İşçi fabrikada çalışıyor.

The worker is working in the factory.

Breakdown of İşçi fabrikada çalışıyor.

• çalışmak: to work
• fabrika: the factory
• -da: in
• işçi: the worker

Questions & Answers about İşçi fabrikada çalışıyor.

What does işçi mean?

İşçi means “worker.” It’s a noun in the nominative (subject) case and here appears in its singular form.

Why is there no English article like a or the before işçi?

Turkish has no indefinite or definite articles equivalent to “a” or “the.”

• If you want to say “a worker,” add bir ⇒ Bir işçi fabrikada çalışıyor.
• Definite meaning (“the worker”) comes from context rather than a separate word.

What is the -da in fabrikada, and what does it do?

The suffix -da marks the locative case, meaning “in/at.” So fabrikada literally means “at the factory.” Verbs of place or location (like çalışmak, “to work”) often take their complements in the locative.

How do I know whether to use -da, -de, -ta, or -te?

You apply two rules:

1. Vowel harmony:
   
   • After back vowels (a, ı, o, u) use -da/-ta
   • After front vowels (e, i, ö, ü) use -de/-te
2. Consonant voicing:
   
   • If the noun ends in a voiced consonant, use -da/-de
   • If it ends in a voiceless consonant, use -ta/-te
     Since fabrika ends in the vowel a (a back vowel), we pick -da.

How is the present continuous tense formed in çalışıyor?

1. Take the verb stem çalış- (“to work”).
2. Add the progressive suffix -ıyor (not -iyor) because the last vowel of çalış is ı (a back vowel).
3. No extra ending is needed for 3rd-person singular.
   Result: çalışıyor = “(he/she/it) is working.”

Why is the verb çalışıyor at the end of the sentence?

Turkish normally follows Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order, so the verb comes last even if there’s no direct object.

Why don’t we see the subject pronoun o (“he/she”)?

Turkish verbs are conjugated for person. Çalışıyor is already 3rd-person singular, so o is understood and usually omitted. You could say O işçi fabrikada çalışıyor for emphasis.

What’s the difference between çalışıyor and çalışır?

• çalışıyor = present continuous (“is working”), used for actions happening right now.
• çalışır = simple present (“works”), used for habitual or general facts (e.g., Her gün fabrikada çalışır = “He/She works at the factory every day”).

How would I say “The workers are working at the factory”?

1. Pluralize the noun: işçi → işçiler
2. Conjugate the verb for 3rd-person plural: çalışıyor
   • lar = çalışıyorlar
     Full sentence: İşçiler fabrikada çalışıyorlar.
     (Note: In casual Turkish, you might drop -lar on the verb because işçiler already shows plurality.)

Can I add bir before işçi, and what changes?

Yes. Bir işçi fabrikada çalışıyor means “A worker is working at the factory,” making the subject explicitly indefinite. Without bir, you’re simply stating there is/are some (unspecified) worker(s) working there.