Breakdown of Casus istihbarat dosyalarını aldıktan sonra kaçtı.
almak
to take, to buy
kaçmak
to run away
dosya
file
sonra
after
Questions & Answers about Casus istihbarat dosyalarını aldıktan sonra kaçtı.
How is the word dosyalarını broken down with suffixes here?
It builds on the noun compound istihbarat dosyası (intelligence file). To make it plural, we use -lar, followed by the 3rd person possessive -ı, giving istihbarat dosyaları. Finally, because these specific files are the direct object being taken, we need the accusative case -ı. When attaching case endings to a 3rd person possessive, Turkish requires the buffer consonant -n-, resulting in dosyalarını.
How does the structure aldıktan sonra work to mean "after taking"?
To say "after doing [something]" in Turkish, you take the verb stem and add the suffix -dIktAn, followed by the word sonra. Here, al- (take) gets -dık (which turns the verb into a noun-like form) and -tan (the ablative "from" case). Literally, it translates to something like "after from the taking," but in natural English, we just say "after taking."
Could I change the word order and say Casus aldıktan sonra istihbarat dosyalarını kaçtı?
That would sound unnatural. Turkish strictly keeps the object right before the verb that affects it. Because the intelligence files are the object of the "taking" action, istihbarat dosyalarını must come directly before aldıktan sonra. The entire phrase istihbarat dosyalarını aldıktan sonra acts as a single time block nestled between the subject (Casus) and the main verb (kaçtı).
How would I say "before taking" instead of "after taking" in this sentence?