Turkish: A Comprehensive Grammar

Relative clauses 383
köylülerin koyunları, which itself functions as the direct object of kap- ‘seize and devour’
(cf. Köylülerin koyunlarını kurt kaptı ‘Wolves devoured the villagers’ sheep’. The nondefinite
subject may be modified (e.g. by a determiner and/or adjective, such as birkaç ‘a
few’ and küçük ‘small’ in (14)).
In these constructions the subject of the relative clause (i.e. kiremit ‘tiles’, kurt
‘wolves’, adam ‘man’ in the examples above) is non-definite, and is placed immediately
before the verb (see 23.2.1). The constituent towards which the relativized constituent
stands in a possessor relation (koyunlarını ‘their sheep’ (ACC), çatısından ‘from the roof
of which’, arkasında ‘behind whom’) is positioned at the beginning of the relative clause
and is marked by a 3rd person possessive suffix.
(iii) In clauses where the relativized constituent is a possessed item (a noun phrase
with possessive marking):
-(y)An is used only in cases where the possessed item is part of the subject of the verb
in the relative clause. Otherwise -DIK/-(y)AcAK are used (see 25.1.1.2 (iv)). For example,
in (16) below, the relativized constituent arabası ‘car-3SG.POSS’ is the possessed item
in the genitive-possessive construction komşumuz-un araba-sı ‘our neighbour’s car’,
which is itself the subject of çalın- ‘be stolen’ (cf. Komşumuzun arabası çalındı ‘Our
neighbour’s car was stolen’).
(16) [komşu-muz-un çal-ın-an] araba-sı
neighbour-1PL.POSS-GEN steal-PASS-PART car-3SG.POSS
‘our neighbour’s car, [which was stolen]’/‘our neighbour’s stolen car’
(17) [oyuncunun büyük olmayan] rolü (cf. Oyuncunun rolü büyük değil.)
‘the actor’s part, [which isn’t/wasn’t big]’
(iv) In clauses where the relativized constituent is a noun phrase expressing the location
of the activity expressed by the relative clause:
In these constructions the relative clause itself contains a subject with categorial status
(22.3), and the verb has passive marking:
(18) [kitap imzala-n-an] yer (cf. O yerde kitap imzalanıyor.)
book sign-PASS-PART place
‘the place [where books are signed]’
(19) [içki iç-il-ebil-ecek (ol-an)] lokantalar (cf. O lokantalarda içki içilebiliyor.)
alcoholic.beverage drink-PASS-PSB-FUT AUX-PART restaurants
‘restaurants [where alcohol can be drunk]’
25.1.1.2 -DIK and -(y)AcAK
These participles have identical structural properties in terms of their role in relative
clauses, but they differ in terms of tense. In very general terms, -(y)AcAK refers to future
situations:
(20) [Fatma’nın yarın gör-eceğ-i] film
Fatma-GEN tomorrow see-PART-3SG.POSS film
‘the film [that Fatma is going to see/will be seeing tomorrow]’
-DIK, on the other hand, mainly refers to past or ongoing situations: