Learn Hardcore Turkish: Kiracı dün şikâyet etmişti, çünkü sayaç yanlış ölçmüş gibi görünüyordu. - The tenant had complained yesterday because the meter seemed to have measured incorrectly.

şikâyet etti = simple past: a completed past event, neutral narration.
şikâyet etmişti = past perfect (pluperfect): “had complained,” i.e., earlier than another past reference time.
Here, the second clause is also in the past (görünüyordu), so “etmişti” sets the complaint as backgrounded/earlier in that past narrative. You could still use “etti” for a straightforward past report, but “etmişti” ties it more clearly to another past scene/time.

So is “şikâyet etti” also correct here? What nuance changes?

Yes, it’s correct.

şikâyet etti: simple, factual past report.
şikâyet etmişti: sounds more like storytelling, anchoring the complaint earlier than the “seeming” situation, or framing it as already in place within a past scene.
If you’re just summarizing what happened yesterday, “etti” is the default. If you’re painting a past scene (e.g., “When we arrived, the tenant had already complained…”), “etmişti” fits better.

What exactly does “gibi görünüyordu” mean structurally?

gibi: “like / as if.”
görünmek: “to appear, seem” (literally “to be seen”).
görünüyordu: görün- (appear) + -yor (progressive) + -du (past) → “was appearing / seemed.”
So, “X gibi görünüyordu” = “it looked/seemed as if X.”

Why is it “yanlış ölçmüş gibi” and not “yanlış ölçüyor gibi”?

Both are possible, with a nuance difference:

yanlış ölçmüş gibi: “as if it had measured wrong” (the measuring happened earlier; perfect-like).
yanlış ölçüyor gibi: “as if it was measuring wrong (at that time)” (ongoing/progressive).
Because a meter reading is typically a completed act by the time you evaluate it, ölçmüş gibi is very natural here.

Who is understood to have “measured” in “yanlış ölçmüş gibi”?

The implied subject of ölçmüş is the same as the subject of görünüyordu, namely sayaç. In Turkish, a participle before gibi typically takes its subject from the nearest clause—here, the meter.

Why “ölçmüş” with -müş and not -mış/-muş/-miş?

Vowel harmony. The stem ölç- has a front rounded vowel ö, so the -miş participle chooses the front rounded allomorph -müş.

Front unrounded (e, i) → -miş
Front rounded (ö, ü) → -müş
Back unrounded (a, ı) → -mış
Back rounded (o, u) → -muş

What is the breakdown of “görünüyordu”?

görün- (appear/seem)
-yor (progressive)
-du (past of “to be”)
Together: “was seeming / seemed.” It’s the past progressive form.

How does “şikâyet etmek” work as a verb? Can it take objects or cases?

Yes. It’s a light-verb construction.

Complain about something: typically with -DAn or a verbal noun:
- “Sayaçtan şikâyet etti.” (complained about the meter)
- “Sayacın yanlış ölçmesinden şikâyet etti.” (complained about the meter’s measuring wrong)
Complain to someone: -A
- “Yöneticiye şikâyet etti.” (complained to the manager)
  Synonyms: şikâyette bulunmak, şikâyetçi olmak (slightly different nuances).

Is the comma before “çünkü” required? Can I start a sentence with “çünkü”?

A comma before çünkü is standard when it joins two clauses: “…, çünkü …”
You can start a sentence with çünkü in Turkish (especially in speech), but in careful writing it usually follows the main clause. Both are acceptable:
- “Kiracı dün şikâyet etmişti, çünkü …”
- “Çünkü sayaç … gibi görünüyordu.”

Could I say “çünkü sayaç yanlış ölçmüş gibiydi” instead of “görünüyordu”?

Yes, gibiydi = “was like/as if.”

… gibi görünüyordu: “seemed as if …” (perceptual/appearance nuance).
… gibiydi: “was as if …” (more static/state-like).
Both are grammatical; görünüyordu often sounds more natural for impressions.

What about “gözüküyordu”? Is it the same as “görünüyordu”?

In most contexts, gözükmek and görünmek are near-synonyms meaning “to appear/seem.”

“gözüküyordu” is common in speech; “görünüyordu” is a bit more standard/formal. Either works here.

Is “şikâyet” with the circumflex (â) necessary?

You’ll see both şikâyet and şikayet. The circumflex marks a slight length/palatal quality historically; modern usage often drops it in everyday writing. Dictionaries still list şikâyet as the canonical form, but you won’t be misunderstood without the circumflex.

Where is the best place for “dün” in the sentence?

Adverbs like dün usually come before the verb phrase and after the subject for neutral focus:

Kiracı dün şikâyet etmişti … (neutral)
You can front it for emphasis or context-setting:
Dün kiracı şikâyet etmişti … (emphasizes “yesterday”)
Avoid splitting it awkwardly inside the verb phrase (e.g., “şikâyet dün etmişti” sounds unnatural).

Could I replace “çünkü” with “-diye” or “yüzünden”?

… diye after a clause can mean “on the grounds that / thinking that,” often conveying someone’s reasoning:
- “Kiracı, sayaç yanlış ölçmüş gibi görünüyor diye şikâyet etmişti.”
… yüzünden is “because of / due to” and takes a noun/gerund:
- “Sayacın yanlış ölçmüş gibi görünmesi yüzünden şikâyet etmişti.”
  All are valid; çünkü simply and clearly introduces a reason clause.