Learn Turkish: Kekelemekten ve rezil olmaktan korkuyorum. - I am afraid of stuttering and being disgraced.

This is the core of our current lesson! To say you are afraid of doing something, you use the dictionary form of the verb (the infinitive ending in -mAk) and add the ablative case ending (-DAn). We use the ablative because the verb korkmak (to fear) always requires it—in Turkish, you fear 'from' something.

Why are the endings -ten and -tan instead of -den and -dan?

This is due to consonant mutation, often remembered by the Fıstıkçı Şahap rule. Both kekelemek and olmak end with the voiceless consonant k. When a suffix starting with d is attached to a word ending in a voiceless consonant, the d hardens into a t.

Since ve connects both verbs to korkuyorum, do I have to put the ablative ending on both of them?

Yes, it is standard practice to put the case ending on both verbal nouns when they are linked by ve. While you might occasionally hear native speakers drop the first one in very casual speech, kekelemekten ve rezil olmaktan is the natural, grammatically correct way to phrase it.

What does rezil olmak literally mean?