Breakdown of Düşman askerleri birbirlerini öldüresiye dövdüler.
birbiri
each other / one another
asker
soldier
düşman
enemy
dövmek
to beat (physically)
öldürmek
to kill
Questions & Answers about Düşman askerleri birbirlerini öldüresiye dövdüler.
What does the -esiye suffix do in öldüresiye, and why is it translated as "half to death"?
The suffix -(y)AsIyA is a converb that shows an action done to an extreme limit. Here, it attaches to the verb root öldür- (to kill). So, öldüresiye literally means "to the point of killing." In English, the natural idiom for this extreme limit of physical violence is beating someone "half to death."
What is the difference between ölesiye and öldüresiye? Could I use ölesiye here?
You need öldüresiye here. Ölesiye comes from the root öl- (to die) and is generally used for intense internal feelings or states, like ölesiye sevmek (to love someone to death). Because the soldiers are physically acting on others, we use the causative root öldür- (to kill). They are beating each other to the point of killing each other.
Let's break down birbirlerini. Why does it have so many suffixes at the end?
The base pronoun is birbiri (each other). First, it gets the plural possessive suffix -leri to agree with the plural subject (the soldiers). Next, a buffer -n- is added, followed by the accusative case marker -i. The accusative case is required because "each other" is the specific direct object receiving the action of dövdüler (they beat).
Why do we say düşman askerleri instead of just düşman askerler?
In Turkish, when you combine two nouns to create a specific category or concept (enemy + soldiers), you form a noun compound. The first noun, düşman, stays bare, and the second noun, askerler, must take the third-person possessive suffix -i to link them together.
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