Breakdown of Memur, göçmene ikamet belgesini göstermesini söyledi.
söylemek
to say, to sing
göstermek
to show
belge
document
memur
officer
Questions & Answers about Memur, göçmene ikamet belgesini göstermesini söyledi.
How do we build the indirect command "told him to show" in Turkish?
To report a command, Turkish uses a verbal noun (ending in -me or -ma) combined with a possessive suffix and the accusative case. Here, "told him to show" becomes göstermesini söyledi (literally "told his showing").
Why does göstermesini have both a possessive suffix and an accusative suffix?
It breaks down into gösterme (the action of showing), -si (his, referring to the immigrant), and -ni (the accusative case marker). The accusative is needed because "his showing" is the specific direct object of the main verb söyledi (told).
Why is "göçmen" (immigrant) in the dative case (göçmene)?
In English you "tell someone", but in Turkish you "tell to someone". The verb söylemek always requires the person being spoken to to take the dative case (-(y)e or -(y)a).
Both belgesini and göstermesini end in -sini. Are they doing the same job?
Yes, but for different verbs! İkamet belgesini (the residence document) takes the accusative because it is the specific direct object of the showing action. Then, göstermesini takes the accusative because the entire showing action is the direct object of what the officer told (söyledi).