Learn Hardcore Turkish: Ekonomi dersinde arz ve talep arasındaki dengeyi öğrendim. - I learned about the balance between supply and demand in my economics class.

In Turkish, a foreign noun like ekonomi can directly modify another noun to form a compound without adding -in on the modifier. ekonomi dersi simply means “economics lesson.” Adding -in (→ ekonominin dersi) would literally be “the lesson of the economy,” which isn’t the normal way to say “economics class.”

Why is it dersinde rather than derste for “in class”?

dersinde is built from dersi (“the lesson”) + locative -nde (“in”). The -i in dersi is the 3rd person possessive (because ekonomi “owns” the lesson). Since dersi ends in a vowel, Turkish inserts a buffer -n before -de, giving dersi + n + de = dersinde. By contrast, derste (→ ders + -te) means “in class” in general, without specifying which lesson.

What does the suffix -ki do in arasındaki, and why is it used?

The suffix -ki turns arasında (“between”) into a relative adjective meaning the one that is between. So arz ve talep arasındaki denge literally means the balance that is between supply and demand.

Why don’t arz and talep take any case endings in arz ve talep arasındaki?

arasında behaves like a postposition: it attaches to the entire phrase arz ve talep without altering those words. You mark the relationship with arasında (and then -ki), not by adding cases separately to arz or talep.

Why does denge have the ending -yi in dengeyi?

-yi is the accusative case marker for a definite direct object. Because you’re talking about the specific balance between supply and demand, you add -yi, turning denge into dengeyi.

What information does öğrendim convey, and why isn’t ben used?

öğrendim breaks down as öğren- (learn) + -di (simple past) + -m (I). Turkish is a pro-drop language, so the subject pronoun (ben) is omitted—the verb ending already tells you it’s 1st person singular past.

Can I change the word order? For example: Arz ve talep arasındaki dengeyi ekonomi dersinde öğrendim?

Yes. Turkish word order is fairly flexible, especially for adverbial phrases like ekonomi dersinde. You can move it to the end; adding a comma (Arz ve talep arasındaki dengeyi, ekonomi dersinde öğrendim) is optional but can improve clarity.

Do I have to use ve between arz and talep, or can it be omitted?

In very casual speech you might drop ve, but in most contexts—especially in writing—you keep ve for “and.” Omitting it here would sound awkward or unclear.

Why are arz and talep singular here? Could I say arzlar and talepler?

When referring to the general economic concepts of supply and demand, Turkish uses the singular. Pluralizing them (arzlar, talepler) would imply multiple separate supplies and demands, which changes the intended meaning.