Breakdown of Küçük detayları ihmal etmekle en büyük hatayı yapıyorsun.
büyük
big
küçük
small
yapmak
to do / to make
en
most
ile
with / by / and (linking nouns)
hata
mistake
detay
detail
ihmal etmek
to neglect
Questions & Answers about Küçük detayları ihmal etmekle en büyük hatayı yapıyorsun.
How does etmekle mean "by neglecting" in this sentence?
This is the core structure of this lesson: an infinitive verb (etmek) combined with the instrumental suffix -le (a shortened form of ile). When you attach -lA to an infinitive verb (-mAkla / -mekle), it translates to "by doing" or "through doing" that action. Here, ihmal etmekle means "by neglecting" or "through neglecting".
Why is it detayları (with the accusative -ı) instead of just detaylar?
Even though ihmal etmekle acts as an instrumental noun phrase ("by neglecting") in the main sentence, the verb part (ihmal etmek) still demands objects just like a regular verb. Because "the small details" is the specific direct object of "neglect", detaylar takes the definite accusative case suffix to become detayları.
Why does hata take the accusative suffix to become hatayı?
It is the direct object of the main verb yapıyorsun (you are making). Because "mistake" is modified by en büyük (the biggest), it points to a very specific, defined mistake rather than a general one. Specific direct objects always require the definite accusative suffix, which here is the buffer -y- plus -ı.
Is "making a mistake" literally translated as "doing a mistake" (hata yapmak) in Turkish?
Yes! The verb yapmak translates to both "to do" and "to make" in English. The standard, natural collocation in Turkish for "making a mistake" is always hata yapmak.
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