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Questions & Answers about Semt pazarında çok taze ürün var; semt pazarına erken gidince kalabalıktan kaçıyoruz.
What exactly is “semt pazarı,” and why do we see an n in “pazarında/pazarına”?
- “Semt pazarı” is an indefinite compound noun meaning “neighborhood market/street market.” In such compounds, the second noun gets a 3rd-person possessive suffix: semt pazar-ı.
- When you add a case suffix to a possessed noun, Turkish inserts a buffer n: pazar-ı + -DA → pazar-ın-da; pazar-ı + -(y)A → pazar-ın-a.
- Hence: semt pazarında = “at the neighborhood market” (locative), and semt pazarına = “to the neighborhood market” (dative).
Why is “ürün” singular with “var”? Shouldn’t it be “ürünler var”?
- With existential var/yok, Turkish typically uses the singular for an indefinite quantity: Pazarda taze ürün var = “There are fresh products.”
- (Çok) taze ürünler var is also possible, often with a slightly stronger emphasis on plurality or a more specific set.
- Both are correct; the singular is the most neutral/idiomatic.
Does “çok” mean “very” or “many” here?
- Çok can mean either:
- quantity: “many/much” → “There are many fresh products.”
- degree: “very” → “The product(s) are very fresh.”
- In çok taze ürün var, context/prosody decides. To force the meanings:
- Quantity: Pek çok taze ürün var / Bir sürü taze ürün var.
- Degree: Ürünler çok taze.
What does the suffix -(y)ince in “gidince” do? How is it different from “gidersek” or “gittiğimizde”?
- -(y)ince forms a time/condition clause: “when/once/upon …-ing,” often with a cause-result flavor. Erken gidince ≈ “When we go early / By going early (then…)”.
- Erken gittiğimizde = “when(ever) we go early” (neutral, time reference).
- Erken gidersek = “if we go early” (conditional/hypothetical).
- All three could work here, with small tone differences.
Why is it “gidince” and not “gitince”? Isn’t the root “git-”?
- The verb “gitmek” alternates: before many vowel-initial suffixes it appears as gid- (e.g., gidince, gidiyorum, gidecek, gider), while before some others it keeps git- (e.g., gittik).
- So “gidince” is the regular form.
Why use “kaçıyoruz” (-yor) instead of “kaçarız” (-r) if this is a habitual action?
- -yor is present progressive, but in conversational Turkish it often describes a usual/typical outcome in constructions like “X-yınca Y-yor.”
- Kaçarız states a general rule (“we avoid [as a rule]”), while kaçıyoruz sounds like a concrete routine or strategy. Both are acceptable; kaçıyoruz feels more colloquial/natural here.
Does “kaçmak” really mean “to avoid”? I thought it was “to run away/escape.”
- Core meaning: “to run away/escape.” With the ablative (-den/-dan), it also commonly means “to steer clear of, avoid.”
- Kalabalıktan kaçıyoruz = “We avoid the crowd(s).”
- A more formal/intentional “avoid” is kaçınmak: Kalabalıktan kaçınırız.
Why is it “kalabalıktan”? What case is that, and could another case work?
- Kaçmak selects the ablative for the source you avoid/escape: X’den kaçmak.
- Hence kalabalıktan (kalabalık + -tan; -tan instead of -dan due to consonant harmony after voiceless k).
- Using the dative would mean motion toward: kalabalığa kaçmak = “to run to the crowd” (odd here).
Can I drop the second “semt pazarına”? It feels repetitive.
- Yes. Semt pazarında çok taze ürün var; erken gidince kalabalıktan kaçıyoruz. is perfectly natural. The destination is clear from context.
- Turkish often avoids repetition when the referent is obvious.
What’s the difference again between “pazarında” and “pazarına”?
- pazarında = locative (-DA): “at/in the market” (location).
- pazarına = dative (-(y)A; with possessed nouns this appears as -nA): “to the market” (direction).
Why a semicolon here? Could I use something else?
- The clauses are closely related but both can stand alone, so a semicolon is neat.
- Alternatives:
- Two sentences: Semt pazarında çok taze ürün var. Erken gidince kalabalıktan kaçıyoruz.
- With a simple linker: … var ve semt pazarına erken gidince kalabalıktan kaçıyoruz.
Is the word order fixed? Can I say “Erken semt pazarına gidince”?
- Neutral: put the adverb erken right before the verb it modifies inside the time clause: semt pazarına erken gidince.
- Erken semt pazarına gidince sounds awkward because “erken” leans toward modifying the noun phrase. Keep “erken” near the verb: Semt pazarına erken gidince …
Could I say “kaçıyoruz kalabalıktan” instead of “kalabalıktan kaçıyoruz”?
- Natural Turkish places the case-marked complement before the verb: kalabalıktan kaçıyoruz.
- Reversing it (kaçıyoruz kalabalıktan) is unusual in standard prose and would only be used for special emphasis or stylistic effect.
Are there natural synonyms or alternative phrasings for the second clause?
- Kalabalıktan kaçınırız (more formal/intentional “we avoid”).
- Kalabalığa kalmamak için erken gideriz (“we go early so as not to get caught in the crowd”).
- Erken gidersek kalabalık olmuyor (“if we go early, there’s no crowd” — different structure, same idea).
Can you break the sentence down morphologically?
- Semt pazarında = semt (district) + pazar (market) + 3sg poss -ı + locative -DA → pazar-ın-da.
- çok taze ürün = çok (many/very) + taze (fresh) + ürün (product[s]).
- var = existential “there is/are.”
- semt pazarına = semt pazar-ı + dative -(y)A → pazar-ın-a.
- erken = early.
- gidince = git- (go) + -(y)ince (when/once) → gid-ince (t → d alternation).
- kalabalıktan = kalabalık (crowd) + ablative -DAn → -tan.
- kaçıyoruz = kaç- (escape/avoid) + -yor (present progressive) + -uz (1pl).