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Questions & Answers about Otobüs yine gecikti.
What are the parts of this sentence and what does the verb ending show?
- Otobüs = bus (subject, nominative)
- yine = again (adverb)
- gecikti = was late / got delayed
- gecik- (verb stem: to be late, to be delayed)
- -ti (simple past tense of -DI; 3rd person singular has no extra personal ending, so it’s zero)
So the whole sentence means “The bus was late again.”
Why is there no separate word for was?
Turkish marks tense on the verb with suffixes. The simple past is -DI (appearing here as -ti due to sound harmony), so gecikti already includes the meaning “was late.” No separate copula is needed for verbal predicates.
Why is it gecikti with a c, not geçikti with a ç?
The verb is gecikmek (to be delayed), spelled with c. Although the adjective/adverb geç means late, when forming the verb, Turkish uses c by a regular consonant alternation (ç → c before certain suffixes/root formations). So the correct forms are gecikmek, gecikti, etc. Writing geçikti is a common mistake.
What is the difference between gecikmek and geç kalmak?
- gecikmek: to be delayed/run late (often for vehicles, schedules, deliveries). Neutral-to-formal.
- Example: Tren 10 dakika gecikti. (The train was delayed 10 minutes.)
- geç kalmak: to be late (typically a person being late to an event/appointment; very common in everyday speech).
- Example: Toplantıya geç kaldım. (I was late to the meeting.)
- For buses/trains you’ll hear both: Otobüs yine gecikti and Otobüs yine geç kaldı are both natural; the first sounds a bit more like a status update, the second is very colloquial.
Where can I put yine, and does word order change the emphasis?
- Neutral: Otobüs yine gecikti. (focus on the repeated lateness)
- Emphasizing again-ness: Yine otobüs gecikti. (Once again, it’s the bus that was late.)
- Colloquial tailing: Otobüs gecikti yine. (Less standard; used in speech for afterthought emphasis)
Adverbs usually appear before the verb, but Turkish word order is flexible for emphasis.
What’s the difference between yine, gene, tekrar, yeniden, and bir daha?
- yine: again (very common; can imply “yet again,” sometimes with mild annoyance)
- gene: colloquial/variant of yine (same meaning; heard often in speech)
- tekrar: again/once more (more formal/literal repetition; often in instructions)
- yeniden: again/anew, from the beginning (doing something over afresh)
- bir daha: one more time/again; with negatives often means “ever again” (e.g., Bir daha yapma. = Don’t do it again.)
Is yine the same as still? What about yine de?
- yine = again (repetition)
- hâlâ = still (continuity)
- yine de = nevertheless/still (concessive: “even so”) So Otobüs yine gecikti (The bus was late again) is different from Otobüs hâlâ gelmedi (The bus still hasn’t come) and Yine de gecikti (Still, it was late / It was late nevertheless).
How do I make the negative and the yes/no question forms?
- Negative: gecikmedi (was not late)
- Otobüs yine gecikmedi. (The bus was not late again.)
- Yes/no question with the separate particle mi:
- Otobüs yine gecikti mi? (Was the bus late again?)
- You can also front the focus: Yine mi gecikti? (Late again, huh?)
Remember: mi/mı/mu/mü follows vowel harmony and is written separately.
If I want to say the bus is late again (right now), what should I use?
Use a present/progressive form:
- Otobüs yine gecikiyor. (The bus is running late again.)
- Or colloquially: Otobüs yine geç geliyor. (The bus is coming late again.)
How can I express that this keeps happening habitually?
Add frequency adverbs:
- Otobüs hep/sürekli/sık sık gecikiyor. (The bus is always/constantly/often late.)
- Combine with again: Otobüs yine yine gecikiyor is not idiomatic; instead use hep or sürekli.
Can I drop the subject and just say Yine gecikti?
Yes. Turkish is pro‑drop when the subject is clear from context:
- Yine gecikti. (It was late again.) This works if it’s obvious you’re talking about the bus.
Why is the past suffix -ti here and not -dı/-du/-dü?
It’s vowel and consonant harmony:
- The past suffix is -DI with four vowel variants: -dı, -di, -du, -dü.
- After a voiceless consonant (like k), d becomes t: -tı, -ti, -tu, -tü.
- The last vowel of the stem (i in gecik-) makes the suffix -ti. Hence: gecik + ti → gecikti.
Is Otobüs yine geç acceptable instead of using a verb?
It’s not idiomatic. For “to be late,” Turkish prefers the verbs gecikmek or geç kalmak. Say Otobüs yine gecikiyor or Otobüs yine geç kaldı, not Otobüs yine geç.
Does gecikmek take an object or a case marker like to be late to something?
gecikmek is intransitive (no direct object). To specify what you’re late for, speakers usually switch to geç kalmak with the dative:
- Toplantıya geç kaldım. (I was late to the meeting.) With gecikmek, you’ll more often see cause phrases or time amounts:
- Yağmur yüzünden gecikti. (It was delayed because of rain.)
- Otobüs 15 dakika gecikti. (The bus was delayed 15 minutes.)
How would evidential past change the meaning (gecikmiş)?
- Otobüs yine gecikmiş. uses -miş (reported/inferential past), implying you learned it indirectly or you infer it from evidence. Roughly: “Apparently, the bus was late again.”
Any quick pronunciation tips?
- c is like English j (so gecik- sounds like “ge-jik”)
- ü is a front rounded vowel (like German ü or French u)
- yine is pronounced roughly “yee-neh”
- The whole sentence: “o-to-büs yi-ne ge-jik-ti”