Questions & Answers about Neden dua ettiğini söylemedi.
How do we form the indirect question 'why she prayed' in this sentence?
In Turkish, indirect questions are built using a question word (like neden) followed by a verb with a factive suffix (-dığı or -eceği). Instead of saying 'Why did she pray?' (Neden dua etti?), we essentially say 'Her why-praying' (Neden dua ettiğini). The question word simply sits in front of the participle clause.
What are all the suffixes attached to ettiğini?
Let's break down et-tiğ-i-n-i: et- is the root from the helper verb etmek. -tiğ is the factive participle suffix (usually -dık), which changes to -tiğ because et- ends in a hard consonant and a vowel follows. -i is the 3rd-person singular possessive suffix ('her'). -n- is a buffer letter. Finally, -i is the accusative case marker.
Why is the accusative case marker (-i) needed at the end of ettiğini?
The whole phrase neden dua ettiğini (why she prayed) acts as the direct object of the main verb söylemedi (she did not say). Because it is a specific, definite thing she didn't say, the entire clause requires the accusative case.
Could ettiğini also mean 'why you prayed'?
Yes! This is a classic ambiguity in Turkish. The word ettiğini can be broken down two ways. It can be et-tiğ-i-n-i with -i (his/her) plus -n- (buffer) plus -i (accusative). Or it can be et-tiğ-in-i with -in (your) plus -i (accusative). Without context or a subject pronoun like onun (his/her) or senin (your), it could mean 'She didn't say why she prayed' OR 'She didn't say why you prayed'.
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