Breakdown of Bu monoton iş, sadece sorun dinlemekten ibaret.
bu
this
iş
work
dinlemek
to listen
sadece
only, just
sorun
problem
ibaret
composed of / consisting of
monoton
monotonous
Questions & Answers about Bu monoton iş, sadece sorun dinlemekten ibaret.
Why does dinlemek take the ablative -ten ending here?
The word ibaret (consisting of) always requires the noun or verbal noun before it to be in the ablative case (-den/-dan). Because it follows the infinitive verb dinlemek (to listen), the ending becomes -ten due to consonant mutation.
Why is sorun in the singular form if the English translation says 'problems'?
In Turkish, when a noun is a general, non-specific direct object, it stays in the bare singular form. Sorun dinlemek acts almost like a compound concept ('problem-listening'), so there is no need to add the plural suffix to make it sorunlar.
Could I use oluşuyor instead of ibaret here?
Yes, you could say sorun dinlemekten oluşuyor. Both mean 'consists of' and both take the ablative case. However, ibaret often carries a limiting tone implying 'nothing more than' or 'solely', which pairs perfectly with sadece (only) in this sentence.
B2 learners often confuse words like dinlemekten. What is the trap here?
It is very easy to mix up the infinitive plus ablative (-mekten, meaning 'from doing') with the negative gerund -meden (meaning 'without doing'). Here, we strictly need the noun form of the verb (dinlemek) plus the ablative case (-ten) to satisfy the grammar rule for ibaret.
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