Breakdown of Bozuk saati kendim tamir ettim.
saat
watch
kendi
self
tamir etmek
to repair
bozuk
broken, out of order
Questions & Answers about Bozuk saati kendim tamir ettim.
How does kendim mean "myself" in this sentence?
The word kendi means "self". To say "myself", "yourself", etc., Turkish adds possessive suffixes (the same ones you use for "my", "your"). Here, adding -m (my) makes kendim (my-self). You don't even need the pronoun ben (I) because kendim and the verb ending -m already make it clear who did the repairing.
The word saat has the back vowel "a". Why does it take the front vowel suffix -i to make saati?
Normally, vowel harmony rules say an "a" should be followed by an "ı". However, saat is an exception because it is a borrowed word. In Turkish, a few borrowed words have a "soft" pronunciation at the end, causing them to take front-vowel suffixes (like -i, -e, or -ten). This is why it is saati and not saatı.
Why do we need the accusative case ending -i on saati?
The suffix -i marks the specific direct object. Because you are talking about a specific broken watch ("the broken watch") that is receiving the action of the verb, it needs the accusative case. If you were talking about repairing a broken watch in general, you wouldn't use it.
Why is tamir ettim written as two words?
Tamir etmek (to repair/fix) is a compound verb. It is made by pairing the noun tamir (repair) with the helper verb etmek (to do/make). When you conjugate it, only the helper verb changes. Here, et gets the past tense suffix -ti (which changed from -di because et ends in a hard consonant) and the "I" ending -m.
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