Learn Turkish: Nerede o eski dostluklar? Şimdi herkes daima birbirine küs. - Where are those old friendships? Now everyone is always estranged from each other.

Nerede o eski dostluklar? Şimdi herkes daima birbirine küs.

Where are those old friendships? Now everyone is always estranged from each other.

Breakdown of Nerede o eski dostluklar? Şimdi herkes daima birbirine küs.

Questions & Answers about Nerede o eski dostluklar? Şimdi herkes daima birbirine küs.

What's the nuance of using Nerede o eski... in this sentence?

This is a classic, formulaic expression in Turkish used to convey deep nostalgia. While it literally asks "Where are those old...", it functions more like "Whatever happened to the good old..." or "I miss the old..." You will frequently hear variants like Nerede o eski bayramlar? (Where are those old holidays?).

Why is the dative case used in birbirine küs?

The adjective küs means being offended, cross, or not on speaking terms with someone. In Turkish, the person you are offended by or estranged from takes the dative case (the -(y)e/-(y)a ending). Therefore, "estranged from each other" becomes birbirine küs (literally "cross to each other").

Is there a missing verb at the end of Şimdi herkes daima birbirine küs?

There is no missing verb, but rather an implied "to be" copula. Küs is an adjective acting as the predicate of the sentence. In the third person (referring to herkes), the "is/are" suffix (-tür or -dir) is frequently dropped in both spoken and written everyday Turkish.

Could we use the verb küsmek here instead, like birbirine küsüyor?