Question 1

What does the suffix -dikçe express in this sentence and how would you translate Açlık arttıkça literally?

Accepted Answer

The suffix -dikçe creates an adverbial clause meaning “as … happens” or “the more … the more …”. It attaches to a verb stem. Here:  
  • art (from artmak, “to increase”)  
  • + -tıkça (vowel harmony form of -dikçe)  
= arttıkça  
So Açlık arttıkça literally is “As hunger increases”, idiomatically “The hungrier you get …”.

Question 2

How is arttıkça formed? Why does it have a double t?

Accepted Answer

1. Remove -mak from artmak → art  
2. Add the suffix -dikçe, which becomes -tıkça after vowel harmony (back vowel a requires ı).  
3. Consonant assimilation: the suffix’s d becomes t next to the root’s final t, yielding arttıkça (two ts).

Question 3

Why is açlık not marked with any case ending?

Accepted Answer

In an -dikçe subordinate clause, açlık is simply the topic/subject of that clause and remains in the nominative (unmarked) form. There’s no need for accusative, genitive or any other case here.

Question 4

What part of speech is yemek and why doesn’t it carry a suffix?

Accepted Answer

In Açlık arttıkça yemek daha lezzetli oluyor, yemek is a noun meaning “food” or “meal”, acting as the subject of the main clause. Subjects in Turkish take no ending in the nominative. If it were a direct object, you’d see -ı/–i, but here it’s the thing doing the “becoming tastier.”

Question 5

Why is daha used before lezzetli?

Accepted Answer

daha is the marker for the comparative degree in Turkish.  
  • lezzetli alone = “tasty”  
  • daha lezzetli = “more tasty” / “tastier”

Without daha, you’d lose the sense of increasing tastiness.

Question 6

Why is the verb oluyor (present continuous of olmak) used instead of olur or another verb?

Accepted Answer

olmak means “to become”. The present continuous form oluyor here conveys an ongoing or general process—“it’s becoming / it gets”.  
  • You could replace it with simple present olur: Yemek açlık arttıkça daha lezzetli olur.  
  • But oluyor emphasizes the unfolding change: “it keeps getting tastier.”

Question 7

What is the difference between the noun açlık and the verb acıkmak?

Accepted Answer

• açlık = “hunger” (the state/condition, a noun)  
• acıkmak = “to get hungry” (an intransitive verb)  
You need açlık here because you talk about the level of hunger as a noun increasing.

Question 8

Are there alternative ways to express the “the more…, the more…” idea in Turkish?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A common pattern is ne kadar … o kadar …:  
  • Ne kadar açlık artarsa, yemek o kadar lezzetli olur.  
You can also add da for extra emphasis:  
  • Yemek, açlık arttıkça daha da lezzetli oluyor.

Açlık arttıkça yemek daha lezzetli oluyor.

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