Learn Hardcore Turkish: Yeni teklif geçen hafta gönderildi.

Turkish follows a SOV (subject–object–verb) order, so even in passive sentences with time expressions like geçen hafta, meaning last week, the verb gönderildi remains at the end.

What does gönderildi mean, and how is the simple past passive formed?

gönderildi is the 3rd person singular simple past passive form of göndermek, which means to send, so it translates as was sent. The passive is formed by adding -il to the verb stem (gönder- → gönderil-) plus the past tense suffix -di. In the 3rd person singular passive, -di covers both tense and person, so there is no extra ending.

Why is there no subject such as someone or they mentioned in this sentence?

In Turkish passive constructions, the agent (the doer of the action) is usually omitted when it’s unknown or unimportant. The focus is on the patient (here yeni teklif) rather than on who performed the action.

What is geçen hafta, and why doesn’t it take a case ending?

geçen hafta literally means the week that passed, used as an adverbial time expression for last week. Time-adverbial phrases in Turkish typically remain in the nominative case and don’t take additional endings when functioning like yesterday, today, or last week.

Can I use geçtiğimiz hafta instead of geçen hafta, and is there a nuance between them?

Yes. geçtiğimiz hafta also means last week, literally the week we passed, and is largely interchangeable with geçen hafta. geçtiğimiz hafta can feel slightly more conversational or personal, while geçen hafta is completely neutral.

Why does yeni come before teklif, and does it change form?

Adjectives in Turkish, like yeni (meaning new), typically precede the noun they modify, just like in English. However, Turkish adjectives do not agree with nouns in number or case, so yeni remains unchanged regardless of the noun’s form.

Can I change the order to Geçen hafta yeni teklif gönderildi, and does it alter the meaning?

Yes. Turkish allows relatively free word order for emphasis, provided the verb remains at the end. Geçen hafta yeni teklif gönderildi emphasizes when the proposal was sent, while Yeni teklif geçen hafta gönderildi highlights what was sent. The basic meaning does not change.