Learn Hardcore Turkish: Deprem sırasında zarar gören duvarları kontrol etmek kritik bir adımdı. - Checking the walls damaged during the earthquake was a critical step.

Deprem means “earthquake.” Sırasında means “during.” It comes from the noun sıra (“order, turn”) plus the third-person possessive suffix -sı (“its”) and the locative case -da (“in/at”). Together sıra-sı-nda literally is “in its turn,” used idiomatically as “during.”

Why is zarar gören translated as “damaged” and not “seeing damage”?

Zarar görmek is a fixed compound meaning “to be damaged” (lit. “to receive harm”). Adding -en to a verb stem forms a past-participle adjective: gör (see/receive) → gören means “that has received.” So zarar gören describes something “that has been damaged.”

Why does duvarları end with -ları rather than just duvarlar?

Duvarlar is the plural “walls.” To mark it as a definite object (“the walls”), Turkish adds the accusative suffix -ı/-i/-u/-ü after plural -lar/-ler, giving duvar-lar-ı. Vowel harmony turns -ı into -ları, so duvarları = “the walls” in the object role.

What role does duvarları kontrol etmek play in the sentence?

Duvarları kontrol etmek is an infinitive noun phrase serving as the subject of the sentence. Turkish often uses the bare infinitive (-mek) like an English gerund (“checking”). Here it means “checking the walls,” and that entire action is what “was a critical step.”

How does kritik bir adımdı work grammatically, and what is -dı?

Kritik is a loanword meaning “critical.” Bir adım means “a step.” Adding the past-tense copula -dı (from idi, “was”) turns the noun phrase into “it was a critical step.” The suffix -dı attaches directly to adım: adım-dı = “it was a step.”

Why is the copula attached directly, instead of as a separate word?

In Turkish, the copula idi is usually cliticized: it becomes a suffix (-dı/ -di/ -du/ -dü) attached to the preceding word, following vowel and consonant harmony. So instead of saying adım idi, Turkish says adım-dı.

Could you reorder the sentence differently, for instance placing the subject later?

Yes, Turkish is relatively free with word order, though SOV is default. You might say Duvarları deprem sırasında kontrol etmek kritik bir adımdı (“Checking the walls during the earthquake was a critical step”). The adverbial deprem sırasında can move around, but the infinitive subject duvarları kontrol etmek and the predicate kritik bir adımdı typically stay intact.

Are there any alternative words for kritik that are more Turkish in origin?

Yes. You could use kritik (from English), or use native Turkish synonyms like hayati (“vital”), önemli (“important”), or kritik adımı is also fine. Example: kontrol etmek kritik bir adımdı → kontrol etmek hayati bir adımdı.

Why isn't there a conjunction like “that” between the clauses?

In English you might say “that checking the walls… was critical,” but Turkish skips the conjunction. An infinitive phrase (-mek) stands alone as the subject without needing a linking word.

How do vowel and consonant harmony show up in sırasında, gören, and kontrol?

In sırasında, the possessor -sı and locative -nda harmonize: sı + -nda gives sında after dropping one vowel.
In gören, the participle suffix -en attaches to gör and harmonizes with the front vowel ö.
In kontrol, the borrowed stem stays intact, but suffixes attached to Turkish stems around it (like plural -ler, case markers) would harmonize.