Learn Hardcore Turkish: Naneli çorbayı seviyorum.

Turkish vowel harmony dictates suffix vowels. Because nane ends in the front vowel e, the matching front-vowel version of the suffix is -li (not -lı, -lü, or -lu).

Why is there a y in çorbayı (rather than çorbaı)?

Turkish avoids back-to-back vowels when attaching a suffix. A buffer consonant y is inserted: çorba + -ı → çorbayı.

Why is çorbayı marked with -ı (the accusative case)? Could it just be çorba?

Definite or specific direct objects in Turkish take the accusative suffix -ı/-i/-u/-ü. By saying çorbayı, you signal “the mint soup” (a particular soup) rather than soup in general.

What happens if I say naneli çorba seviyorum without the -yı?

Without -yı, naneli çorba is treated as indefinite (“minty soup” in general). With -yı, it’s definite (“that minty soup” or “the minty soup”).

Why is there no explicit word for “I” (ben) in the sentence?

The verb ending -um in seviyorum already indicates first-person singular (“I”). Subject pronouns are optional and often dropped.

How is seviyorum built up morphologically?

sev- (root “love/like”) + -iyor (present-continuous/present-habitual marker) + -um (1st person singular ending) = seviyorum (“I like” or “I am liking”).

Why is the present-continuous form seviyorum used to express a general preference (“I like”)?

In Turkish, the -iyor form of verbs like sevmek often conveys habitual or general actions as well as ongoing ones. Context tells you it’s a stable preference, not necessarily an action happening this moment.

What is the word order in Naneli çorbayı seviyorum?

Turkish follows Subject–Object–Verb. Here the subject (ben) is omitted, the object is naneli çorbayı, and the verb is seviyorum.