Breakdown of Onlar çok geç kaldılar ve uçağa binemediler.
onlar
they
çok
very
ve
and
kalmak
to stay / to be left / to remain (in a state)
geç
late
uçak
airplane
binmek
to get on / to board
Questions & Answers about Onlar çok geç kaldılar ve uçağa binemediler.
How is "could not board" formed in binemediler?
This uses the past inability form from your current lesson. Let's break it down: bin (board) + e (the inability marker) + me (negative) + di (past tense) + ler (they). That little -e- right before the negative -me- is the key: it changes the meaning from "they did not board" (binmediler) to "they could not board" (binemediler).
Why is the word for "were" missing in geç kaldılar? It looks like "late stayed".
In Turkish, "to be late" is expressed with the fixed phrase geç kalmak, which literally translates to "to stay late". Because it's an action rather than a state of being in Turkish, geç kaldılar is the standard way to say "they were late".
Why does uçak (plane) become uçağa here?
Two things happen here. First, the verb binmek (to board, to get on) always takes the dative case suffix, because you are directing your action "towards" the vehicle. Second, when we add the dative suffix -a to uçak, the hard k softens into a ğ (consonant mutation), making it uçağa.
Do we need the -lar and -ler suffixes on both verbs if Onlar is already at the start?
Actually, it's the other way around! Because both kaldılar and binemediler have the "they" suffix, it is perfectly clear who is doing the action. You could completely drop the word Onlar and the sentence would mean exactly the same thing. Including it just adds a little extra emphasis.
Learn Onlar çok geç kaldılar ve uçağa binemediler and more in Turkish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free