Questions & Answers about Garson havuç salatası getiriyor.
Why does the word for salad have an "-sı" at the end?
This is an indefinite noun compound, which is how Turkish links two nouns to create a specific category. To say "carrot salad", you leave the first noun bare (havuç) and add a 3rd-person possessive suffix to the second noun (salata). Because salata ends in a vowel, it needs the buffer letter -s- before the vowel suffix -ı, giving us havuç salatası.
Wait, doesn't the possessive suffix mean "his/her/its"? Does this literally translate to "carrot its-salad"?
Yes, exactly! While English just places two nouns side-by-side ("carrot salad"), Turkish uses this possessive structure to show that the salad "belongs" to the concept or category of carrots.
Since the salad is being brought, shouldn't it have an accusative case ending like "havuç salatasını"?
No, because the waiter is bringing a carrot salad (or some carrot salad), not the specific carrot salad. In Turkish, indefinite direct objects do not take the accusative case marker. They stay in their standard form—even when that form includes a possessive suffix—and sit right in front of the verb.
Why doesn't the verb "getiriyor" have a personal suffix at the end?