Breakdown of Az kalsın balkonunda hamak olan daireyi kiralıyordu.
olmak
to be
balkon
balcony
kiralamak
to rent
daire
apartment / flat
az kalsın
almost / nearly
hamak
hammock
Questions & Answers about Az kalsın balkonunda hamak olan daireyi kiralıyordu.
How does balkonunda hamak olan translate to "that has a hammock on its balcony"? Where is the word for "has"?
In Turkish, having something in a location is expressed with an existential structure (using var or yok). The underlying sentence is Balkonunda hamak var (There is a hammock on its balcony). To turn this into a descriptive clause modifying the apartment, var is replaced by olan (the relative participle of olmak). Literally, it translates to "the apartment [which] there-being a hammock on its balcony."
Why is the verb kiralıyordu in the past continuous tense (was renting) when the English translation says "almost rented"?
The phrase az kalsın (almost / narrowly) is very frequently paired with the past continuous (-yordu) to describe an action that was on the absolute verge of happening but ultimately didn't. Turkish frames this as "he was just about to rent it / was in the process of renting it (but something stopped him)," whereas English prefers the simple past "almost rented."
Let's break down balkonunda. Why is there a possessive suffix on it?
The word breaks down into balkon-u-n-da. The -u is the 3rd person possessive suffix, which refers forward to the apartment (daire). It literally means "on its balcony" (-n- is a buffer letter, and -da is the locative case). It connects the balcony specifically to the apartment being rented.
Why does daireyi take the accusative (-i) case here?
Daire (apartment) is the direct object of the verb kiralıyordu (he was renting). Because the apartment is highly specified by the relative clause balkonunda hamak olan (the specific one with a hammock on its balcony), it must take the specific direct object marker, becoming daire-y-i.
Learn Az kalsın balkonunda hamak olan daireyi kiralıyordu and more in Turkish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free