Breakdown of Çorba berbattı ama tatlı harikaydı.
çorba
soup
tatlı
dessert
ama
but
harika
wonderful
berbat
terrible
Questions & Answers about Çorba berbattı ama tatlı harikaydı.
Where is the word for "was" in this sentence?
In Turkish, "was" isn't a separate word. Instead, it is attached to the end of adjectives or nouns as a past tense suffix (-dı / -di / -du / -dü). In this sentence, we see it directly attached to the ends of berbat (terrible) and harika (wonderful).
Why does berbattı end in -tı instead of -dı?
This is due to consonant harmony. The word berbat ends in t, which is a voiceless consonant (one of the Fıstıkçı Şahap letters). When adding a suffix that normally starts with d, the d hardens to a voiceless t to match. Therefore, berbat + dı becomes berbattı.
Why is there a y in harikaydı?
The word harika ends in a vowel (a). Whenever you attach the past tense suffix to a word ending in a vowel, you must insert the buffer letter y to keep the vowels from bumping into each other. So, we get harika + y + dı.
Doesn't tatlı usually mean "sweet"?
Yes, tatlı is the adjective for "sweet", but it is also the standard noun used for "dessert" or "sweets" in general. In this sentence, it functions as a noun: "the dessert".
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