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Bu film pek uzun değil.

Bu film pek uzun değil.
This film is not very long.
FromLesson 76inHardcore Turkish

Breakdown of Bu film pek uzun değil.

olmak
to be
bu
this
film
the film
uzun
long
değil
not
pek
very

Questions & Answers about Bu film pek uzun değil.

Where is the English verb “is” in this sentence?
Turkish doesn’t use a separate verb for “to be” in the present with nouns/adjectives. The adjective phrase itself is the predicate. Affirmative: Bu film uzun. For negation, Turkish adds değil: Bu film uzun değil.
What does pek add here?
In modern everyday Turkish, pek is mostly used with a negation to mean “not very / not particularly.” So pek uzun değil ≈ “not very long,” often a gentle, downplaying statement.
Is Bu film çok uzun değil also correct? Any nuance difference?

Yes, it’s common and natural. Both:

  • Bu film pek uzun değil.
  • Bu film çok uzun değil. mean “The film isn’t very long.”
    Nuance: pek … değil sounds a bit more idiomatic and mild; çok … değil is equally common in speech. A slightly stronger, contrastive version is pek de uzun değil (“not particularly long (either)”).
Why use değil and not a negative suffix like -ma/-me?
  • Use değil to negate nouns and adjectives: uzun değil, doktor değil.
  • Use the negative suffix -ma/-me on verbs: gitmiyor (is not going), sevmiyorum (I don’t like).
  • Don’t use yok to negate adjectives; yok negates existence: zaman yok (there is no time).
How do you pronounce değil?
The ğ doesn’t have its own consonant sound; it lengthens or glides the preceding vowel. You’ll commonly hear something like “deyil” or “diil.” Any of these natural variants will be understood.
Can I move the words around?
  • Neutral: Bu film pek uzun değil.
  • You can front the predicate for emphasis: Pek uzun değil bu film.
  • Keep pek immediately before the adjective and değil at the end of the predicate. Forms like “Bu film uzun pek değil” are unnatural.
How do I say it in other tenses?
  • Past: Bu film pek uzun değildi. (It wasn’t very long.)
  • Reported/hearsay: Bu film pek uzun değilmiş.
  • Conditional: Bu film pek uzun değilse…
  • Future is usually with olmak: Bu film pek uzun olmayacak. (“won’t be very long”)
Why doesn’t değil have a personal ending here?

It’s 3rd person singular, which has no visible ending in the present: (O) uzun değil.
With other persons you add endings:

  • Ben uzun değilim.
  • Sen uzun değilsin.
  • Biz uzun değiliz, etc.
What happens in the plural? Should it be değiller?

Both are possible:

  • Bu filmler pek uzun değil.
  • Bu filmler pek uzun değiller. With inanimate subjects, the form without -ler on değil is very common. With humans, -ler is more frequent but still optional: Öğrenciler yorgun (değiller).
Difference between pek uzun değil and o kadar uzun değil?
  • pek uzun değil = “not very long” (general understatement).
  • o kadar uzun değil = “not that long,” often relative to an expectation or comparison (“not as long as that / as you think”).
Is pek the same as peki?
No. pek is an adverb meaning “very/much,” mostly used with negation today. peki means “okay / all right.”
Can I drop Bu film and just say Pek uzun değil?
Yes, if the subject is clear from context. Turkish often omits subjects when they’re understood.
How do I make a tag question like “…, right?” or a yes–no question?
  • Tag: Bu film pek uzun değil, değil mi?
  • Yes–no question (affirmative predicate): Bu film uzun mu?
  • Negative question: Bu film uzun değil mi? (“Isn’t this film long?”)
Can I say “not long at all”?

Yes:

  • Hiç uzun değil.
  • A bit more emphatic/contrastive: Hiç de uzun değil.
Should I ever use pek in a positive sentence?

In everyday speech, positive pek (e.g., pek uzun) sounds old-fashioned or literary. Use çok, oldukça, hayli for positive meaning:

  • Bu film çok/oldukça uzun.
What about fazla: Bu film fazla uzun değil?
That’s natural and means “not too/excessively long.” Note that positive fazla uzun tends to mean “too long” (excess), not just “very long.”
Does uzun refer to time as well as size?

Yes. uzun covers “long” in time and length, and also “tall” for people/objects:

  • Film uzun/pek uzun değil (duration).
  • Uzun bir masa (a long table).
  • O uzun (boylu) (He/She is tall).
What does değildir do? Is Bu film pek uzun değildir okay?

Yes. -dir on nominal predicates (including değil) adds formality, generalization, or a polite/hedged tone:

  • Bu film pek uzun değildir. ≈ “This film isn’t (particularly) long” (politer, more formal).
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