Breakdown of Umursamaz öğrenci, öğretmenin alaycı sözlerini anlamazlıktan geldi.
öğretmen
teacher
öğrenci
student
gelmek
to come
anlamak
to understand
Questions & Answers about Umursamaz öğrenci, öğretmenin alaycı sözlerini anlamazlıktan geldi.
How exactly does anlamazlıktan geldi mean "pretended not to understand"?
This is the focus of your current lesson! It breaks down into anla- (understand) + -maz (negative aorist) + -lık (abstract noun maker) + -tan (ablative case) + geldi (came). Literally, it translates to "he came from the state of not understanding." In Turkish, this specific formula (-mAzlıktan gelmek) is the standard way to express "feigning ignorance" or pretending not to do or notice something.
Why does sözlerini have the accusative case ending? Doesn't the phrase end with gelmek, which doesn't take the accusative?
That is a great observation. While the final conjugated verb is geldi, the object in this sentence belongs to the verb root hidden inside the phrase: anla- (to understand). Because the student is pretending not to understand specific words (the teacher's), sözler takes the 3rd person possessive -i followed by the buffer letter -n- and the accusative marker -i. The inner verb dictates the case of its object.
Is the -maz in umursamaz the same as the -maz in anlamazlıktan?
Yes, they are both the negative aorist suffix! In anlamazlıktan, it forms the base of the "pretending not to" grammar structure. In umursamaz, it attaches to umursamak (to care about) to create an adjective meaning "one who generally does not care" (indifferent). Using the broad-time aorist tense to create character-describing adjectives is very common in Turkish.