Questions & Answers about Çorba lezzetli ama balık kötü.
How does ama work in this sentence?
It works exactly like 'but' in English. It joins two complete and contrasting thoughts: çorba lezzetli (the soup is delicious) and balık kötü (the fish is bad).
Why is there no word for 'is' after çorba or balık?
In Turkish, the 'to be' verb for the third person (he/she/it is) is usually invisible. çorba lezzetli literally means 'soup delicious', but it is a complete sentence meaning 'the soup is delicious'.
Why aren't we using a word for 'the' in front of the food?
Turkish does not have a separate word for 'the'. Depending on the context, a plain noun like çorba can mean 'soup' or 'the soup'. Since we are evaluating a specific meal here, we understand it as 'the soup' in English.
Is lezzetli a base word, or does it have a suffix?
It has a suffix! The root word is lezzet, which means 'taste' or 'flavor'. The suffix -li means 'with' or 'having'. Put them together, and you get 'with flavor', which is the standard Turkish way to say 'delicious'.