Çay şekerle güzel.

to be

Breakdown of Çay şekerle güzel.

• güzel: nice
• çay: the tea
• -le: with

Questions & Answers about Çay şekerle güzel.

Why isn’t there a verb like is in the sentence?

In Turkish, the copula to be is usually omitted in simple present statements. You don’t say “is”; context and word order do the job. Thus Çay şekerle güzel literally means “Tea with sugar [is] nice.”

What does the suffix -le in şekerle signify?

The suffix -le is the instrumental case marker meaning “with.” It attaches directly to the noun:

• şeker (sugar) + -le = şekerle (“with sugar”).

Why isn’t çay marked with an article like a or the?

Turkish has no separate words for a/the. Definiteness is either clear from context or (for a specific object) shown by the accusative case. Here we’re talking about tea in general, so çay stays unmarked.

Could I say Çayı şekerle güzel with çayı in the accusative case?

You could, but çayı (accusative) makes it sound like you’re referring to a specific cup of tea: “That tea (the one) is nice with sugar.” For a general statement about tea, we leave it in the nominative: Çay şekerle güzel.