Word
Veba şehirden şehre yayıldıkça şifa bulmak zorlaştı.
Meaning
As the plague spread from city to city, finding a cure became difficult.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Veba şehirden şehre yayıldıkça şifa bulmak zorlaştı.
şehir
city
bulmak
to find
yayılmak
to spread
zorlaşmak
to become difficult
Questions & Answers about Veba şehirden şehre yayıldıkça şifa bulmak zorlaştı.
Why does şehir change to şehre in the phrase şehirden şehre?
The phrase uses the structure you are currently learning: Noun + Ablative (-den) + same Noun + Dative (-e) to mean "from [noun] to [noun]". When the dative suffix -e is added to şehir, the word loses its second vowel. This is a common rule called vowel dropping that affects certain two-syllable nouns when a suffix starting with a vowel is attached.
What does the suffix -dıkça add to the verb in yayıldıkça?
The suffix -dıkça (or -dikçe) means "as" or "the more [something happens]". In this sentence, yayıldıkça translates to "as it spread", acting as a time clause that links the continuous, gradual spreading of the plague to the increasing difficulty of finding a cure.
Why do we use the verb yayılmak here instead of just yaymak for "to spread"?
Yaymak is a transitive verb, meaning someone spreads a direct object (like a person spreading butter, or spreading a rumor). Adding the -ıl suffix creates yayılmak, which is passive or reflexive. We use it here because the plague (the subject) is spreading on its own across the cities.
How is the verb zorlaştı formed to mean "became difficult"?