Learn Hardcore Turkish: Buzlu kaldırımlarda yürürken zemin oldukça kaygandı. - While walking on icy sidewalks, the ground was very slippery.

Buzlu means icy or frosty, and kaldırım means sidewalk. In kaldırımlarda, the suffix -lar has been added to form the plural (sidewalks), and the locative suffix -da indicates "on" or "in". Therefore, Buzlu kaldırımlarda translates to "on the icy sidewalks".

How is the form yürürken derived, and what is its function in the sentence?

Yürürken comes from the verb yürümek (to walk) with the addition of the suffix -ken. This suffix turns the verb into an adverbial clause meaning "while walking". It provides the temporal context for the main statement, indicating that the action described in the main clause occurred simultaneously with the walking.

What does zemin refer to, and what is its role in the sentence?

Zemin means ground or floor. In the sentence, it is the subject of the main clause, where the predicate kaygandı describes its condition. Essentially, the sentence tells us that the ground was quite slippery.

What is the meaning and role of the word oldukça in this sentence?

Oldukça is an adverb that means "quite" or "fairly." It is used to modify the adjective kaygandı, indicating the degree to which the ground was slippery. This gives the listener additional information about the intensity of the slipperiness.

Why is the adjective kaygandı in the past tense, and what does this indicate?

Kaygandı is the past tense form of the adjective kaygan (meaning slippery). Using the past tense here tells us that the condition of the ground being slippery was true at the time of the walking event. In Turkish, adjectives that describe a state or condition can be used with past tense forms to indicate that the state existed in the past.

Why does the sentence start with the clause Buzlu kaldırımlarda yürürken instead of beginning with zemin?

In Turkish, it is common to place adverbial or subordinate clauses at the beginning of a sentence to set the scene or provide contextual background. Here, Buzlu kaldırımlarda yürürken establishes the situation ("while walking on icy sidewalks") before introducing the main observation about the ground. This word order emphasizes the conditions under which the situation (the ground being slippery) was experienced.