Learn Hardcore Turkish: Betonarme duvar deprem sırasında hasar almadı. - The reinforced concrete wall did not get damaged during the earthquake.

betonarme is a compound adjective from beton (concrete) + -arme (from French armé, “armed/reinforced”). It literally means reinforced concrete, so betonarme duvar = “reinforced concrete wall.”

Why is there no English-style article before betonarme duvar?

Turkish does not use indefinite or definite articles like a or the. Nouns stand alone in the nominative. If you need “a/an,” you can add bir (e.g. bir duvar = “a wall”). But normally you’ll just see duvar for “wall.”

What does deprem sırasında mean and how is it constructed?

It means during the earthquake. You start with deprem (earthquake), then add sıra (turn/order) + possessive suffix -sı + locative -nda, forming sırasında. So deprem sırasında is the common way to say “during the earthquake.”

Why doesn’t deprem receive a case ending before sırasında?

In Turkish, the fixed “during” construction X sırasında attaches sırasında directly to the noun X without marking X itself in genitive or locative. You’ll see the same pattern in sınav sırasında, düğün sırasında, etc.

What is hasar almadı, and how is almadı formed?

hasar almadı literally means did not take damage (“was not damaged”).

hasar = damage (noun)
almadı = negative past of almak (to take): root al-
- negative -ma-
  - past -dı → al-ma-dı.

Why is duvar in its base form without a suffix?

Here duvar (wall) is the subject of the sentence, so it stays in the nominative (no suffix). In hasar almak, the object is hasar (damage), not duvar.

Are there alternative verbs or phrases to express “be damaged” in Turkish?

Yes. Besides hasar almak, you can say hasar görmek (“to receive damage”) or zarar görmek (“to suffer harm”). All convey “to be damaged,” with only slight nuance differences.

Why is the verb at the end, and can you move deprem sırasında elsewhere?

Turkish is an SOV language: Subject – Object – (Adverbial phrase) – Verb. Placing deprem sırasında before or after hasar is fine, but the verb al-madı almost always stays at the end.

Can you use other words for “during,” like esnasında or boyunca?

Absolutely. deprem esnasında, deprem sırasında, or deprem boyunca all mean “during the earthquake.”

esnasında is a bit more formal,
boyunca emphasizes “throughout” the entire duration.