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Questions & Answers about Yer çok sakin.
What does yer mean in yer çok sakin?
In this sentence yer means “place” or “spot.” It’s a general noun – there’s no article (“a/the”) in Turkish, so yer can be translated as “a place,” “the place,” or just “place,” depending on context.
Why isn’t there a verb like “is” in yer çok sakin?
Turkish drops the copula in the present tense. In English you say “The place is very calm,” but in Turkish a nominal sentence simply juxtaposes the subject and predicate: yer (subject) + çok sakin (predicate). No extra word for “is” is needed.
What part of speech is çok and why does it come before sakin?
Çok is an adverb meaning “very” (or “much”) that modifies the adjective sakin. In Turkish, adverbs that qualify adjectives precede them, so you get çok sakin = “very calm.”
Could you say çok sakin yer instead of yer çok sakin?
Yes, but the meaning shifts slightly. Çok sakin yer treats çok sakin as an attributive adjective phrase (“a very calm place”), whereas yer çok sakin is a full sentence (“the place is very calm”).
Why is yer in the bare form (nominative)? Shouldn’t it take a suffix?
In Turkish, the subject of a nominal predicate stays in the nominative (bare) case. Only objects or certain other functions take accusative or other case endings. Because yer is the subject here, it remains unsuffixed.
Can I use burası instead of yer to say “this place is very calm”?
Absolutely. Burası çok sakin means “this place is very calm.” Burası literally “this here” or “this place,” and it’s often more specific than the generic yer.
What’s the difference between sessiz and sakin?
Both may translate as “quiet” or “calm,” but sessiz emphasizes the absence of noise (“silent, noiseless”), while sakin focuses on a peaceful, tranquil atmosphere.
Why aren’t there articles like “a” or “the” in Turkish?
Turkish doesn’t have grammatical articles. Indefiniteness can be indicated with -bir (a), but you only use that when you want to stress “a certain.” Otherwise nouns stand alone and the context tells you if they’re definite or indefinite.
If I wanted to say “a place is very calm,” could I use bir yer çok sakin?
You could, but it sounds a bit odd without context. Bir yer çok sakin literally “a place [is] very calm,” but in practice you’d add a clarifier, for example Burada bir yer var, çok sakin (“There’s a place here, very calm”). Simply starting with bir yer feels incomplete in Turkish.