Breakdown of Sıva ve badanayı üstünkörü yaptıkları yetmiyormuş gibi, çatı da akıyor.
ve
and
yapmak
to do / to make
çatı
roof
gibi
like (similar to)
Questions & Answers about Sıva ve badanayı üstünkörü yaptıkları yetmiyormuş gibi, çatı da akıyor.
How does the grammar behind yaptıkları yetmiyormuş gibi work to mean "as if it weren't enough that they did"?
This is the core structure of this lesson. It combines the verb yapmak (to do) with the participle -dık and the third-person plural possessive -ları to make yaptıkları (their doing). This is followed by yetmiyormuş gibi, which literally means "as if it is supposedly not enough" (yetmek = to suffice). Together, it sets up the grievance: "as if their doing [it] weren't enough."
Why is the accusative ending -yı only on badanayı and not on sıva?
When you have a list of nouns joined by ve (and) that all act as the definite direct object, Turkish usually only attaches the accusative case marker to the very last noun in the list. Here, both sıva (plaster) and badana (whitewash) are the direct objects of yaptıkları, but only the last one gets the -yı.
Is üstünkörü a compound word, and how exactly is it used here?
Yes, it is a compound combining üst (top/surface) and kör (blind). As an adverb, it means doing something superficially, carelessly, or just going through the motions without paying proper attention to detail, which perfectly describes the shoddy plastering job here.
I thought akmak meant "to flow". Why is it translated as "leaking" here?