Breakdown of Eğer o gece korktuysa, bu kesinlikle sesine aksetti.
bu
this
o
that / he / she / it
korkmak
to fear
ses
voice / sound
gece
night
kesinlikle
definitely
eğer
if
aksetmek
to reflect / to echo (light, sound, or abstract concepts)
Questions & Answers about Eğer o gece korktuysa, bu kesinlikle sesine aksetti.
Why is aksetti written as one word instead of two?
The verb aksetmek comes from the noun akis (reflection) and the auxiliary verb etmek (to do/make). When they combine, the second vowel in akis drops out (vowel elision) to form aks. Because this sound change occurs, Turkish spelling rules require the two words to be written together as a single compound word: aksetti.
Why is there an extra -y- in korktuysa?
The word korktuysa combines the past tense korktu (he was scared) with the conditional suffix -sa (if). Because korktu ends in a vowel, a buffer -y- is needed before the conditional ending. This buffer actually represents the separate word ise (if it is) shrinking and merging with the main verb.
Why does sesine take the dative suffix -e instead of the locative -de?
In English, we say something reflected 'in' his voice, but the Turkish verb aksetmek (to reflect) requires the dative case (to/towards). The emotion literally reflects 'to' his voice, which gives us ses (voice) + -i (his) + -n- (buffer) + -e (dative).
Since korktuysa already has the conditional suffix, is Eğer redundant?
Grammatically, yes. Eğer is optional because the -sa suffix already provides the 'if' meaning. However, using Eğer at the beginning of the sentence is very common because it emphasizes the condition and alerts the listener right away that an 'if' clause has started.
Learn Eğer o gece korktuysa, bu kesinlikle sesine aksetti and more in Turkish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free