Learn Hardcore Turkish: Çiftçi, geniş arazide buğday tarlalarını ekime hazırladı. - The farmer prepared the wheat fields for planting on the vast land.

-de is the locative case suffix in Turkish, showing “in/on.” You don’t use a separate preposition like in English. The vowel in -de/-da harmonizes with the last vowel of the noun: geniş ends in i, so you get -de.
• geniş arazide = “in the wide land” or “on the vast terrain.”

Why aren’t there any words for a or the in Turkish?

Turkish has no articles. Definiteness is shown by context and by case marking (e.g. the accusative for definite objects). Indefinite nouns remain unmarked; definite nouns often take the accusative suffix (-ı/-i/-u/-ü).

What is the breakdown of tarlalarını, and why does it have both plural and accusative endings?

Morphological breakdown of tarlalarını:
• tarla = field
• -lar = plural → fields
• -ı = 3rd person singular possessive → his/her fields
• -nı = accusative case → marks a definite direct object
Combined via vowel harmony: tarla-lar-ı-nı → tarlalarını (“his fields” as the definite object).

Why is tarlalarını in the accusative case here?

A direct object that is specific or known to the speaker must take the accusative suffix (-ı/-i/-u/-ü). Since these are the farmer’s own wheat fields (definite), tarlalarını shows that specificity.

What does ekime mean, and why is it in the dative case (-e)?

ekim is the noun “sowing” or “seeding.” The suffix -e marks the dative case, meaning “to/for.” Many Turkish verbs meaning “prepare something for X” require X in the dative. So ekime = “for sowing.”

Why use the noun ekim instead of the verb ekmek (to sow) with -e?

hazırlamak is a transitive verb that takes a noun as the thing you prepare for. Therefore you use the noun ekim plus dative -e. If you chose the verb ekmek, you would need a different construction (e.g. ekmeye hazırlanmak, using the intransitive hazırlanmak).

What is the word order in this sentence and is it flexible?

The typical order here is Subject – Location – Object – Verb (SLOCV):
Çiftçi / geniş arazide / buğday tarlalarını / ekime hazırladı.
Turkish generally puts the verb last, but adverbials and objects can move around for emphasis or style.

Why is there a comma after Çiftçi, and is it necessary?

The comma marks a slight pause after the topic Çiftçi (“the farmer”). It’s optional and purely stylistic. You could write it without a comma and the meaning remains the same.

What tense and person is hazırladı, and how is it formed?

hazırladı breaks down as:
• hazırla- = prepare (verb stem)
• -dı = simple past (definite past tense)
• -ı = 3rd person singular agreement (“he/she”)
So hazırladı means “he (the farmer) prepared,” indicating a completed action known to the speaker.