Learn Hardcore Turkish: Menüdeki yemekleri kategoriye göre sıraladık. - We sorted the dishes on the menu by category.

The suffix -deki actually consists of two parts:
• -de = locative case (“in/on/at”)
• -ki = relative adjective suffix (“that is/are …”)
Together, Menüdeki literally means “(the things) that are on the menu.” It turns menü into “the one(s) on the menu,” functioning like a built-in relative clause.

Why is yemekleri both plural and marked with -i at the end?

yemekleri breaks down as:

yemek = “food/dish”
-ler = plural marker → yemekler = “foods/dishes”
-i = accusative case for definite direct objects → yemekleri = “the dishes” (object)
We use -i because the speaker refers to specific menu items (“the dishes on the menu”).

What does kategoriye göre mean, and how is it formed?

kategoriye göre = “according to category.” Formed by:
• kategori = “category”
• -ye = dative case (“to/for”) → kategoriye = “to the category”
• göre = postposition meaning “according to”
Together they express the adverbial phrase “according to the category.”

Why is kategori in the dative case (-ye) before göre?

In Turkish, göre always follows a noun in the dative case to indicate “according to X.” You say X-ye göre (“to X, according to”), so kategori takes -ye.

What tense, aspect, and person is sıraladık?

sıraladık is composed of:
• sırala- = verb stem of sıralamak (“to sort”)
• -dı = simple past tense suffix (here -dı by vowel harmony)
• -k = first-person-plural suffix (“we”)
So sıraladık = “we sorted.”

Why is the verb placed at the end of the sentence?

Turkish follows Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order. Adverbial phrases and objects come before the verb, which typically closes the sentence.

Where is the subject in Menüdeki yemekleri kategoriye göre sıraladık?

The subject we is implied by the -k ending on sıraladık. Turkish often omits explicit pronouns when the verb ending makes the subject clear.

How do vowel harmony rules affect these suffixes?

Every Turkish suffix vowel harmonizes with the last vowel in its stem according to two dimensions: front vs. back and rounded vs. unrounded. Examples here:
• menü ends in ü (front, rounded) → locative -de (front) → menüde
• yemek ends in e (front, unrounded) → plural -ler & accusative -i (front, unrounded) → yemekleri
• kategori ends in i (front, unrounded) → dative -ye (front, unrounded) → kategoriye
• sırala- has last vowel a (back, unrounded) → past -dı (back, unrounded) → sıraladı, then +k → sıraladık.