Breakdown of Eski arkadaşım beni görmezlikten geldi.
ben
I
arkadaş
friend
gelmek
to come
görmek
to see
eski
old
Questions & Answers about Eski arkadaşım beni görmezlikten geldi.
How does görmezlikten geldi translate to 'pretended not to see'?
This is a special formula for feigned ignorance. It breaks down into the verb root gör- (see), the negative aorist -mez (does not), the noun-maker -lik (the state of), the ablative -ten (from), and geldi (came). Literally, it translates to 'came from the state of not seeing.' In Turkish, this specific pattern (-mAzlIktAn gelmek) is the standard way to express pretending not to perceive or know something.
Why do we use the accusative beni here? Doesn't the verb gelmek usually take the dative case?
You are right that gelmek (to come) typically takes the dative direction case. However, in this sentence, the direct object beni belongs to the root verb inside our complex structure: görmek (to see). Because you 'see' a direct object, görmek dictates the case, requiring the accusative suffix -i on the pronoun ben.
I have also heard native speakers say görmemezlikten gelmek. Is that different from görmezlikten?
They mean the exact same thing! In everyday speech, native speakers sometimes double up on the negation by adding the standard negative suffix -me before the negative aorist -mez (creating görmemezlikten). While extremely common in spoken Turkish, the single-negative version (görmezlikten) used in this sentence is the grammatically standard form for writing.
Can I attach -mAzlIktAn gelmek to any verb, like 'pretending not to eat'?
No, this structure is restricted to a very specific set of verbs related to perception and awareness. You will almost exclusively see it used as görmezlikten gelmek (pretending not to see or notice), duymazlıktan gelmek (pretending not to hear), bilmezlikten gelmek (pretending not to know), and anlamazlıktan gelmek (pretending not to understand).
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