Breakdown of Arsanın çok değerli olduğunu bilseymiş, asla satmazmış.
çok
very
olmak
to be
satmak
to sell
bilmek
to know
asla
never
değerli
valuable
arsa
plot of land
Questions & Answers about Arsanın çok değerli olduğunu bilseymiş, asla satmazmış.
What is the exact meaning of the -seymiş ending in bilseymiş?
It combines the conditional -se ("if") with the inferential/reported past -miş (meaning "reportedly" or "I heard"). Instead of a standard hypothetical past like bilseydi ("if he had known"), bilseymiş means "reportedly, if he had known." It tells the listener that you heard this hypothetical scenario from someone else.
Why does the second half of the sentence use satmazmış instead of satmazdı?
To maintain the "hearsay" or reported nature established in the first clause. The structure sat-maz-dı (negative aorist + definite past) means "he wouldn't have sold it" as a definite statement. By swapping the past marker -dı for the inferential -mış, sat-maz-mış translates to "reportedly, he wouldn't have sold it."
How does the grammar in arsanın çok değerli olduğunu work to mean 'that the plot of land was very valuable'?
This is a standard noun clause acting as an object. To say "that the land was valuable", you take the genitive of the subject (arsanın, "the land's") and add the -dık participle to the verb olmak (to be). This forms olduğunu (ol + -duk + -u possessive + -n- buffer + -u accusative). It literally means "the land's being very valuable," which acts as the direct object for the verb bilmek.
Could bilseymiş and satmazmış refer to 'you' or 'I' instead of 'he/she'?
No, these verbs are strictly third-person singular ("he/she/it") because they have no personal suffix at the end. If the sentence were about "I", the verbs would take the first-person suffix: bilseymişim and satmazmışım. For "you", it would be bilseymişsin and satmazmışsın.
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