Breakdown of Her ne kadar gözlerini kapatsa da yükseklikten fenalaştı.
ne
what
her
every
göz
eye
kapatmak
to turn off / to close
kadar
as ... as; until, up to
de
too, also (de/da) / even if (concessive particle after conditional) / and (linking clauses)
fenalaşmak
to feel unwell
yükseklik
height (inanimate objects, elevation)
Questions & Answers about Her ne kadar gözlerini kapatsa da yükseklikten fenalaştı.
Why do we use the ablative case in yükseklikten instead of a phrase like "because of"?
The ablative suffix -DAn (here as -ten) is frequently used to indicate a direct physical or emotional cause. While you could use a longer structure like yükseklik yüzünden (because of the height), attaching the ablative directly to the bare noun is a native, concise way to express that she got sick from or due to the height.
How does the her ne kadar ... -sa da structure work here?
The phrase her ne kadar translates to "even though" or "no matter how much." In Turkish grammar, it operates as a set structure that pairs with the conditional suffix (-sa / -se) and the particle da / de on the verb. In this sentence, that happens on kapatsa da, giving us the combined meaning "Even though she closed [her eyes]..."
How is the verb fenalaştı formed?
It comes from the adjective fena (bad). The suffix -laş is used to turn an adjective or noun into a verb that means "to become [adjective]." Therefore, fenalaşmak literally means "to become bad." When talking about a person's physical state, it means to suddenly feel unwell, sick, or faint.
Does the word gözlerini clearly mean "her eyes" in Turkish?
Not on its own. Out of context, gözlerini could be either göz-lerin-i (your eyes + accusative) or göz-leri-ni (his/her eyes + accusative). Turkish relies heavily on context to resolve these possessive ambiguities. Because the main verb fenalaştı is in the third person ("she felt unwell"), it naturally follows that she closed her own eyes.
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