Questions & Answers about Şehir yaşamı pahalı.
Since we are learning the '-sAl' / '-sEl' suffix, why don't we use a relational adjective like şehirsel yaşam here?
While the -sAl / -sEl suffix turns nouns into adjectives, the word şehirsel is practically never used. Instead, Turkish expresses 'city life' using a noun compound: şehir yaşamı. If you really wanted to use a relational adjective, you would use a synonym with a different root: kentsel yaşam (urban life).
Why is there an -ı at the end of yaşamı?
This is the noun compound suffix. Because şehir (city) and yaşam (life) are both nouns, they must be linked to form 'city life.' In Turkish, English speakers often forget that you cannot just put two bare nouns next to each other. The second noun in this type of indefinite compound always takes a possessive suffix, turning yaşam into yaşamı.
Could I say şehir hayatı instead of şehir yaşamı?
Yes, absolutely. Hayat (Arabic origin) and yaşam (Turkic origin) both mean 'life' and are completely interchangeable in this context. Şehir hayatı is very common and sounds perfectly natural.
Why isn't there a suffix like -dır at the end of pahalı to mean 'is'?
In everyday conversational Turkish, the present tense 'is' is often implied without any suffix. While you could perfectly well say Şehir yaşamı pahalıdır, adding -dır makes it sound slightly more formal, like an encyclopedic fact or a firm generalization, rather than a casual, everyday observation.
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