Tebeşir tozu yüzünden tahta silinince bile sınıf biraz beyaz kaldı.

Because of the chalk dust, the classroom stayed a little white even after the board was wiped.

Breakdown of Tebeşir tozu yüzünden tahta silinince bile sınıf biraz beyaz kaldı.

• sınıf: the classroom
• bile: even
• kalmak: to remain
• biraz: a little

Questions & Answers about Tebeşir tozu yüzünden tahta silinince bile sınıf biraz beyaz kaldı.

What does yüzünden do in this sentence?

Yüzünden means because of, due to, or as a result of.

So:

• Tebeşir tozu yüzünden = because of the chalk dust

A useful nuance: yüzünden is often used when the cause is undesirable, annoying, or has a negative result.

Examples:

• Yağmur yüzünden gelemedim. = I couldn’t come because of the rain.
• Trafik yüzünden geç kaldık. = We were late because of traffic.

So in this sentence, it suggests the chalk dust caused an unwanted result.

Why is it tebeşir tozu and not tebeşirin tozu?

Tebeşir tozu is a standard Turkish noun compound meaning chalk dust.

Structure:

• tebeşir = chalk
• toz = dust
• tozu = its dust / dust of

In Turkish, many noun compounds are formed like this:

• kahve fincanı = coffee cup
• okul kapısı = school door
• tebeşir tozu = chalk dust

You can sometimes see a fuller possessive structure like tebeşirin tozu, but that usually sounds more specific or literal: the dust of the chalk. Here, the regular compound tebeşir tozu is the natural choice.