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Duvar çatlıyor.

Duvar çatlıyor.
The wall is cracking.
FromLesson 56inHardcore Turkish
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Breakdown of Duvar çatlıyor.

duvar
the wall
çatlamak
to crack

Questions & Answers about Duvar çatlıyor.

What does the suffix -yor mean in çatlıyor?
The suffix -yor marks the present continuous tense in Turkish. Attaching it to the verb stem çatla- (“to crack”) gives çatla-yor → çatlıyor, meaning “(it) is cracking.”
Why is duvar unchanged in Duvar çatlıyor? Where is the article or case ending?
In Turkish, the subject stays in the nominative case and takes no ending. There is also no definite or indefinite article like the or a. So duvar by itself can mean “a wall” or “the wall” depending on context.
How would you make Duvar çatlıyor negative?

Insert the negative marker -ma- before the continuous suffix -yor.
çatlıyor → çatlamıyor
So the negative sentence is Duvar çatlamıyor, “The wall is not cracking.”

How do you turn Duvar çatlıyor into a yes/no question?

Add the question particle -mu (with vowel harmony) after the verb. Since çatlıyor ends in o, use -mu:
Duvar çatlıyor mu?
= “Is the wall cracking?”

What is the infinitive (dictionary form) of çatlıyor?
The infinitive is çatlamak, “to crack.” All Turkish verbs in their dictionary form end in -mak or -mek according to vowel harmony.
How would you say “Walls are cracking”?

Make duvar plural with the suffix -lar:
Duvarlar çatlıyor
= “Walls are cracking.”

How do you express “The wall cracked” in the past tense?

Use the simple past suffix -dı (with vowel harmony):
çatla → çatla-dı → çatladı
So you get Duvar çatladı, “The wall cracked.”

Is çatlamak transitive or intransitive? Could you say Ben duvarı çatladım?

Çatlamak is intransitive (“to crack” happens by itself). You cannot take a direct object. To express “I made the wall crack,” use the causative çatlatmak:
Ben duvarı çatlattım.

Why is the verb placed at the end of the sentence?
Turkish generally follows Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) order. When there’s no object, you get Subject-Verb, as in Duvar çatlıyor.
Are there synonyms or related words for çatlamak?
Yes. Kırılmak means “to break” or “to shatter,” implying pieces fall apart. Çatırtı refers to the crackling sound. But çatlamak specifically means “to form a crack/split.”

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