Question 1

Why is there no case ending on olduğu?

Accepted Answer

Because the entire clause kimin haklı olduğu ("who was right") acts as the subject of the main sentence. In Turkish, sentence subjects take the nominative case (zero case), which means they have no extra case endings added after the possessive suffix.

Question 2

Why does kim take the genitive ending to become kimin?

Accepted Answer

In factive noun clauses built with -dIk, the subject of that specific sub-clause usually takes the genitive case. Here, the sub-clause is "who was right". To link "who" with the verb "to be", we use the standard genitive-possessive structure: kimin ... olduğu (literally, "whose being...").

Question 3

Why do we need the word olduğu here at all?

Accepted Answer

Haklı is an adjective meaning "right" or "justified". To turn a statement like "who is right" into a noun clause that can be the subject of a sentence, we need a verb to attach the -dIk suffix to. We use olmak (to be) as a helper verb, creating olduğu ("their being").

Question 4

Why does the sentence end with olmazdı instead of just olmadı?

Accepted Answer

Olmazdı combines the negative aorist tense (-maz) with the past tense copula (-dı). This combination translates to "would not be" or "used to not be," which perfectly matches the habitual past meaning set up by eskiden (in the past). Olmadı is simple past and would mean it simply wasn't obvious on one specific occasion.

Eskiden kimin haklı olduğu aşikâr olmazdı.

Breakdown of Eskiden kimin haklı olduğu aşikâr olmazdı.

Questions & Answers about Eskiden kimin haklı olduğu aşikâr olmazdı.

Learn Eskiden kimin haklı olduğu aşikâr olmazdı and more in Turkish