Questions & Answers about Bar gece çok kalabalıktı.
Why is kalabalıktı one word, and what does it break down into?
kalabalıktı = kalabalık + -tı
- kalabalık = crowded
- -tı = past form of to be
So kalabalıktı means was crowded.
Turkish often attaches the idea of was/is directly to a noun or adjective instead of using a separate word.
Why isn’t there a separate word for was in this sentence?
Because Turkish usually does not use a separate verb like English to be in sentences with nouns and adjectives.
Compare:
- Bar çok kalabalık. = The bar is very crowded.
- Bar çok kalabalıktı. = The bar was very crowded.
In the present tense, the copula is often invisible.
In the past tense, it appears as an ending like -tı / -di / -du / -dü.
Why is it -tı and not -dı?
This is because of consonant harmony.
The word kalabalık ends in k, which is a voiceless consonant, so the past copula takes the t form rather than d.
That is why you get:
- kalabalık + tı → kalabalıktı
The vowel ı is chosen by vowel harmony.
What does gece mean here?