Learn Hardcore Turkish: Kuyuya inerken çamurlu duvarları temizlemek için traktörden aldığımız kürek ve kazma çok işe yaradı. - The shovel and pickaxe we borrowed from the tractor were very useful for cleaning the muddy well walls.

The phrase breaks down as kuyuya (“into the well,” dative case) + inerken. Here inerken is formed from the verb inmek (“to go down/descend”) + the participle suffix -ken, which means “while doing …”. So kuyuya inerken = “while descending into the well.”

What case is kuyuya in, and why is it used?

kuyu (“well”) takes the dative suffix -ya (harmonizing with the vowel u) to mark direction or movement toward something. Hence kuyuya = “to the well” or “into the well.”

Why is çamurlu formed from çamur, and what does the suffix -lu mean?

The noun çamur means “mud.” Adding the adjective‐forming suffix -lu (which becomes -lü/-lu/-lü/-lı by vowel harmony) yields çamurlu, meaning “muddy” or “covered in mud.”

Why does duvarları carry both -lar and -ı, and what do they signify?

duvar means “wall.”
-lar = plural suffix (“walls”)
-ı = accusative case suffix marking a definite object (“the walls”).
So duvarları = “the walls” (plural and definite).

What role does temizlemek için play in the sentence?

temizlemek is the infinitive form of temizlemek (“to clean”), and için means “for” or “in order to.” Together temizlemek için = “in order to clean.”

How is the relative clause traktörden aldığımız constructed, and what does it mean?

traktör + ablative -den = traktörden (“from the tractor”)
al- (stem “take”) + -dık (past tense marker) + buffer consonant -ğ + possessive/relative suffix -ımız (1st person plural) = aldığımız (“that we took”).
Altogether traktörden aldığımız = “that we took from the tractor,” modifying kürek ve kazma.

Why are there no relative pronouns like “that” or “which” in Turkish here?

Turkish forms relative clauses by attaching participle and person/tense suffixes (e.g. -an, -en, -dığı, -dık + person ending) directly to the verb. No separate word for “that” or “which” is needed.

Why is the ablative suffix on traktör -den and not -dan?

Turkish vowel harmony requires the suffix vowel to match the last vowel of the noun. traktör has a front vowel ö, so it takes the front-vowel form -den (not -dan).

Can you break down the parts of aldığımız?

al- (verb stem “take”)

-dı- (past tense)
-ğ- (buffer/participle link)
-ımız (1st person plural suffix, marking “we”)
→ aldığımız = “that we took.”

Why are kürek and kazma not in the plural?

They refer to one specific shovel and one specific pickaxe that were taken. If there were multiple shovels or picks, you’d use plural forms (kürekler, kazmalar).

What does çok işe yaradı mean, and how does the verb işe yaramak work?

çok = “very”
işe yaramak = “to be useful” (literally “to work for the job/use”)
yaradı = past tense (“was useful”)
So çok işe yaradı = “(they) were very useful.”

What’s the difference between inerken and inince in Turkish?

-ken = “while” (simultaneous): inerken = “while descending”
-ince = “when/once” (as soon as or after finishing): inince = “once (he) has descended”