Breakdown of Kar yağmakla kalmayıp trafiği felç etti.
kalmak
to stay / to be left / to remain (in a state)
yağmak
to rain / to snow
trafik
traffic
kar
snow
felç etmek
to paralyze
Questions & Answers about Kar yağmakla kalmayıp trafiği felç etti.
How does yağmakla kalmayıp translate to "didn't just snow"?
This is a fixed structure meaning "not only X, but also Y". It combines the infinitive yağmak (to snow), the instrumental ending -la (with), and the negative converb kalmayıp (not staying/stopping). Literally, it translates to "not stopping with the snowing".
Why do we use the -la (with) ending here instead of another case?
The verb kalmak (to stay/remain) pairs with the instrumental case (-lA or ile) to form the idiom "to stop at" or "to settle for". So, yağmakla kalmak literally means "to stop at snowing".
Why does the first verb end in -(y)ıp (kalmayıp) instead of a past tense like kalmadı?
The suffix -(y)ıp acts as a linking word meaning "and". It connects two verbs in a sequence so that only the final verb in the sentence (etti) needs to be conjugated for tense and person. Here, kalmayıp means "did not stay AND", seamlessly linking it to the next action.
Why does trafik change to trafiği in this sentence?
Trafik is the specific direct object of the verb felç etti (paralyzed), so it takes the accusative case ending -i. When adding a vowel suffix to a word ending in k, the k softens to a ğ (consonant mutation).
How does the phrase felç etti work?
Felç is a noun meaning "paralysis". Turkish frequently uses the helper verb etmek (to do/make) with nouns to turn them into verbs. Therefore, felç etmek literally means "to do paralysis" or "to make paralyzed".
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