Learn Hardcore Turkish: Kulaklık takmadan platformdaki videoyu izlemek zor. - It is difficult to watch the video on the platform without wearing headphones.

The -madan ending is the negative gerund/ablative form of a verb. It’s made by adding -ma- (negation) + -dan (ablative “from/without”) to the verb root. So takmadan literally means “without putting on” or “without wearing.”

What does the verb takmak mean? It looks like the English word “take.”

In Turkish, takmak means “to put on” or “to wear” accessories (glasses, watches, headphones, etc.). Here kulaklık takmak = “to put on/wear headphones.”

What does the suffix -daki in platformdaki do?

It’s a combination of the locative -da (“at/on”) + the relativizer -ki, turning the noun into an adjective meaning “that is on [noun].” So platformdaki video = “the video that is on the platform.”

Why is videoyu used instead of just video?

Turkish uses the accusative case (-ı/-i/-u/-ü) on definite direct objects. Here video is a specific video, so it takes -yu (variant of -u) to become videoyu.

Why does izlemek (the infinitive “to watch”) come before zor (“difficult”)?

Turkish expresses “doing something is [adjective]” by using the infinitive + adjective pattern. izlemek zor literally means “to watch is difficult,” i.e. “it’s difficult to watch.”

Why is there no copula like -dir after zor?

In everyday Turkish (both spoken and written), the present-tense copula is often dropped after adjective predicates. You could say izlemek zordur, but it’s more natural to say izlemek zor.

Why doesn’t the sentence have a subject? Who is doing the action?

This is an impersonal/general statement. Turkish often omits a generic subject (“you,” “one,” “people”) when making universal comments. The infinitive construction izlemek zor implies a general “it/one.”