Learn Hardcore Turkish: İkinci el kitaplar bazen harika sürprizler saklıyor; büyük ihtimalle yine güzel bir şey bulacağım. - Second-hand books sometimes hide wonderful surprises; most likely I will find something nice again.

İkinci el is a fixed adjective-noun sequence meaning “second-hand.” It’s normally written as two words in Turkish.
A hyphen is not needed; dictionaries list it as two separate words.
Synonyms you might see: kullanılmış (used), ikinci el is the standard for goods like books, cars, phones.

Why is kitaplar plural here? Could I use the singular to talk about the category?

Turkish can generalize with either singular or plural subjects.
The plural kitaplar emphasizes the set of items more concretely.
A singular generic is also possible, typically with the aorist:
- İkinci el kitap bazen harika sürprizler saklar. (generic statement)

Shouldn’t the verb agree with the plural subject? Why saklıyor and not saklıyorlar?

In 3rd person, plural agreement on the verb is optional when the subject is non-human or generic. Using the singular verb is very common: İkinci el kitaplar … saklıyor.
Saklıyorlar is also grammatical, and can add a sense of “each of them” or put a bit more emphasis on plurality. Both are acceptable here.

Why use saklıyor (-yor) instead of the aorist saklar?

-yor can express a “current/habitual tendency” with a more vivid, experiential feel (especially with adverbs like bazen).
Aorist (-r) expresses general truths/habits in a more gnomic, timeless way.
Both work; nuance differs:
- … bazen … saklar. more general, textbook-like
- … bazen … saklıyor. more immediate/experiential

Why is it saklıyor and not saklayor or sakla-yor?

The progressive -yor causes vowel raising of a/e in many stems: sakla + yor → saklıyor (a → ı).
Similar patterns: anla + yor → anlıyor, bekle + yor → bekliyor.
So saklayor is incorrect; saklıyor is the standard form.

What does büyük ihtimalle do grammatically, and where can it go?

Büyük ihtimalle is an adverbial phrase built from the noun ihtimal (probability) + instrumental -le: “with high probability,” i.e., “most likely.”
Position is flexible:
- Büyük ihtimalle yine güzel bir şey bulacağım.
- Yine, büyük ihtimalle, güzel bir şey bulacağım.
Synonyms: muhtemelen (neutral), herhalde/galiba (more subjective/guessy), büyük olasılıkla (more formal).

What’s the difference between yine and tekrar? Is gene okay?

Yine = “again, once more,” often for something that happens (perhaps annoyingly or predictably) again. It’s perfect here.
Tekrar is a noun/adverb “repetition/again,” often used for deliberate repetition (e.g., studying): Dersi tekrar ettik.
Gene is a colloquial/variant form of yine and is fine in informal speech: gene ≈ yine.

Why is it güzel bir şey and not güzel bir şeyi? When do I add the accusative -i?

In Turkish, a direct object takes the accusative -i only if it’s definite/specific.
Güzel bir şey is indefinite (“some nice thing”), so no accusative.
Compare:
- Güzel bir şey bulacağım. (indefinite)
- Güzel bir şeyi bulacağım. (that particular nice thing)

Is bir şey one word or two? Any spelling pitfalls?

It’s two words: bir şey (never “birşey”).
Şey is always spelled with şey (not “sey”).
When it takes a case ending and becomes definite, it’s şeyi, şeyden, şeye, etc.

How is bulacağım formed? Why not bulacakım?

Morphology: bul- (stem) + -acak (future) + -ım (1sg).
When -ım (vowel-initial) follows -acak/-ecek, the k softens to ğ and vowels harmonize:
bulacak + ım → bulacağım.
Other examples: gideceğim, yapacağım, alacağım.

Could I say bulurum instead of bulacağım? What changes?

Bulacağım (future) = a concrete future event/intention (“I will find”).
Bulurum (aorist) = a general ability/tendency/likelihood (“I (can) find / I tend to find”).
With büyük ihtimalle, bulacağım sounds like a confident prediction about the upcoming search; bulurum sounds more like a general expectation about your luck or habit.

Any tips for pronouncing ğ in bulacağım?

Ğ is not a hard “g.” It lengthens or smooths the preceding vowel.
Bulacağım sounds like “bula-jaa-m” with a long a before the ğ (roughly: boo-lah-JAA-m). Don’t pronounce ğ as a separate consonant.

Is the semicolon used like in English here?

Yes. It links two closely related independent clauses more tightly than a period.
A period would also be fine. A comma alone would be less standard in careful writing.

Do I need accusative on sürprizler?

No. Harika sürprizler is an indefinite plural direct object, so it stays bare.
If you made it definite, you’d add accusative: harika sürprizleri (those great surprises). That would change the meaning.

Are there natural alternatives to sürprizler saklıyor?

Yes, depending on nuance:
- İkinci el kitaplarda bazen harika sürprizler oluyor. (there are/occur)
- İkinci el kitaplar bazen harika sürprizler barındırıyor/taşıyor. (harbor/carry)
Saklamak (“to hide”) is idiomatic and evocative, so it works nicely in the original.

Can I move yine around? Does placement change meaning?

Default and most natural here: Büyük ihtimalle yine güzel bir şey bulacağım.
Yine güzel bir şey bulacağım emphasizes the repetition of finding something nice.
Güzel bir şeyi yine bulacağım suggests you’ll find the same nice thing again (now it’s definite: güzel bir şeyi), which is a different meaning.