Questions & Answers about Cenazenin ne zaman olduğunu öğrendik.
Why does cenaze have the genitive suffix -nin in this sentence?
In Turkish indirect questions formed with -dIğI, the subject of the embedded clause takes the genitive case. Think of the literal translation as "We learned the funeral's being when." This is why cenaze (funeral) becomes cenazenin.
How does the indirect question structure work here with olduğunu?
To make an indirect question, you combine a question word like ne zaman (when) with a verb taking the factive -dIğI suffix. Since the basic "to be" suffixes can't take -dIğI, we use olmak (to be / to happen) instead, resulting in olduğu (its being/happening).
Why is there an extra -nu at the end of olduğunu?
Let's break down ol-duğ-u-n-u. The first -u is the possessive suffix linking back to cenazenin. The -n- is a buffer letter. The final -u is the accusative case suffix. We need the accusative case because the entire clause ("when the funeral is") acts as the direct object of the main verb öğrendik (we learned it).
Why does the Turkish sentence use öğrendik for "we found out"?
While öğrenmek is typically taught as "to learn," it is also the standard verb for discovering or "finding out" a piece of information. You wouldn't use bulmak (to find) here, as that is generally reserved for physically locating objects.
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