Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Turkish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Ben arkadaşımı takip ediyorum.
Why does arkadaşımı end with -ımı instead of just arkadaş?
arkadaş means “friend.” Adding -ım gives arkadaşım (“my friend”). Because it’s a definite direct object, you then add the accusative suffix -ı. Vowel‐harmony rules pick -ı (matching the last vowel ı in arkadaşım), resulting in arkadaşımı (“my friend” in the object case).
What is the role of Ben in Ben arkadaşımı takip ediyorum? Do I always have to say it?
Ben is the pronoun “I.” Turkish verbs carry person and number endings, so takip ediyorum already means “I am following.” You can omit Ben unless you want to emphasize I (e.g. “It’s me who is following my friend”).
Why is the verb split as takip ediyorum instead of one word like takipediyorum?
Takip etmek is a compound verb: takip is a noun (“follow/track”), and etmek is a general “do” verb. When you make it continuous, you attach -iyor-um to etmek, giving ediyorum, so you keep takip + ediyorum.
Why does etmek become ediyorum rather than etiyorum?
When a vowel‐initial suffix (-iyor) attaches to the root et-, the t voices to d. So et- + -iyor → ediyor, then add -um (“I”) → ediyorum.
Turkish word order seems different. Why is it Ben (S) arkadaşımı (O) takip ediyorum (V)?
Standard Turkish word order is Subject‐Object‐Verb (SOV). You can shift elements for focus or style, but the neutral order places the verb last.
How would I say “I am following my friend on Instagram”?
Add the locative suffix -da to Instagram:
Instagram → Instagram’da (“on Instagram”)
Then: (Ben) arkadaşımı Instagram’da takip ediyorum.
What happens if I say arkadaşı takip ediyorum instead of arkadaşımı?
arkadaşı (friend-ACC) without a possessive marker means “the friend” or “someone’s friend.” You lose the “my” meaning. arkadaşımı takip ediyorum clearly says “I’m following my friend.”
Can takip etmek ever mean “stalk”?
Literally it’s “to follow/track.” In everyday contexts (e.g. social media) it means “to follow.” For criminal “stalking,” Turks more often use izlemek, peşinden gitmek or phrases like seni takibe aldım in slang. Always judge by context.