Breakdown of Koyunların hepsi kurttan çok korkarmış.
çok
very
korkmak
to fear
hepsi
all of them
koyun
sheep
kurt
wolf
Questions & Answers about Koyunların hepsi kurttan çok korkarmış.
Why does the verb use the -armış ending here?
The verb korkarmış combines the aorist suffix -ar (used for general habits or timeless truths) with the inferential suffix -mış. Together, they form the inferential aorist. This is used to talk about habitual actions or general facts that you heard about rather than saw yourself. It is very common in fairy tales or rumors, giving the sense of 'apparently they are always afraid' or 'they would be afraid.'
Why is it kurttan with a -tan ending instead of just kurt?
In Turkish, the verb korkmak (to be afraid) always requires the thing you are afraid of to take the ablative case ending -dan or -den (from). Because kurt ends in a hard, voiceless consonant (t), the ending changes to -tan to match. Literally translated, you are afraid 'from' the wolf!
How does koyunların hepsi translate to 'all of the sheep'?
This is built exactly like a standard noun compound. Koyunların means 'of the sheep' using the genitive suffix -ın. Hepsi means 'all of them' using the root hep plus the third-person possessive suffix -si. Together, it literally means 'the sheep's all of them', which is the standard Turkish way to specify 'all of the sheep'.
Since koyunların hepsi refers to multiple sheep, why doesn't the verb have the plural suffix to make it korkarlarmış?
In Turkish, when a plural subject refers to animals, plants, or inanimate objects, the verb almost always remains in the singular form. Since sheep are animals, leaving off the plural -lar on the verb to make it korkarmış is grammatically correct and sounds the most natural.
Learn Koyunların hepsi kurttan çok korkarmış and more in Turkish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free