Breakdown of Onun işi, faturaları zımbalamaktan ve dosyaları ciltlemekten ibaretmiş.
o
that / he / she / it
iş
work
ve
and
dosya
file
Questions & Answers about Onun işi, faturaları zımbalamaktan ve dosyaları ciltlemekten ibaretmiş.
Why do zımbalamak (stapling) and ciltlemek (binding) take the ablative suffix (-tan / -ten)?
They take the ablative case because of the word ibaret (consisting of). In Turkish, to express that something "consists of" something else, the preceding noun or verbal noun must be in the ablative case (-dan / -den). Literally, the structure translates as "consists from stapling and binding."
Why is the hearsay suffix -miş attached to ibaret, making it ibaretmiş?
The -miş here is the evidential form of the "to be" verb (short for imiş). It adds the meaning of "reportedly" or "apparently." It shows that the speaker didn't witness what the job entailed firsthand, but rather heard about it from someone else or realized it after the fact.
Why are faturaları and dosyaları in the accusative case here?
Even though the verbs zımbalamak and ciltlemek are acting as nouns (infinitives) in this sentence, they still behave like verbs internally and take their own direct objects. Because the sentence refers to specific invoices and specific files being handled, they get the definite accusative -ı ending.
Since they are connected by ve (and), could I drop the -tan on the first verb and just say zımbalamak ve ciltlemekten?