Sirke, marinelerde sıklıkla kullanılan bir çeşni maddesidir.

Sirke, marinelerde sıklıkla kullanılan bir çeşni maddesidir.
Vinegar is a seasoning frequently used in marinades.
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Questions & Answers about Sirke, marinelerde sıklıkla kullanılan bir çeşni maddesidir.

What does the suffix -de in marinelerde indicate? And why is it marinelerde (with -ler) instead of just marine?

-de is the locative case marker in Turkish, meaning “in/at/on.”

  1. marine = “marinade.”
  2. marine-ler = “marinades” (plural).
  3. marine-ler-de = “in marinades.”
    So marinelerde literally means “in (various) marinades.”
Why is marinelerde spelled with -de instead of -da? How do I choose between -de/-da and -te/-ta?

Turkish vowel and consonant harmony determine case endings:

  • Vowel harmony: use -de/-ta after front vowels (e, i, ö, ü) and -da/-ta after back vowels (a, ı, o, u).
  • Consonant harmony: use d if the stem ends in a voiced sound, t if it ends in a voiceless one.
    Here marine ends in the front vowel e, so we pick -de. Because it’s a voiced environment, we keep d, giving marinelerde.
What role does sıklıkla kullanılan play in the sentence? How is that phrase formed?

sıklıkla = adverb “frequently.”
kullanılan = passive participle of kullanmak (“to use”) → stem kullan-, passive marker -ıl-, participle -an → “used.”
Together sıklıkla kullanılan form a relative clause meaning “which is used frequently” or simply “frequently used.” It modifies bir çeşni maddesi.

What does çeşni maddesi mean, and why are there two nouns?
  • çeşni = “flavour” or “seasoning.”
  • madde = “substance” or “agent.”
    In Turkish you can stack nouns to build compounds: here çeşni madde = “seasoning substance/agent.” The suffix -si on madde is part of the next question (see copula).
Why is the ending -sidir in maddesidir? Could I say maddedir instead?

The full form maddesidir breaks down as:

  • madde (noun “substance”)
  • -si (3rd person possessive suffix, often required before certain copulas)
  • -dir (copular suffix “is”)
    You see -si because when a noun is modified (here by bir çeşni or the relative clause), Turkish often requires the 3rd-person possessive before -dir.
    You could simplify to maddedir (“it is a substance”), but maddesidir is more formal or precise in a definition-like statement.
What is the function of the comma after sirke? Is it mandatory?

The comma separates the topic (sirke = “vinegar”) from the predicate. It’s used for clarity or emphasis but is not strictly required. You can write:
Sirke marinelerde sıklıkla kullanılan bir çeşni maddesidir.

Can we omit bir in bir çeşni maddesidir?

Yes, but it slightly changes the nuance.

  • With bir: “Vinegar is a (one) type of seasoning ingredient.”
  • Without bir: “Vinegar is (just) a seasoning ingredient.”
    Including bir highlights that it’s one among various seasoning agents.
How would I say “Vinegar is frequently used in marinades” in a more direct (active) way?

You can turn the passive into a simple standalone passive verb phrase:
Sirke marinelerde sıklıkla kullanılır.
Here you have:

  • sirke (subject)
  • marinelerde (locative “in marinades”)
  • sıklıkla (adverb “frequently”)
  • kullanılır (passive “is used”).