Breakdown of Sözleştikten sonra yeni bir etkinlik planlayabildik.
bir
a / an
yeni
new
sonra
after
planlamak
to plan
sözleşmek
to arrange to meet
etkinlik
event (organized activity)
Questions & Answers about Sözleştikten sonra yeni bir etkinlik planlayabildik.
I see -tik in sözleştikten. Is this the same -dik used in the current lesson's -diği gibi structure?
Yes, it is the same underlying -dik suffix, which turns verbs into nouns or adjectives. However, to say 'after doing something', we add the ablative case -ten followed by sonra to make -dikten sonra. Notice that unlike the -diği gibi ('as he does') structure you are learning now, -dikten sonra doesn't use a possessive suffix for the person. The person doing the action is simply understood from the main verb, which is planlayabildik ('we' were able to).
What is the root of sözleştikten, and how does it mean 'arranged to meet'?
The root is the noun söz (word, promise). Adding the suffix -leş turns it into a reciprocal verb, sözleşmek, which literally means 'to exchange words or promises with each other'. In everyday Turkish, this is the standard and natural way to say 'to make an appointment' or 'to arrange to meet'.
Why is the word order yeni bir etkinlik and not bir yeni etkinlik?
In Turkish, when an adjective describes an indefinite noun (using 'a' or 'an'), the adjective almost always comes before the word bir. The standard pattern is 'adjective + bir + noun'. Saying bir yeni etkinlik would sound unnatural to a native speaker, though learners often mix this up since it differs from English.
How do all the suffixes in the word planlayabildik break down?
It starts with the noun plan (plan). We add -la to make it the verb planlamak (to plan). Then we add the buffer letter -y- and the ability suffix -abil to mean 'able to plan'. Finally, -di makes it past tense, and -k means 'we did it'. Altogether it means 'we were able to plan'.
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