Question 1

How does the -armış ending change the meaning of tutmak in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

The verb tutarmış combines the aorist suffix -ar (used for general facts or habits) with the inferential suffix -mış (used for storytelling or hearsay). Together, they describe a recurring action or state in a story or fable, translating to "would hold" or "used to hold" in a tale you are narrating but didn't personally witness.

Question 2

Why is the word for mouth spelled ağzında here instead of ağızında?

Accepted Answer

The root word is ağız (mouth). When a two-syllable body part takes a suffix starting with a vowel, like the possessive -ı (its), the second vowel of the root drops out. This makes it ağzı. Finally, we add the buffer letter -n- and the locative suffix -da (in) to get ağzında (in its mouth).

Question 3

Why do we say bir parça peynir instead of forming a compound noun like peynir parçası?

Accepted Answer

When a word like parça (piece), bardak (glass), or kutu (box) is used to measure an amount of something, it acts directly as a quantifier before the noun. You just put them side by side as bir parça peynir (a piece of cheese) without needing to build a possessive compound.

Question 4

Why is the word bir placed after the adjective büyük?

Accepted Answer

In Turkish, the indefinite article bir (a/an) normally goes directly between the adjective and the noun it modifies. That is why we say büyük bir parça (a large piece) rather than putting bir at the very beginning of the phrase.

Karga ağzında büyük bir parça peynir tutarmış.

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