Learn Hardcore Turkish: Ben bahçede çiçek dikmek için kürek kullanıyorum. - I am using a shovel to plant flowers in the garden.

-de is the locative case ending in Turkish, meaning “in” or “at.” So bahçede means “in the garden.”
By contrast, bahçeye with -e would be the dative, meaning “to the garden.”

What role does için play in this sentence?

için marks purpose and translates as “in order to” or simply “to.”
Here, çiçek dikmek için means “in order to plant flowers” (i.e. “to plant flowers”).

Why is dikmek in the infinitive rather than a conjugated form?

Because it’s part of the purpose clause introduced by için, which always takes an infinitive. You leave the verb in its dictionary form (dik- + -mek) to express “to plant.”

Which case is çiçek in, and why doesn’t it have an ending like -i?

Here çiçek is an indefinite direct object. Turkish only adds the accusative ending -i when the object is definite (specific or known). So “flowers” in a general sense stays plain çiçek.

Could kürek take an accusative ending, and when would you do that?

Yes. If you have a particular, known shovel in mind (“the shovel”), you’d say küreği kullanıyorum with -i. But for “a shovel” or “shovel” in general, you keep it indefinite kürek kullanıyorum.

Why does the sentence include Ben when Turkish verbs already show the subject?

Subject pronouns (ben, sen, o, etc.) are usually optional because verb endings tell you who is doing the action. You include Ben only for emphasis or clarity (“I, personally, use…”), or to contrast with someone else.

Why is the verb kullanıyorum in the present continuous tense?

Turkish uses the -yor suffix to express an ongoing or habitual action. Kullanıyorum means “I am using” or “I regularly use.” It shows that the action is happening now or repeatedly.

What is the basic word order of this sentence, and how flexible is it?

The default Turkish order is S-(locative)-(purpose clause)-O-V:
Ben – bahçede – çiçek dikmek için – kürek – kullanıyorum.
You can shift phrases for emphasis (e.g., moving bahçede to the end) but the verb almost always comes last.

Could I express the same idea with kürekle instead of saying kürek kullanıyorum?

Yes. Kürekle çiçek dikiyorum literally “I am planting flowers with a shovel.” That uses the instrument case (-le).
Saying çiçek dikmek için kürek kullanıyorum focuses more on “I use a shovel in order to plant flowers.”