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Questions & Answers about Ateş sıcak.
Why isn’t is used in Ateş sıcak?
Turkish doesn’t require the verb to be in simple descriptive sentences. The copula suffix -dır/-tir exists (e.g. sıcaktır) but is usually dropped in everyday speech and writing. Ateş sıcak literally reads “fire hot,” which we understand as “The fire is hot.”
What case is Ateş in?
Ateş is in the nominative case, which is unmarked (no suffix) and indicates the subject of the sentence.
Why aren’t there articles like a or the in Ateş sıcak?
Turkish has no direct equivalent of English articles. You can use bir (“one/an”) to express “a/an” if needed, but in general statements both bir and “the” are omitted. Thus Ateş sıcak simply means “The fire [in general] is hot.”
Can I say Sıcak ateş instead of Ateş sıcak?
Putting sıcak before ateş (sıcak ateş) makes it a noun phrase meaning “hot fire.” To make a standalone statement “The fire is hot,” Turkish uses the default Subject + Predicate order: Ateş sıcak.
How do I turn Ateş sıcak into a question (“Is the fire hot?”)?
Add the question particle mı/mi/mu/mü (according to vowel harmony) after sıcak, and use rising intonation: Ateş sıcak mı?
How would I answer “Ateş sıcak mı?” with “Yes” or “No, it’s not hot”?
Affirmative: Evet, ateş sıcak.
Negative: Hayır, ateş sıcak değil.
How do I say “The fire is very hot” in Turkish?
Insert çok (“very”) before the adjective: Ateş çok sıcak.
Can ateş also mean something other than “fire”?
Yes. Ateş can also mean “fever” in medical contexts. To talk about a blaze, you might say yangın, and for a fever you could specify yüksek ateş (“high fever”).