Questions & Answers about Öğretmen soruyu tekrar etti.
Why is tekrar etti written as two separate words when other etmek verbs like hissetti are written as one?
Auxiliary verb compounds with etmek or olmak are written as a single word only if the base noun undergoes a sound change. If the noun doubles its final consonant (like his becoming hissetti) or drops a vowel (like şükür becoming şükretti), they combine. Since tekrar doesn't change its spelling when paired with an auxiliary, the two words stay separate.
Why does soru take the -(y)u ending here?
The verb compound tekrar etmek is transitive and here applies to a specific, known object (the question). Therefore, soru (question) needs the definite accusative case. Since it ends in a vowel, it takes the buffer consonant -y- followed by -u to satisfy four-way vowel harmony.
The root is et-, so why doesn't the t soften to d here like it does in ediyor?
The t in etmek only softens to d (consonant mutation) when followed by a suffix starting with a vowel. Because the past tense suffix starts with a consonant, the root remains et-. In fact, the voiceless t of the root forces the suffix to harden, changing the past tense marker from -di to -ti.
Is there a single verb for 'to repeat' instead of using an etmek compound?
Yes, you can use the verb tekrarlamak. Saying Öğretmen soruyu tekrarladı means exactly the same thing as this sentence. Both forms are extremely common in everyday Turkish.
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