Mürekkep kalmadı.

There is no ink left.

Breakdown of Mürekkep kalmadı.

• kalmak: to remain
• mürekkep: the ink

Questions & Answers about Mürekkep kalmadı.

What does kalmadı literally mean, and how is it built?

• Root: kal- = remain, be left, stay.
• Negation: -ma- = not.
• Past tense: -dı = past (with zero 3rd‑person ending). So kal-ma-dı literally means did not remain → idiomatically, none is left.

Why is the past tense (-dı) used if we’re describing a current situation?

Turkish often uses the simple past to signal a new state that has just resulted from a completed event (resultative past). Mürekkep kalmadı implies “the situation has reached the point where no ink remains now.”

Who is the subject here? Why isn’t there any case ending?

Mürekkep (ink) is the subject in the basic/nominative form. Kalmak is intransitive (“to remain”), so there’s no object and no accusative. The sentence is literally “Ink did-not-remain.”

Where are the English articles like “the,” “a,” or words like “any/some”?

Turkish has no articles. Context supplies definiteness. To express “any/some,” Turkish commonly uses:

• hiç for “(not) any/at all” in negatives: Hiç mürekkep kalmadı.
• biraz for “some”: Biraz mürekkep kaldı.

How is Mürekkep kalmadı different from Mürekkep yok?

• Mürekkep kalmadı: “There isn’t any left,” emphasizing depletion/result (“we ran out”).
• Mürekkep yok: simple existential “there is no ink.” You can add artık (anymore) to sharpen the “no longer” idea: Artık mürekkep yok / Artık mürekkep kalmadı.

Is Mürekkep bitti more natural than Mürekkep kalmadı?

Both are common. Nuance:

• Bitti = “it finished/ran out” (very everyday and direct).
• Kalmadı = “none remains” (slightly more descriptive/resultative).
• Tükendi = “was exhausted/sold out” (more formal/commercial).

How would I say “We ran out of ink” or “The printer is out of ink”?

• Mürekkebimiz bitti. (We’re out of ink.)
• Yazıcının mürekkebi bitti. (The printer’s ink ran out.)
• Yazıcıda mürekkep kalmadı. (There’s no ink left in the printer.)
• For cartridges: Kartuş bitti.

How do I ask “Is there any ink left?” and how do I answer?

• Question (leftover focus): Mürekkep kaldı mı? / Hiç mürekkep kaldı mı?
• Answers: Kaldı. (Yes, some left.) / Kalmadı. (No, none left.)
• Generic existence: Mürekkep var mı? (Do you have ink?)

What’s going on with vowel harmony and the dotless ı in kalmadı?

Vowel harmony: the root has a back vowel (a), so the suffix vowels are back: -ma-, -dı. The last vowel is the dotless ı (close back unrounded), not i. Hence kalmadı, not “kalmadi.”

Any tips on pronouncing the sentence?

• ü in mürekkep: front rounded (like German/French ü).
• ı in kalmadı: dotless, a close back unrounded vowel (no exact English equivalent; think a tighter, darker “uh”).
• Typical stress toward the last syllable of each word: mürekKEP kalmaDI.

Can I change the word order or even drop mürekkep?

Yes, Turkish allows flexibility for focus:

• Mürekkep kalmadı. (neutral)
• Kalmadı mürekkep. (emphatic/dramatic, less neutral)
• If context is clear, you can drop the subject: Kalmadı. (“None left.”)

What’s the difference between kalmadı and kalmamış?

• Kalmadı (-dı): direct, definite information (you saw/know it).
• Kalmamış (-miş): inference or hearsay (“apparently/it turns out there’s none left”). E.g., you discover the emptiness just now: Mürekkep kalmamış!

Can mürekkep be plural? When would mürekkepler kalmadı make sense?

As a mass noun, mürekkep usually stays singular. Mürekkepler kalmadı might be used if you mean discrete items or types (e.g., different inks/brands/bottles) and none of those are left.

How can I strongly emphasize “absolutely none left anymore”?

• Artık hiç mürekkep kalmadı.
• Hiç ama hiç mürekkep kalmadı. (colloquial, very emphatic)
• You can also add location: Şişede artık hiç mürekkep kalmadı. (There’s none left in the bottle.)

Why not use değil for negation here?

Değil negates noun/adjective predicates (e.g., Bu kalem siyah değil.). Verbs are negated with -ma/-me, hence kal-ma-dı. With existential verbs you get var/yok, not değil. (Advanced nuance: Mürekkep yok değil = “It’s not that there’s no ink,” implying there is some, but this is a different structure.)

What else does kalmak mean, and are there similar patterns?

Kalmak = remain, stay, be left:

• Biraz para kaldı. (Some money remains.)
• Kimse kalmadı. (No one stayed/remained.)
• Sende pil kaldı mı? (Do you have any battery power left?) The same resultative idea appears in many verbs: Yağmur dindi (the rain stopped), Çay soğudu (the tea went cold).