Breakdown of Ziyaretçilerin şimdi nerede olduğunu kimse bilmiyor.
şimdi
now
nerede
where
olmak
to be
bilmek
to know
kimse
no one / anyone
ziyaretçi
visitor
Questions & Answers about Ziyaretçilerin şimdi nerede olduğunu kimse bilmiyor.
How is the indirect question 'where the visitors are' built in this sentence?
In Turkish, indirect questions are structured like possessed noun clauses. The verb olmak (to be) takes the factive marker -dık. The subject of the indirect question (ziyaretçiler) takes the genitive case (-in). So, 'where they are' literally translates to something like 'their where-being': nerede + ol + duk + u (3rd person possessive).
Since ziyaretçilerin is plural, why is it olduğunu instead of olduklarını?
When the subject of a clause is already clearly marked as plural (because of the -ler in ziyaretçilerin), Turkish often drops the plural marker on the verb or clause to avoid repetition. Both olduğunu (singular possessive) and olduklarını (plural possessive) are grammatically correct here, but olduğunu is very common and sounds completely natural.
Why does olduğunu end with the accusative marker -nu?
The entire indirect question clause—ziyaretçilerin şimdi nerede olduğu—acts as the direct object of the main verb bilmiyor (doesn't know). Because it's a specific, defined thing being known (or not known), it takes the accusative case. The -n- is just a buffer letter between the possessive -u and the accusative -u.
Kimse means 'nobody'. Why is the main verb bilmiyor in the negative form?
Unlike English, which uses a positive verb with 'nobody' ('nobody knows'), Turkish requires a negative verb when using indefinite pronouns like kimse (nobody/anybody) or hiçbir şey (nothing/anything). You must always pair them with a negative verb.
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