Questions & Answers about Yaşlı vezir hiç tembel değilmiş.
What is the difference between değildi and değilmiş?
değilmiş combines değil (not) with the reported past suffix -miş. If you use değildi, it means 'he was not' as a direct, known fact. Using değilmiş means 'he was apparently not' or 'I heard he wasn't.' It shows that the speaker is passing on information they didn't witness firsthand, or they just recently discovered it.
I thought hiç meant 'never'. Why is it translated as 'at all' here?
You're right that hiç usually means 'never' when used with negative verbs. However, when paired with negative nouns or adjectives (using words like değil or yok), it acts as an intensifier meaning 'not at all.' So hiç tembel değilmiş means 'apparently not lazy at all.'
Will the reported past suffix on değil always be -miş?
Yes! Because of vowel harmony rules, the suffix must match the last vowel of the word it attaches to. The last vowel in değil is 'i', so it will always take the front-vowel form -miş, never -mış, -muş, or -müş.