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Merdivenin eğimi çok dik.

Merdivenin eğimi çok dik.
The slope of the staircase is very steep.
FromLesson 58inHardcore Turkish

Questions & Answers about Merdivenin eğimi çok dik.

Why is there no word for “is” in Merdivenin eğimi çok dik?
In Turkish the present-tense copula “to be” is usually omitted. You simply state X çok dik to mean “X is very steep.”
What roles do the suffixes -in in merdivenin and -i in eğimi play?

-in marks the genitive case (corresponding to English of), so merdivenin = of the ladder/stairs.
-i is the 3rd-person singular possessive, turning eğim (slope) into eğimi = its slope.
Together merdivenin eğimi = the ladder’s slope.

Can I just say merdiven eğimi instead of merdivenin eğimi?
No. To express “the slope of the ladder,” Turkish requires genitive on the possessor (merdivenin) and possessive on the possessed (eğimi). Omitting them is ungrammatical or ambiguous.
Which part of the sentence is the subject and which is the predicate?
Merdivenin eğimi is the subject (the thing being described), and çok dik is the predicate adjective (describing how steep it is).
Why is çok placed before dik? Could it go after?
In Turkish, adverbs like çok (very) precede adjectives like dik (steep). Putting dik çok would sound incorrect or awkward.
How do I make this sentence negative: “The slope is not very steep”?

Add değil after the adjective:
Merdivenin eğimi çok dik değil.
Literally: “The ladder’s slope very steep not.”

How do I turn it into a question: “Is the slope very steep?”

Attach the question particle mi after dik, observing vowel harmony:
Merdivenin eğimi çok dik mi?

How would I say “The slope of the ladder was very steep” or “will be very steep”?

Past tense (add the past copula -di):
Merdivenin eğimi çok dikti.
Future tense (use olacak):
Merdivenin eğimi çok dik olacak.

Are there other ways to say “very steep” in Turkish?

Yes. You can replace çok with various intensifiers:

  • aşırı dik
  • fazlasıyla dik
  • son derece dik
    All convey roughly “excessively steep.”
What exactly does merdiven mean? “Ladder” or “stairs”?
Merdiven can mean both ladder and stairs in Turkish. Context (or adding words like basamak for stair tread) clarifies which you mean.
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