Puanlama bugün değişti.

Puanlama is a noun meaning scoring, grading, or the scoring system, depending on context.

It comes from:

• puan = point, score
• puanla- = to score, to assign points
• -ma = a noun-forming ending

So puanlama is not a verb in this sentence. It is the subject: the scoring / the grading system.

Because değişmek means to change in the sense of to undergo change, not to change something.

So:

• değişti = it changed
• değiştirildi = it was changed

That is an important distinction in Turkish:

• değişmek = to change
• değiştirmek = to change something

So Puanlama bugün değişti means the scoring system changed, not necessarily that someone explicitly changed it in the grammar of the sentence.

Değişti is in the simple past tense.

Breakdown:

• değiş- = change
• -ti = past tense ending

So it means changed or has changed, depending on English context.

In this sentence, the natural English meaning is usually just changed today.

Turkish often leaves out pronouns when they are understood from context.

Here, the subject is already stated as puanlama, so there is no need for a separate word meaning it.

The structure is simply:

• Puanlama = the scoring / scoring system
• bugün = today
• değişti = changed

Turkish does this very naturally, much more often than English.

Turkish word order is flexible, but the neutral or common order is often:

Subject + time expression + verb

So:

• Puanlama = subject
• bugün = time expression
• değişti = verb

That makes Puanlama bugün değişti sound very natural.

You could also hear:

• Bugün puanlama değişti.

This also works, but it may place a little more focus on today.

In Turkish, there is no separate word exactly equivalent to English the in most cases.

So puanlama can mean:

• scoring
• the scoring
• the scoring system
• grading
• the grading system

The exact English choice depends on context.

Turkish often leaves definiteness to context, while English usually has to choose between a/an, the, or no article.

Not normally.

Puanlama refers to the scoring/grading process or system, not the individual scores themselves.

If you want to say The scores changed today, you would more likely use:

• Puanlar bugün değişti.

So:

• puanlama = scoring / grading / scoring system
• puanlar = scores / points

In this sentence, bugün most naturally means today.

In some contexts, bugün can also mean something like these days or now, but here the simple time meaning today is the straightforward one.

So learners should read this sentence as referring to something that changed on this day.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• Puanlama ≈ poo-ahn-lah-ma
• bugün ≈ boo-GUEN
• değişti ≈ deh-EESH-tee

A few pronunciation notes:

• ğ usually does not sound like a strong consonant in modern Turkish. It often lengthens or smooths the vowel before it.
• ş sounds like sh in shoe.
• ü is like the French u or German ü, a front rounded vowel not found in standard English.

Because Turkish is typically a verb-final language.

A very common Turkish sentence pattern is:

Subject + other information + verb

So:

• Puanlama = subject
• bugün = time information
• değişti = verb

This is one of the biggest differences from English word order, and it is completely normal in Turkish.

Yes, that is possible.

Turkish allows some flexibility in word order, and moving elements can change emphasis.

Compare:

• Puanlama bugün değişti. = neutral, natural
• Puanlama değişti bugün. = still understandable, but may sound more marked or conversational, with today added almost as an emphasis
• Bugün puanlama değişti. = stronger focus on today

For a learner, Puanlama bugün değişti is the safest and most neutral version.

You would need a different tense or aspect.

Değişti is past: changed.

If you want a present/progressive idea such as is changing, Turkish would usually use forms like:

• Puanlama bugün değişiyor. = The scoring is changing today.

So compare:

• değişti = changed
• değişiyor = is changing

That difference is very useful to notice.

Yes, absolutely.

Turkish often expresses ideas very compactly. This sentence has everything needed:

• a subject: puanlama
• a time expression: bugün
• a finite verb: değişti

So it is a fully complete and natural sentence in Turkish.