Breakdown of Çok kalori yaktığı halde hiç zayıflamıyor.
çok
a lot of / many
hiç
at all / any
kalori
calorie
halde
even though / despite (used with -dIğI)
Questions & Answers about Çok kalori yaktığı halde hiç zayıflamıyor.
How does yaktığı halde translate to 'even though she burns'?
This is the core structure for 'even though' or 'despite' in Turkish. You take the verb yakmak (to burn), add the participle -tık (which becomes -tığ), and the 3rd person possessive -ı to make yaktığı ('her burning'). The word halde literally means 'in the state'. Together, verb + -dığı halde means 'even though [someone] [does something]'.
Why isn't the plural suffix used on kalori since she burns a lot of 'calories'?
In Turkish, when a noun follows a word that already indicates quantity, like çok (a lot), az (a little), or a specific number, the noun stays in its singular form. Therefore, it is just çok kalori rather than çok kaloriler.
How do we know the sentence is about a 'she'?
Turkish does not use gendered pronouns. The possessive suffix -ı on yaktığı means 'his', 'her', or 'its'. Similarly, the main verb zayıflamıyor has no personal ending, which is the standard for the 3rd person singular ('he', 'she', or 'it'). We used 'she' in the English translation, but it could equally mean 'he' depending on the context.
How is the verb zayıflamıyor formed?