Ben ödeme yapıyorum.

I am making a payment.

Breakdown of Ben ödeme yapıyorum.

• ben: I
• yapmak: to make
• ödeme: the payment

Questions & Answers about Ben ödeme yapıyorum.

What does Ben mean here, and is it necessary?

Ben means “I” in Turkish and marks the subject “I.” Turkish is a pro-drop language, so you can usually omit the subject pronoun because the verb ending already tells you the person.
• With Ben: Ben ödeme yapıyorum (“I am making a payment,” with emphasis on “I”).
• Without Ben: Ödeme yapıyorum (“I’m making a payment,” neutral statement).

Why isn’t the accusative suffix -i attached to ödeme?

Türkçede, definite direct objects (specific entities) take the accusative suffix -i (or its harmony variants), but indefinite objects do not.
• Ödeme (“a payment,” indefinite) has no suffix.
• If you refer to a particular payment, you would say Ödemeyi yapıyorum (“I am making that payment”).

What is yapıyorum, and how is it formed?

Yapıyorum is the first-person singular present continuous form of yapmak (“to do/make”). It breaks down as follows:

1. Root: yap- (“do/make”)
2. Present continuous suffix: -ıyor (back-vowel form, explained in vowel harmony)
3. Personal ending: -um for “I”
   Putting it together: yap + ıyor + um = yapıyorum (“I am doing/making”).

Why say ödeme yapıyorum instead of simply ödemek or ödüyorum?

There are two common ways to say “to pay” in Turkish:

1. Ödemek → Ödüyorum (“I am paying”). This is direct and colloquial.
2. Ödeme (noun “payment”) + yapmak → Ödeme yapıyorum (“I am making a payment”). This construction is more formal or used in business/banking contexts (invoices, apps, etc.).

Can I drop Ben? When would I keep it?

Yes, you can drop Ben because yapıyorum already conveys “I am.”
• Drop for neutral statements: Ödeme yapıyorum.
• Keep for emphasis or contrast: Ben ödeme yapıyorum, o ne yapıyor? (“I am making the payment; what is he/she doing?”).

How does word order work in Ben ödeme yapıyorum?

Turkish follows a Subject–Object–Verb (SOV) order:

1. Subject (Ben)
2. Object (ödeme)
3. Verb (yapıyorum)
   That’s exactly the pattern in Ben ödeme yapıyorum.

Can you explain the vowel harmony in yapıyorum?

Turkish suffixes must harmonize with the stem’s last vowel.
• yap- ends in a, a back vowel.
• The present continuous suffix has four forms: -ıyor/-iyor/-uyor/-üyor. For back vowels like a, we use -ıyor.
• Then the personal ending -um (back vowel u) attaches: yap + ıyor + um = yapıyorum.

How do I make this sentence negative or turn it into a question?

Negative: insert the negative suffix -ma/-me before the continuous suffix:
• (Ben) ödeme yapmıyorum – “I am not making a payment.”

Question: add the question particle -mı/-mi/-mu/-mü (here -muyum because of harmony) after the verb, then raise intonation:
• (Ben) ödeme yapıyor muyum? – “Am I making a payment?”

How would I say “He/She is making a payment” instead of “I am making a payment”?

Change the personal ending from -um (I) to the zero ending for third-person singular:
• (O) ödeme yapıyor – “He/She is making a payment.”
You can omit O (“he/she/it”) altogether: Ödeme yapıyor still means “He/She is making a payment.”

How about “We are making payments” in the plural?

1. Subject “we”: Biz (optional).
2. Object “payments” (plural indefinite): ödemeler (no accusative suffix).
3. Verb “we are doing”: yapıyoruz (present continuous, first-person plural).
   Full sentence: (Biz) ödemeler yapıyoruz – “We are making payments.”