Learn Hardcore Turkish: Elma dilimi masada taze görünüyor. - The apple slice looks fresh on the table.

Turkish is fundamentally a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) language. In a simple sentence like this you place the subject (Elma dilimi), any modifiers or adverbial phrases (masada, taze), and then the verb (görünüyor) at the very end. Literally it reads “Apple slice on-the-table fresh looks.”

What does the -da in masada signify?

The suffix -da marks the locative case, meaning “in,” “on” or “at.” So masa is “table,” and masada means “on the table.”

Why is there no separate word for “is” between taze and görünüyor?

Here görünmek is already a verb meaning “to appear” or “to look (like).” You don’t need an extra copula (“is”) in present-tense Turkish. Saying taze görünüyor is enough to mean “it appears (is) fresh.”

Why does taze (fresh) come before görünüyor instead of after it?

Adjectives (and adverbial modifiers) precede the verb in Turkish. Since taze describes the manner of appearance—“appears fresh”—it naturally comes immediately before görünüyor, paralleling the English “looks fresh.”

Why is there no article like “a” or “the” before elma dilimi?

Turkish has no separate words for definite or indefinite articles. Whether you mean “an apple slice” or “the apple slice” is understood from context. You could make it explicitly definite by adding o (“that”) as in o elma dilimi, or context will supply the nuance.

Why does dilim have the suffix -i (giving dilimi) even though it’s the subject, not a direct object?

In Turkish noun-noun compounds that imply possession (“slice of an apple”), the second noun takes a possessive suffix matching the possessor. Here elma “owns” the dilim, so dilim gets the 3rd-person singular possessive -i, forming elma dilimi “apple’s slice” (generic “apple slice”).

How would you say “apple slices” in plural, or make it explicitly “the apple slice”?

• To say “apple slices” you pluralize the slice and keep the possessive suffix:
elma dilimleri (dilim+ler → dilimler, then +i → dilimleri).
• To say “the apple slice” you rely on the same possessive form elma dilimi, or you can add the demonstrative o:
o elma dilimi (“that apple slice,” effectively “the apple slice”).

Can the word order change for emphasis?

Yes. Turkish allows flexibility as long as the verb stays at the end. For example:
• Taze elma dilimi masada görünüyor. (Emphasizes freshness.)
• Masada elma dilimi taze görünüyor. (Focus on location first.)
• Masada taze elma dilimi görünüyor. (Neutral, but lists “location → freshness → subject.”)
All mean “An apple slice looks fresh on the table,” just with slightly different focus.