Learn Turkish: Arılar ellerimi sokmasın diye eldiven takmamı söyledi. - He told me to wear gloves so that the bees don't sting my hands.

To express "so that [someone] does/doesn't do [something]", Turkish uses the 3rd person imperative (command) form of the verb followed by diye. Sokmasın literally translates to "let it not sting". Combined with diye, it forms the purpose clause "so that it doesn't sting".

The subject is arılar (bees), which is plural. Why is the verb sokmasın singular instead of sokmasınlar?

In Turkish, when a plural subject is non-human (like animals, plants, or objects), the verb usually remains in the singular form. Therefore, arılar sokmasın is the standard, natural way to phrase this.

Let's break down takmamı söyledi. Why are there two ms and an ı at the end of takmamı?

This is how Turkish forms reported commands (e.g., "he told me to wear"). First, the short infinitive -ma turns the verb into a noun: takma (the act of wearing). Next, the possessive -m is added for "my wearing" (takmam). Finally, the accusative case -ı is added because "my wearing" is the specific direct object of the verb söyledi (he told). Literally, it translates to: "He told my wearing."

Why is eldiven (glove) singular in Turkish when the English translation says "gloves"?