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Breakdown of Bisiklet arabadan daha hızlı.
olmak
to be
bisiklet
the bicycle
araba
the car
-den
than
daha hızlı
faster
Questions & Answers about Bisiklet arabadan daha hızlı.
Where is the verb to be in this sentence?
Turkish often omits the present‐tense copula (“is/are”) in simple nominal sentences. Instead of saying “Bisiklet arabadan daha hızlı dır”, you drop the -dır and get “Bisiklet arabadan daha hızlı.”
Why is arabadan used for “than the car”?
In Turkish comparisons, the thing you’re comparing to takes the ablative case, marked by -den/-dan. So “araba” (car) + -dan → “arabadan” (“than the car”).
Why do we say daha hızlı instead of adding a comparative ending to hızlı?
Turkish forms comparatives by placing daha (more) before the adjective. You don’t attach a special comparative suffix to hızlı; you simply say daha hızlı (more fast → faster).
Where is the indefinite article “a” in bisiklet?
Turkish has no indefinite article equivalent to “a/an.” A bare noun like bisiklet can mean “bicycle,” “a bicycle,” or “bicycles” depending on context.
What is the basic word order here?
The usual Turkish word order is Subject‑Object‑Verb (SOV). Here you have Subject (bisiklet), then the comparison phrase acting like an object (arabadan daha hızlı), and the (omitted) verb “is.” Even though the verb is hidden, the underlying structure is still S‑(O)‑V.
Why is the suffix -dan and not -den or -tan?
This is due to Turkish vowel harmony. The noun araba ends in a back vowel “a,” so you use the back‐vowel form -dan. If it ended in a front vowel (e.g. “şehir”), you’d use -den.
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