Karayolu tamir edilirken trafik yavaşlıyor.

While the highway is being repaired, traffic slows down.

Breakdown of Karayolu tamir edilirken trafik yavaşlıyor.

• tamir edilmek: to be repaired
• trafik: the traffic
• -irken: while
• karayolu: the highway
• yavaşlamak: to slow down

Questions & Answers about Karayolu tamir edilirken trafik yavaşlıyor.

What does the suffix -ken do in tamir edilirken, and how would you translate it into English?

The -ken suffix turns a verb into an adverbial clause meaning “while …ing” or “when …ing.” Here:

• tamir edilir → “is repaired”
• tamir edilir + ken → “while it is being repaired”

So tamir edilirken literally means “while it’s being repaired.”

How is the passive voice formed in tamir edilirken?

Passive in Turkish is built with the suffix -il- (or -in-), plus tense/aspect endings. For tamir etmek (“to repair”):

1. Take et- (“do”) and make it passive → edil-
2. Add the continuous aspect -iyor- → ediliyor (“is being done”)
3. Attach -ken for “while” → edilirken

Combine with tamir (“repair”):
tamir + edil +iyor +ken → tamir edilirken

What tense and aspect is yavaşlıyor, and how is it formed?

yavaşlıyor is the present continuous (progressive) tense, marked by -iyor- on the verb root:

• yavaşla- = “to slow down”
• yavaşla + ıyor → yavaşlıyor = “is slowing down”

Unlike English, Turkish uses -iyor for both “is …ing” and habitual/regular actions.

Why aren’t there English-style articles like “the” or “a” before karayolu or trafik?

Turkish has no separate articles. Definiteness is shown by context or, in some cases, by suffixes (e.g., accusative -ı). Here karayolu and trafik stand on their own, but we still understand them as “the highway” and “traffic.”

Can you change the word order, for example putting the adverbial clause after the main clause?

Yes. Turkish is relatively flexible because grammatical roles are marked by suffixes. For instance:

• Karayolu tamir edilirken trafik yavaşlıyor.
• Trafik karayolu tamir edilirken yavaşlıyor.

Both mean essentially the same. Placing the adverbial clause first often helps set the scene.

What is the structure of the compound karayolu, and why is it one word?

karayolu comes from:

1. kara = “land” (old Turkic for “land” rather than “black”)
2. yol = “road”
3. A linking/possessive vowel -u on yol

Put together as a compound, you get kara + yol + u → karayolu, meaning “highway” or “land road.” In Turkish, such compounds are usually written as one word.

Could you use an active form instead of the passive tamir edilirken?

Yes. If you know who’s doing the repairing, you can switch to active:

• Passive adverbial: karayolu tamir edilirken (“while it is being repaired”)
• Active adverbial: karayolu tamir ederken (“while they repair the highway”)

In the active version, the implicit subject is whoever does the action; you can also specify them.

How would you mention the agent (the repair crew) in the passive clause?

Use tarafından after the agent, which stays in the nominative case. For example:

• Karayolu işçiler tarafından tamir edilirken trafik yavaşlıyor.
(“While the highway is being repaired by the workers, traffic slows down.”)

Alternatively, drop the passive and say:

• Karayolu işçiler tamir ederken trafik yavaşlıyor.