Oteldeki bankamatikte uzun bir kuyruk vardı, bu yüzden resepsiyon görevlisinden yardım istedim.

Oteldeki bankamatikte uzun bir kuyruk vardı, bu yüzden resepsiyon görevlisinden yardım istedim.
(There was a long queue at the ATM in the hotel, so I asked the receptionist for help.)

Breakdown of Oteldeki bankamatikte uzun bir kuyruk vardı, bu yüzden resepsiyon görevlisinden yardım istedim.

bir
a
uzun
long
bu yüzden
so
kuyruk
the queue
-de
in
-den
from
-te
in
var
to be
resepsiyon görevlisi
the receptionist
otel
the hotel
bankamatik
the ATM
yardım
the help
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Questions & Answers about Oteldeki bankamatikte uzun bir kuyruk vardı, bu yüzden resepsiyon görevlisinden yardım istedim.

Why does the sentence use oteldeki bankamatikte with two locative markers?
oteldeki is built from otel + -de + -ki. Here -de means “in/at” and -ki turns that into a relative phrase (“that is in the hotel”), so oteldeki bankamatik = “the ATM in the hotel.” Then you want “at that ATM,” so you add another locative -te to bankamatik (with vowel and consonant harmony) to get bankamatikte. Put together, oteldeki bankamatikte = “at the ATM that’s in the hotel.”
How is the locative suffix in bankamatikte formed? Why is it -te and not -da/-ta/-de?

Turkish locative is -DA (written -da/-de/-ta/-te):

  1. Vowel harmony: the last vowel in bankamatik is i (front), so choose -de.
  2. Consonant harmony: bankamatik ends in k (voiceless), so the d becomes t.
    Result: bankamatik + -te = bankamatikte (“at the ATM”).
Why is there bir in uzun bir kuyruk? What does bir do here?

In Turkish, bir works like the indefinite article “a/an.” Placing bir between adjective and noun makes it clear you mean “a long queue” rather than “the long queue.”

  • uzun kuyruk = “long queue” (general)
  • uzun bir kuyruk = “a long queue” (indefinite)
What is the role of vardı in uzun bir kuyruk vardı? How do you express “there was”?

Turkish uses the existential verb var to mean “there is/are.” In the past tense it becomes vardı.

  • Kuyruk var. = “There’s a queue.”
  • Kuyruk vardı. = “There was a queue.”
    There is no separate “to be” verb in Turkish; var/­yok handle existence.
What does bu yüzden mean and how is it used to connect clauses?

bu yüzden = “for that reason” or “so”. It links cause and effect:
“… uzun bir kuyruk vardı, bu yüzden resepsiyon görevlisinden yardım istedim.”
You can also use o yüzden, bu nedenle or dolayısıyla with similar meanings.

Why is resepsiyon görevlisinden in the ablative case, and why do we see -sinden instead of just -den?

To say “from the receptionist,” Turkish uses the ablative suffix -den. The noun görevlisi already ends in vowel i, so you need a buffer consonant -n- to attach -den, yielding -sinden.

  • resepsiyon görevlisi = “the receptionist”
  • resepsiyon görevlisi + -nden = resepsiyon görevlisinden = “from the receptionist”
Why doesn’t yardım take an accusative suffix in yardım istedim? When do you use accusative marking for direct objects?
Turkish marks definite direct objects with the accusative suffix -(y)ı/-i/-u/-ü. Here yardım istedim = “I asked for (some) help.” It’s indefinite, so no suffix. If you meant “I asked for the help” (specific help), you’d say yardımı istedim.
Why is the verb istedim in the simple past tense, and could you use a different tense?

The suffix -di marks the simple past (definite, completed action). The speaker is narrating a past event: “I asked (and it happened).”

  • istiyorum = present continuous (“I am asking”)
  • istemiştim = past perfect (“I had asked”)
    Choose the tense based on when/how you want to place the action.