Breakdown of Belgeleri kimin teslim alacağını sordu.
kim
who
sormak
to ask
belge
document
teslim almak
to take delivery of, to receive
Questions & Answers about Belgeleri kimin teslim alacağını sordu.
Why is it kimin (genitive) instead of just kim (who) here?
In Turkish, indirect questions are formed using participles like -ecek or -dik. The subject of this embedded clause (the "who") must take the genitive case, just like a possessor. So, "who will receive" translates literally as "whose future-receiving," which requires kimin.
Can you break down the stack of suffixes on alacağını?
It starts with the verb al (take) + -acak (future participle, becoming -acağ-) + -ı (3rd person possessive, agreeing with kimin) + -n- (buffer) + -ı (accusative case). The final accusative case is needed because the entire embedded clause is the direct object of the main verb sordu (he asked).
Why does belgeleri have the accusative suffix if the main verb's object is the entire "who" clause?
belgeleri gets its accusative case from the verb inside the embedded clause, teslim almak (to receive). Because it refers to specific documents ("the documents"), it takes the definite accusative suffix -i.
What is the difference between teslim almak and just almak?
While almak broadly means "to take," "to get," or "to buy," the compound verb teslim almak specifically means "to take delivery of" or "to receive" something physically or officially, such as documents, a package, or an assignment.
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