Lesson 69
Intermediate
Intermediate
Buffer Letters!
Today is buffer letter appreciation day! They're the glue that holds Turkish together and keeps it sounding great in the face of nasty vowel and consonant clashes. We salute you buffer letters!
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everything in this lesson?
Shaikha
wow! so many Turkish words sounds like Arabic words. btw great site!
Jun 11, 2013
Diane
So, the past tense buffer letter rule sorta sounds like a 'ghost limb' scenario: the vowel that would justify the buffer letter is no longer there but...the grammar still 'feels' it there :) Yes?
Justin
@Diane Yeah, that's right. If you're interested, it's actually not exactly a "buffer letter" in the same way that the y in "öğrenciyim" is (that is, it's not explicitly resolving a vowel conflict).
It's actually there because in old Turkish, the way to say "she was pretty" was "güzel idi." The past tense marker was actually an entirely different word. That "y" then is the "left-over" from that separate word being combined into one word in the modern language.
It's actually there because in old Turkish, the way to say "she was pretty" was "güzel idi." The past tense marker was actually an entirely different word. That "y" then is the "left-over" from that separate word being combined into one word in the modern language.
Diane
Yes, and that's how I remember to use the 'y' even though its not resolving a vowel conflict--it's like not telling some old guy who keeps reporting for work that his job has become obsolete—we're all used to him being there, it would be weird if he simply wasn't there anymore, so what the heck?
Being a super grammar nerd, I actually find this very interesting. Thanks.
Being a super grammar nerd, I actually find this very interesting. Thanks.
Yuu
so clear now, süpersiniz!
a question, can the translation of 'Uyusaydım' in the language points be 'if i had slept'?
a question, can the translation of 'Uyusaydım' in the language points be 'if i had slept'?
Justin
Yep! Fixed! Çok teşekkür ederiz :)
Yuu
rica ederim :)
i do hope your wonderful lessons go far, far beyond 100th!
i do hope your wonderful lessons go far, far beyond 100th!
Martha
Merhaba! Bu ders harika! Teşekkür ederim.
I am curious about the construction used in the next-to-last review question. "He went with his dad." In English, we would expect the verb to agree with only the subject "he." But in Turkish the agreement seems to include both parties. I have never seen an explanation of this construction anywhere. Is there a lesson here that explains it? Perhaps the verb is plural because you could also read "ile" as "and"?
Ayrıca "Fun" kısmı için seçtiğiniz videoyu çok seviyorum. Bu şarkı çok güzel! İşte bildiğim versiyon. Barış Manço bu versiyonu söyler. "Gesi Bağları" şarkısı bir türkü mü?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EtLVcStMf4
Sorry if I made mistakes in my Turkish! :)
I am curious about the construction used in the next-to-last review question. "He went with his dad." In English, we would expect the verb to agree with only the subject "he." But in Turkish the agreement seems to include both parties. I have never seen an explanation of this construction anywhere. Is there a lesson here that explains it? Perhaps the verb is plural because you could also read "ile" as "and"?
Ayrıca "Fun" kısmı için seçtiğiniz videoyu çok seviyorum. Bu şarkı çok güzel! İşte bildiğim versiyon. Barış Manço bu versiyonu söyler. "Gesi Bağları" şarkısı bir türkü mü?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EtLVcStMf4
Sorry if I made mistakes in my Turkish! :)
Justin
Unless I'm missing something, I think you misread it. The sentence is, "We went with his dad." That should clear up everything, I think.
Evet, eski bir türk şarkısı :)
Evet, eski bir türk şarkısı :)
Martha
Sorry, yes, I guess I misread. However, I have seen plural verbs with a construction like this, as in "Ben ailemle İstanbul'a gittik" when I would think it should be "Ben ailemle İstanbul'a gittim." But I guess this may just depend on whether you are reading that "-le" as "and" or "with." ... But on to the next lesson. :)
Justin
Merhaba Martha, I double-checked with Büşra - "Ben ailemle Istanbul'a gittik" is not okay. If you ever see it in the wild, shoot us an email. It very well might have been a typo (hopefully not on our site!)
Öğrenci
'Connect things existentially' made my day!
When are you coming back for more lessons??????
When are you coming back for more lessons??????
Justin
Merhaba! We'll be back in three weeks :)
Maciek
Hi Justin,
Did I make huge mistake using götürmek instead of almak in the last review question?
Kedisini götürdüm
Did I make huge mistake using götürmek instead of almak in the last review question?
Kedisini götürdüm
Justin
Nah, not a huge mistake :)
But almak is better here, because götürmek is typically used to say that you took something *to* somewhere.
But almak is better here, because götürmek is typically used to say that you took something *to* somewhere.
Tina
I wonder what happened wıth them after ksdfjsjdfj
