Köprü depremde hasar aldı.

The bridge was damaged in the earthquake.

Breakdown of Köprü depremde hasar aldı.

• köprü: the bridge
• -de: in
• deprem: the earthquake
• hasar almak: to take damage

Questions & Answers about Köprü depremde hasar aldı.

What case is depremde, and what does it mean here?

Depremde is in the locative case (-de), meaning “in/during the earthquake.” It tells us when or where something happened.

Could we use depremden (ablative) instead of depremde? If so, how does the meaning change?

Yes. Depremden (-den) is ablative, meaning “from/because of the earthquake.”
• Köprü depremde hasar aldı. → “The bridge was damaged during the earthquake.”
• Köprü depremden hasar aldı. → “The bridge suffered damage as a result of the earthquake.”
The locative focuses on the time/place of damage; the ablative emphasizes the cause.

Why isn’t hasar marked with the accusative suffix (-ı)?

Because hasar here is indefinite (“damage” in general), not a specific, countable thing. Turkish only adds the accusative (-ı/-i) when the object is definite or specific.

Why doesn’t köprü have any case ending or article?

In Turkish the subject of a sentence is unmarked (nominative) by default, and Turkish has no articles like “the” or “a.” You just say köprü for “the bridge” or “a bridge,” and context decides.

What is the word order in Köprü depremde hasar aldı, and how does it compare to English?

Turkish typically follows Subject–Object/Adverbial–Verb (S-(O)-V). Here:
• Subject: Köprü
• Adverbial (locative): depremde
• Verb phrase: hasar aldı
In English we’d say “The bridge sustained damage in the earthquake,” which is Subject–Verb–Object/Adverbial (S-V-O).

How is the verb form aldı constructed from almak?

Almak (to take) + simple past suffix -DI → al-DI.
Because of voicing, t becomes d after l, so you get aldı (“he/she/it took”). In the idiom hasar almak, it literally means “to take damage.”

Are there other ways to express “suffered damage” in Turkish?

Yes. Common alternatives:
• Köprü depremde hasar gördü. (literally “the bridge saw damage”)
• Köprü depremde zarar gördü. (“zarar görmek” = to incur damage/loss)
You can also qualify it: Köprü depremde ağır hasar aldı/gördü (“sustained heavy damage”).

What’s the difference between hasar and zarar?

• Hasar is used for physical damage (buildings, objects).
• Zarar is more general or financial loss.
So for a bridge you’ll usually say hasar.

Could you make this sentence passive, like “The bridge was damaged in the earthquake”?

Turkish often prefers active idioms over a passive of hasar almak. You wouldn’t say hasar alındı. Instead you use:
• Köprü depremde hasar gördü.
or choose a verb that has a natural passive:
• Köprü depremde zarar gördü.
Both effectively mean “the bridge was damaged in the earthquake.”