Learn Turkish: İlk aşamada pastan kurtulmuş olacağız. - We will have gotten rid of the rust in the first stage.

It combines the -mış suffix on the main verb (kurtulmak) to show a completed action, followed by the future form of the helper verb olmak (olacağız). Together, they mean "we will have gotten rid of." Literally, the structure translates to "we will be in a state of having escaped."

Why does pas (rust) take the -tan ending here instead of a direct object ending?

The verb kurtulmak (to get rid of, to escape, to be saved) always takes the ablative case (-dAn, meaning "from"). In Turkish logic, you don't get rid of something; you escape from it. Therefore, "get rid of the rust" becomes pastan kurtulmak.

Why is the ending spelled with a 't' in pastan instead of the usual 'd' (pasdan)?

This is a quick reminder of consonant mutation (assimilation). The word pas ends in a voiceless consonant (s). When you add a suffix that normally starts with a d (like the ablative -dan), the d changes to a t to match the hard consonant before it, making it -tan.

Can aşama be used for physical steps, like on a staircase?