"Akşam yemeği için masayı kurduk."

Translation: We set the table for dinner.

[londoncallling]

In the UK we say 'lay the table' and not 'set the table', please accept laid as well!

[GordonRobb]

I've seen table in other places referred to as tablo, and masa as desk. If I was looking for a table in a restaurant, would either do?

[orde90]

Certainly no.

Masa -> http://www.firmasec.com/resim/1/ozdemir-sandalye-masa9-89facbb3-mcrzt.jpg
Tablo -> http://www.kanvas-tablo.net/wp-content/uploads/kanvas-tablo-ankara-2.jpg or http://www.sensoyle.com/g/1bos_tablo_ornekleri_4.gif
Sıra -> http://www.egesegitim.com.tr/eoy_12_sira_B.jpg

[GordonRobb]

I think I've found out the problem. Masa seems to mean table, desk etc. Tablo is more like a table in printing or documents. It's cool as masa should be easy for me to remember as it's close to the Spanish for table.

[orde90]

Yes, exactly. Mesa and masa are quite good 'friends'

[GordonRobb]

It's one of the first similarities I've found. I liked learning Spanish as there were so many words which were 'recognisable' due to their closeness to english (for example). Turkish has been a whole other experience :)

[ErfanRezamand]

similar to persian word "Miz"

[vfurmanov]

Does için generally take an accusative noun?

[mizinamo]

No, it takes a nominative noun but a possessive adjective form for pronouns (okul için "for school", benim için "for me").

Here, you have "akşam yemeği" in the nominative form before "için" (its accusative would be "akşam yemeğini").

Note that the -i ending can be either accusative or possessive -- here, it's possessive, to join the two nouns "akşam" and "yemek" together into a noun-noun compound: "evening" + "food" = "evening food".

In English, you can simply place two nouns next to each other to make such a compound, but in Turkish, the second one gets a possessive ending to connect them. (In general. Some exceptions such as "German woman".)

[vfurmanov]

Oh man, I totally learned this already, had a complete brain-fart moment there!

Thank you for the reminder though, I'll definitely remember that "için" takes nominative now.

[mizinamo]

Is there a difference between "masayı kurmak" and "sofrayı kurmak"?

[ilknr1]

No.

[kqatramiz]

is kurduk has the same meaning of prepared ?

[AlexinNotTurkey]

Nope, that would be "hazırladık"

[Ute-Marion]

What's wrong with "evening meal" for Akşam yemeği?

[bellapiko]

nothing it was supposed to have been added as an alternative but I was just refreshing my Turkish and Duo rejected evening meal. When Alex was around he sorted it so maybe this question hasnt been updated.' Evening meal' as also used in hotels as an alternative word for dinner

[LucyB137100]

We use the phrase "lay the table" in the UK, not set.

[Aigul976687]

Why not masani