Arkadaşım kalem kullanıyor.

My friend is using a pen.

Breakdown of Arkadaşım kalem kullanıyor.

• benim: my
• arkadaş: the friend
• kalem: the pen
• kullanmak: to use

Questions & Answers about Arkadaşım kalem kullanıyor.

What does Arkadaşım mean, and how is it formed?

Arkadaşım means "my friend." The base word arkadaş means "friend," and the suffix -ım is a possessive ending that translates to "my." In Turkish, possessive information is often attached directly to the noun instead of using a separate word like "my."

How is the progressive aspect expressed in kullanıyor?

Kullanıyor is the present continuous (progressive) form of the verb kullanmak which means "to use." The suffix -ıyor is added to the verb stem to indicate that the action is ongoing. This construction implies "is using" in English. Note that vowel harmony causes the suffix to appear as -ıyor in this case.

What is the word order of the sentence, and how does it compare to English?

The sentence Arkadaşım kalem kullanıyor. follows a typical Turkish word order: Subject – Object – Verb. In this case, Arkadaşım (my friend) is the subject, kalem (pen) is the object, and kullanıyor (is using) is the verb. In English, we often use a Subject – Verb – Object order, so learners need to get accustomed to the different sequence found in Turkish.

Why is there no explicit article like "a" or "the" before kalem in the sentence?

Turkish does not use articles such as "a" or "the." In the sentence Arkadaşım kalem kullanıyor, kalem simply means "pen" without an article. The meaning (whether it’s a general pen or a specific one) is understood from context, so Turkish omits articles altogether.

How does the sentence indicate that the action is being performed by a third person singular subject?

The verb form kullanıyor is conjugated for the third person singular, which aligns with Arkadaşım (my friend). In Turkish, subject pronouns are often dropped because the verb conjugation already indicates the subject. Here, adding the possessive marker in arkadaşım makes it clear who is performing the action, even though there isn’t an additional pronoun.