Breakdown of Aktar, demet demet çiçekleri sıra sıra dizdi.
çiçek
flower
sıra
row / line
dizmek
to string / to line up
aktar
herbalist / spice seller
Questions & Answers about Aktar, demet demet çiçekleri sıra sıra dizdi.
This sentence has two reduplications: demet demet and sıra sıra. Are they doing the same grammatical job?
Not quite! They show the two main ways reduplications can be used. demet demet describes the noun çiçekleri (the flowers), so it acts as an adjective showing abundance ('bunches and bunches of'). sıra sıra describes the verb dizdi (arranged), so it acts as an adverb showing the manner in which the action was done ('in rows' or 'row by row').
Why say demet demet çiçekleri instead of just using a normal plural like çiçek demetleri?
Repeating the noun demet (bunch or bouquet) is a common stylistic way to emphasize a large quantity or variety. While çiçek demetleri (flower bunches) is grammatically correct for a simple plural, using the reduplication demet demet paints a much more vivid picture, emphasizing that there were many distinct bunches everywhere.
Why does çiçekleri have the -i ending at the end?
That is the definite accusative case ending. The root is çiçek (flower), plus the plural -ler, plus the accusative -i. It marks 'the flowers' as the specific, direct object of the verb dizdi. Even though the reduplication demet demet is placed in front to describe them, we still need the case ending because the herbalist is arranging specific, known flowers.
What exactly is an aktar?