Learn Hardcore Turkish: Kız arkadaşımın öksürüğü hâlâ geçmedi, akşam eczaneye uğrayacağız. - My girlfriend’s cough still hasn’t gone away; we will stop by the pharmacy this evening.

kız arkadaş-ım = my girlfriend
kız arkadaşım-ın = of my girlfriend (possessor in genitive)
öksürük-ü → öksürüğ-ü = her cough (possessed with 3rd‑person possessive) Together: kız arkadaşımın öksürüğü = my girlfriend’s cough. In Turkish, both sides are marked: the possessor takes genitive, the possessed takes a possessive suffix that agrees with the possessor (here, 3rd singular “her”). The fact that she is “my” girlfriend doesn’t make the cough 1st person; the possessor is still a 3rd‑person entity.

Why is it öksürüğü and not just öksürük?

Because in a genitive–possessive construction the possessed noun must carry a possessive suffix. Öksürük “cough” + 3rd‑person possessive -(s)I becomes öksürüğü (with vowel harmony and consonant softening). Without that suffix, the phrase would be ungrammatical.

What happened to the final k in öksürük?

It softened to ğ when a vowel-initial suffix was added: öksürük + -ü → öksürüğü. This is a regular sound change (k → ğ) in many words when attaching vowel‑initial suffixes.

How do I pronounce the ğ in öksürüğü and uğrayacağız?

Turkish ğ is not a hard “g”; it lengthens or glides the preceding vowel.

öksürüğü ≈ “oek-su-rueu” with a lengthened ü before the final syllable.
uğrayacağız ≈ “oo-rah-ya-JAH-uhz,” where the first vowel is lengthened by ğ and the final ı is the dotless “uh” sound.

Why is hâlâ written with a circumflex, and what happens if I write hala?

Hâlâ means “still/yet” and is often written with a circumflex to mark vowel length/palatalization. Hala (without the circumflex) commonly means “paternal aunt.” Many people omit the mark in casual writing, but in contexts like this it prevents ambiguity.

What’s the difference between hâlâ, henüz, and daha with negatives?

hâlâ
- negative: still (surprisingly) not. Example: Hâlâ geçmedi = It still hasn’t passed.
henüz
- negative: not yet (expectation it will). Henüz geçmedi = It hasn’t passed yet (but likely will).
daha
- negative: colloquial for “yet/still not.” Daha geçmedi is very common in speech.

Why does Turkish use geçmedi (past) to mean “hasn’t passed”?

Turkish often uses the simple past negative for states whose result holds now. With hâlâ, geçmedi means “(it) didn’t pass (up to now)” = “hasn’t passed” in English. There’s no separate present perfect form.

Can I say geçmiyor instead of geçmedi?

Yes, but the nuance changes:

Geçmedi: it hasn’t passed (up to now).
Geçmiyor: it isn’t passing/going away (right now, ongoing).

Can I say geçmiş değil to negate it?

No. Verbs in Turkish are negated with -me/-ma (here: geçmedi). Değil negates nouns/adjectives, not verb tenses. Geçmiş değil would mean “it is not past,” which is not how you say “it hasn’t passed.”

Why is it eczane-ye? Why the extra y and the ending -e?

-e/-a is the dative case “to/toward.” You need it because uğramak “to drop by/stop by” takes the dative.
eczane ends in a vowel, so a buffer consonant y is inserted before a vowel‑initial suffix: eczane + -e → eczaneye.

How do you pronounce eczane?

Like “ej-ZAH-neh.” The cz letter sequence corresponds to a “z” sound in this word; stress is typically on the penultimate syllable.

What’s the nuance difference between uğramak, gitmek, and ziyaret etmek?

uğramak: to drop by/stop in briefly, often on the way somewhere.
gitmek: to go (neutral).
ziyaret etmek: to visit (with the purpose of seeing someone/thing, usually longer/more formal).

How is uğrayacağız formed?

Verb stem: uğra- (from uğramak, to drop by)
Future: -AcAk → uğrayacak
1st person plural: -Iz → uğrayacağız The y is a glide to link vowels; vowel harmony picks -acak (not -ecek).

Why is there no biz (we) subject pronoun?

Turkish is pro‑drop. The verb ending -ız in uğrayacağız already encodes “we,” so biz is optional and used only for emphasis or contrast.

Can I move akşam to the front? What about other word orders?

Yes. Akşam eczaneye uğrayacağız is very natural (time first). Eczaneye akşam uğrayacağız is possible but marked (it emphasizes “to the pharmacy,” with “in the evening” as secondary information).

Is the comma between the clauses okay, or should I use ve?

A comma is fine in Turkish to link related clauses. You could also write … geçmedi ve akşam eczaneye uğrayacağız. In more formal writing, some prefer a semicolon or ve to avoid a comma splice.

Could I say kız arkadaşım hâlâ öksürüyor instead of … öksürüğü hâlâ geçmedi?

Yes. Kız arkadaşım hâlâ öksürüyor = “My girlfriend is still coughing” (focus on the action). … öksürüğü hâlâ geçmedi = “Her cough still hasn’t gone away” (focus on the persistent condition). Both are idiomatic.

Is henüz also possible here? What about daha?

Yes:

Kız arkadaşımın öksürüğü henüz geçmedi = hasn’t passed yet (neutral/expectant).
… daha geçmedi = hasn’t passed yet (very common in speech).

If I want to suggest “Let’s drop by the pharmacy,” what should I use?

Use the 1st‑person plural optative: Eczaneye uğrayalım. The future uğrayacağız states a plan/decision; uğrayalım makes a suggestion.