- Forum >
- Topic: Turkish >
- "Kitaplar sizde."
21 Comments
just try to "accept" what you read :) "var" is not a verb, it just requires its own sentence construction.
it is also not correct to assume there should be an accusative wherever you see a "the". This is only true, if a verb can get the accusative case. For such a verb, an object with "the" is a definite object and will get the accusative ending, and an object without it will be an indefinite object and won't get it.
Although explained in the link, again, you wouldn't say "you have the books" when you want to say they own them, would you? It indicates location, that's why Turkish uses the locative case. In this case "kitaplar" is the subject. Subjects CAN NEVER be in the accusative/dative/locative/ablative.
"Kitapları sizde" would therefore imply that "kitapları" is possessive; "His/Her/Their/Its books are with you" // "You have his/her/their/its books"
Clearer?
I think I'm clearer on why it doesn't use the accusative. Part of my problem is actually my English (and understanding of subjects/objects etc). Not good considering it's my first language :)
My other problem is I've asked so many questions, and the comments feeds don't tell you which lesson they relate to, so I can't remember what I was supposed to be learning with this one :)
So, I get why no accusative, however, why can it not be I have books? Is that because that would be Benim Kitaplarim var? (with the right letters).
I didn't really understand why "kitaplar" was the subject, I thought it would be the direct object.
What made more sense to me was that perhaps the more direct translation would be something like "the books are with you", which would mean that "you have the books". That way "kitaplar" is the subject. Am I correct?
No, in Duo's sentence there is no implication of ownership- they could be anyone's books and you just happen to have them at the moment. If we wanted to express ownership, there are a few ways (I will use "sen", but they all work with "siz" as well):
- The books belong to you = Kitaplar sana ait.
- The books are yours = Kitaplar senin.
- You own the books = Kitaplara sen sahipsin.
- You have your books = Kitapların sende.