Ben sana bir tavsiye veriyorum.

I am giving you a piece of advice.

Breakdown of Ben sana bir tavsiye veriyorum.

• bir: a
• ben: I
• sen: you
• vermek: to give
• -a: to
• tavsiye: the advice

Questions & Answers about Ben sana bir tavsiye veriyorum.

Why is ben included in Ben sana bir tavsiye veriyorum? Is it mandatory to include the subject pronoun?

In Turkish, the verb ending -yorum in veriyorum already tells you the subject is I. Including ben is not mandatory; it adds emphasis or clarity. Omit ben to sound more neutral: Sana bir tavsiye veriyorum.

What does sana mean, and why is sen changed to sana?

Sen is the nominative form “you,” while sana is the dative form “to you.” The indirect object (the person receiving something) takes the dative case -a/-e. So sana literally means “to you.”

Why is there bir before tavsiye? English often treats “advice” as uncountable.

In Turkish, tavsiye (“advice/recommendation”) can be used countably. Bir functions as “a” or “one,” so bir tavsiye means “a piece of advice” or “one recommendation.” Without bir, you’d speak about advice in general.

Why doesn’t tavsiye take an accusative suffix like -i here?

In Turkish, direct objects are unmarked for the accusative if they’re indefinite. Because bir tavsiye is indefinite (“a piece of advice”), you don’t add -yi. If it were definite (“the advice”), you’d say tavsiyeyi.

What is the structure of the verb veriyorum, and what tense does it express?

Veriyorum breaks down as: • ver- (root “give”)
• -iyor (present-progressive marker)
• -um → -um > -um (1st person singular ending)

It literally means “I am giving.” Turkish uses this form for ongoing actions and often for present/habitual facts.

Could you use the simple present veririm instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, veririm means “I give” in a general or habitual sense. Veriyorum emphasizes an action happening right now or around now (and is also common for present statements). For immediate advice, veriyorum is more natural: (Şu anda) sana bir tavsiye veriyorum.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say Bir tavsiye sana veriyorum?

Turkish generally follows Subject-Object-Verb, but it’s flexible. Indirect objects often precede direct objects, so Sana bir tavsiye veriyorum is most natural. Bir tavsiye sana veriyorum is grammatical but shifts emphasis onto bir tavsiye.

Can I drop ben and still sound natural?

Absolutely. In everyday speech, native speakers usually omit subject pronouns unless they want to emphasize or contrast the subject. Sana bir tavsiye veriyorum is perfectly normal.