Breakdown of Arabalar gittikçe küçülmüş.
araba
car
gittikçe
gradually / more and more
küçülmek
to shrink / to get smaller
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Questions & Answers about Arabalar gittikçe küçülmüş.
Why does gittikçe mean 'gradually'?
It comes from the verb gitmek (to go) combined with the suffix -dikçe (as long as / the more). Literally, it means 'as it goes', which translates perfectly to 'gradually' or 'more and more' when placed before a changing verb.
I know the word for 'small' is küçük. Where did the k go in küçülmüş?
When creating a verb that means 'to become an adjective', Turkish often drops the final k of the root adjective. So, küçük becomes küçülmek (to get smaller or to shrink). Another common example is büyük (big) becoming büyümek (to grow).
Why use the evidential past tense -müş here instead of the standard past tense -dü (küçüldü)?
Using -müş adds the meaning of 'apparently' or shows that you are noticing the result of a change after the fact. The speaker probably did not watch the cars shrink, but looked around one day and realized they were smaller. If they said küçüldü, it would state it as a directly observed historical fact.
Could I use giderek instead of gittikçe in this sentence?
Yes! Both gittikçe and giderek are used to express a gradual change. You could say Arabalar giderek küçülmüş and it would mean the exact same thing.