Breakdown of Badanayı savsakladığı yetmiyormuş gibi, duvarların yanı sıra parkeleri de batırdı.
duvar
wall
gibi
like (similar to)
de
too, also (de/da) / even if (concessive particle after conditional) / and (linking clauses)
parke
parquet / hardwood floor
yanı sıra
along with / besides (in addition to)
yetmek
to suffice, be enough
badana
whitewash / paint
savsaklamak
to slack off / to shirk (to neglect a task)
batırmak
to mess up / to ruin (a situation or business)
Questions & Answers about Badanayı savsakladığı yetmiyormuş gibi, duvarların yanı sıra parkeleri de batırdı.
How does the grammar in savsakladığı yetmiyormuş gibi work to create the meaning 'as if it weren't enough that he slacked off'?
The verb savsaklamak (to slack off or neglect) takes the -dık participle and the 3rd person singular possessive -ı to form the noun phrase savsakladığı (his slacking off). This is followed by the fixed phrase yetmiyormuş gibi, which combines yetmek (to suffice), the negative -mi, the continuous -yor, the evidential -muş, and gibi (like/as if). Literally, it translates to 'As if his slacking off is apparently not sufficing.'
Why is yetmiyormuş used here with continuous and evidential suffixes (-yormuş) when the main action (batırdı) happened in the definite past?
In this specific 'compounded grievance' structure, yetmiyormuş gibi (and its alternative yetmezmiş gibi) acts as a fixed rhetorical idiom. The use of the evidential -muş adds a sarcastic 'as if it supposedly wasn't enough' tone. Even though the actual events happened in the definite past (batırdı), this fixed clause doesn't need to match the main verb's tense.
How does the phrase duvarların yanı sıra work?
yanı sıra is a compound postposition meaning 'along with', 'besides', or 'in addition to'. It always requires the preceding noun to take the genitive case. That is why duvarlar (walls) takes the genitive suffix -ın, literally meaning 'along the side of the walls'.
Doesn't the verb batırmak normally mean 'to sink'? How does it translate to 'ruined' in this sentence?
While batırmak is indeed the causative form of batmak (to sink), it is used very frequently in everyday colloquial Turkish to mean 'to make a total mess of', 'to stain heavily', or 'to physically ruin' something. In this context, it means he got paint all over the floors and made a huge mess.
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