1At a glance
Ask what you’re naming. A day or a time of day goes as it is: cuma, sabah. A month takes -da: mayısta. Something that happens goes into “from”, then sonra or önce: dersten sonra. And a length of time takes no ending again: üç gün sonra.
A day, a time of day cuma
- What you name
- a day of the week, sabah, akşam, gece, bugün, yarın
- How it’s built
- as it is, with no ending
- Example
- Çarşamba evde değilim — I’m not home on Wednesday
- Its quirk
- sabah is both “morning” and “in the morning”: one word, two jobs
A month mayısta
- What you name
- a month
- How it’s built
- -da straight on, no apostrophe, with Fıstıkçı Şahap on duty: ocakta, nisanda
- Example
- Temmuzda İzmir çok sıcak — İzmir’s baking hot in July
- Its quirk
- a small letter; a capital and an apostrophe only with a date: 5 Mayıs’ta — on the fifth of May
Before or after something dersten sonra
- What you name
- something that happens, or a person: the lesson, the meal, ben
- How it’s built
- the word in “from”, then sonra or önce
- Example
- Dersten sonra pazara gidiyoruz — after the lesson we’re off to the market
- Its quirk
- a person too: benden sonra — after me, senden önce — before you
In, and ago üç gün sonra
- What you name
- a length of time: dakika, saat, gün, hafta, ay, yıl
- How it’s built
- the number and the word, no ending, then sonra or önce
- Example
- İki hafta sonra Ankara’dayız — in two weeks we’re in Ankara
- Its quirk
- here sonra means “in” and önce means “ago”: iki yıl önce — two years ago
2The key points
- Ne zaman?, “when?”, is answered by all four, often in a word or two: cuma, mayısta, dersten sonra, on dakika sonra.
- With any of them, -yor talks about what’s coming too: Cumartesi geliyorum is “I’m coming on Saturday”. For plans, that’s all you need.
- After a number and after her, “every”, the word stays singular: üç gün, her gün, her cuma. Her always goes first.
- Önce and sonra come after the word, never before it: dersten sonra, iki gün önce. And on their own they mean “first” and “then”: Önce kahvaltı, sonra pazar!
3How it works
The days of the week. Two of them are built from their neighbour and ertesi, “the day after”: pazar + ertesi is Monday, cuma + ertesi is Saturday.
The months. Each one’s ending follows Fıstıkçı Şahap and harmony, as any word’s does, with no apostrophe.
The seasons: kış, yaz and two “springs” — ilkbahar, the “first”, and sonbahar, the “last” one, which is autumn.
How often, from “always” down to “never”: her zaman, genellikle, sık sık, bazen. “Never” is hiç, and it needs a verb with the negative.
The two ways with sonra and önce stack: first the “from what”, then how long.
Two time words in a row go bigger first, just as in English: yarın sabah, “tomorrow morning”, her yıl ağustosta. And her takes any of them: her sabah, her cuma.
4In real life
5Where it’s easy to slip
| Not like this | Like this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| cumada | cuma | “On Friday” takes no ending. |
| ocakda | ocakta | After a voiceless k, t. |
| Mayıs’ta | mayısta | No date: small letter, no apostrophe. |
| ders sonra | dersten sonra | Before sonra, “from”. |
| üç günler sonra | üç gün sonra | No -lar after a number. |
| her günler | her gün | Her takes the singular. |
| on dakika önce | on dakika sonra | “In ten minutes” is sonra. |
6Check yourself
Four questions, each with two or three rules at once: which ending, sonra or önce, what goes where. Every wrong answer slips on exactly one.
1“In two weeks, in May, we’ll be in İzmir.” Which is right throughout?
2Can always turns up five minutes before the lesson. Fill the gap.
Can her zaman ? geliyor.
3“Every Monday I’m at the office, and on Friday I’m at home.” Which is right throughout?
4You tell your neighbour: “We arrive on the fifth of April and leave three days later.” Which is right throughout?