Learn Turkish: Asla abur cubur yemeyeceğim. - I will never eat junk food.

Let's break it down! We start with the root ye- (eat), add the negative suffix -me, and then a buffer -y- to separate two vowels. Next comes the future suffix -ecek, but the k softens to ğ because it is followed by the personal ending -im (I). Together it makes ye-me-y-eceğ-im.

I learned that yemek becomes yiyecek in the positive future tense. Why doesn't the 'e' change to an 'i' here?

Excellent catch! In the positive future tense, the root ye- narrows to yi- before the buffer -y- (making yiyeceğim). However, in the negative form, the future suffix attaches to the negative suffix -me. In written Turkish, the negative suffix -me does not change its vowel before the future tense, so it stays yemeyeceğim.

Asla means never. Why is the verb also negative?

Turkish uses double negatives! When you use a negative word like asla (never), hiç (ever/none), or kimse (nobody), the verb must also take a negative suffix. In Turkish grammar, you are essentially saying 'I will never not eat junk food.'

Does abur cubur literally translate to junk food?