Breakdown of Başkan, heyetin antlaşmayı kabul etmek yerine taviz vermesine şaşırdı.
başkan
president, chairman
kabul etmek
to accept
şaşırmak
to be surprised
yerine
instead of
heyet
delegation
antlaşma
treaty
taviz vermek
to make concessions
Questions & Answers about Başkan, heyetin antlaşmayı kabul etmek yerine taviz vermesine şaşırdı.
Why does "vermesine" end with the dative case "-e"?
The main verb şaşırmak (to be surprised) always requires the dative case for the thing you are surprised at. Here, the president is surprised at "their making concessions" (verme-si-n-e). The structure is the short verbal noun (-me) + 3rd person possessive (-si, referring to the delegation) + buffer (-n-) + dative (-e).
Why is it "heyetin" with the genitive "-in" instead of just "heyet"?
In Turkish, action clauses like "the delegation making concessions" are built using possessive constructions. It literally translates to "the delegation's making of concessions". The doer of the action (heyet) takes the genitive suffix (-in), which links directly to the possessive suffix (-si) on the action (vermesi).
Why is "kabul etmek" in the full "-mAk" infinitive form, while "taviz vermek" changes to the short "-mA" form?
The postposition yerine (instead of) follows the standard dictionary infinitive (-mAk) when contrasting two actions. So "instead of accepting" is simply kabul etmek yerine. However, the second action is the actual object of the president's surprise, so it must take the specific grammar structure (short verbal noun + possessive + dative) required by the main verb şaşırmak.
Does "antlaşmayı" take the accusative case because of "kabul etmek"?
Exactly. Even though it is embedded inside a larger sentence, kabul etmek (to accept) still acts as a verb for its own object. Since they are talking about accepting a specific, known treaty, antlaşma takes the definite accusative suffix (-yı).
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