Breakdown of Sinsi adamı çekmeceyi kurcalarken ne zaman gördün?
adam
man
görmek
to see
çekmece
drawer
ne zaman
when
Questions & Answers about Sinsi adamı çekmeceyi kurcalarken ne zaman gördün?
Why does kurcalarken refer to the sneaky man, not the person who saw him?
Normally, the -(y)ken (while) suffix describes what the subject of the sentence is doing. But with verbs of perception like görmek (to see) or yakalamak (to catch), -(y)ken can modify the accusative object instead. Because you are the subject (gördün) and the man is the object (adamı), the sentence means you saw the man while he was rummaging.
Why are there two accusative objects, adamı and çekmeceyi, in the same sentence?
Each verb or verbal in the sentence takes its own object. çekmeceyi (the drawer) is the direct object of the verbal action kurcalarken (while rummaging), while Sinsi adamı (the sneaky man) is the direct object of the main verb gördün (you saw). Turkish keeps this clear by placing each object closely before the action it belongs to.
What kind of action does the verb kurcalamak describe?
It means to tamper with, tinker with, or rummage through something. You can use it for suspiciously digging through a drawer or a phone, fiddling with a broken machine, or even picking at a wound. It generally implies interfering with something in a physical, often unwelcome way.
Could we place the question word ne zaman at the very beginning of the sentence?