Turkish: A Comprehensive Grammar

Turkish: A comprehensive grammar 376
(iii) verbs expressing an action which gives someone or something status or quality,
expressed by a noun, e.g. yap-, ‘make’, seç- ‘elect’, boya- ‘paint’
(132) [Mehmet’i başkan] seçtik.
‘We elected [Mehmet (as) chairman].’
When the main clause verb is transitive, the subject of a small clause (italicized in (129)–
(132)) functions as the direct object of the main clause, marked with the accusative case.
The verbs in (ia) and (ib) can occur with small clauses with nominal or verbal predicates.
The verbs in (ic), (ii) and (iii) occur only with small clauses with nominal predicates.
The subordinator diye (24.3) can be used after a small clause when the main clause
verb is bil- ‘think’. Note that the verbs in (ia) (in the case of bil‘think’, only for some
speakers) can also have finite complements (see 24.2):
(133) Biz [sen git-ti-n] san-dı-k.
we you go-PF-2SG think-PF-1PL
‘We thought [you had left].’
24.5.2 SMALL CLAUSES OCCURRING WITH MAIN CLAUSE
INTRANSITIVE VERBS
When the main clause verb is intransitive (either in its root form or through
passivization), the subject of the small clause (in bold italics immediately below) also
functions as the subject of the main predicate.
(134) [Mehmet iyi] görün-üyor-du.
Mehmet fine seem-IMPF-P.COP
‘Mehmet was looking fine.’
(135) [Biz kurs-u tamamla-dı-(k)] addediliyoruz.
we course-ACC complete-PF(-1PL) consider-PASS-IMPF-1PL
‘We are considered [to have completed the course].’
Small clauses occurring with benze- ‘look as if’ as the main clause verb are idiosyncratic
in that their own verb cannot be inflected for person. A further peculiarity of benze- is
that it requires dative marking of the small clause predicate:
(136) [(Sen) güneş-te fazla kal-mış]-a benzi-yor-sun
(you) sun-LOC too.much stay-PF-DAT look-IMPF-2SG
‘You look [as if you stayed too long in the sun].’
24.5.3 TENSE/ASPECT AND PERSON MARKING
Tense/aspect marking
The verbal predicate of a small clause is marked with one of the suffixes -mIş, -(I)yor, -
(y)AcAK, -(A/I)r and -DI (see (135) and (136) above). Small clauses do not contain
copular markers or -DIr, except when the main clause predicate is san-/ zannet- ‘think’,
in which case it may be marked with a past copula.