Learn Hardcore Turkish: Son toplantıda bütçe hakkında uzun müzakereler yaptık, sonunda herkesle uzlaşmayı başardık. - We had long negotiations about the budget at the last meeting, and in the end we managed to reach a consensus with everyone.

In Turkish, adjectives (like son, “last”) come before the noun they modify (here toplantı, “meeting”). Case suffixes (such as the locative -da) always attach to the noun, not to its adjective. So you get son toplantı (“last meeting”) + -da = son toplantıda (“at the last meeting”).

What does the suffix -da in toplantıda indicate?

The suffix -da is the locative case marker, meaning “in,” “on,” or “at.” Here son toplantıda means “at the last meeting.” In Turkish, time expressions (e.g. “at the meeting,” “in the morning”) also use this locative.

What role does hakkında play in bütçe hakkında, and why isn’t a case suffix enough?

hakkında is a postposition meaning “about” or “regarding.” It always follows the noun in the nominative (here bütçe, “budget”), and you don’t add any extra case suffix to bütçe. So bütçe hakkında literally means “regarding the budget.” You cannot say bütçede hakkında—that would mean “about in the budget,” which is wrong.

Why is müzakereler in the plural form, and what nuance does uzun müzakereler convey?

müzakere means “negotiation” or “discussion.” By adding -ler it becomes plural: müzakereler, “negotiations” or “extensive talks.” The adjective uzun (“long”) emphasizes duration. So uzun müzakereler means “long negotiations” (i.e. they took a long time).

Why do we say müzakereler yaptık instead of using a verb like müzakere ettik?

Turkish often uses the light verb yapmak (“to do/make”) with certain nouns to form verbal expressions. müzakereler yapmak = “to hold negotiations.” While müzakere etmek also exists, it’s less common in conversational Turkish. Both mean roughly the same, but yapmak is more idiomatic here.

What is sonunda, and how does it differ from expressions like en sonunda or son olarak?

sonunda is an adverb meaning “at the end” or “in the end.”

en sonunda intensifies it to “finally” or “at long last.”
son olarak means “lastly” when listing points.
In your sentence, sonunda conveys “in the end, after all that.”

How does herkesle work, and which case is used?

herkes means “everyone.” Adding -le (the instrumental/comitative suffix) gives herkesle, “with everyone.” It shows accompaniment or “together with.” So herkesle uzlaşmak = “to reach an agreement with everyone.”

What is the structure of uzlaşmayı başardık, and why is başarmak needed?

uzlaşmak is an intransitive verb meaning “to reconcile” or “to reach an agreement.”
To express “to succeed in [doing something],” Turkish uses the construction [verb stem + ma] + başarmak.
Here, uzlaş-
- -ma (makes a noun “the act of agreeing”) = uzlaşma, then accusative -yı = uzlaşmayı, and finally başardık (“we succeeded”).
  Altogether: “we succeeded in reaching an agreement.”

What is the difference between uzlaşmak and uzlaşmayı başarmak?

uzlaşmak = “to compromise” or “to agree” (just the act itself).
uzlaşmayı başarmak = “to manage to compromise” or “to succeed in reaching an agreement.”
The latter highlights that it was difficult but you achieved it.

Can you explain the overall word order of this sentence compared to English?

Turkish typically follows Subject-Object-Verb (S-O-V) order within each clause: 1) Son toplantıda bütçe hakkında uzun müzakereler yaptık,
we did long negotiations about the budget at the last meeting (lit. “last meeting-LOC budget about long negotiations we did”).
2) sonunda herkesle uzlaşmayı başardık,
in the end with everyone agreement-ACC we succeeded (lit. “end-LOC everyone-with agreement-ACC we succeeded”).
English uses S-V-O and places time/adverbial phrases differently, but the meaning remains the same.