Learn Hardcore Turkish: Doktor, tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerektiğini söyledi. - The doctor said that you need to reduce salt a bit more.

tuzu azaltmam gerekiyor = I have to reduce the salt
(my reducing the salt is necessary)
tuzu azaltman gerekiyor = You have to reduce the salt
(your reducing the salt is necessary)
tuzu azaltması gerekiyor = He/She has to reduce the salt
(his/her reducing the salt is necessary)

In the sentence:

tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerektiğini …

azaltman tells us the subject is “you”, without needing the separate pronoun sen.

Why is it tuzu and not just tuz? What does the -u ending do?

The -u on tuzu is the accusative case marker. It usually marks a definite, specific direct object.

tuz = salt (in general)
tuz-u = the salt (the salt you’re eating / in your diet)

In this sentence, the doctor is clearly talking about your current salt consumption, not salt as an abstract substance, so Turkish treats it as definite:

tuzu azaltmak = to reduce the salt (you’re taking)
tuzu biraz daha azaltman = your reducing the salt a bit more

You can see bare tuz sometimes:

Tuz azaltmak kalp için iyidir.
Reducing salt is good for the heart.

That’s more generic (“salt” in general). Here, tuzu is more natural because we mean “the salt you use/eat”.

How does biraz daha work, and why is it between tuzu and azaltman?

biraz daha literally means “a bit more”:

biraz = a little, a bit
daha = more, further, still

Together: biraz daha = a little more / a bit more.

It modifies the verb (the amount of reducing), so it goes just before the verb:

tuzu [biraz daha] azaltmak = to reduce the salt [a bit more]
tuzu [biraz daha] azaltman = your [reducing the salt a bit more]

Word order:

tuzu biraz daha azaltman → neutral, very natural
biraz daha tuzu azaltman → also possible, but puts a bit more emphasis on tuzu (“the salt in particular a bit more”), and is less common in this exact phrase.

In general, adverbs like biraz, daha, çok tend to appear before the verb phrase they modify.

Can you break down gerektiğini into its parts and explain what each part does?

Yes. gerektiğini is built from the verb gerekmek (to be necessary), plus a nominalizer and case endings.

Step-by-step:

gerek-
Root meaning “necessary / need” (verb: gerekmek).
-dik (here appearing as -tiğ- because of sound changes)
This is a nominalizing/relative suffix: it turns a verb into something like “the fact that it is/was …”.
- gerek + dik → gerekti(k)
- then with vowel and consonant harmony we get gerektiği.
-i (3rd person singular possessive)
gerektiği literally: “its being necessary” / “the fact that it is necessary”.
Here, “it” refers to the whole action tuzu biraz daha azaltman.
-ni (accusative case, with buffer -n-)
gerektiği + ni → gerektiğini =
“(the fact) that it is/was necessary” as a direct object.

So:

gerektiğini söyledi ≈ “(he) said that it was/that it is necessary”.

In this construction, the person (“you”) is not marked on gerek-; it is shown by azaltman (“your reducing”).

The part -tiğ- in gerektiğini looks like the past tense -di. Does this make the sentence past?

No. The -tiğ- here comes from the -dik nominalizer, not from the simple past tense -di.

Compare:

gerek-ti = it was necessary (simple past of gerekmek)
gerektiğ-i = its being necessary / the fact that it is/was necessary
(nominalized form with -dik → -tiğ-)

In gerektiğini söyledi:

The only clearly past element is söyle-di = “said”.
gerektiğini is a noun-like clause, not a finite past verb.

The meaning is essentially:

The doctor said that you (still) need to reduce the salt a bit more.

or literally:

The doctor said the fact that it was necessary for you to reduce the salt a bit more.

Turkish doesn’t do the same strict backshifting as English; gerektiğini is neutral for time beyond what söyledi and the context imply.

Why do we need the final -ni in gerektiğini? Why can’t we say …azaltman gerektiği söyledi?

