Breakdown of Gözlemci dokuzu yirmi geçe kronometreyi başlattı.
dokuz
nine
yirmi
twenty
geçe
past (the hour)
başlatmak
to start (transitive)
gözlemci
observer
kronometre
stopwatch
Questions & Answers about Gözlemci dokuzu yirmi geçe kronometreyi başlattı.
Why is the hour dokuz written as dokuzu here?
When stating that an event happens at a certain time past the hour, Turkish adds the accusative case ending to the hour (here, -u for dokuz) followed by the minutes and the word geçe. Literally, dokuzu yirmi geçe means "passing nine by twenty."
There are two words with the accusative case here (dokuzu and kronometreyi). Is it normal to have two in one sentence?
Yes, because they are doing two completely different jobs! Dokuzu has the accusative ending because the time expression with geçe requires it. Kronometreyi, on the other hand, takes the accusative ending (-yi) because it is the specific direct object of the sentence—it is the specific thing being started.
Why use başlattı instead of just başladı for "started"?
Başladı is used when something begins on its own (like "The race started"). To say that someone started something else, you need the causative suffix -t, which makes the verb take a direct object. So, başladı means "it began", but başlattı means "he/she started (it)".
How is the word gözlemci built?
It all starts with the root göz (eye). This becomes the verb gözlemek (to observe), which is then turned into the noun gözlem (observation). Finally, the suffix -ci is added to indicate a person's role or profession, giving us gözlemci (observer).
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