Sequencing: sonra, ayrıca, ondan sonra, üstelik

Once you can build single sentences, the next skill is stringing them into a coherent stretch of speech or writing: this happened, then that, and besides there's another point, and — what's more — something striking on top. Turkish does this textual organising with a small set of additive and sequencing connectives that sit between sentences rather than gluing words inside one. This page covers the everyday set: sonra / ondan sonra "then," ayrıca "besides / also," üstelik "moreover / what's more," öncelikle / ilk önce "first of all," and son olarak "finally." The key insight is that some of these are neutral list-builders while others carry attitude — so choosing between them is a stylistic decision, not a free swap.

A structural point first. The plain conjunction ve "and" joins items within a clause (kahve ve çay "coffee and tea"); see ve "and". The connectives here instead organise the flow of a text — they typically open a new sentence and tell the listener how it relates to the previous one. Using ve where a sequencing connective belongs is one of the surest signs of writing that has been assembled sentence-by-sentence rather than composed as a whole. For the family these belong to, see the discourse markers overview.

sonra and ondan sonra — "then, after that"

Sonra "then, afterwards" is the workhorse of temporal sequencing. It reports the order in which things happen and is completely neutral. Ondan sonra "after that" is its slightly heavier cousin, useful when you want to explicitly tie the next event back to the previous one ("after that"). Both are (informal) to neutral and appear constantly in narration.

Note that sonra is doing discourse work here ("the next thing that happened"), distinct from the postposition sonra "after" that takes an ablative complement (yemekten sonra "after the meal"). When sonra opens a clause and simply means "and then," it is a sequencing connective.

öncelikle, ilk önce — "first of all"

To open a list or an argument, Turkish uses öncelikle "first of all, primarily" (a touch more formal) or ilk önce / önce "first" (more conversational). These set up an ordered series the listener can then follow.

Öncelikle leans (formal) — it is the natural opener for a speech, an email, or a structured argument — while ilk önce and bare önce are everyday speech.

son olarak — "finally, lastly"

To close a series, son olarak "lastly, as a final point" signals the listener that the last item is coming. Sonunda exists too but means "in the end / at last" (an outcome after waiting), so keep them apart: son olarak closes a list, sonunda reports a long-awaited result.

ayrıca — neutral "besides, also"

Ayrıca "besides, in addition, also" adds a further, separate point to what you've just said. It is the neutral additive: it tells the listener "here is another item," without any claim that this item is more striking or more damning than the last. It works in both speech and writing.

üstelik — "moreover, what's more" (with attitude)

Here is the connective worth real attention. Üstelik also means "moreover," but it is not interchangeable with ayrıca. Üstelik adds a stronger, often surprising or clinching point — "and on top of all that." It signals that the new item piles onto the previous ones in a way the listener might not have expected, frequently to intensify a complaint, an enthusiasm, or an irony. Where ayrıca says "and also," üstelik says "and — what's more — even this."

In üstelik bedava the speaker isn't just adding a fact; she's flagging it as the delightful, unexpected cherry on top. In üstelik özür bile dilemedi the üstelik sharpens the grievance: not only was he late, but — adding insult to injury — no apology. That extra charge is exactly what ayrıca lacks. Swap them and the sentence still parses, but the attitude drains away.

Why not just use ve?

English speakers reach for ve "and" to join everything, because English "and" stretches from joining nouns to chaining whole narratives ("I came and I saw and I conquered"). Turkish ve is narrower: it is comfortable joining items inside a clause but feels flat and clumsy when asked to carry the logical flow between sentences. Where English piles on "and… and… and," fluent Turkish reaches for sonra, ayrıca, üstelik, ondan sonra — each naming the relation between the steps. The result is prose that guides the reader, rather than a string of clauses bolted together. This is also why the contrastive and causal connectives matter: see contrast: ama, ise, oysa, halbuki and cause and result connectives for the other two big jobs sentence-linkers do.

Putting them in order

A well-structured stretch often uses several of these together, framing a series from first to last:

Notice the build in that second example: two neutral pluses with ayrıca, then a final, clinching plus with üstelik — the structure itself stages a crescendo.

Common mistakes

For textual sequencing, use sonra / ondan sonra, not a chain of ve. Ve joins items inside a clause; it doesn't carry "and then" narrative flow gracefully.

When the added point is surprising or clinching, reach for üstelik, not neutral ayrıca.

Son olarak = "lastly" (last item in a list). Sonunda = "finally / at last" (the result after waiting). Don't confuse them.

Üstelik and ayrıca add to something already said; they can't open a text. Open with öncelikle / ilk önce.

Key takeaways

• sonra / ondan sonra sequence events ("then, after that"); they carry the "and then" flow that ve handles poorly.
• öncelikle / ilk önce open a series ("first of all"); son olarak closes it ("lastly") — distinct from sonunda "finally / at last" (a result).
• ayrıca is the neutral additive ("besides, also"); üstelik adds a stronger, surprising, clinching point ("and on top of that"), carrying attitude.
• Don't lean on ve for textual flow — name the relation (sequence / addition / result) and your Turkish reads as composed, not listed.
• These connectives organise whole sentences; ve joins items inside a clause.