The -ni at the end is the accusative case marker, showing that the whole clause is the object of söyledi.

gerektiği by itself = “its being necessary / the fact that it is necessary” (in basic, “subject” case).
gerektiğini = “the fact that it is necessary” as a direct object.

Since söylemek is a transitive verb (“to say something”), its object must be in the accusative:

Bunu söyledi. = He said this.
Bunu bildiğini söyledi. = He said that he knows this.
Tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerektiğini söyledi. = He said that you have to reduce the salt a bit more.

If you drop -ni:

…azaltman gerektiği söyledi is ungrammatical; gerektiği is left in the wrong case for an object.

Contrast:

Tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerektiği ortaya çıktı.
“It turned out that you have to reduce the salt a bit more.”

Here, gerektiği is the subject of ortaya çıktı, so it stays without accusative.

In English we say “The doctor said that you should…”. Where is the word “that” in the Turkish sentence?

Turkish usually doesn’t use a separate word for “that” in this kind of clause. Instead, it uses a nominalized verb form with suffixes like -dik, -me, etc.

In:

Doktor, tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerektiğini söyledi.

the English “that” is expressed by the whole structure:

azaltman gerektiğini ≈ that it is necessary for you to reduce (it)

So:

said that … → … gerektiğini söyledi
knew that … → … olduğunu biliyordu / bildiğini biliyordu
thought that … → … sandı / düşündüğünü sandı

There is a word ki that can sometimes translate “that”, but in modern Turkish, noun-clause suffixes like -dik and -me are much more common in this kind of sentence.

Where is the “you” in this sentence? Why don’t we see sen?

The “you” is encoded in the suffixes, not as a separate pronoun.

azaltman = azalt-ma-n = your reducing → tells us it’s you who must reduce the salt.

Turkish is a pro-drop language: subject pronouns (ben, sen, o, etc.) are normally omitted when the person is clear from the verb or from suffixes.

So:

Tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerekiyor.
= You need to reduce the salt a bit more. (no need to say sen)

If you really want to emphasize you, you can say:

Senin tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerekiyor.
= You (as opposed to someone else) need to reduce the salt a bit more.

And then the reported version:

Doktor, senin tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerektiğini söyledi.
= The doctor said that *you (in particular) need to reduce the salt a bit more.*

Could we add senin in this sentence as “Doktor, senin tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerektiğini söyledi”? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, that sentence is correct and natural.

Senin tuzu biraz daha azaltman → your reducing the salt a bit more, with extra emphasis on you.

Difference:

tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerektiğini söyledi
= neutral “you”, just stating who the subject is.
senin tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerektiğini söyledi
= puts contrast/emphasis on you (e.g. not someone else; or in contrast to what you thought).

So adding senin doesn’t change the basic grammar, but it adds focus to the subject.

How would the sentence change if the doctor were talking about his own salt intake, like “The doctor said that he should reduce the salt a bit more”?

You change azaltman (your reducing) to azaltması (his/her reducing):

Doktor, tuzu biraz daha azaltması gerektiğini söyledi.
= The doctor said that he (himself) should reduce the salt a bit more.

Breakdown:

azalt-ma-sı = his/her reducing → subject of gerekmek.
azaltması gerektiğini = that it is necessary for him/her to reduce (it).

For other persons:

Benim tuzu biraz daha azaltmam gerektiğini söyledi.
He said that I should reduce the salt a bit more.
Senin tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerektiğini söyledi.
He said that you should…
Onların tuzu biraz daha azaltmaları gerektiğini söyledi.
He said that they should…

What is the difference between söyledi and dedi here? Could we use dedi instead?

Yes, you can say:

Doktor, tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerektiğini dedi.

…but in practice Turkish speakers usually prefer:

Doktor, tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerektiğini söyledi.

because söylemek (“to say, to state”) combines a bit more naturally with noun-clause objects in -diğini.

Typical patterns:

X’i söyledi. / X olduğunu söyledi. / X gerektiğini söyledi.
“X” dedi. (with actual quoted words)

If you use dedi with a full clause, it tends to sound more like quoted speech and is most natural with quotation marks or clear “quote intonation”:

Doktor, “Tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerekiyor” dedi.

