Breakdown of Gözlemlediğim kadarıyla, kaymakam olumlu bir izlenim bırakmak istiyor.
bir
a / an
istemek
to want / to require / to call for
bırakmak
to leave (something somewhere), to drop off / to release, to let go of / to quit / to stop (doing something)
kadar
as ... as; until, up to
Questions & Answers about Gözlemlediğim kadarıyla, kaymakam olumlu bir izlenim bırakmak istiyor.
How is gözlemlediğim kadarıyla formed to mean 'as far as I observed'?
It uses the verb gözlemlemek (to observe) + the participle -diğ + the 1st person singular possessive -im (my) + kadarıyla (with its amount/extent). This structure literally translates to 'by the extent of my observing', which is the standard Turkish way to express 'as far as I observe' or 'as far as I know'.
Does gözlemlediğim kadarıyla inherently refer to the past ('observed') or the present ('observe')?
It can be both! The -dik participle covers non-future time, meaning both past and present. Depending on context, gözlemlediğim kadarıyla translates to 'as far as I observe' or 'as far as I observed'. Here, the past tense translation fits naturally in English because the speaker is reporting on a completed observation.
What exactly is a kaymakam? Is it the same as a vali?
A kaymakam is a 'district governor' who oversees an ilçe (district) within a province. This is different from a vali (provincial governor), who is one step higher in the administrative hierarchy and oversees the entire il (province).
Is izlenim bırakmak the standard phrase for 'leaving an impression'?