Kuraklık başladığından beri kıtlık riski arttı.

Breakdown of Kuraklık başladığından beri kıtlık riski arttı.

başlamak
to begin, to start
beri
since
risk
risk
artmak
to increase
kuraklık
drought
kıtlık
famine (scarcity)

Questions & Answers about Kuraklık başladığından beri kıtlık riski arttı.

How exactly is the word başladığından formed?
It builds on the verb root başla (to start). First, we add the participle suffix -dık and the 3rd person possessive , 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?
This is a standard noun compound. When you combine two nouns to create a specific concept—like kıtlık (famine) and risk (risk)—the second noun must take a possessive suffix. So, kıtlık riski grammatically acts like 'famine its-risk'.

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