Breakdown of Gerek memurlar gerekse işçiler bu güvenceyi istiyor.
bu
this
istemek
to want / to require / to call for
memur
officer
işçi
worker
gerek
whether ... or (in 'gerek ... gerekse')
gerekse
and / or (in gerek... gerekse construction)
güvence
assurance, guarantee
Questions & Answers about Gerek memurlar gerekse işçiler bu güvenceyi istiyor.
What is the difference between gerek ... gerekse ... and hem ... hem de ...?
Both translate to "both... and..." in English. However, gerek ... gerek(se) ... is more formal and often used in written Turkish, news reports, or official contexts. Hem ... hem (de) ... is much more common in everyday spoken Turkish.
Why does the second gerek have -se at the end?
The -se suffix (which is technically the conditional marker) is optional here but very common in the second part of this pairing. You can say gerek memurlar gerek işçiler or gerek memurlar gerekse işçiler without changing the meaning. Adding -se often just gives the sentence a better rhythm.
The subjects (memurlar and işçiler) are plural. Why is the verb istiyor singular instead of istiyorlar?
In Turkish, when the subject is human and plural, the plural suffix -lar/-ler on the verb is optional. Saying istiyorlar would be perfectly fine here, but dropping the suffix to just say istiyor is also completely correct and very common to avoid repetition.
Why is it güvenceyi and not just güvence?
The word güvence (guarantee) takes the accusative case ending -(y)i because it is a specific direct object. The word bu (this) points to a particular guarantee. Whenever you use a pointing word like bu, şu, or o with the object of a verb, you must add the accusative suffix to show it is specific.
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