Bugün arabayla gelmedik, trafikte beklemedik.
We didn't come by car today, we didn't wait in traffic.
Breakdown of Bugün arabayla gelmedik, trafikte beklemedik.
araba
car
gelmek
to come
beklemek
to wait
bugün
today
ile
with / by / and (linking nouns)
trafik
traffic
Questions & Answers about Bugün arabayla gelmedik, trafikte beklemedik.
How do the negative past tense verbs gelmedik and beklemedik break down?
Both follow the exact same pattern: Verb root + negative suffix (-me or -ma) + past tense (-di / -dı / etc.) + "we" person ending (-k). For gelmedik, it is gel-me-di-k. For beklemedik, it is bekle-me-di-k. Because the roots gel and bekle both have "e" as their last vowel, vowel harmony makes the negative suffix -me and the past tense suffix -di in both words.
What is the -yla at the end of arabayla?
It means "with" or "by". It comes from the word ile. When you attach ile to the end of a word ending in a vowel, like araba (car), you drop the "i", add a buffer y, and follow vowel harmony. So, araba + ile becomes arabayla (by car).
Why does trafikte end with -te instead of the usual "in/on/at" suffix -de?
This happens because of consonant harmony. The word trafik ends with the voiceless consonant "k" (one of the "Fıstıkçı Şahap" consonants). When adding a suffix that normally starts with "d", the "d" changes to a hard "t" to match the hard "k". So trafik + de becomes trafikte (in traffic).
Where is the word for "we" in this sentence?
The Turkish word for "we" is biz, but it is omitted here. The -k attached to the very end of gelmedik and beklemedik specifically means "we". In Turkish, pronouns are frequently dropped because the verb ending already makes it completely clear who is doing the action.
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