Question 1

Why is there no word for "is" in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

In Turkish, there is no direct translation for the "to be" verb (am/is/are). Simply placing the subject (bu para) before the adjective and its negative (yeterli değil) creates the meaning "is not sufficient."

Question 2

Why use değil here instead of yok to say "not"?

Accepted Answer

Değil is used to negate nouns and adjectives, meaning "is not" (like "not sufficient" here). Yok means "there is not" or "does not exist." If you wanted to say "There is no money," you would use yok, but to describe the money as not sufficient, you must use değil.

Question 3

I have seen yeter used for "enough." What is the difference between yeter and yeterli?

Accepted Answer

Yeter on its own means "Enough!" or "It is enough." By adding the -li suffix, we create the proper adjective yeterli, which means "sufficient." Using yeterli değil is the standard way to describe a noun as "not sufficient."

Question 4

Can I change the word order and put para at the end?

Accepted Answer

No, because bu para (this money) is the subject of the sentence and functions as a single unit. In Turkish, the subject usually comes first, followed by the description, and the negation word (değil) must always come at the very end of this type of sentence.

Bu para yeterli değil.

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