Breakdown of Biz onu affedebildik; ona hiç beddua eder miyiz?
o
that / he / she / it
biz
we
hiç
at all / any
affetmek
to forgive
mi
question particle (mı/mi/mu/mü)
beddua etmek
to curse (someone)
Questions & Answers about Biz onu affedebildik; ona hiç beddua eder miyiz?
Why use the positive question form eder miyiz with hiç if the meaning is a strong negative?
This is a rhetorical strong negation. By asking "would we ever do X?", you are strongly implying "we absolutely would not do X." In Turkish, pairing hiç (ever) with a positive aorist question like eder miyiz? (would we do?) is a very natural way to express that you would never even consider doing something.
Why do we say onu affedebildik but ona beddua eder miyiz? Both refer to "him".
It depends on what case the specific verb requires. Affetmek (to forgive) takes a direct object in the accusative case, so "him" becomes onu. However, beddua etmek (to curse) requires the dative case, because you are literally saying "to do a curse TO someone", so "him" must be ona.
I know the verb is affetmek, so why is it spelled with a d in affedebildik?
This is consonant mutation. When the ability suffix -(y)ebil is added to affet-, the vowel e causes the final voiceless t to soften into a voiced d. The exact same thing happens in a verb like gitmek when it becomes gidebilirim.
Is beddua a compound word?
Yes, it is built from two borrowed words. Bed- is a Persian prefix meaning "bad," and dua is the Arabic word for "prayer." So, beddua literally translates to a "bad prayer," which perfectly captures the meaning of a curse!
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