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Questions & Answers about Mektup kutusu taşınmadan önce posta dairesinden izin belgesi alındı.
What does -madan in taşınmadan önce mean, and how is "before doing something" formed in Turkish?
The suffix -madan/-meden (vowel harmony: -madan after back vowels, -meden after front vowels) attaches to a verb stem to mean "without doing X." Combined with önce, it gives "before doing X." For example, taşınmak (to be moved) → drop -mak, add -madan → taşınmadan, then önce → taşınmadan önce (before it was moved).
Could I say taşınmaktan önce instead of taşınmadan önce?
No. Turkish uses verb stem + -madan/-meden + önce exclusively for "before doing X." -maktan önce is not used in this context, so you should always say taşınmadan önce.
What suffix is used to express "after doing something", the counterpart of -madan önce?
The counterpart is -dıktan sonra/-dikten sonra. Attach the past participle suffix -dıktan/-dikten (vowel harmony) to the verb stem and add sonra. E.g., taşınmak → taşındıktan sonra (after it was moved).
Why is there an extra -n- in posta dairesinden (i.e. -nden instead of -den)?
When a case suffix starting with a vowel (like -de/da, -den/dan) follows a noun ending in a vowel, Turkish inserts the buffer consonant n to avoid vowel clusters. Dairesi ends in i, so the ablative -den becomes -nden, yielding dairesinden (from the post office).
What is posta dairesi, and could you use postane instead?
Posta dairesi literally means "postal department" but refers to a post office. Postane is a shorter, more colloquial word for "post office." Both are correct, though postane is more common in casual speech.
What does izin belgesi mean, and how would you translate it?
İzin means "permission," and belgesi comes from belge (document) + -si (its). Together, izin belgesi means "permission document" or "permit."
Why is the verb alındı in this sentence, and why is there no subject mentioned?
Alındı is the third-person singular past passive of almak (to take/get). Using the passive voice removes the need to mention the agent when it’s clear or unimportant. So posta dairesinden izin belgesi alındı means "a permit was obtained from the post office," without specifying who obtained it.
How can I specify who obtained the permit, instead of using the passive alındı?
Include an explicit subject and use the active past tense aldı/aldılar. For example:
"Yetkililer posta dairesinden izin belgesi aldılar."
("The authorities obtained the permit from the post office.") Here yetkililer (authorities) is the subject, and aldılar agrees in the third-person plural.
Could I reorder the sentence for emphasis, and how flexible is the word order?
Turkish word order is quite flexible, but the finite verb normally comes last. You can front time or object phrases:
"Posta dairesinden izin belgesi, mektup kutusu taşınmadan önce alındı."
Any sequence before alındı can be rearranged for emphasis, though the time clause taşınmadan önce often appears early.