Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Turkish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Beşinci katta oturuyorum.
Doesn't oturuyorum mean 'I am sitting'? Why is it translated as 'I live'?
You are right! The verb oturmak literally means 'to sit'. However, in Turkish, it is also the standard word used for 'to reside' or 'to live' in a specific house, apartment, neighborhood, or city. You wouldn't use yaşamak (to live/to be alive) when talking about what floor you live on.
How is the word beşinci (fifth) formed?
It is made by adding the ordinal suffix -inci (meaning '-th') to the number beş (five). This suffix follows 4-way vowel harmony, so it can appear as -ıncı, -inci, -uncu, or -üncü depending on the last vowel of the number. Because beş has an 'e', it takes -inci.
I know the suffix for 'in, on, or at' is normally -da or -de. Why is it -ta in katta?
This happens because of a rule called consonant mutation or consonant harmony. The word kat (floor or storey) ends in a voiceless, 'hard' consonant (the letter t). When you attach a suffix starting with d or c to a hard consonant, the suffix's first letter changes to its hard equivalent to match. So, the d in -da turns into a t, making it katta.