Breakdown of Toplantı salonu çok sessizdi, herkes not aldı.
olmak
to be
çok
very
herkes
everyone
almak
to take
Questions & Answers about Toplantı salonu çok sessizdi, herkes not aldı.
What does the -di in sessizdi represent, and why is it attached to the adjective?
It’s the past-tense copula idi (“was”) attached to the predicate adjective. In Turkish, the past of “to be” is usually written as a suffix-like form on the predicate:
- consonant-final predicate: drop the initial i- of idi → sessiz + di = sessizdi
- vowel-final predicate: insert a buffer y → hasta + ydı = hastaydı
Why is it sessizdi (with -di) and not sessizdı/sessizdu/sessizdü?
Vowel harmony: the last vowel of sessiz is front and unrounded (i), so the copular past picks the front-unrounded variant -di. Hence sessizdi.
Why is it sessizdi and not sessizti?
Consonant voicing: after a voiced consonant (like z), the copular consonant stays voiced (d). After a voiceless consonant (p, ç, t, k, s, ş, f, h), it devoices to t (e.g., soğuktu, sertti). Since z is voiced, we get sessizdi.
Is herkes grammatically singular or plural? Why is the verb aldı (not aldılar)?
Herkes (“everyone”) is grammatically third-person singular in Turkish, so the verb is singular: aldı. Using a plural verb (e.g., Herkes not aldılar) is nonstandard in formal Turkish, though you may hear it colloquially in some regions.