Breakdown of Ormanda çok yağmur yağdı, az kalsın heyelan meydana geliyordu.
çok
a lot of / many
yağmur
rain
yağmak
to rain / to snow
orman
forest
Questions & Answers about Ormanda çok yağmur yağdı, az kalsın heyelan meydana geliyordu.
Why does geliyordu use the past continuous tense (-yordu) if the landslide didn't actually happen?
In Turkish, to express that something almost happened but was narrowly avoided, you use phrases like az kalsın or neredeyse combined with the past continuous tense (-yordu). Even though English uses the simple past ("almost happened"), Turkish pictures the event as being in the process of happening right before it was averted.
Could I use neredeyse instead of az kalsın in this sentence?
Yes, they are completely interchangeable in this context. Az kalsın (literally "let little remain") and neredeyse (literally "at where is it") both mean "almost." When paired with the -yordu tense, both express that an action came dangerously close to taking place.
What does meydana gelmek mean literally, and why is it used for a landslide?
Meydan means "square" or "open space", so meydana gelmek literally translates to "to come into the open space." It is a very common compound verb meaning "to occur" or "to happen," and it is the standard verb of choice for natural events, disasters, and accidents like a landslide (heyelan).
Why does the sentence say yağmur yağdı? Doesn't yağdı already mean "it rained"?