So:

söyledi → slightly more formal, standard for reported content.
dedi → tends to feel more like directly quoting someone’s words.

Is the comma after Doktor necessary? Does it change the meaning?

It doesn’t change the meaning.

Doktor tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerektiğini söyledi.
Doktor, tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerektiğini söyledi.

Both are understood the same: “The doctor said that…”

In standard punctuation rules, you normally don’t put a comma between a short subject and its verb, so without the comma is more textbook-correct. Many people, however, insert a comma to mark a pause in speech, especially before longer predicates.

It’s not a vocative (“Doctor, you should…”); here Doktor is clearly the subject, not someone being addressed.

Can you show the direct-speech version of this and how it turns into the indirect-speech gerektiğini söyledi version?

Direct speech:

Doktor dedi ki, “Tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerekiyor.”
or
Doktor, “Tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerekiyor” dedi.
Meaning: The doctor said, “You need to reduce the salt a bit more.”

Turning it into indirect speech:

Keep the inner sentence but remove the quotes and dedi ki:
- Tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerekiyor.
  (You need to reduce the salt a bit more.)
Now we want “said that …”, so we nominalize gerekiyor with -dik:
- tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerektiği
  = the fact that your reducing the salt a bit more is necessary
Make that whole thing the object of söyledi by adding accusative -ni:
- tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerektiğini söyledi
Add the subject Doktor:
- Doktor, tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerektiğini söyledi.

So:

“Tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerekiyor,” dedi. (direct words quoted)
Tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerektiğini söyledi. (reported content / indirect speech)

Could we say “Doktor, ‘Tuzu biraz daha azaltmalısın’ dedi” instead? How is that different from “azaltman gerektiğini söyledi”?

Yes, you can say:

Doktor, “Tuzu biraz daha azaltmalısın” dedi.

Here:

azaltmalısın = you must / you should reduce (it)
(azalt-
- -malı (necessity) + -sın (2nd person singular))

Differences:

Direct vs indirect style
- “Tuzu biraz daha azaltmalısın” dedi. → direct speech; these are the doctor’s exact words (or very close).
- …azaltman gerektiğini söyledi. → indirect speech; you are reporting the content of what he said, not his exact wording.
Form of expressing necessity
- -malı/-meli (azaltmalısın)
  → modal suffix directly attached to the verb; often feels like “you should.”
- V-man gerek/gerekiyor (azaltman gerekiyor / azaltman gerektiğini söyledi)
  → a bit more formal / neutral “it is necessary that…”.

In meaning, they’re very close: both are about the doctor telling you that you need to or should cut down on salt. The choice mainly affects style, not basic content.

Is “tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerektiğini” one big clause? How should I group the words mentally?

Yes, it’s one big subordinate clause acting as the object of söyledi.

You can group it like this:

[Doktor]
[ [tuzu biraz daha azaltman] [gerektiğini] ] söyledi.

Inside the subordinate clause:

tuzu = the salt (object of azaltmak)
biraz daha = a bit more (adverb)
azaltman = your reducing (subject of gerekmek)
gerektiğini = that it is/was necessary (predicate of the subordinate clause, in object form)

So a rough literal structure is:

The doctor [said [the fact that your reducing the salt a bit more was necessary]].

What level of politeness or formality does this sentence have? How would it look in a more formal version?

The given sentence is neutral, everyday standard:

Doktor, tuzu biraz daha azaltman gerektiğini söyledi.
(Doctor talking to you informally / singular.)

For more formal or polite “you”, Turkish generally uses the 2nd person plural endings or 3rd-person-style forms:

Doktor, tuzu biraz daha azaltmanız gerektiğini söyledi.
= The doctor said that you (formal) should reduce the salt a bit more.

Here:

azaltmanız = your (polite/plural) reducing

This is what a doctor might say to a patient they address politely with siz.