Breakdown of Böyle ısrarcı birine göz yummak yerine onu tamamen görmezlikten geldim.
o
that / he / she / it
gelmek
to come
görmek
to see
biri
someone / one (of them)
böyle
like this
yerine
instead of
tamamen
completely / fully
ısrarcı
insistent
göz yummak
to turn a blind eye
Questions & Answers about Böyle ısrarcı birine göz yummak yerine onu tamamen görmezlikten geldim.
How does the structure görmezlikten geldim break down to mean 'I pretended not to see'?
It uses the pattern taught in this lesson: the verb root gör (see) + the negative aorist suffix -mez + the noun-forming suffix -lik + the ablative suffix -ten + the helper verb gelmek (to come). Literally, it translates to 'I came from the state of not seeing'. In Turkish, this specific ablative combination is the standard way to say you feigned ignorance or pretended an action did not happen.
Why is biri (a person) in the dative case as birine, but o (he/him) is in the accusative case as onu?
Each pronoun takes the case required by the specific verb phrase it belongs to. Biri takes the dative suffix -ne because the idiom göz yummak (to turn a blind eye / to overlook) requires the dative case (turning a blind eye to someone). However, onu takes the accusative -nu because the root verb inside our pretense structure is görmek (to see), which requires a definite direct object in the accusative case.
What is the exact difference between göz yummak and görmezlikten gelmek in this context?
While both involve 'not seeing', they imply different intentions. Göz yummak means 'to turn a blind eye' or 'to overlook' a fault, implying you tolerate someone or let them get away with something. Görmezlikten gelmek means intentionally ignoring someone or pretending they are not there at all. The speaker is contrasting tolerating the insistent person with completely ignoring them.
How does the word yerine (instead of) connect to the action of turning a blind eye?
Yerine (instead of / in place of) can follow a noun, but when you want to say 'instead of doing an action', it simply follows the dictionary infinitive form of a verb. Here, it follows göz yummak directly, requiring no possessive or case suffixes on the verb itself.
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