Learn Turkish: Alevler büyümekle kalmayıp bütün ormanı yaktı. - The flames didn't just grow, they burned the whole forest.

This structure is the focus of this lesson: infinitive + -lA + kalmayıp. It literally means "not remaining with [action]." Here, büyümekle (with growing) is followed by kalmayıp (not staying/remaining), so it essentially means the flames "didn't stop at growing" or "didn't just grow."

What is the -ıp suffix doing at the end of kalmayıp?

The -(y)ıp suffix is a linking converb that acts like "and." It connects two verbs in a sequence, adopting the tense and person from the main verb at the end of the sentence (yaktı). Instead of saying kalmadı ve yaktı (didn't stay and burned), using kalmayıp combines the actions smoothly into a single connected thought.

Why use yaktı here instead of yandı for "burned"?

Turkish makes a strict distinction between a subject burning itself (intransitive) and a subject burning something else (transitive). Yanmak means to catch fire or be on fire (e.g., orman yandı = the forest burned). Yakmak means to set something on fire. Since the flames (the subject) burned the forest (the direct object), we must use the transitive verb yaktı.

Why does orman (forest) have the accusative marker -ı?