Breakdown of Hasta yolcu acele edemedi, gecikmenin sebebi bu.
bu
this
hasta
sick
yolcu
passenger
acele etmek
to hurry
gecikme
delay (general)
sebep
reason
Questions & Answers about Hasta yolcu acele edemedi, gecikmenin sebebi bu.
How exactly does acele edemedi break down into "could not hurry"?
The base verb is acele etmek (to hurry). To show past inability, we add the inability vowel -e, the negative -me, and the past tense -di. Notice that the t in et softens to a d because it is followed by a vowel. So, et + e + me + di becomes edemedi.
Why do we say gecikmenin sebebi instead of just "gecikme sebep"?
To link two nouns together like "the delay's reason" (or "the reason for the delay"), Turkish uses a possessive compound. The owner word (gecikme) gets the genitive suffix -nin, and the owned word (sebep) gets the possessive suffix -i.
Why is it spelled sebebi with a "b" if the dictionary word is sebep?
When a Turkish word ends in a hard consonant like p, ç, t, or k, adding a vowel suffix usually softens that letter. Because we added the possessive vowel -i, the p in sebep softens to a b.
Is the word gecikme a noun or a verb here?
It is a noun here, meaning "the delay". It comes from the verb gecikmek (to be late / to be delayed). Adding -me to the verb stem turns it into a noun.
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