Learn Hardcore Turkish: Çorbayı büyük bir kepçeyle kaselere paylaştırdım. - I ladled the soup into the bowls with a big ladle.

The suffix -ı is the accusative, used for a specific/definite direct object. Çorbayı = “the soup” (a particular/whole amount). If you just meant “some soup” in a non-specific way, you’d typically avoid the accusative and often use a different verb, e.g. Çorba dağıttım (“I handed out some soup”). With paylaştırmak, the accusative fits well because you’re apportioning a known quantity.

What does kaselere mean and why the -e?

Kaselere is plural dative: kase + -ler + -e = “to/into the bowls.” The dative marks recipients/direction. With verbs of distributing/filling, Turkish often uses the dative where English might say “into.” You could also say more explicitly “into” as kaselerin içine, but kaselere is natural here.

What does kepçeyle mean? Why -yle instead of ile?

It’s the instrumental/comitative: kepçe + (y)le = “with a ladle/by means of a ladle.” After a vowel, Turkish uses a buffer y: kepçeyle. You can also write it separate as kepçe ile; attaching it is more fluent. Note that ile can also mean “and” (e.g., Ahmet ile Ayşe = “Ahmet and Ayşe”).

Why is there bir in büyük bir kepçe? Can I omit it?

Bir is the indefinite article “a.” Büyük bir kepçe = “a big ladle.” You can omit it and say büyük kepçeyle; that often sounds fine too. Including bir can make the “one/a single” sense clearer or introduce a new item in the discourse.

How is paylaştırdım formed, and how does it differ from paylaşmak or dağıtmak?

Morphology:

pay (share) + -laştır- (to make into shares/apportion) + -dı (past) + -m (1sg) → paylaştırdım = “I distributed/apportioned.” Nuance:
paylaşmak = “to share (with someone).”
paylaştırmak = “to share out/apportion among several recipients.”
dağıtmak = “to distribute/hand out” (also “to scatter,” “to mess up” in other contexts), less emphasis on equal shares.

Why is there no ben? How do we know it’s “I”?

Turkish verbal endings show person/number. -dım encodes 1st person singular past, so the subject ben is understood and usually omitted. You can add Ben for emphasis or contrast.

Can I change the word order?

Yes; Turkish word order is flexible. The element right before the verb is typically in focus.

Büyük bir kepçeyle çorbayı kaselere paylaştırdım. (Focus on the manner/instrument.)
Kaselere çorbayı büyük bir kepçeyle paylaştırdım. (Focus on destination.) All are grammatical; choose order to highlight what matters.

Could I say kaseleri instead of kaselere?

No. Kaseleri is accusative (“the bowls” as direct object). Here, the direct object is the soup (Çorbayı). The bowls are recipients/destination, so they take the dative: kaselere.

Is there a simpler, everyday alternative to paylaştırdım?

Yes, depending on nuance:

Çorbayı kaselere servis ettim. (I served the soup into the bowls.)
Çorbayı kaselere doldurdum. (I filled the bowls with soup.)
Çorbayı kaselere dağıttım. (I distributed the soup.)
Your original with paylaştırmak stresses fair apportioning.

How do I say “with the big ladle” (a specific one)?

Use a demonstrative or context:

o büyük kepçeyle = “with that big ladle.” If the ladle is already known from context, büyük kepçeyle can be understood as “with the big ladle,” but o makes it explicit. Avoid bir in that case.

What tricky pronunciation points are there?

ç = “ch” in “chop”; ş = “sh.”
ı (dotless i) is a back, unrounded vowel (like the second vowel in “roses”).
Primary stress is typically near the end: pa-yaş-tır-dım.

How do I make this negative or a question?

Negative: Çorbayı büyük bir kepçeyle kaselere paylaştırmadım. (“I didn’t distribute…”)
Yes/no question: Çorbayı büyük bir kepçeyle kaselere paylaştırdım mı?
The question particle mi stands separate and follows the verb (with vowel harmony: mi/mı/mü/mu).

Why the buffer letter y in çorbayı and kepçeyle?

Turkish inserts y between two vowels to prevent hiatus when a vowel-initial suffix follows a vowel-final stem:

çorba + ı → çorbayı
When ile is cliticized: kepçe + ile → kepçeyle (with y).

Why plural in kaselere, and what happens with numbers?

Multiple recipients take plural: kaselere (“to the bowls”). With numbers, Turkish doesn’t use the plural suffix on the noun:

iki kaseye, üç kaseye (not: ~iki kaselere~).
Without a number, use -ler to indicate plural recipients.