Breakdown of Yasemin parfümünü koklamadan duramadım.
durmak
to stop, to stand
parfüm
perfume
koklamak
to smell (sniff)
yasemin
jasmine
Questions & Answers about Yasemin parfümünü koklamadan duramadım.
How does koklamadan duramadım translate to "could not help but smell"?
This sentence uses the structure -madan duramamak, which expresses a psychological inability to resist doing something. Literally, koklamadan means "without smelling", and duramadım means "I couldn't stand" or "I couldn't stay". Put together as "I couldn't stand it without smelling", it translates naturally as "I couldn't help but smell".
Could I say koklamadan edemedim here instead?
Yes! Both -madan duramamak and -madan edememek mean "cannot help but do". duramamak (from durmak, to stop/stand) slightly emphasizes the strong urge or inability to resist, while edememek is just a bit more general. They are completely interchangeable in this sentence.
Let's break down the suffixes in parfümünü. Why isn't it just parfümü?
First, "jasmine perfume" is a noun compound: yasemin parfüm-ü (with the possessive suffix -ü linking the two words). Because "the jasmine perfume" is a specific direct object of the verb koklamak (to smell), it needs the accusative case. We add the buffer consonant -n- followed by the accusative suffix -ü, giving us parfümünü.
What is the function of the -a- in duramadım?