Questions & Answers about Mahkeme bugün uzun oldu.
In this sentence, what exactly does mahkeme mean? Is it “the court (building)”, “the court (institution)”, or “the trial/hearing”?
In Mahkeme bugün uzun oldu, mahkeme most naturally means “the trial / the court hearing / the court session”, not the physical building.
Context decides the meaning:
- Mahkeme as institution:
- Mahkeme yarın karar verecek. – The court will decide tomorrow.
- Mahkeme as hearing/session (our sentence):
- Mahkeme bugün uzun oldu. – Today’s hearing took a long time / was long.
Very often in everyday speech, when someone says mahkeme, they mean the session/hearing they attended, unless the context clearly points to the institution or building.
You could also use duruşma (hearing/session):
- Duruşma bugün uzun oldu. – Very close in meaning, more clearly “hearing”.
Why is there no word for “the” before mahkeme? How do Turkish speakers know it means “the court” and not “a court”?