Learn Hardcore Turkish: İhmal edilecek ufak detaylar ileride büyük sorunlara dönüşebilir. - Minor details that will be neglected can turn into big problems in the future.

ihmal edilecek is a future-passive participle. It comes from the noun ihmal (“neglect”) + edil- (the passive stem of etmek, “to do”) + -ecek (future participle). Literally it means “that will be neglected” or “(to be) neglected.”

Why is the verb in passive form (edilecek) instead of active (edecek)?

If you used active edecek, you’d be saying “small details that will neglect,” which doesn’t make sense because the details aren’t doing the neglecting. We want the details themselves to be the ones being neglected. That’s why we use the passive participle edilecek (“to be neglected”).

What does the suffix -ecek in edilecek indicate?

The suffix -ecek attaches to the verb (or passive stem) to form a future-participle in Turkish. It often means “that will [verb].” In edilecek, it marks the action (neglecting) as something that will happen to the subject (the details).

What is the difference between ihmal edilen and ihmal edilecek?

Both are passive participles of ihmal etmek, but:

ihmal edilen = “that is/has been neglected” (past or present passive)
ihmal edilecek = “that will be neglected” (future passive)
So edilen refers to current or past neglect, while edilecek points to neglect occurring in the future.

What does ufak mean, and how is it different from küçük?

Both ufak and küçük can mean “small” or “little.” The difference is subtle:

küçük is the general word for “small.”
ufak feels a bit more colloquial and can imply “minor” or “insignificant” details.
In many contexts they’re interchangeable, but ufak detaylar emphasizes “tiny/minor details.”

What does ileride mean? Could we use ileriki or ilerideki instead?

ileride is an adverb meaning “later,” “in the future,” or “further on.”
ileriki is a more formal adjective/adverb meaning “future,” but it’s less common in modern Turkish.
ilerideki is an adjective (“that is ahead/in the future”), so you’d need to attach it directly to a noun (e.g. ilerideki sorunlar = “the problems ahead”).
Here we need an adverb to modify the verb dönüşebilir, so ileride is correct.

What does dönüşebilir mean and how is it formed?

dönüşebilir means “can turn into” or “may become.” It’s built from:

dönüş- (stem of dönüşmek, “to turn into”)
-ebil (potential suffix, “be able to/can”)
-ir (aorist suffix, giving a general present/future sense)
So dönüş-ebil-ir = “is able to turn into.”

Why is sorunlara in the dative plural form (with -lara)?

The verb dönüşmek (to turn into) takes its target in the dative case. You say “X (subject) dönüşmek Y_DAT” to mean “X turns into Y.” Since sorun (“problem”) is plural here, you add -lar for plural and -a for dative: sorunlara = “into problems.”

Could we express this idea with a conditional clause instead of a participle phrase?

Yes. A more explicit conditional version would be:
• Eğer ufak detaylar ihmal edilirse, ileride büyük sorunlara dönüşebilir.
Here -se on edilirse marks “if … is neglected.” The original sentence uses the participle phrase ihmal edilecek ufak detaylar (“small details that will be neglected”) for a shorter, more formal statement without “if.”

What is the grammatical subject of the sentence, and where is the main verb?

The entire noun phrase ihmal edilecek ufak detaylar (“small details that will be neglected”) is the subject. The main verb is dönüşebilir (“can turn into”). There is no separate subject pronoun because Turkish either drops pronouns or uses noun phrases directly as subjects.