Breakdown of Eski komşuları görmeyeli yıllar geçti, şimdi hüzünlü bir yabancılık çekiyorum.
bir
a / an
şimdi
now
görmek
to see
eski
old
yıl
year
geçmek
to pass / to cross / to shift (into a gear)
komşu
neighbor
hüzünlü
sad, melancholic
yabancılık
feeling of being a stranger
çekmek
to suffer / experience (in collocations like 'yabancılık çekmek')
Questions & Answers about Eski komşuları görmeyeli yıllar geçti, şimdi hüzünlü bir yabancılık çekiyorum.
How does görmeyeli mean "since I saw" when it has the negative suffix -me?
The word görmeyeli is formed from the verb root gör (to see), the negative suffix -me, the buffer -y-, and the suffix -alı/-eli (since). In Turkish, to express "since the last time I did something," you literally say "since I have not done it." Therefore, görmeyeli translates literally to "since I have not seen," which equates to "since I saw" in natural English.
Why is komşuları in the accusative case here? Is it the object of geçti?
No, it is the direct object of the converb görmeyeli. Even though görmeyeli acts as a time adverb in the sentence, its root is still an action verb that takes a direct object. Because "the old neighbors" is a specific, known group, komşular requires the definite accusative suffix -ı.
Does the -eli suffix in görmeyeli indicate who is doing the seeing?
No, the -alı/-eli suffix does not take personal endings, so it doesn't specify a subject on its own. We know the subject is "I" because of the first-person ending on the main verb of the second clause, çekiyorum (I am experiencing). The context tells us the speaker applies to both actions.
What is the literal meaning of yabancılık çekiyorum?
The noun yabancılık means "unfamiliarity" or "alienation" (from yabancı, meaning stranger or foreigner, plus the abstract noun suffix -lık). The verb çekmek literally means "to pull," but it is frequently used in Turkish to mean "to suffer" or "to experience" a feeling or hardship. Together, yabancılık çekmek is a common idiom for feeling out of place or estranged.
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