Breakdown of Masası temizlenmeyen müşteri, garson gelince şikâyet etti.
masa
table
gelmek
to come
müşteri
customer
garson
waiter
şikâyet etmek
to complain
temizlenmek
to be cleaned
Questions & Answers about Masası temizlenmeyen müşteri, garson gelince şikâyet etti.
How does Masası temizlenmeyen translate to 'whose table was not cleaned'?
To say 'whose [noun] [verb]' in Turkish, you don't use a question word. Instead, you put a possessive suffix on the noun (masası, his/her table) and use the -(y)an/-(y)en relative clause suffix on the verb (temizlenmeyen, that is not cleaned). Literally, it reads as 'the customer [his table not-being-cleaned]'.
Can you break down the suffixes in the word temizlenmeyen?
It starts with the verb root temizle- (to clean), followed by the passive suffix -n (to be cleaned), the negative suffix -me (not), a buffer letter -y-, and finally the relative clause suffix -en (who/which). Altogether: 'which is not cleaned'.
Why doesn't gelince (when the waiter arrived) have a past tense suffix?
The suffix -(y)ince meaning 'when' or 'as soon as' attaches directly to the verb root and never takes a tense suffix. The tense of the 'when' clause is always determined by the main verb at the end of the sentence (şikâyet etti), which is in the past tense.
What is the function of the hat or circumflex (^) over the 'a' in şikâyet?
In words borrowed from Arabic or Persian, the circumflex after a 'k' or 'g' means the preceding consonant is softened, making it sound a bit like there is a faint 'y' before the 'a' (shi-kya-yet). While many native speakers drop it in casual writing, including it is the officially correct spelling.
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