Question 1

How do we get 'as short as' from kadar kısa?

Accepted Answer

The postposition kadar follows the noun it is comparing against, which is bu sokak (this street). The adjective being measured, kısa (short), comes right after it. The formula [noun] kadar [adjective] translates to 'as [adjective] as [noun]'. Together, bu sokak kadar kısa means 'as short as this street'.

Question 2

Why doesn't bu sokak (this street) have any case endings before kadar?

Accepted Answer

When kadar is used with regular nouns or noun phrases like bu sokak, the noun stays in its dictionary form (no case endings). You only need to add a genitive ending (like -in) if you are using a standalone personal or demonstrative pronoun, such as bunun kadar (as much as this) or senin kadar (as much as you).

Question 3

Why isn't there a 'to be' suffix (like 'is') attached to değil?

Accepted Answer

The subject of the sentence is Mesafe (The distance), which is a third-person singular subject ('it'). In Turkish, the present tense 'is' for 'he/she/it' is usually invisible. While you might see değildir in formal writing, in everyday Turkish, ending the sentence with just değil is grammatically complete.

Question 4

Can I place değil before kısa instead of at the end of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

No, the negating word değil (not) must come immediately after the noun or adjective it is negating. Since it makes kısa (short) negative, it has to be kısa değil (not short), placing it at the very end of the sentence.

Mesafe bu sokak kadar kısa değil.

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