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Questions & Answers about Kaynak suyu çok soğuk.
Why is there no verb to be (like is) in this sentence?
In Turkish, present‐tense copulas are dropped in nominal sentences. So Kaynak suyu çok soğuk literally reads “spring water very cold,” but it means “Spring water is very cold” without adding any is.
What is the function of the suffix -u (with the buffer letter y) in suyu?
Breakdown: su (water) + buffer y + third‐person singular possessive suffix -u (“its”). In noun‐noun compounds like kaynak suyu, the possessive suffix marks the relationship (“the water of the spring”), and the y is inserted because su ends in a vowel.
Why is the adverb çok placed before the adjective soğuk?
In Turkish, adverbs always precede the words they modify. Since çok (“very” or “much”) modifies the adjective soğuk (“cold”), it comes right before it: çok soğuk.
Why doesn’t kaynak have a suffix showing its relationship to suyu?
In Turkish noun‐noun compounds, the first noun remains in its bare form and the second noun takes a possessive suffix. That’s why kaynak stays unmarked and suyu carries the possessive marker to form “spring water.”
How would you say “the spring water” or “this spring water” in Turkish?
Turkish has no definite or indefinite articles.
- To say “this spring water,” add the demonstrative bu before the phrase: Bu kaynak suyu.
- For a general “the spring water,” speakers rely on context, or they might use a demonstrative like o (“that”) to specify: O kaynak suyu.
Could we say Çok soğuk kaynak suyu instead of Kaynak suyu çok soğuk? What’s the difference?
Yes, but the structure and meaning change:
- Çok soğuk kaynak suyu is a noun phrase: “very cold spring water.”
- Kaynak suyu çok soğuk is a complete sentence with a predicate: “Spring water is very cold.”
How do you pronounce kaynak suyu and where is the stress?
Each Turkish word generally carries stress on its final syllable. So you’d say KAy-nak SU-yu, with the main stress on -yu in suyu. The “a” in kaynak sounds like the “a” in “father,” and “u” is like the “oo” in “food.”