Breakdown of Kalenin nerede bulunduğunu merak ediyorum.
nerede
where
merak etmek
to wonder, to be curious
kale
castle
bulunmak
to be located
Questions & Answers about Kalenin nerede bulunduğunu merak ediyorum.
Why does it say Kalenin ... bulunduğunu instead of just Kale nerede bulunuyor?
This is how Turkish forms indirect questions. The direct question is Kale nerede bulunuyor? (Where is the castle located?). To turn this into the embedded clause 'where the castle is located', the subject (kale) takes the genitive suffix (-nin), and the verb (bulunmak) takes the -dIğI suffix. The whole clause then becomes the object of merak ediyorum.
Can you break down the suffixes on bulunduğunu?
It starts with the verb stem bulun- (to be located). Then we add -duk, which changes to -duğ-, turning the verb into a noun-like clause. Next is -u (3rd person possessive, linking it to Kalenin). Finally, we add the buffer -n- and the accusative case -u because the entire clause is the specific direct object of merak ediyorum (I wonder it).
Why is it Kalenin (with the genitive case) and not just Kale?
In Turkish factive clauses made with -dIğI or -(y)AcAğI, the subject of that inner clause acts like an 'owner' and must take the genitive case. So, the castle conceptually 'owns' the action of being located. That is why kale becomes kalenin.
Could I use olduğunu instead of bulunduğunu here?
Yes! You can say Kalenin nerede olduğunu merak ediyorum to mean 'I wonder where the castle is.' Using bulunmak (to be found/located) instead of olmak (to be) just sounds slightly more descriptive, similar to the difference between 'where the castle is' and 'where the castle is located' in English.
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