Breakdown of Sorunu çözülmeyenler hâlâ bekliyor.
beklemek
to wait
sorun
problem
hâlâ
still (continuing)
çözülmek
to be resolved / to be solved
Questions & Answers about Sorunu çözülmeyenler hâlâ bekliyor.
How does this sentence say "whose" without using a specific word for it?
In Turkish, "whose" is created by combining a possessed noun (like sorunu, meaning "their problem") with a subject relative participle ending in -(y)an/-(y)en. Here, the participle is çözülmeyen ("that is not resolved"). Put together, sorunu çözülmeyen literally means "the one that their problem is not resolved," which translates to "whose problem is not resolved."
Where is the noun that usually comes after the -(y)en word, like "the people whose..."?
It has been left out! Just like regular adjectives, participles in Turkish can stand alone as nouns if the noun they describe is obvious from context. By attaching the plural suffix -ler directly to the participle, çözülmeyen becomes çözülmeyenler, meaning "the ones / those whose..."
Why is the verb çözülmeyenler and not just çözmeyenler?
The -ül suffix makes the verb passive. If you used çözmeyenler (active), it would mean "those who do not solve the problem." Because the problems are being solved by someone else, we need the passive çözülmek (to be solved), making it "those whose problems are not solved."
Since the English translation says "whose problems" (plural), why is sorunu in the singular form?