Breakdown of Yetişkin bir adamın karanlıktan korktuğu çok gülünç.
bir
a / an
adam
man
çok
very
korkmak
to fear
Questions & Answers about Yetişkin bir adamın karanlıktan korktuğu çok gülünç.
Why is there no case ending on korktuğu?
The entire clause Yetişkin bir adamın karanlıktan korktuğu (that a grown man is afraid of the dark) acts as the subject of the main sentence. Just like a regular noun subject, a factive clause acting as a subject takes the nominative case, meaning it gets no extra case ending after the third-person possessive suffix -u.
Why is the subject of the clause adamın instead of just adam?
In Turkish factive clauses built with -dIk, the subject of the action must take the genitive case. Because the verb turns into a noun-like word (korktuğu), the subject acts as its possessor. Literally, the structure translates to 'a grown man's fearing'.
Why does karanlık take the -tan ending here?
The verb korkmak (to be afraid / to fear) always requires its object to take the ablative case (-dAn). Even though in English we say 'afraid of', in Turkish you are afraid 'from' something, which is why we see karanlıktan.
Could we use the verbal noun korkması instead of korktuğu here?
Yes, saying Yetişkin bir adamın karanlıktan korkması is also grammatically correct. However, using the -dIk factive clause specifically emphasizes the established reality of the situation ('the fact that he fears'), whereas the -mA verbal noun focuses slightly more on the action itself ('his fearing').