Learn Turkish: Kuraklık başladığından beri kıtlık riski arttı. - Since the drought started, the risk of famine increased.

It builds on the verb root başla (to start). First, we add the participle suffix -dık and the 3rd person possessive -ı, which softens the k to a ğ, giving us başladığı. Then we add the buffer letter -n- and the ablative case suffix -dan (from). Followed by beri, it forms the 'since [doing]' structure.

Why do we need a possessive suffix on the verb in başladığı?

In Turkish, when you turn a verb into a clause with -dık, the subject of that action 'owns' the verb. Here, the subject doing the starting is kuraklık (the drought). Since 'drought' is a third-person subject ('it'), we use the 3rd person possessive ending. It literally translates to 'from the time of its starting'.

If I left out the word beri, would the sentence still make sense?

It would make sense, but it would change the meaning completely! The structure -dığından all by itself means 'because of [doing]'. So, without beri, the sentence would mean 'Because the drought started, the risk of famine increased.' You need beri to mean 'since'.

Why is there an -i at the end of riski?