Breakdown of Protesto üzerine polis meydana girdi mi?
polis
police officer
meydan
square
girmek
to enter
mi
question particle (mı/mi/mu/mü)
protesto
protest
üzerine
upon, immediately after
Questions & Answers about Protesto üzerine polis meydana girdi mi?
How does üzerine work in this sentence, and does it refer to physical space?
In this context, üzerine is not about physical space. When used after an event noun, it acts as a postposition meaning "upon" or "immediately following and as a result of". So protesto üzerine means the police entered the square as a direct response to the protest.
Why is there no genitive suffix on protesto? Shouldn't it be protestonun üzerine?
When expressing "upon an event" generally, we usually pair a bare, suffix-free noun with üzerine. If we were talking about a specific, previously defined protest, we might use the genitive: protestonun üzerine (upon that specific protest). Here, protesto üzerine means "upon protest" in a broader sense.
Why does meydan (square) take the dative suffix -a to become meydana?
The verb girmek (to enter) requires its target to be in the dative case because it implies motion toward a space. In Turkish logic, you enter "to" a place. If you used the locative meydanda, it would mean the action of entering happened while the police were already inside the square.
Can the subject polis go at the very beginning of the sentence?
Yes, Polis protesto üzerine meydana girdi mi? is grammatically correct and very common. Moving protesto üzerine to the front of the sentence just places slightly more emphasis on the trigger or cause of the action.
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