Questions & Answers about Kediyi henüz eve alıştırmadık.
Why does the Turkish use the simple past tense (alıştırmadık) when the English translation says "haven't accustomed"?
In Turkish, the past tense with a negative suffix (-ma-dık) is often used to describe things that haven't happened up to the present moment. When paired with the adverb henüz (yet), it perfectly matches the English present perfect tense ("haven't... yet").
Can I put henüz at the beginning of the sentence instead?
Yes, Henüz kediyi eve alıştırmadık is also perfectly natural. Turkish is flexible, but word order changes the emphasis. Placing henüz after kediyi keeps the main topic on the cat, while emphasizing that the house-training is what hasn't happened yet.
I recognize alışmak (to get used to). How is alıştırmadık formed from it?
The suffix -tır is a causative marker. It changes alışmak (to get used to) into alıştırmak (to make someone or something get used to). After that, we add the negative marker -ma and the first-person plural past tense ending -dık to mean "we haven't accustomed [it]."
Why is eve in the dative case (direction towards) rather than a location case like "evde"?
The verb alışmak (and its causative form alıştırmak) always takes the dative case (-e/-a) for the thing you are getting used to. You are directing the habituation toward the house, so it becomes eve. The cat, being the specific direct object of the action, takes the accusative case (kediyi).
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