Otobüs geç geliyor, hatta yürümek daha hızlı.

The bus arrives late; even walking is faster.

Breakdown of Otobüs geç geliyor, hatta yürümek daha hızlı.

• otobüs: the bus
• gelmek: to come
• yürümek: to walk
• geç: late
• hatta: even
• daha hızlı: faster

Questions & Answers about Otobüs geç geliyor, hatta yürümek daha hızlı.

What does geç geliyor mean, and why is the present continuous tense used here instead of the simple present?

• geç is an adverb meaning late.
• geliyor is the present continuous form of gelmek (“to come/arrive”).
• In Turkish, the present continuous often describes habitual or repeatedly occurring actions—especially when the speaker expresses annoyance. Saying otobüs geç geliyor literally means “the bus is arriving late” but carries the sense “the bus always/keeps arriving late.”
• If you said otobüs geç gelir, the simple present (aorist) feels odd here; it would suggest a more generic or general truth rather than a speaker’s frustration with a recurring problem.

How should I understand hatta in this sentence?

• hatta is a conjunctive adverb that can mean even, actually, in fact, or moreover, depending on context.
• Here it emphasizes the following clause, showing that walking is not just somewhat faster but actually faster than waiting for the always-late bus.
• A smooth English rendering might be: “The bus shows up late; in fact, walking is faster.”

Why is yürümek (the infinitive “to walk”) used as the subject of the second clause?

• In Turkish, the bare infinitive (yürümek) can function like a verbal noun, equivalent to English gerunds (“walking”).
• yürümek here is the subject of daha hızlı (“faster”).
• Literal structure: “Walking is faster.”

Why doesn’t the sentence include a verb like is before daha hızlı?

• Turkish often omits the copula in nominal sentences (sentences without a full verb).
• A simple adjective phrase like daha hızlı can stand on its own as “is faster.”
• Adding –(y)dir (the formal copula) to make daha hızlıdır would be grammatically possible but sounds overly formal or textbook-like in everyday speech.

How does the comparative daha hızlı work here, since nothing is explicitly compared?

• daha means more, so daha hızlı literally means more fast, i.e. faster.
• In a comparative sentence, Turkish allows the second item to be omitted if it’s clear from context.
• Here it’s implicitly comparing walking to waiting for the bus: “Walking is faster (than waiting for the bus).”

Why is otobüs in the bare nominative case and not marked with a suffix?

• otobüs is the subject of the first clause, so it remains in the nominative (unmarked) form.
• Only objects or direction/location phrases typically take case endings (accusative, dative, locative, etc.).

Could I replace yürümek with yürüyüş here?

• yürüyüş is a noun meaning a walk or a walking tour, not the act of walking itself.
• To express the general action of walking as faster, the infinitive yürümek is more natural.
• If you said hatta bir yürüyüş daha hızlı, it would mean “even a walk is faster,” which shifts nuance toward “a single stroll” rather than the activity of walking as a means of transport.