Learn Hardcore Turkish: Susuz kaldığınızda vücudunuz hem mineral hem de vitamin kaybeder. - When you stay dehydrated, your body loses both minerals and vitamins.

-suz is an adjectival suffix meaning “without”, so su (water) + -suz = susuz (“without water,” “dehydrated”). It follows Turkish vowel harmony: because su contains the back vowel u, the suffix appears as -uz rather than -iz.

What is the difference between susuz kalmak and susamak?

Kalmak means “to stay” or “to remain.” Thus susuz kalmak literally means “to remain without water,” i.e. “to become dehydrated.” Susamak, on the other hand, means “to feel thirsty.” So susuz kalmak emphasizes lacking water, while susamak describes the sensation of thirst.

What does the suffix -dığınızda in susuz kaldığınızda convey?

-dığınızda is a temporal suffix that means “when you …” or “as soon as you ….” It combines the verb stem (kal-), the 2nd person plural/formal marker -ınız, and the time marker -da/-de. Hence kaldığınızda = “when you remain.” Together susuz kaldığınızda = “when you stay without water.”

Why is susuz kaldığınızda used instead of susuz kalırsanız?

They’re similar but slightly different:

-dığınızda expresses a clear temporal clause (“when…”).
-ırsanız is conditional (“if you…”).
In the original sentence, the emphasis is on what happens as a natural consequence once you are dehydrated, so -dığınızda (“when”) is more appropriate than -ırsanız (“if”).

Why is the verb kaybeder in the aorist tense (ending in -er)?

Turkish aorist (geniş zaman) with -er/-ir expresses general truths or habitual facts. Here, the sentence states a general fact about the body: “your body loses minerals and vitamins.” That’s why kaybeder (aorist) is used instead of a progressive form like kaybediyor.

Why is it kaybeder and not kaybedersiniz?

The subject of the verb is vücudunuz (“your body”), which is third person singular (even though it refers to “your”). Therefore, the verb also takes third person singular agreement (-er): kaybeder. Kaybedersiniz would be second person plural/formal, which doesn’t match “your body.”

What role does hem … hem de play in hem mineral hem de vitamin?

Hem … hem de is a paired conjunction meaning “both … and ….” It links two items (here mineral and vitamin) without using ve (“and”). It emphasizes that your body loses both minerals and vitamins.

Why aren’t mineral and vitamin in the plural?

In Turkish, when listing categories or using correlative conjunctions like hem … hem de, nouns often remain singular to indicate the types or kinds in general, rather than specific countable units.

Is the word order always Subject–Object–Verb in Turkish?

Yes, the neutral order is SOV. In this sentence:

Adverbial clause: susuz kaldığınızda (“when you are dehydrated”)
Subject: vücudunuz (“your body”)
Objects: hem mineral hem de vitamin (“both minerals and vitamins”)
Verb: kaybeder (“loses”)