Breakdown of Yeraltında tarım yapmalıymışız, ne var ki suyumuz bitmek üzere.
su
water
yapmak
to do / to make
bitmek
to finish / to end
yeraltı
underground
üzere
about to / on the verge of
ne var ki
however, and yet
tarım
agriculture
Questions & Answers about Yeraltında tarım yapmalıymışız, ne var ki suyumuz bitmek üzere.
How does ne var ki differ from a simple ama (but) in this sentence?
While ama just means "but", ne var ki is more formal and translates to "however," "unfortunately," or "the trouble is that...". It is used for contrastive reservation, meaning it introduces a significant obstacle or a frustrating catch to the first clause. Here, running out of water is the fatal flaw in the plan to farm underground.
Can you break down the suffixes in yapmalıymışız?
The verb stem is yap (do). It is followed by the necessity suffix -malı (must/should), the buffer -y-, the evidential past suffix -mış (apparently / reportedly), and the first-person plural ending -ız (we). Combining -malı and -mış creates the meaning of "apparently we are supposed to" (reporting an obligation from a third party) or "it turns out we should have" (realizing a missed obligation).
What does the structure -mek üzere do in bitmek üzere?
The structure [infinitive verb] + üzere means "about to" or "on the verge of" doing something. Since bitmek means to end or run out, bitmek üzere perfectly captures that the water is just on the verge of running dry.
Why is it suyumuz instead of following the normal possessive rules for "our"?
The word su (water) is a famous exception in Turkish. Instead of dropping a vowel or using regular buffer rules when adding possessive endings, it almost always takes a -y- buffer before a vowel. Therefore, "our water" becomes su-y-umuz instead of what the standard rules would dictate.
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