Ben çoraplarımı çekmeceye koyuyorum.

Ben çoraplarımı çekmeceye koyuyorum.
I am putting my socks in the drawer.

Breakdown of Ben çoraplarımı çekmeceye koyuyorum.

ben
I
benim
my
koymak
to put
-ye
to
çekmece
the drawer
çorap
the sock
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Questions & Answers about Ben çoraplarımı çekmeceye koyuyorum.

What are the suffixes on çoraplarımı, and what does each one indicate?

çoraplarımı breaks down as:

  • çorap = sock
  • -lar = plural marker (“socks”)
  • -ım = 1st person singular possessive (“my”)
  • -ı = definite direct-object (accusative) marker

So çorap + lar + ım + ı literally means “my (specific) socks” as the object of the verb.

Why is the accusative suffix -ı used on çoraplarımı, and when do we mark objects with the accusative in Turkish?

In Turkish, you add the accusative (–ı/–i/–u/–ü) to a direct object when it is definite or specific—here it’s “my socks,” a known set. If the object were indefinite or general, you’d leave off the –ı.
Examples:
• Definite: Çoraplarımı çekmeceye koyuyorum. (I’m putting my socks in the drawer.)
• Indefinite: Çorap çekmeceye koyuyorum. (I’m putting a sock in the drawer.)

How is the dative suffix in çekmeceye formed, and why is there a y before -e?

The dative (to/into) suffix is –(y)a/–(y)e, chosen by two-way vowel harmony:

  • çekmece ends in front vowel e, so we use -e
  • Because “çekmece” also ends in a vowel, Turkish inserts a buffer y before a vowel-initial suffix.
    Result: çekmece + y + e = çekmeceye (“into/to the drawer”).
How is the present-continuous form koyuyorum built, and why does it contain both u and y?

Start with the verb stem koy- (to put), then add:

  1. –u (vowel for back-vowel harmony; stem o → construction vowel u)
  2. –yor (present-continuous suffix; harmonized as –uyor)
  3. –um (1st person singular ending “I”)

Putting it together: koy + u + yor + um → koyuyorum (“I am putting”). The y is a buffer so two vowels don’t clash (stem ends in vowel, suffix begins with vowel).

Why is the subject pronoun Ben optional in Turkish, and when would you include it?

Turkish verb endings already encode person and number. -um in koyuyorum tells you “I.”
• You can drop Ben for a more natural sentence: Çoraplarımı çekmeceye koyuyorum.
• Include Ben only for emphasis or contrast: Ben çoraplarımı çekmeceye koyuyorum, o ise ütülüyor.

What is the typical word order in this sentence, and how does it differ from English?

Turkish is Subject-Object-Verb (SOV).
Here:
• Subject: Ben (I)
• Object: çoraplarımı (my socks)
• Dative/location: çekmeceye (into the drawer)
• Verb: koyuyorum (am putting)

English is SVO (“I am putting my socks into the drawer”), so the verb comes earlier.

How do you pronounce the Turkish letter ç, as in çoraplarımı and çekmeceye?

ç is always like the “ch” in English church—a voiceless postalveolar affricate.
So:
• çoraplarımı ≈ “chorap-lar-uh-muh”
• çekmeceye ≈ “chek-me-je-ye”

When should you use koyuyorum (present continuous) instead of koyarım (aorist/simple present)?

• koyuyorum denotes an action happening right now or around the present moment: “I’m putting…”
• koyarım (aorist) describes a habitual or general action: “I (regularly) put…”

Example:

  • Right now: Şu anda çoraplarımı çekmeceye koyuyorum.
  • Habitually: Her akşam çoraplarımı çekmeceye koyarım.