"I eat the cheese."
Translation:Ben peyniri yerim.
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Why do we put the suffix "im" onto yer for this type of sentence. For an English speaker it seems very confusing. because "im" = my mine ? So the sentence for an English speaker trying to translate, it looks like it is saying "I eat the cheese my eat" or "i cheese eat+my(mine)" = nonsense ?
Thank you.. it is just that many other sites and books start Turkish by ENFORCING ben and benim grammar onto the learner. They never warn you that "IM" suffix has other uses. I am no longer confused
The -i is what's making it accusative. Not just cheese in general, but THIS SPECIFIC cheese right here in front of me. This also follows vowel harmony, so it's only an -i because the last vowel in peynir is an i. Harmony being involved is one of those things you just have to get a handle on through repeated exposure more than anything else, so I wouldn't beat myself up over it at first.
- Peynir = cheese ( in general. Whatever cheese is laying around. All cheese. )
-
Peyniri = THE cheese ( the one in the fridge. )
-
Süt = milk
-
Sütü = THE milk
-
Kuş = bird
- Kuşu = THE bird
So the addition of that latter makes it a specific direct object (this one) instead of just any generalized thing.
Words that already end in vowels require a -y buffer before whatever letter harmony dictates the accusative suffix should be, and while the other letters mirror each other, words whose last vowel is E get an -i suffix instead of another e and those ending with A get a dotless -ı instead.
- Kadın = woman
-
Kadını = THE woman
-
Elma = apple
-
Elmayı = THE apple
-
Çay = tea
- Çayı = THE tea
Of special note, certain letters also change when they come directly before either accusative or possessive suffix:
Ç --> C
K --> Ğ
P --> B
T --> D
As such, while
- Kedi = cat
-
Kediyi = THE cat
-
Köpek = dog
-
Köpeği = THE dog, because it ends with a K.
-
Kitap = any old random book
- Kitabı = THE book, because it ends with a P.
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You are right, Turkish and Armenian languages are not related but they have common history for many years. It is normal for them to contain loan words.