Learn Hardcore Turkish: Yeni mikrodalga, yemekleri hızlıca ısıtıyor.

Yeni means "new." In Turkish, adjectives typically come before the noun they modify. Thus, yeni mikrodalga translates to "new microwave," with yeni directly describing the appliance.

How is mikrodalga used in this sentence, and what does it refer to?

Mikrodalga is the Turkish word for "microwave" (the appliance that heats food). Here, it serves as the subject of the sentence, indicating what is performing the action of heating.

What is the grammatical structure of yemekleri, and what does it tell us about the object?

Yemekleri comes from the noun yemek (meaning "meal" or "food"). The suffix -ler forms the plural, and the additional suffix -i marks it as a definite object. This combination indicates that the sentence refers to "the meals" or "the food" in a specific sense.

What does hızlıca mean, and how is it formed?

Hızlıca means "quickly." It is derived from the adjective hızlı (meaning "quick" or "fast") by adding the adverbial suffix -ca (or -ce based on vowel harmony). This turns the adjective into an adverb that describes the manner in which the microwave heats the food.

Which tense is used in ısıtıyor, and why is it appropriate in this sentence?

Isıtıyor is in the present continuous tense, formed by adding -ıyor to the verb root ısıt- (meaning "to heat"). This tense is used to indicate an ongoing or habitual action, so it tells us that the new microwave is either currently in the process of heating the food or regularly heats food quickly.

Why is there a comma after mikrodalga in the sentence?

The comma after mikrodalga is used stylistically to create a brief pause, separating the subject (the new microwave) from the rest of the sentence. While Turkish punctuation can be flexible, this comma helps clarify the structure by clearly distinguishing the subject from the predicate.

How does Turkish convey definiteness without using articles like "a" or "the"?

Turkish does not have articles. Instead, definiteness is expressed through context and specific noun suffixes. For example, the suffix -i in yemekleri signals that the object is definite (i.e., "the meals" or "the food"), allowing the language to indicate specificity without a separate word for "the."