Breakdown of En hızlı koşucu ilk noktayı üçe çeyrek kala geçti.
üç
three
hızlı
fast
en
most
geçmek
to pass / to cross / to shift (into a gear)
çeyrek
quarter (of an hour)
kala
to (the hour)
ilk
first, initial
koşucu
runner
nokta
checkpoint / point
Questions & Answers about En hızlı koşucu ilk noktayı üçe çeyrek kala geçti.
How does "üçe çeyrek kala" work to mean "at a quarter to three"?
This phrase uses the dative case plus the word kala. Üç (three) gets the dative suffix -e to become üçe (to three). Çeyrek means "quarter", and kala comes from kalmak (to remain). Literally, it translates as "with a quarter remaining to three".
I am confused by "geçti" at the end. Aren't we learning to use "geçe" for time?
That is a very tricky part of this sentence! The verb geçmek (to pass) is doing double duty in your Turkish studies. In a time expression like "at a quarter past three", you use its special form geçe (as in üçü çeyrek geçe). However, in this sentence, the time expression uses kala (to), and geçti is simply the main verb of the sentence, meaning the runner physically "passed" the checkpoint.
Why does "nokta" (checkpoint) have the -yı ending?
Nokta is the direct object of the verb geçti. Because it refers to a specific, defined place ("the first checkpoint"), it requires the accusative case. Since nokta ends in a vowel, we add the buffer letter -y- followed by the accusative suffix -ı, making it noktayı.
Why don't we use var here, like "üçe çeyrek var"?
This is a common mix-up! You use var (and geçiyor) to state what the current time is, for example: "Saat üçe çeyrek var" (It is a quarter to three). You must switch to kala (and geçe) when you want to say at what time an event happens, which is why we use kala here to show when the runner passed the point.
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