Questions & Answers about Tüm dosyalar masada.
Since this lesson is about possessive suffixes, why aren't we using -ları on the word dosyalar?
Because no one 'owns' these files in this specific sentence! You would use the third-person plural possessive suffix -ları if you were saying 'their files' (onların dosyaları). Since we are just stating 'all the files' without attaching them to an owner, the standard plural suffix -lar is all you need.
Why does dosyalar get the plural suffix -lar? Don't we drop the plural after quantity words?
You might remember that after numbers (like iki, two) or quantity words like çok (a lot), Turkish keeps the noun singular. However, tüm (all) is an exception. When talking about specific, countable things like files, you add the plural suffix to the noun after tüm.
Where is the verb 'are' in this sentence?
It is invisible! In simple present tense sentences stating 'A is B' or 'A is at B', Turkish doesn't need an active verb. For third-person subjects ('it' or 'they'), you can simply state the subject (Tüm dosyalar) and the location (masada) side-by-side to mean 'All the files are on the table.'
How does masada mean 'on the table' if there is no word for 'the'?
masa means 'table', and the locative suffix -da means 'in', 'on', or 'at'. Because Turkish doesn't have a separate word for 'the', context tells us whether it means 'on a table' or 'on the table'. Since we are talking about 'all the files', it is clear we are talking about a specific table, so 'the table' makes the most sense in English.
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