Learn Turkish: Balıkları kızarttığını anladık. Şöyle ki, mutfak çok kokuyor. - We understood that he fried the fish. Here is why: the kitchen smells a lot.

Şöyle ki is used to elaborate on or explain the previous statement, often translating to "namely," "that is to say," or "here is why." While çünkü simply means "because" and connects a direct cause, şöyle ki sets up the next sentence as an explanatory breakdown or evidence for the claim you just made.

Could we use Yani instead of Şöyle ki in this sentence?

Yes, but it changes the nuance slightly. Yani means "I mean" or "so," and often summarizes or restates something. Şöyle ki is a bit more structured—it acts almost like a spoken colon (:) announcing that a detailed explanation or evidence is about to follow.

How do we break down the word kızarttığını to mean "that he fried"?

It uses the object participle -dık (which softens to -tığ here). It breaks down as: kızart (fry) + tığ (the fact that) + ı (his) + n (buffer) + ı (accusative case, because the whole phrase is the direct object of anladık). Together, it means "the fact that he fried" (literally "his having fried").

Why is balıkları plural and in the accusative case here?