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Questions & Answers about Ben sabah gömleğimi ütüledim.
Why is ben included here? Do I always have to use it?
In Turkish the person is encoded in the verb ending. -m in ütüledim already means “I.” Adding ben is only for emphasis, contrast or clarity. You can drop it:
Sabah gömleğimi ütüledim.
What does sabah mean here, and why not sabahleyin?
Sabah is a noun meaning morning, used adverbially. You could also say sabahleyin, but sabah alone as a time adverb is more common in everyday speech.
Why is there no the or a before gömlek?
Turkish has no articles like the or a. Definiteness is shown with case endings. Here gömleğimi is definite (“my shirt”), so it gets the accusative -i.
What do the suffixes in gömleğimi represent?
Breakdown of gömleğimi:
• gömlek – “shirt”
• -im – 1st person singular possessive (“my”)
• -i – accusative case for a definite object (“the/my shirt”)
Why did gömlek change to gömleğ- (k→ğ)?
Turkish consonant mutation: after a vowel-initial suffix, final k becomes ğ. So gömlek + im → gömleğim.
What is the -le- in ütüledim?
ütü is the noun “iron” (or “ironing”). Adding -le- turns it into the verb “to iron.” This is a denominal verb-forming suffix.
What do -di- and -m in ütüledim signify?
• -di- – simple past tense marker (“did…”)
• -m – 1st person singular suffix (“I”)
Together ütüle-di-m means “I ironed.”
Can I change the word order in this sentence?
Yes. Turkish is agglutinative with flexible word order. You could say:
• Gömleğimi sabah ütüledim.
• Sabah ütüledim gömleğimi.
The core agreement and meaning stay the same; you only shift emphasis.