Breakdown of Örgüte girdikten sonra hepsi yemin etmeliymiş.
girmek
to enter
sonra
after
hepsi
all of them
örgüt
organization (often illegal or political) / secret society
Questions & Answers about Örgüte girdikten sonra hepsi yemin etmeliymiş.
How does the suffix -meliymiş change the meaning of yemin etmeli?
yemin etmeli simply means 'they must swear an oath.' By adding the inferential suffix -(y)miş, it becomes yemin etmeliymiş. This adds a layer of hearsay or reported information, meaning 'I heard they must swear an oath' or 'they supposedly have to swear an oath.'
Why is it girdikten sonra instead of just girmekten sonra?
To say 'after doing something', Turkish uses the structure verb + -DIktAn sonra. It combines the past participle suffix -DIk with the ablative case -tAn (from). Using the infinitive -mEktAn is a common mistake for English speakers, but girdikten sonra is the standard way to say 'after entering.'
Why does örgüt (organization) take the dative suffix -e here?
The verb girmek (to enter) requires the dative case for the destination you are entering. In English, you 'enter an organization,' but in Turkish, you point toward the destination, effectively saying 'enter to an organization,' which gives us örgüte.
Could we just use hep instead of hepsi to mean 'all'?
No, when used as a standalone pronoun meaning 'all of them', you need the 3rd person possessive suffix -si, making it hepsi. The word hep on its own usually acts as an adverb meaning 'always' or 'entirely'.