydi, ikinci golü atardık.
erken
early
maç
match / game (sports)
bitirmek
to finish (something)
atmak
to throw / to tie (a knot) / to lay (a foundation) / to put (a signature)
ikinci
second
gol
goal (sports)
hakem
referee
Questions & Answers about Hakem maçı erken bitirmeseydi, ikinci golü atardık.
How do the suffixes in "bitirmeseydi" create the meaning "if he hadn't finished"?
Let's break it down: bitir (finish) + -me (negative) + -se (conditional "if") + -y- (buffer) + -di (past). In Turkish, combining the conditional -se with the past tense -di creates a past counterfactual—something that didn't actually happen. So, bitirmeseydi literally means "if he hadn't finished."
Why is the aorist tense used in "atardık" to mean "we would have scored"?
To say "would have done" in the result part of a past counterfactual sentence, Turkish combines the aorist tense (the "broad" tense, -ar or -er) with the past tense (-dı). Here, at (score/throw) + -ar (aorist) + -dı (past) + -k ("we" ending) forms atardık (we would have scored).
The word "gol" has an "o", so why is the suffix in "golü" an "-ü" instead of an "-u"?
Gol is a loanword (from the English "goal"). Some loanwords in Turkish break standard vowel harmony rules because of their original pronunciation. Therefore, it takes front-vowel suffixes like -ü for the accusative (golü) and -ler for the plural (goller), rather than -u or -lar.
Why does "golü atardık" use the verb "atmak" (to throw)?
In Turkish, the standard phrase for "to score a goal" is gol atmak (literally "to throw a goal"). While you probably first learned atmak as "to throw," it is the natural verb to use in this sports context.
Why do both "maç" and "gol" have the accusative endings "-ı" and "-ü" in this sentence?
They are both specific direct objects. The referee didn't just finish any match; he finished "the match" (maçı). Similarly, the team wouldn't have scored just any goal, but specifically "the second goal" (ikinci golü). Whenever you point to a specific direct object, you must use the accusative case.
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