Breakdown of Bu kötü motifi sildirecekken dövmenin çok acıdığını duydum ve kaçtım.
bu
this
kötü
bad
ve
and
çok
a lot of / many
kaçmak
to run away
duymak
to hear
dövme
tattoo
motif
motif / pattern (decorative)
acımak
to hurt / to be painful
sildirmek
to have (something) erased / removed
Questions & Answers about Bu kötü motifi sildirecekken dövmenin çok acıdığını duydum ve kaçtım.
How do we get "about to have removed" from sildirecekken?
Let's break this down into three parts. The root is sil- (to wipe/erase). We add the causative suffix -dir to get sildir- (to have something erased). Finally, we add the target grammar of this lesson, -ecekken, which shows an intention that was interrupted. Together, sildirecekken means "just as I was about to have [it] erased."
Why is "that tattoos hurt" translated using dövmenin and acıdığını?
To say "that [something does an action]", Turkish uses a noun clause. Instead of saying "I heard that tattoos hurt," Turkish phrases it like "I heard the tattoo's hurting." The subject of this clause (dövme) gets the genitive "possessor" suffix -nin, and the verb (acı-) gets the participle suffix -dık plus a possessive ending (-ı) to match the tattoo.
What is the final -nı on acıdığını?
It's the accusative case ending. The entire phrase dövmenin acıdığı (the tattoo's hurting) acts as the direct object of the main verb duydum (I heard). Since what you heard is specific, it needs the accusative case. The -n- in the middle is just a buffer letter separating the possessive -ı and the accusative -ı.
Why does motif take the accusative case (motifi) here?
Because it is the specific direct object of the verb sildirecekken. You aren't just having any motif removed; you are having "this bad motif" (bu kötü motifi) removed. The word bu (this) makes the object specific, which means it requires the accusative suffix -i.
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