Breakdown of Toplantıdaki adamın ansızın kahve içeceği tuttu.
adam
man
kahve
coffee
içmek
to drink
toplantı
meeting
tutmak
to catch / to hold
ansızın
all of a sudden / unexpectedly
Questions & Answers about Toplantıdaki adamın ansızın kahve içeceği tuttu.
Why is the man in the genitive case (adamın) rather than the subject case (adam)?
In this 'sudden urge' construction, the action is treated as a possessed noun phrase. Literally, the sentence translates to 'the man's future coffee drinking caught'. Because he 'owns' the action, adam takes the genitive suffix -ın, which links to the possessive suffix -i on içeceği.
How exactly is içeceği formed from the verb içmek?
It is built using the future participle -(y)AcAk plus a possessive suffix. For içmek, you add -ecek to get içecek (future drinking). When you add the 3rd person singular possessive -i (his), consonant mutation softens the final k to ğ, resulting in içeceği.
Does the verb tutmak still mean 'to hold' or 'to catch' here?
Literally, yes, the imagery is that a sudden whim 'caught' or 'took hold' of the person. However, whenever you see the pattern [Verb + -(y)AcAğI + possessive + tutmak], you should read it as a fixed idiom meaning someone was seized by a sudden, often irrational, urge to do that verb.
Why does the sentence use toplantıdaki instead of just the locative toplantıda?
The -ki suffix is attached to the locative case to turn a location into an adjective. If you just said toplantıda, it would mean the sudden urge itself happened 'in the meeting'. By using toplantıdaki, it directly modifies the noun next to it, meaning 'the man [who was] in the meeting'.
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