Breakdown of Büyükbabam bize eski hikâyeler anlatıyor.
biz
we
hikâye
story
anlatmak
to explain, to tell
eski
old
Questions & Answers about Büyükbabam bize eski hikâyeler anlatıyor.
Why does biz (we/us) become bize here?
The verb anlatmak (to tell/explain) requires the dative case for the person receiving the information or story. You add the directional -e ending to biz to make bize (to us).
What makes up the word büyükbabam?
It is a compound word made of büyük (big) and baba (father), meaning grandfather. To say 'my grandfather', you simply treat it as one word and add the first-person possessive suffix -m directly to the end.
Why is the present continuous tense (-ıyor) used when the English translation says 'tells' as a general habit?
In Turkish, the present continuous tense (-ıyor) is very frequently used for ongoing habits and routines, even though English uses the simple present for this. Turkish does have a specific tense for general truths (the aorist), but -ıyor is extremely common for everyday regular actions like this one.
How would I change this sentence to fit this lesson's grammar and say 'My grandfather had to tell us old stories'?