Learn Turkish: İyi ki mola verdik, neredeyse kramp giriyordu. - Good thing we took a break, I almost got a cramp.

This is how Turkish expresses an averted action. By combining neredeyse (almost) with the past continuous suffix -yordu, you show that an action was right on the verge of happening, but didn't. While English says 'almost happened,' Turkish literally expresses 'was almost happening.'

What is the literal meaning of kramp giriyordu, and why aren't we using a verb like 'to get'?

The Turkish collocation for 'getting a cramp' is kramp girmek, which literally translates to 'a cramp entering.' Turkish pairs certain nouns with specific verbs, and for cramps, the verb is always girmek.

The translation says 'I almost got a cramp,' but giriyordu is third-person singular ('it was entering'). Where is the 'I'?

In the phrase kramp girmek, the 'cramp' itself is the grammatical subject. To specify who gets it, you use the dative pronoun, like bana kramp giriyordu (literally, 'a cramp was entering to me'). Here, bana is omitted because the context makes it obvious who is suffering.

How does iyi ki work in this sentence?

İyi ki is a fixed expression meaning 'fortunately' or 'it is a good thing that.' You simply place it directly in front of a standard sentence. Even though it contains the conjunction ki, it doesn't force a complex clause structure here; it just modifies mola verdik (we took a break).