Learn Hardcore Turkish: Parkurda tökezlemek moral bozucu oldu, ama devam etti. - Stumbling on the course was demoralizing, but she continued.

In Turkish, the infinitive with -mek/-mak can function as a noun and serve as the subject. So tökezlemek = “stumbling (to stumble)” works like an English gerund. It presents the act in a general, event-like way without explicitly marking who did it.

Could I say tökezlemesi instead of tökezlemek?

Yes, but it changes the nuance:

tökezlemek: the act of stumbling (general).
(onun) tökezlemesi: his/her stumbling (more specific, typically a particular instance). The possessor onun is often implied and can be stated for clarity.

Example: Onun parkurda tökezlemesi moral bozucu oldu.

What’s the difference between moral bozucu oldu and moral bozucuydu?

Both are correct but nuanced:

moral bozucu oldu: “ended up being/turned out discouraging” (event/result focus).
moral bozucuydu: “was discouraging” (state/description in the past). Choose oldu to highlight the outcome; -du form to simply describe.

What does the suffix -da in Parkurda do?

It’s the locative case “in/on/at.” Parkurda = “on the course.” It follows vowel harmony and voicing: since parkur ends with a voiced consonant and has a back vowel, you get -da (not -de/-ta/-te).

Is the comma before ama necessary?

Recommended, yes. You’re joining two independent clauses, so a comma before ama is standard in Turkish punctuation.

Who is the subject of devam etti? There’s no pronoun.

Turkish drops subject pronouns when the verb ending shows the person. Devam etti is 3rd person singular past (“he/she/it continued”). If you needed “I continued,” you’d say devam ettim; “they continued” is devam ettiler.

Why is there no object after devam etti? Continue what?

Devam etmek is intransitive by itself, but you can add a complement:

With a noun: yarışa devam etti (continued the race)
With a verb: koşmaya devam etti (kept running)

Can I replace ama with fakat, ancak, or lakin?

Yes. Nuance:

ama: most common, neutral/informal.
fakat/ancak: more formal or written; ancak can sound a bit more contrastive.
lakin: formal/literary.

Is moral bozucu one word or two? And what does it literally mean?

It’s written as two words: moral bozucu (“morale-breaking,” “demoralizing”). It’s an adjective formed from moral + the causative adjective bozucu (“that causes to spoil/break”).

Would morali bozan work instead of moral bozucu?

Yes, morali bozan (“that breaks [someone’s] morale”) is natural. Also possible:

moral bozucu bir şey(di) = “a demoralizing thing”
More idiomatic synonym: heves kırıcı(ydı) = “disheartening”

What’s the difference between tökezlemek, sendelemek, and düşmek?

tökezlemek: to trip/stumble (you may or may not fall).
sendelemek: to stagger/wobble (loss of balance).
düşmek: to fall (you actually go down).

Does parkur mean the same as pist or yol?

Not exactly:

parkur: a course/route, often with obstacles or a defined stage.
pist: a track/field (running track, ski slope, dance floor).
yol: road/way.

Can I move words around? For example, put Parkurda later?

Yes. Turkish word order is flexible for emphasis:

Parkurda tökezlemek moral bozucu oldu, ama devam etti. (neutral topic: setting first)
Tökezlemek parkurda moral bozucu oldu, ama devam etti. (emphasizes the act)
Moral bozucu oldu parkurda tökezlemek, ama devam etti. (more marked, poetic)

Could I drop oldu and say moral bozucu?

For a general timeless statement, yes: Parkurda tökezlemek moral bozucu.
For a past event, use either moral bozucuydu or moral bozucu oldu.

How would I say “nevertheless” instead of ama?

Use yine de:

Split into two sentences: Moral bozucu oldu. Yine de devam etti.
Or keep both: ..., ama yine de devam etti. (a bit redundant but common in speech)

Should there be an apostrophe in Parkurda (like Parkur’da)?

No. Apostrophes mark suffixes on proper nouns and some abbreviations. Parkur is a common noun here, so Parkurda is correct.

Is there a more explicit version that shows whose stumbling it was?

Yes:

Onun parkurda tökezlemesi moral bozucu oldu, ama yine de devam etti.
Or with a clause: Parkurda tökezleyince morali bozuldu, ama yine de devam etti. (literally: “When he stumbled, his morale got broken, but he still continued.”)

Any subtle nuance difference between moral bozucuydu and moral bozucu oldu I should remember?

Keep this rule of thumb:

moral bozucuydu = a past description (state).
moral bozucu oldu = a past outcome (it turned out that way at/after the event).