Learn Hardcore Turkish: Konuşkan ev sahibi toplantıda gereksizce abarttı, ama ben sakin kaldım. - The talkative landlord exaggerated unnecessarily at the meeting, but I stayed calm.

ev sahibi literally means house owner and is commonly used for both host (the person hosting an event) and landlord/homeowner. Here, with toplantıda (at the meeting), it likely means the host if the meeting was at someone’s place. If the context were rental issues or an apartment association meeting, it could mean the landlord. For a business/office context, Turkish speakers might prefer toplantı sahibi or toplantıyı düzenleyen kişi.

Why is it ev sahibi and not evin sahibi?

ev sahibi is an indefinite compound (role/title): house + its-owner → a house owner/host (generic role).
evin sahibi is a definite compound: of the house + its-owner → the owner of the (specific) house.
So ev sahibi is lexicalized as a role; evin sahibi points to a particular house’s owner.

What does konuşkan mean exactly? Is it the same as geveze?

Both mean talkative, but:

konuşkan is neutral or mildly positive (chatty, communicative).
geveze often has a negative tone (gabby, blabby, can’t stop talking). Morphologically, konuşkan comes from konuş- (to speak) + -kan (tending to).

Why is there a comma before ama? Is that required?

When ama links two independent clauses, a comma before it is standard in Turkish: Clause 1, ama Clause 2. In short sentences you’ll sometimes see it omitted, but the comma is preferred. Ama can also start a sentence.

What tense/person is abarttı, and why the double t?

Verb: abart- (to exaggerate)
Simple past: -(d)I → last vowel in the stem is a (a back vowel), so the vowel in the suffix becomes ı; because the preceding consonant is voiceless (t), d hardens to t → -tı
3rd person singular: no personal ending
Result: abart + tı → abarttı (double t because the stem ends in t and the suffix begins with t).

Does abartmak need an object?

It can be transitive or intransitive.

Transitive: Durumu abarttı (He/She exaggerated the situation).
Intransitive (implied object): Abarttı (He/She exaggerated).

What does gereksizce add, and how is it formed? Any alternatives?

gereksizce = gereksiz (unnecessary) + adverbial -ce → unnecessarily.
Alternatives: gereksiz yere (for no good reason), boş yere (needlessly), yersizce (inappropriately). -ce often sounds a bit more judgmental than gereksiz yere, which is slightly softer.

Where can gereksizce go in the sentence?

Adverbs tend to sit right before the verb or after other adverbials:

Toplantıda konuşkan ev sahibi gereksizce abarttı.
Konuşkan ev sahibi toplantıda gereksizce abarttı. Avoid placing gereksizce before a noun (e.g., gereksizce konuşkan ev sahibi), because it would wrongly modify the noun instead of the verb.

Why is it toplantıda (with -da) and not toplantıda (with -ta)?

The locative is -DA/-DE/-TA/-TE. Choose:

d vs t by the last sound of the stem: after a vowel or voiced consonant → d; after a voiceless consonant (ç f h k p s ş t) → t.
a vs e by vowel harmony: last vowel back (a ı o u) → a; front (e i ö ü) → e.
Since toplantı ends in a vowel and its last vowel is ı (back), we use -da → toplantıda.

Can I start with Toplantıda? What changes if I move things around?

Yes. Word order is flexible and signals focus:

Toplantıda konuşkan ev sahibi gereksizce abarttı foregrounds the setting.
Konuşkan ev sahibi toplantıda gereksizce abarttı foregrounds the subject.
Gereksizce placed just before the verb emphasizes the manner.

Why include ben when kaldım already shows person?

Personal endings mark person, so ben is optional. Including ben adds contrast/emphasis: “but I (by contrast) stayed calm.”

Neutral: … ama sakin kaldım.
Emphatic/contrasting: … ama ben sakin kaldım.

How is kaldım built, and why is it kaldım (not kaldum/kaldem)?

Stem: kal- (to stay/remain)
Simple past: -dı (back-vowel harmony from a → ı)
1st person singular: -m
→ kal + dı + m = kaldım. The vowel is ı due to harmony; u/e wouldn’t match.

Could I use something other than ama? Differences among ama, fakat, ancak, lakin?

ama: most common, neutral, fits speech and writing.
fakat: a bit more formal than ama.
ancak: formal/literary when used as but; also means only when used adverbially.
lakin: more literary/old-fashioned.
All can link contrasting clauses; choose based on register.

How would I say a talkative host vs the talkative host? Where does bir go?

Turkish has no article for the. Indefiniteness is marked with bir:

konuşkan ev sahibi = the talkative host (specific/known from context) or a generic role.
konuşkan bir ev sahibi = a talkative host (introducing someone new).
Note that bir comes after the adjective: konuşkan bir ev sahibi.

How do I say at the meeting, to the meeting, from the meeting?

At/in: toplantıda (locative -DA)
To/into: toplantıya (dative -yA)
From/out of: toplantıdan (ablative -DAn)

Any pronunciation tips for tricky bits like ş, ı, and abarttı?

ş = sh in English ship.
ı (dotless i) is a back, unrounded vowel; think a relaxed uh; kaldım ≈ kal-dum (but with Turkish ı).
i (dotted) is like English ee in see.
abarttı has a geminate t: a brief hold between the two t’s: a-bar(t)-tı.
Stress in compounds like ev sahibi typically falls earlier: roughly ÉV sahibi.