önce and sonra are how Turkish says "before" and "after" in time — and also "ago" and "later". They're among the first time words you'll need, because almost any plan or story uses them: "two hours later", "before the meeting", "after I eat". The thing to master is that the complement type changes with the meaning. A bare duration ("two hours later") takes a bare noun; a reference event ("after the meal") takes the ablative; a whole action ("before I leave") takes a converb on the verb. Same two words, three patterns — match the complement to what you mean.
Pattern 1: bare time noun = "ago / later"
When you measure a length of time forward or back from now, the time expression stays bare — no case ending — and önce means "ago", sonra means "later / in".
İki saat sonra görüşürüz.
See you in two hours.
Bir hafta önce İzmir'deydim.
A week ago I was in Izmir.
Beş dakika sonra çıkıyoruz.
We're leaving in five minutes.
Üç yıl önce evlendiler.
They got married three years ago.
Two very common frozen adverbs live here: az sonra "shortly / in a moment" and biraz önce "a moment ago / just now". Learn them whole.
Az sonra haberler başlıyor.
The news starts in a moment.
Biraz önce buradaydı, nereye gitti?
She was here just now — where did she go?
For building these durations you'll lean on numbers and clock words — see telling the time and time adverbs.
iki saat sonra (in two hours), bir hafta önce (a week ago). Never *iki saatten sonra for "in two hours".Pattern 2: ablative + önce / sonra = "before / after an event"
When the complement is a reference point — a named event or moment you measure relative to — it takes the ablative -DAn: "after the meal" is yemekten sonra, "before the lesson" is dersten önce.
Dersten sonra bir kahve içelim.
Let's have a coffee after the lesson.
Maçtan önce ısınma yaptılar.
They warmed up before the match.
Senden önce kimse gelmemişti.
Nobody had come before you.
Remember the ablative hardens after voiceless consonants: dersten, yemekten, maçtan — not *dersden. This whole family (ablative-governing önce, sonra, beri, dolayı) is laid out on ablative postpositions.
The contrast with Pattern 1 is the crux: üç ders sonra means "three lessons later" (bare = counting lessons as a duration), but dersten sonra means "after the lesson" (ablative = one specific lesson as a reference point). The case ending is doing real work.
Toplantıdan sonra, yani bir saat sonra, ararım.
After the meeting — that is, in an hour — I'll call.
Pattern 3: converb + önce / sonra = "before / after I do something"
To say "before/after someone does something" — a whole verbal action, not a noun — you attach a converb to the verb:
- -mAdAn önce = "before (doing)":
gitmeden önce"before going",yemeden önce"before eating". - -DIktAn sonra = "after (doing)":
yedikten sonra"after eating",gittikten sonra"after going". This is the participle-DIKplus the ablative-tAnplussonra, so the ablative hardening shows up here too (gittikten,kalktıktan).
Kalkmadan önce telefonuma bakıyorum.
Before getting up, I check my phone.
Yemek yedikten sonra hemen uyudu.
After eating, he fell asleep right away.
Eve gitmeden önce markete uğrayalım.
Before going home, let's stop by the supermarket.
İşi bitirdikten sonra rahat bir nefes aldım.
After finishing the work, I breathed a sigh of relief.
The subject of the converb is usually the same as the main clause's, but it doesn't have to be — sen gittikten sonra "after you left" is fine. The -mAdAn form is the negative-looking converb (gitme-den) that nonetheless means a plain "before"; for its mechanics and its other uses ("without doing"), see the -mAdAn converb.
iki saat sonra); event noun → ablative (yemekten sonra); a whole action → converb (yedikten sonra, gitmeden önce).önce and sonra as standalone adverbs
Both words also stand alone as adverbs meaning "first / earlier" (önce) and "then / afterwards / later" (sonra), sequencing events without any complement.
Önce ödevini bitir, sonra oyun oyna.
First finish your homework, then play games.
Önce ben gireyim, sen sonra gel.
Let me go in first, you come afterwards.
This is the everyday "first… then…" of giving directions or telling a story, and it's the same önce/sonra simply used without a noun in front.
Common mistakes
Using the ablative for an "ago / later" duration. "In two hours" is the bare iki saat sonra, not *iki saatten sonra.
❌ İki saatten sonra geleceğim.
Incorrect — a duration takes a bare noun: iki saat sonra.
✅ İki saat sonra geleceğim.
I'll come in two hours.
Leaving an event-reference noun bare. "After the meal" needs the ablative: yemekten sonra.
❌ Yemek sonra tabakları yıkadım.
Incorrect — an event reference takes the ablative: yemekten.
✅ Yemekten sonra tabakları yıkadım.
I washed the dishes after the meal.
Forgetting the ablative hardening in -DIktAn sonra. It's gittikten sonra, not *gittikden sonra.
❌ Eve gittikden sonra seni aradım.
Incorrect — the ablative hardens after voiceless k: gittikten.
✅ Eve gittikten sonra seni aradım.
After going home, I called you.
Using a finite verb where a converb is needed. "Before I go" is gitmeden önce, not a full conjugated clause plus önce.
❌ Giderim önce seni ararım.
Incorrect — 'before going' needs the converb: gitmeden önce.
✅ Gitmeden önce seni ararım.
Before I go, I'll call you.
Key takeaways
- önce = "before / ago"; sonra = "after / later". The complement type changes with the meaning.
- Duration ("ago / later") → bare time noun:
iki saat sonra,bir hafta önce, plus frozenaz sonra,biraz önce. - Event reference ("before/after X") → ablative:
yemekten sonra,dersten önce(with hardening:maçtan). - A whole action ("before/after I do") → converb:
-mAdAn önce(gitmeden önce) and-DIktAn sonra(yedikten sonra). - Standalone,
önce/sonramean "first… then…" for sequencing.
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Start learning Turkish→Related Topics
- Ablative Postpositions: önce, sonra, beri, dolayıB1 — önce, sonra, beri and dolayı take the ablative -DAn (dersten sonra, sabahtan beri) — but önce/sonra switch to a bare time noun for durations (üç gün önce 'three days ago').
- The Converb -mAdAn ('without / before')B2 — How one negative-looking converb covers both 'without doing' and, with önce, 'before doing' — so even a positive 'before' uses -mAdAn.
- Telling the TimeA2 — How to tell the clock in Turkish — whole hours (Saat üç), 'at three' (Saat üçte), and the case contrast that drives minutes: accusative + geçiyor for 'past' (üçü beş geçiyor) versus dative + var for 'to' (üçe beş var).
- Time AdverbsA2 — Turkish time adverbs — şimdi, sonra, dün/bugün/yarın, her zaman — and the aspectual trio artık, daha/henüz, hâlâ that English splits across several words.