Breakdown of Yatakta uzanmaktansa pencereden vadiyi izlemeliydin.
yatak
bed
izlemek
to watch
pencere
window
uzanmak
to lie down, to stretch out
vadi
valley
Questions & Answers about Yatakta uzanmaktansa pencereden vadiyi izlemeliydin.
How does uzanmaktansa translate to "instead of lying"?
It uses the structure -mAktAnsA, which means "rather than" or "instead of". It is built by taking the infinitive dictionary form of the verb (uzanmak), adding the ablative case (-tan), and finally adding the conditional suffix (-sa).
How do we get "you should have watched" from izlemeliydin?
This word combines the necessity suffix -meli (should/must) with the past tense -di. Breaking it down: izle (watch) + meli (should) + y (buffer) + di (past tense) + n (you). When you attach the past tense to -meli, it changes the meaning from "you should" to an unfulfilled past action: "you should have".
Why use the ablative case -den (from) in pencereden?
In English, you usually look "out of" or "through" a window, but in Turkish, the logic is that you look "from" it. Therefore, whenever you talk about looking out a window or a door, you use the ablative case, resulting in pencereden.
Why does the word vadi (valley) become vadiyi here?
Because the valley is the specific, definite object being watched, it requires the accusative case. Since vadi ends in a vowel, we must add the buffer letter -y- before attaching the accusative suffix -i, giving us vadiyi.
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