Geçen hafta telefonumu tamir yaptırdım.

Last week I had my phone repaired.

Breakdown of Geçen hafta telefonumu tamir yaptırdım.

• benim: my
• telefon: the phone
• tamir yaptırmak: to have something repaired
• geçen hafta: last week

Questions & Answers about Geçen hafta telefonumu tamir yaptırdım.

Why is the verb tamir yaptırdım used here instead of simply tamir ettim?

tamir ettim means “I repaired (it) myself.” By using the causative construction tamir yaptırdım, you’re saying “I had someone else repair my phone,” i.e. you sent it out for repair.

Can you break down tamir yaptırdım into its parts?

Sure. It’s built as follows:

• tamir (repair – noun)
• yap (do/make)
• -tır (causative suffix, “have/make someone do”) → yaptır
• -dı (simple past tense)
• -m (1st person singular)
  Altogether tamir-yap-tır-dı-m = “I had (it) repaired.”

Why is the word telefonumu in the accusative case (with -u)?

In Turkish, definite direct objects take the accusative suffix. Since telefonum (“my phone”) is specific, you add -u, making telefonumu = “my phone” (object).

Why don’t we see the pronoun ben (“I”) in the sentence?

Turkish verbs carry person information in their endings. The suffix -dım in yaptırdım already tells you it’s 1st person singular (“I … did”). So the pronoun ben is usually dropped.

Why doesn’t Geçen hafta take any case ending like -de?

Time expressions (days, weeks, etc.) can stand alone as adverbs without a suffix. Geçen hafta simply means “last week.” Adding -de (Geçen haftada) would change the nuance to “also last week.”

What’s the difference between tamir ettirmek and tamir yaptırmak? Are they interchangeable?

Both express “having something repaired.”

• tamir ettirmek is the direct causative of tamir etmek.
• tamir yaptırmak uses tamir
  • yapmak
    • causative.
      In everyday speech they’re mostly interchangeable, though tamir ettirmek is slightly more concise and closer to the verb’s original form.

Could I say Geçen hafta telefonum tamir ettirildi?

Yes, but that sentence is passive: “My phone was repaired last week.” It doesn’t convey that you “had it repaired” yourself. It also removes the implied “I.”

Can I drop tamir and just say telefonumu yaptırdım?

No. yaptırmak means “to have something done,” but you must specify what you had done. Without tamir, the sentence is incomplete (“I had my phone done” with no detail).

Is the word order fixed here? Could I move Geçen hafta elsewhere?

Turkish word order is fairly flexible, but the usual pattern is Time → Object → Verb. You could say Telefonumu geçen hafta tamir yaptırdım, but putting Geçen hafta first (as in the original) is more natural for time-focus.