Learn Hardcore Turkish: Depremden beri bu binada tatbikatlar düzenleniyor. - Since the earthquake, drills have been organized in this building.

-den beri consists of the ablative suffix -den (“from”) plus beri (“since”). It marks the starting point of a continuing situation up to now.
• Depremden beri = “from the earthquake until now” = since the earthquake
• You can attach it to any time noun: dün (“yesterday”) → dünden beri (“since yesterday”); geçen yıl (“last year”) → geçen yıldan beri (“since last year”).

2. What case is bu binada, and why is it used here?

bu binada is in the locative case, marked by -da (with vowel harmony). It means “in this building.”
• Locative -da/-de answers “where?”
• bu bina (“this building”) → bu binada (“in this building”)
Here it indicates the place where the drills take place.

3. Why is tatbikatlar plural instead of singular?

The plural noun tatbikatlar (“drills/exercises”) is used because multiple drills are being organized repeatedly or on different occasions. If you wanted to emphasize a single drill event, you could say bir tatbikat düzenleniyor (“one drill is being organized”), but the sentence implies a series of drills.

4. Why is the verb düzenleniyor in the passive voice and present continuous tense?

• Active verb: düzenlemek = “to organize.”
• Passive formation: add -lEn (in here düzenlen-) + tense/mood suffix.
• Present continuous: -iyor → düzenleniyor = “is being organized” or “are being organized.”
It shows that drills happen (or have been happening) habitually or continuously from that starting point.

5. The English translation often uses have been held, but the Turkish is present continuous. Why?

Turkish present continuous (-iyor) can express ongoing, habitual, or repeated actions that started in the past and continue now. In English, we often choose the present perfect passive (have been held) to capture that sense of continuity: • Turkish: düzenleniyor
• English: “have been held” (continuing up to present)

6. Can we replace Depremden beri with Depremden sonra, and what changes?

• Depremden sonra = “after the earthquake.” It simply indicates a point in time following the quake, without stressing continuous action.
• Depremden beri = “since the earthquake,” emphasizing that something has been happening continually from that moment until now.
So sonra focuses on sequence; beri focuses on duration.

7. Is the word order fixed, and why does Depremden beri come first?

Turkish word order is relatively flexible, but it often follows: time → place → object → verb. Putting Depremden beri at the beginning highlights the time frame. You could also say: • Bu binada depremden beri tatbikatlar düzenleniyor.
This still makes sense, but leading with the time phrase sounds more natural when you want to emphasize the duration.