Ben öğle saatinde evde uyuyorum.

Breakdown of Ben öğle saatinde evde uyuyorum.

ben
I
uyumak
to sleep
evde
at home
öğle saatinde
at noon
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Turkish grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Turkish now

Questions & Answers about Ben öğle saatinde evde uyuyorum.

Why is Ben optional in Ben öğle saatinde evde uyuyorum?

Turkish is a “pro-drop” language, which means subject pronouns (like ben, “I”) can be dropped because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is. Here, -uyorum marks first-person singular, so you can equally say:
Öğle saatinde evde uyuyorum.

You only keep ben if you want extra emphasis or contrast (e.g. “I, for one, sleep at home at noon,” as opposed to someone else).

What does öğle saatinde mean, and why does it end with -nde?
  • öğle saati literally means noon hour.
  • The suffix -nde is the locative case marking “at” or “in.” Applied to time nouns, it gives “at the noon hour.”
  • Vowel harmony dictates saat (with an ‘a’ vowel) takes -da, but because saat already has a possessive-like ending -i (“saati”), the final locative appears as -nde.
Why are there two -de-type suffixes in the sentence (saatinde and evde)?

Both are locative cases (meaning “at/in”), but one marks time and the other marks place:
saatinde = “at the (noon) hour” (time)
evde = “at home” (place)

Turkish uses the same locative case for both time and place expressions.

Couldn’t we just say öğlen instead of öğle saatinde?

Yes. öğlen is a standalone adverb meaning “at noon.” It’s shorter and very common in speech:
Öğlen evde uyuyorum.

öğle saatinde (“during the noon hour”) is slightly more descriptive or formal.

What does uyuyorum mean, and how is this tense formed?

uyuyorum = I am sleeping (or more loosely, “I sleep (habitually).”)
Formation steps:

  1. Drop -mak/-mek from the infinitive uyumak → stem uyu-
  2. Add the progressive suffix -yoruyuyor
  3. Add the 1st-person singular ending -umuyuyorum

This -yor tense covers both actions happening right now and regular/habitual actions.

Why is the verb at the very end of the sentence?
Standard Turkish word order is Subject – (Time) – (Place) – (Object) – Verb (S-T-P-O-V). Even though you can move elements around for emphasis, the verb typically closes the clause.
Can I swap öğle saatinde and evde?

Yes, time and place adverbials are fairly flexible, e.g.:
Öğle saatinde evde uyuyorum.
Evde öğle saatinde uyuyorum.
You could even front the verb in poetic or marked contexts, but for everyday speech you’ll most often hear Time → Place → Verb.

How would I make this negative or turn it into a yes/no question?

Negative: insert -ma/-me before -yor:
Ben öğle saatinde evde uyumuyorum. = “I am not sleeping at home at noon.”

Yes/No question: add the interrogative particle -mu/-mü/-mı/-mi after the verb stem and before the person ending:
Ben öğle saatinde evde uyuyor muyum? = “Am I sleeping at home at noon?”