Learn Hardcore Turkish: Toplantıda nazikçe konuşmak herkesin dikkatini çeker. - Speaking politely in the meeting attracts everyone’s attention.

Toplantı means meeting. The suffix -da is the locative case marker in Turkish, indicating location (“at” or “in”). So Toplantıda translates as at the meeting.

Why do we use nazikçe instead of just nazik?

Nazik is an adjective meaning polite. To turn an adjective into an adverb (“politely”), Turkish often uses the suffix -çe (or -ca). Attaching -çe to nazik gives nazikçe, meaning politely or nicely.

Why is konuşmak in the infinitive form rather than a finite form like konuştum or konuşuyor?

In Turkish you can use an infinitive verb as a noun. Here, nazikçe konuşmak (“to speak politely”) acts as the subject of the sentence. When an infinitive phrase functions as the subject or object, the verb stays in its basic -mak/-mek form.

What does herkesin dikkatini mean, and why is herkes in the genitive case?

Herkes means everyone.
The suffix -in on herkes marks the genitive (possession), so herkesin means everyone’s.
Dikkat means attention.
Combined, herkesin dikkatini literally means everyone’s attention, which here is the direct object of çeker.

Why are there two suffixes on dikkatini (-in and -i), and what do they do?

Turkish marks both possession and case on nouns:
1) -in is the genitive (possessor) suffix on dikkat, making dikkat-in (“attention of”).
2) -i is the accusative suffix showing that the noun is a definite direct object.
So dikkat-in-i → dikkatini = herkesin dikkatini (“everyone’s attention,” as a definite object).

What does the verb çekmek mean in dikkatini çekmek?

Literally, çekmek means to pull or to draw. In the idiomatic phrase dikkatini çekmek, it means to attract or draw someone’s attention. So dikkatini çekmek = to attract one’s attention.

Why is there no explicit subject like “he” or “she” in the sentence?

The subject of the sentence is the infinitive phrase Toplantıda nazikçe konuşmak (“speaking politely at the meeting”). Turkish often drops personal pronouns when they’re clear or unnecessary. Here the action itself (the infinitive clause) is the subject, so you don’t need an extra “it” or “this.”

Can the word order in this sentence change, or is it fixed?

Turkish is relatively flexible but typically follows Subject–Object–Verb (SOV). In our sentence:

Subject = Toplantıda nazikçe konuşmak
Object = herkesin dikkatini
Verb = çeker
You could move Toplantıda or nazikçe for emphasis (e.g. Nazikçe konuşmak toplantıda…), but the verb çeker usually stays at the end.

Could we say Toplantıda nazik konuşmak… instead of nazikçe konuşmak?

No, because nazik is an adjective and cannot directly modify the verb konuşmak. You need the adverb form nazikçe (or an equivalent like nazik bir şekilde) to describe how someone is speaking.