Breakdown of Mağazaları geziyorken lüzumsuz şeyler almaz.
almak
to take, to buy
şey
thing
mağaza
store / shop
gezmek
to visit
lüzumsuz
unnecessary
Questions & Answers about Mağazaları geziyorken lüzumsuz şeyler almaz.
Why does mağazaları take the accusative -ı ending here?
In English, "to wander" is often intransitive, but in Turkish, gezmek takes a direct object when you wander through or around a specific place. Because she is wandering "the stores" (specific), it requires the accusative case.
How does geziyorken break down, and could we just say gezerken?
It is gez-iyor-ken (verb + present continuous + while). You will often see the aorist form gezerken used to mean "while wandering" in a general sense. Using -iyorken just adds a bit more emphasis to the continuous action happening at that exact moment. Both are perfectly natural here.
Since this lesson is about -mAk yerine, how would we say "instead of buying unnecessary things" using this sentence's vocabulary?
You would take the infinitive form of the verb almak (to buy) and add yerine. The phrase becomes: Lüzumsuz şeyler almak yerine... (Instead of buying unnecessary things...).
Where does the word lüzumsuz come from?
It is formed from the noun lüzum (necessity or need) and the suffix -sUz (without). So, it literally means "without necessity" or "unnecessary." You will also frequently hear the synonym gereksiz.
Why does the sentence use the aorist negative almaz instead of the present continuous almıyor?
The aorist (-maz in the negative) is used to express general habits, rules, or personality traits. Using almaz shows that not buying unnecessary things is a general rule she follows whenever she shops, rather than just a one-time event happening right now.
Learn Mağazaları geziyorken lüzumsuz şeyler almaz 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