Word
Bizim on iki yaşında şelalede yüzmüşlüğümüz var.
Meaning
We have the experience of having swum in the waterfall at the age of twelve.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Bizim on iki yaşında şelalede yüzmüşlüğümüz var.
biz
we
on iki
twelve
var
there is / existent
yüzmek
to swim
Questions & Answers about Bizim on iki yaşında şelalede yüzmüşlüğümüz var.
How exactly does yüzmüşlüğümüz var mean having the experience of having swum?
This uses the experiential nominalization structure you are currently learning. It breaks down like this: yüz (swim) + müş (past participle) + lük (a suffix that turns the action into a noun concept). Because it is followed by a vowel, the k mutates to ğ. Finally, the possessive -ümüz (our) is added. So literally, it means our state of having swum exists (var).
Why do we start the sentence with Bizim instead of Biz?
In Turkish, having something is expressed by saying my/our [thing] exists using var. Since the main thing we possess in this sentence is the experience itself (yüzmüşlüğümüz), we must use the genitive pronoun Bizim to perfectly match the possessive suffix -ümüz on the verb.
Why is the phrase on iki yaşında used instead of on iki yaşta?
To say at the age of X in Turkish, you must use a noun compound structure: [number] + yaş + ı (compound marker) + nda (locative case). You can think of it literally as in its age of twelve. Using a simple locative like on iki yaşta sounds unnatural to native speakers.
What is the difference between this sentence and simply saying Biz on iki yaşında şelalede yüzdük?