Breakdown of Cevizleri almadan önce çürükleri ayır.
almak
to take, to buy
önce
before / first / firstly
ayırmak
to separate / to allocate / set aside
ceviz
walnut
çürük
rotten
Questions & Answers about Cevizleri almadan önce çürükleri ayır.
How does çürükleri mean 'the rotten ones' if çürük is just an adjective?
In Turkish, you can turn an adjective into a noun simply by adding noun suffixes to it. Here, the adjective çürük (rotten) takes the plural suffix -ler and the specific direct object (accusative) suffix -i. Together, they form çürükleri, acting as a noun that means 'the rotten ones' or 'the rotten things'.
Why do both cevizleri and çürükleri end with the -i suffix?
Both words are specific direct objects in the sentence, so they both need the accusative case suffix -i. Cevizleri is the specific object of the action almadan (buying the specific walnuts), and çürükleri is the specific object of the verb ayır (separate the specific rotten ones).
Does the word almadan contain the word alma (apple)?
No, it just looks like it! It is actually the verb root al- (to take or buy) combined with the suffix -madan. When you pair this suffix with önce, the grammar structure -madan önce translates to 'before doing' an action. Therefore, almadan önce simply means 'before buying'.
Why is the verb ayır just a short word here?
The full dictionary verb is ayırmak, which means to separate, sort out, or set apart. By dropping the -mak infinitive ending, you are left with the bare stem ayır. In Turkish, this bare stem functions as the informal singular imperative (command) form, telling a single person 'separate!'.
Learn Cevizleri almadan önce çürükleri ayır and more in Turkish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free