Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Turkish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Yeni faturalar gelmedi.
How exactly does gelmedi mean "didn't arrive"?
It is built from three parts: the verb root gel- (to come/arrive), the negative suffix -me- (not), and the past tense suffix -di. Put together, gelmedi means "didn't come" or "didn't arrive".
Why does the negative past tense use -medi here instead of -madı?
It follows vowel harmony. The last vowel in the verb root gel- is "e", which is a front vowel. This means the suffixes that follow must also have front vowels, making it -me- for the negative and -di for the past tense. If the root had a back vowel, like al- (to take), it would be almadı.
The subject is plural (faturalar). Why doesn't the verb have the plural suffix -ler (gelmediler)?
In Turkish, if the subject of the sentence is plural but not human (like objects, animals, or concepts), the verb generally stays in the singular form. Since faturalar (bills) are objects, we use the singular verb gelmedi instead of gelmediler.
Does gelmek usually mean "to arrive"?