Breakdown of Patron benim hakkımda yalan söylüyordu, keşke o işi bırakmasaydım.
o
that / he / she / it
ben
I
iş
work
söylemek
to say, to sing
yalan
lie (untruth)
bırakmak
to leave (something somewhere), to drop off / to release, to let go of / to quit / to stop (doing something)
patron
boss
hakkında
about, concerning
keşke
if only / I wish
Questions & Answers about Patron benim hakkımda yalan söylüyordu, keşke o işi bırakmasaydım.
How does bırakmasaydım express "I had not left"?
It uses the past regret structure you are learning now. It builds on the verb root bırak (leave/quit) with the negative -ma (not), the conditional -sa (if), the past tense ending -ydı, and the personal suffix -m (I). Together with keşke, this -masaydım combination means "I wish I had not...".
Why is it söylüyordu instead of "söyleyordu"?
The verb root is söyle- (to tell/say). When the continuous suffix -yor is attached to a verb ending in a or e, that final vowel narrows. Here, the e narrows to ü to match the surrounding vowels, becoming söylüyor. Adding the past tense -du creates the past continuous "was telling".
Why do we use the genitive pronoun benim before hakkımda?
To say "about me" in Turkish, you form a possessive relationship, literally translating as "in my concerning". Because of this, you use the genitive pronoun benim (my) alongside the first-person possessive suffix on the noun itself (hakk-ım-da).
Why does hakkımda have a double "k"?
The base word is hak (an Arabic loanword). When we add a suffix starting with a vowel, like the first-person possessive -ım, the final consonant doubles to preserve its original root sound. Then the locative suffix -da (in/at) is added to the end.
Why is there an -i at the end of o işi?
The verb bırakmak (to leave/quit) requires its direct object to be in the accusative case if the object is specific. Because you are talking about "that" specific job (o iş), you must add the definite accusative suffix -i.
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