Learn Hardcore Turkish: Ben mektup yolladım ama adres hatalıydı. - I sent the letter but the address was incorrect.

In Turkish you have a “pro-drop” language, so the subject pronoun is usually omitted because the verb ending tells you who the subject is. Yolladım already means “I sent.” Adding ben at the start is optional and is used for emphasis or to clarify who did the action, especially in contrastive contexts.

Why is there no article like the or a before mektup?

Turkish does not have indefinite or definite articles like English a or the. Noun phrases appear without articles. Definiteness is sometimes marked by the accusative suffix on the object (e.g. mektubu “the letter”), but when you say mektup yolladım, it simply means “I sent a letter” in a general or indefinite sense.

What case is mektup in, and how do we know it’s the object?

Here mektup is in the bare (nominative) form. In Turkish, an indefinite direct object appears without a case suffix. If it were a specific letter, you could say mektubu yolladım (adding the accusative -u). Even without the suffix, its position before the verb and the verb ending -dım signal that it’s the object.

What does yolladım mean, and how is it formed? How is it different from gönderdim?

Yolladım is the first-person singular simple past of the verb yollamak “to send.” It breaks down as yolla- (send) + -dım (I did). Göndermek also means “to send” and is more common in formal written contexts; yollamak is somewhat more colloquial and can imply sending by post or dispatching. You can generally use them interchangeably.

How does the conjunction ama function here? Can I use other words?

Ama means “but” or “however.” It connects two clauses and expresses contrast: “I sent the letter, but the address was wrong.” You could also use fakat or lakin in more formal contexts, but ama is the most common conversational conjunction.

What does hatalıydı mean? How is it constructed?

Hatalı is an adjective meaning “faulty,” “incorrect,” or “with errors.” The form hatalıydı adds the past-tense copula: hatalı + -y (buffer consonant) + -dı (past tense of “to be”). So hatalıydı = “it was faulty.”

Why is adres not marked with a case ending in “ama adres hatalıydı”?

In the second clause, adres is the subject of a predicate adjective (hatalıydı). Subjects in Turkish remain in the nominative (bare) form. Only objects take the accusative, and other roles take their respective suffixes; subjects of “to be” constructions do not get a suffix.

What is the typical word order in Turkish, and how does this sentence illustrate it?

Turkish is generally Subject-Object-Verb (SOV). In Ben mektup yolladım, you see Ben (subject) + mektup (object) + yolladım (verb). In the second clause ama adres hatalıydı, you have Subject (adres) + Predicate (hatalıydı), which is like S-P order common in copular sentences.