Breakdown of En zayıf türlerin nesli tükenmişti.
zayıf
weak, thin
en
most
tükenmek
to run out
tür
species / type
nesil
lineage / generation
Questions & Answers about En zayıf türlerin nesli tükenmişti.
How is the past perfect tense formed in tükenmişti?
The verb is tükenmek (to run out, be exhausted). First, we add the -miş suffix, then the past tense copula -ti. Together, -mişti creates the past perfect ("had run out"). The third-person singular has no personal ending, so it stays as tükenmişti.
I know tükenmek means "to run out" or "be exhausted." How does it mean "go extinct" here?
Extinction is expressed with a specific phrase in Turkish: nesli tükenmek. Nesil means "generation" or "lineage." So, when a species' lineage runs out (nesli tükenmişti), it has "gone extinct."
Why is there an -in suffix on türlerin?
It creates a possessive relationship with nesli (its lineage). Tür means "species", and türler is "species" (plural). Adding the genitive suffix -in makes it "of the species" or "the species'". Together, türlerin nesli literally means "the lineage of the species."
If the word for generation is nesil, why does it become nesli instead of nesili?
This is an example of vowel drop. In Turkish, some two-syllable words drop the vowel in their second syllable when a suffix starting with a vowel is added. Here, nesil + -i (the possessive suffix matching with türlerin) becomes nesli to make pronunciation smoother.
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