Breakdown of Bebeğin ilk zıbınına ve ultrason fotoğrafına ağlaya ağlaya bakıyorum.
bebek
baby
ve
and
ağlamak
to cry
bakmak
to look
Questions & Answers about Bebeğin ilk zıbınına ve ultrason fotoğrafına ağlaya ağlaya bakıyorum.
The current lesson is about 'Past + Future' imminent action reduplications. Is ağlaya ağlaya one of those?
No, this is a different kind of verbal reduplication! Instead of showing imminent action (like ağladı ağlayacak for 'about to cry'), ağlaya ağlaya uses the -(y)a / -(y)e suffix on the verb stem to show a simultaneous, continuous action. It acts as an adverb, showing that the subject is doing the main action (bakıyorum) while continuously crying.
Why do both zıbınına and fotoğrafına end with the exact same -ına sequence?
This is a great refresher on the dative case! The verb bakmak (to look at) requires its objects to take the dative case (-a / -e). Since both items are possessed by the baby, they already have the 3rd person possessive suffix -ı (zıbın-ı and fotoğraf-ı). Whenever you add a case marker to a 3rd person possessive suffix, Turkish requires the buffer consonant -n-, giving you -ı-n-a.
Does the genitive word bebeğin (the baby's) apply to both items in the sentence?
Yes. Because the two object phrases are joined by ve (and), bebeğin acts as the grammatical owner for the entire chain. The sentence is understood as 'the baby's first bodysuit and [the baby's] ultrasound photo'.
What exactly is a zıbın?