Learn Turkish: O kadar yüksek sesle sayıklıyordu ki aniden uyandım. - He was talking in his sleep so loudly that I woke up suddenly.

O kadar yüksek sesle sayıklıyordu ki aniden uyandım.

He was talking in his sleep so loudly that I woke up suddenly.

Breakdown of O kadar yüksek sesle sayıklıyordu ki aniden uyandım.

with / by / and (linking nouns)

Questions & Answers about O kadar yüksek sesle sayıklıyordu ki aniden uyandım.

How exactly does the o kadar ... ki structure work in this sentence?

O kadar (so/to that extent) modifies the adverb phrase yüksek sesle (loudly), and ki (that) acts as a bridge to the result clause. Together, they create the degree and consequence: 'so loudly that...'. Notice how ki comes right after the fully conjugated verb of the first clause (sayıklıyordu).

Why is sesle used here to translate 'loudly'?

In Turkish, doing something 'loudly' is usually expressed as doing it 'with a loud voice.' Yüksek means high or loud, and sesle is ses (voice/sound) combined with the instrumental suffix -(y)le (with). So, yüksek sesle literally means 'with a loud voice.'

Why is sayıklıyordu in the past continuous tense while uyandım is in the simple past?

This contrasts an ongoing background action with a sudden event. Sayıklıyordu (was talking in his sleep) uses the past continuous suffix -yordu to show the action was in progress. Uyandım (I woke up) uses the simple past suffix -dı because it was a quick, completed action that interrupted the ongoing noise.

Is it normal to change subjects halfway through a ki sentence like this?