Learn Hardcore Turkish: Şehirde küçük bir aksilik oldu: trafik ışığı bozuldu, yine de toplantıya zamanında vardık. - There was a small mishap in the city: the traffic light broke, yet we arrived at the meeting on time.

oldu (past of olmak, “to happen/occur”) presents the mishap as an event that took place: “A small mishap happened.”
vardı (past of existential var) describes past existence or a state: “There was a small problem (ongoing/at that time).”
So aksilik oldu = “a mishap occurred,” while aksilik vardı = “there was a (standing) problem.”

What does bir do in küçük bir aksilik? Can I drop it?

bir often functions like the English “a/an” for indefinite singular nouns, especially when there’s an adjective: küçük bir aksilik = “a small mishap.”
Without bir, küçük aksilik oldu sounds odd or generic; with no adjective, aksilik oldu is fine and still indefinite.
Rule of thumb: with adjectives, include bir for a natural “a/an” reading.

How is Şehirde formed, and why is it -de (not -da, -te, or -ta)?

It’s the locative suffix -DA “in/at/on,” which changes by vowel and consonant harmony.
Last vowel of şehir is front (i/e) → choose -de (not -da).
Final consonant of şehir is voiced (r) → use d- (not t-). Hence: şehir + de → şehirde.

What’s going on morphologically in trafik ışığı?

It’s an “indefinite noun compound” (belirtisiz isim tamlaması): modifier + head-with-3sg-possessive.
Breakdown: trafik (traffic) + ışık (light) + 3sg poss -(s)I → ışığı.
Note the consonant softening: ışık
- -(I) → ışığı (k → ğ).
Together, trafik ışığı means “traffic light.”

Why bozuldu for the traffic light? How is it different from kırıldı or bozuk?

bozulmak = to break down, malfunction, go bad (intransitive). bozuldu = “it broke down/failed.”
kırılmak = to break (physically shatter/snap). A traffic light “kırıldı” would suggest physical breaking.
bozuk is an adjective (“broken/out of order”): trafik ışığı bozuk = “the traffic light is out of order.”
Transitive: bozmak (“to break/ruin”) → (biri) trafik ışığını bozdu = “(someone) broke the traffic light.”

What exactly does yine de mean, and how is it different from yine?

yine = “again.” yine de = “still, nevertheless, even so” (concessive).
Spelling: two words, yine de (not “yinede”).
Synonyms: buna rağmen, ama yine de, her şeye rağmen. It introduces a contrast with what came before.

How is toplantıya formed?

Base noun: toplantı (“meeting”).
Dative case “to/toward” = -A with vowel harmony; because the noun ends in a vowel, add buffer y: toplantı + y + a → toplantıya.
The destination of varmak (“arrive/reach”) takes dative: toplantıya vardık.

What does zamanında literally mean, and is it fixed?

Morphology: zaman-ın-da (time + 3sg poss + locative) → “in its time.”
Idiomatic adverb: zamanında = “on time.” Synonym: vaktinde. Stronger: tam zamanında (“right on time”).
It’s common and natural as a time adverb before the verb: zamanında vardık.

Why use vardık and not geldik?

varmak focuses on reaching a destination; it pairs with dative: X’e varmak (“arrive at X”).
gelmek = “to come,” often relative to the speaker’s location. You can say toplantıya geldik, but vardık highlights arriving (especially by a target time).
Related verbs: ulaşmak (“to reach”), yetişmek (“to make it in time”). Here, vardık fits the “on-time arrival” idea well.

Why is there no subject pronoun like biz before vardık?

Turkish verb endings encode person/number. -k in vardık = “we.”
Adding biz is optional and used for emphasis or contrast: Biz yine de… vardık (“We, nevertheless, arrived…”).

Is the word order here fixed, or could I move things around?

Turkish is flexible, but the given order is natural:
- Clause 1 starts with place/time (Şehirde) to set the scene, then the event: küçük bir aksilik oldu.
- Clause 2 starts with the concessive adverb (yine de), then destination (toplantıya), time adverb (zamanında), and the verb (vardık).
Alternatives like Yine de zamanında toplantıya vardık are possible; the default is to keep adverbials before the verb and maintain clear flow.

Why a colon after oldu?

In Turkish (as in English), a colon can introduce an explanation or elaboration. Here, the second clause explains the mishap: trafik ışığı bozuldu.
You could also write a period, a dash, or use a conjunction like çünkü if you recast the sentence.

Should it be singular trafik ışığı or plural trafik ışıkları?

Both are possible, depending on meaning:
- trafik ışığı bozuldu = “the (a) traffic light broke down” (singular).
- trafik ışıkları bozuldu = “the traffic lights broke down” (plural). Note the compound stays possessed: ışık-lar-ı (pl + 3sg poss).
Choose based on context (one junction’s light vs multiple lights).

Why is it yine de and not yine da?

The clitic de/da obeys vowel harmony with the preceding word’s last vowel: after a front vowel (e, i, ö, ü) use de; after a back vowel (a, ı, o, u) use da.
yine ends with front vowel e, so it’s yine de. (And it’s written separately: two words.)

How do I pronounce the tricky letters here (Ş, ı, ğ)?

Ş/ş = “sh” as in “ship.”
ı (dotless ı) = a relaxed, back, unrounded vowel (closer to the second vowel in “sofa”): ışık ≈ “uh-shuk.”
ğ (soft g) lengthens the preceding vowel; it’s not a hard “g.” ışığı ≈ “uh-shuh-uh” with a lengthened middle vowel.

Can I say trafik lambası instead of trafik ışığı?

Yes, trafik lambası (“traffic lamp”) is also common and understood. Both mean “traffic light.”
Some speakers prefer one or the other regionally or stylistically; there’s no real difference in everyday use.

What’s the nuance of aksilik? Are there near-synonyms?

aksilik suggests a mishap, a bit of bad luck, or a minor snag—often something unplanned that causes inconvenience.
Near-synonyms: aksaklık (malfunction/irregularity), pürüz (snag/hitch), sorun (problem), küçük bir problem.
In set phrases, küçük bir aksilik is very idiomatic for “a small hiccup.”

Could I express the contrast with -e rağmen instead of yine de?

Yes. Example: Trafik ışığı bozulmasına rağmen, toplantıya zamanında vardık.
- bozul-ma-sı-na: nominalization + 3sg poss + dative, because rağmen takes the dative.
You can also keep both for emphasis: … rağmen, yine de …

Is the comma before yine de correct, or should it be a semicolon?

A comma before yine de is common and acceptable in Turkish to separate coordinated clauses.
A semicolon (;) can also be used for a sharper separation: … bozuldu; yine de …
Both are fine; choose based on how strong you want the pause to feel.