Learn Turkish: Bu eski tespih çok değerli, değil mi? - These old prayer beads are very valuable, aren't they?

In Turkish, değil mi? is an invariable tag used to ask for confirmation, much like saying "right?" or "isn't that so?" in English. Unlike English, where the tag changes based on the pronoun and tense (e.g., "isn't it?", "aren't they?", "didn't we?"), değil mi? stays exactly the same no matter what the subject of your sentence is.

The English translation says "These... beads," but Bu and tespih are singular. Why aren't they plural in Turkish?

In English, "prayer beads" is grammatically plural. However, in Turkish, a tespih is thought of as a single item (a single string or loop of beads). Because the noun is singular, it takes the singular demonstrative adjective bu (this) rather than the plural bunlar (these).

How is the word değerli (valuable) formed?

It is built from the noun değer, which means "value" or "worth". By adding the suffix -li—a very common suffix that means "having" or "containing"—it turns into the adjective değerli (literally "having value", or "valuable").

Where is the verb for "are" in this sentence?