Learn Hardcore Turkish: Sabah ev soğuktu, kalorifer çalışmıyordu. - In the morning the house was cold; the radiator wasn’t working.

On its own, Sabah means “morning” and, in conversation, usually implies “this morning” from context.
If you want to be explicit, say bu sabah.
Alternatives: sabahleyin (in the morning), sabahları (mornings, habitually).

Why is there no article before ev? How do I know if it’s “the house” or “a house”?

Turkish has no articles. Ev could be “the house” or “a house” depending on context.
Here, because we’re talking about a specific situation (“this morning”), ev is naturally understood as “the house (my/our home).”

Where is “was” in ev soğuktu? Why isn’t there a separate verb “to be”?

Turkish uses a copular past suffix on adjectives/nouns. Soğuk
- past copula -DI → soğuktu (“was cold”).
With vowel harmony and voicing, the D can surface as t: hence -tu here.

Why is it soğuktu and not soğukdu?

Voicing assimilation: after a voiceless consonant (like k), -dı becomes -tı. So soğuk + dı → soğuktu, not “soğukdu.”
A handy memory for voiceless consonants: Fıstıkçı Şahap (f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p).

Can I say soğuk idi instead of soğuktu?

Yes: soğuk idi is grammatical but formal or careful style.
In everyday Turkish, the contracted form soğuktu is preferred. After vowels, you’ll see a buffer y: maviydi, iyiymiş.

How do I negate “was cold”? Is soğuktu değil correct?

Negation uses değil with the copular past: Ev soğuk değildi (“The house wasn’t cold”).
Don’t say “soğuktu değil.” The negative comes before the past marker: değil + di → değildi.

Why is it çalışmıyordu and not çalışmadı?

Çalışmıyordu = past progressive negation (“wasn’t working,” a continuing state/background).
Çalışmadı = simple past negation (“didn’t work” at/for a specific occasion or attempt). Different nuance.

What’s the breakdown of çalışmıyordu?

çalış- (work/run) + -ma/-me negation (here -mı- by vowel harmony) + -yor progressive + -du past + zero 3sg ending.
So: çalış-mı-yor-du = “was not working.”

How do I say it was working (affirmative)?

What exactly is kalorifer? Is it singular or plural?

Kalorifer refers to the central heating/radiator system; it’s singular but can represent “the heating” as a system.
If you mean the individual radiators, you can say petek(ler); the boiler is kombi.
Plural if needed: Kaloriferler çalışmıyordu (“The radiators weren’t working”).

Is the comma between the two clauses okay in Turkish?

Yes. Turkish often links short related clauses with a comma. In formal writing, a semicolon or a period is also fine.
You can make the cause explicit: Sabah ev soğuktu, çünkü kalorifer çalışmıyordu.

Can I change the word order?

Yes. Common and clear: Sabah ev soğuktu, kalorifer çalışmıyordu.
Variants for emphasis:
- Ev sabah soğuktu (focus on “the house”).
- Kalorifer sabah çalışmıyordu (focus on the time with the heating).
- Sabah kalorifer çalışmıyordu, ev soğuktu (cause then result).

Should it be evde soğuktu instead of ev soğuktu?

Ev soğuktu: “The house was cold” (describes the house’s state).
Evde soğuktu: literally “It was cold at home” (impersonal subject, setting temperature).
Both are correct; choose based on nuance.

Could I express habit like “Mornings, the house would be cold”?

Yes: Sabahları ev soğuk olurdu (habitual past).
Also possible: Sabahları kalorifer çalışmazdı (“the heating wouldn’t work (habitually)”).

Any pronunciation tips for these words?

ğ in soğuk lengthens the preceding vowel; it’s not a hard “g.” Pronounce roughly “so–uuk.”
ı (dotless) in çalışmıyordu is a back, unrounded vowel; don’t pronounce it like English “i.”
Stress is generally on the last syllable of words with suffixes: so-ĞUK-tu, ça-lış-mı-YOR-du.