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Balığın kalınca yüzgeci bir süs gibi.

Balığın kalınca yüzgeci bir süs gibi.
The fish's rather thick fin is like an ornament.
From Lesson 288:Adjective softening (-ce / -ça)·Turkish

Questions & Answers about Balığın kalınca yüzgeci bir süs gibi.

How does the suffix in kalınca change the meaning of the adjective?
The suffix -ce / -ca is used to approximate or soften the meaning of an adjective. While kalın means "thick", adding -ca makes it kalınca, meaning "rather thick", "somewhat thick", or "thick-ish".
Why are we using balığın and yüzgeci together here instead of just balık yüzgeci?
This forms a definite noun compound (the genitive-possessive construction). Balık takes the genitive suffix -ın to show ownership, and yüzgeç takes the possessive suffix -i to show it is owned. Because it is balığın (the fish's) and not just balık (fish), it tells us we are talking about a specific fish's fin rather than a generic "fish fin".
Why did the letters change at the end of balık and yüzgeç?
Both words undergo consonant mutation (softening) because they end in a hard consonant and are followed by a suffix starting with a vowel (-ın and -i). The k in balık softens to ğ (balığın), and the ç in yüzgeç softens to c (yüzgeci).
Where is the verb "is" in this sentence?
In Turkish, you do not always need a visible verb for "to be" in the present tense. The sentence simply puts the subject (balığın kalınca yüzgeci) and the description (bir süs gibi) side by side, and the "is" is automatically understood.

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